A History of the Future (World Made By Hand #3) by James Howard Kunstler

A History of the Future (World Made By Hand #3) Reviews

• 
  John

  This is a fun read. I've given it five stars, and it is important that you understand that rating in the context of what the author is trying to do: This is an entertainment, a fable, a cautionary tale, a ripping yarn. It the novel was positioned as high literature, I'd give it a different rating. There are a couple of negatives but on the whole if you care about what life will be like when the fossil fuels are gone: read this and its predecessors in its series.
  
  This is the third book in a series kicked off with World Made By Hand and the Witch of Hebron.
  
  In the first novel the power is gone, and the small town of Union Grove, New York, contends with other local communities: A quasi-feudal plantation; an anarchist group of bikers who oversee the dump; and a religious crew on the run (not unlike the early Mormons). The Witch of Hebron is sort of a side-story involving a boy and a woman who provides different kinds of comfort to a variety of seekers.
  
  This novel takes up the main story from World Made By Hand. A heinous murder happens, and the town and its environs must decide how to deal with it. The question is: Does the area still have the legal structures to exact justice and mercy in a civilized fashion? Meanwhile, a young man who at the end of World Made by Hand had lit out for the country to see what had happened elsewhere in the former USA, comes back with tales to tell. As the first novel was about the competition between societal structures in the small, this novel explores the emerging governmental competitions between what remains of the federal government, and some competing new countries in what was the Southern United States.
  
  The novel is packed with appreciation for old ways and contempt for the productions of modern culture, most of which have decayed faster than their older counterparts (for instance, buildings made in the 1850s are intact, while buildings made in the 1960s have slumping roofs).
  
  If you're curious about this, I'd advise starting with the first one, World Made by Hand. But this novel can be read standalone.
  
  My concerns: Kunstler has some strong female characters but they are bundles of stereotypes. Meanwhile, as in the first novel especially, there are some supernatural elements that seem to be just thrown in. I think in part with the use of the supernatural, Kunstler is trying to remind us that this is just a story. That's the charitable view. But, really, I found the behaviors of Brother Jobe to be a stretch. The last thing: Kunstler paints the emerging Southern state in broad strokes: They are hypocritical religious fascists who love country music and car racing, and hate black people, Jews, and homosexuals. There's little subtlety here. But by keeping it simple and cartoonish, there is some great narrative propulsion and efficiency.
  
• 
  Kitap

  Although I have stopped reading Kunstler's blog because of his tiresome tirades against tattoos and black Americans, I still think his overall thesis about the "long emergency" is an accurate one. Plus I really enjoy the world he has made (by hand!) in these novels. A History of the Future, the third in this series, was as enjoyable a read as the first two novels. It also (finally) provided a look at what happened to the world outside of upstate New York, as recounted by a prodigal son who barely survived his voyage through what remains of the United States. Barge travel, unskilled labor, horse traders, local whiskey, indentured servitude, racial politics, neo-Confederates (i.e., "corn pone Nazis"), and the treatment of the mentally ill by a justice system in tatters are a few of the topics that Kunstler explores here. By the time I finally put this book down, I couldn't wait to see where this imagined future is headed next. It will be a hard world in any case, but not one without beauty and humanity. And lots of locally produced alcohol, which cannot be a bad thing.
• 
  Carlos

  Not the best book in the series, that will be the second one, but here You will find some answers about what is happening in other places of the United States Territory besides the little place where our main characters live.
  The magic is lost somehow and I won't be reading the last one, not as intense as the previous ones., but all in all a good yarn.
• 
  Kathryn Bashaar

  I really enjoyed
  World Made by Hand but hadn't realized Kunstler had turned it into a series until I came across this third in the series at the library.
  The premise of this series is that in the near future the world has undergone a series of catastrophes - a disastrous Middle East war, annihilation of LA and DC, a series of epidemics - that have caused the collapse of consumerist, central-government-managed, fossil-fuel-driven civilization. Humanity is back to the 19th century - at best.
  I don't think our civilization would collapse as quickly as these books represent, but, if you can suspend that disbelief, Kunstler's post-apocalyptic world is vivid and plausible.
  World Made by Hand included good characters and a tight plot with a lot of tension, if I recall correctly. The characters in this third book are not as well-drawn, and the plot lacks tension. I think Kunstler made a mistake in telling Daniel's story as a retrospective. We already know he will
  survive, since he is telling the story once he returns to Union Grove, so his story lacks drama. I think Daniel's story should have been told in present tense, alongside the events in Union Grove, even though they are not happening concurrently. And it would have been a neat trick to relate them somehow. The plot of this book is driven mostly by the showing of how the world works, and how various people adapt or fail to adapt, after the collapse. That's interesting, to be sure - the book was a real page-turner for me- but does not excuse a kind of flabby plot.
  As a Christian, I really liked that religious faith was given a place, but not a disproportionate place, in the life of Union Grove after the collapse of the "old times." Some people are bitter against God, but the Congregational Church survives, as does a new Christian sect that seems weird but does a lot of good in the town. This seems about right to me. Kunstler treats faith with what seems to me proportionate respect.
  As a feminist, I was disappointed that women seem to have very little agency in the post-apocalyptic world, but, hey, it's not my book, I don't get to decide these things. Overall, this was a good read and I will probably go back and read the second in the series,
  The Witch of Hebron
  
• 
  Kit Kimberly

  While I have greatly enjoyed Kunstler's post apocalyptic series, I am quite disappointed that his vision is still so based in white male patriarchal privilege and oppression.
  
  There's nothing progressive in his view of women, children, persons of colour, etc. He barely even bothers to develop any characters at all other than privileged white men (the kind of "alpha" males that MRAs, et al, seem to see as "natural" rulers).
  
  I can't help but think that a World Made By Hand will simply fall to the same basic pitfalls of valuing power over life, might-makes-right, and destruction of anything that doesn't support the elite of the world that preceded it.
• 
  Michelle

  I read "World Made by Hand" a few years ago and discovered the 2nd in the series ("The Witch of Hebron") and read it although it was disturbingly violent, especially toward women. The "witch" in the title is essentially a high-brow prostitute. But, because I just have to know how stuff ends, I powered on.
  
  And then, because sometimes it's just fund to read the equivalent of potato chips... I read "A History of the Future." And again, finished because... gotta see how it all ends, despite the fact that this was clearly some kind of "parable" or political polemic.
  
  I hadn't read any of the reviews, but was glad that it wasn't just me noticing the Kunstler has some weird ideas about women. Why in this new organization of the world are there no women in leadership roles (except of course the wacky religious-country star women in charge of the bad Foxfire Republic - undone by her insatiable lust)?
  
  Why in the world would we women wear long dresses if pants are available? If in this post-oil world, people have learned how to grow fiber and produce fabric and sew pants by hand for the men, why would the women (who do all the sewing along with all the other "women's work") not make themselves pants? I'm pretty sure it wasn't the wearing of pants that caused the end of the world as we know it... Or is this just a fantasy? For men?
  
  I had some hope for the post-apocalyptic world after "World Made by Hand" and thought that the different types of economic systems portrayed were kind of clever, but this one just creeped me out.
  
  P.S. I just read some of Kunstler's blog posts and have decided to return the final installment of this series to the library unread. His homophobic and misogynistic views are not worthy of my time.
• 
  Kevin

  It's the third novel in his A World Made By Hand series, which is a great take on the post-apocalytpic future. I like his style and like the world, but the plot isn't quite there. It follows a bunch of mostly disconnected stories that overlap occasionally and none of them come to a very satisfying conclusion. It feels kind of lackluster. It's worth reading if you like the series, but it's not a great chapter.
  
  Second reading:
  In the midst of the COVID-19 shutdown, I turned to some post-apocalyptic fiction, which is admittedly a weird choice. I thought I hadn't read this one, but I guess I had. I think I liked it better the second time around, though it does seem to come to a fairly sudden conclusion. It has a nice, relaxed style, with mostly short chapters (makes for easy reading during this time).
• 
  Bryan Winchell

  This is another interesting addition to this series, which takes place in post-collapse America maybe 20-30 years in the future. The previous two in the series were probably better as stories in and of themselves, but I enjoyed how Kunstler used this one to show the changes to the broader world outside of upstate New York. I also think he has done a nice job laying the groundwork for the fourth and final book in the series, which I heard him say in a podcast interview would likely be out in 2015. All in all, if you are at all interested in the possibility that out techno-centric, cheap-energy-based world may not survive the century and what a world beyond our current situation may look like, this is a very well-thought-out series that also happen to be good stories in their own right.
• 
  Erica

  Certainly not the best of the World Made by Hand series... the writing seemed overly simplistic and repetitive, even for Kunstler. This is the first time I actually didn't get pulled in head over heels into Union Grove and I finished the book feeling disappointed.
• 
  Sonny

  I was headed towards giving this book four stars until he started stereotyping certain segments of society. Being a member of one of these segments, I don't appreciate it. Shame on you!
• 
  Paulo

  Overall it's at the same level as the previous books, but in some parts the events and situations can be a bit predictable and uninspired.
• 
  Shari

  It is hard for for me to admit that I was disappointed by this book. I really wanted to like it. I really expected to like it. It was not a bad book, but it was not nearly what it could or should have been, considering how good the previous volumes were. I give it 2 stars, which according to GoodReads means I find it ok. And that's accurate. I didn't dislike it, but it didn't blow my skirt up.
  
  Almost all of my gripes about the book come from believability--or the lack thereof. I enjoy James Kunstler's positing of his particular style of dystopian future because I find it the most likely to happen. Zombies and viruses and mutants are fun, but the end of the oil age is far more likely.
  
  Both "World Made by Hand" and "The Witch of Hebron" were interesting, full of characters who engaged me and who I wanted to know more about. "A History of the Future" did not engage me very much and I found the new characters either weak or unbelievable and the returning characters largely unrealistic.
  
  The part of "A History of the Future" that bothered me the most, though, was the story-telling from the prodigal son Daniel. I realize that Daniel had a huge story to tell and that it would take time to tell it. My complaint is not with the length of the story or even the content, but rather the language used to tell it. Because Daniel literally "tells" his story, the language he uses should be believable and natural. It is neither.
  
  People--especially young people--do not speak the way Daniel speaks. Several times I found myself wishing Daniel had carried a small notebook and written down his story so he could read it rather than tell it. When we write, we use different language than we use when we speak aloud. Daniel's words would have been far more believable if they were read from a journal. Besides, how can I believe that his memory is so excellent that he remembers the great detail he apparently remembers? I just can't.
  
  The part of Daniel's storytelling that I found most off-putting was his incessant and inappropriate (even by today's standards) use of the word "like." I felt that Kunstler wanted to be, like, timely and, like, relevant but instead managed to be, like, trite and forced, and the eye-popping number of, like, commas that using the word necessitates makes it, like, really hard to read. Like.
  
  I don't have much to say about the relationship between Daniel and Loving Morrow. I also found it to be unbelievable and almost embarrassing. Perhaps 18-year-olds in a world as broken as this one would behave much differently than they do in our world today. Perhaps. If they do, I hope they, like, stop using the word "like" in a ridiculous fashion. And I hope we are never able to be led as such simple-minded radicals the way Loving Morrow managed to lead this batch.
  
  I do look forward to reading "The Harrows of Spring." I want to know what happens to these people. For the most part, I like them and care about them. I want to see whether Brother Jobe is the brilliant schemer I felt he was in the first book or the practical opportunity-seizer of the second. Or was he initially a schemer and now truly wants to build a community? What about Jasper Copeland? He is the character with the most promise to improve his community, yet he was dropped after a shining moment in the second book. I want to see his potential realized. And what happens to Stephen Bullock? That old asshole has something coming and I want to be around to see it, whatever it is.
• 
  Asher J.

  So, I’m going to begin by noting that I’ve read books 1-4 in this series—I didn’t love this one, but I plainly didn’t dislike it enough to give it up, or skip its sequel—but it was a marked departure in several ways.
  
  What I’ve appreciated about the series has been how immersive it is, and how believably its world-building unfolds. I’m not commenting on how plausible I think it is, in the real life—some things yes, some things, maybe not—but in terms of story? It nails the balance between enough detail to convince me, without so much detail I lose the thread (or sustained interest). There are some interestingly weird bits of magical or paranormal abilities, quietly woven into the narrative, in an open-ended way that I really enjoyed, and found pretty unique. And while I caught a few hints in book 1, and a few more in book 2, of some sociopolitical leanings that are distinctly not my own—it didn’t land in a polemical place. Fair enough; everybody has a right to their opinion, and if they still tell an interesting story, I’m still probably interested in reading it.
  
  Book 3, though. Oh, man.
  
  It’s less of a story than a parable, and in some extended stretches, less even a parable, than just a rather strident essay on the evils of (present-day) modernity. I don’t disagree with the author’s clear conclusion that many facets of our present way of life are distressingly unsustainable—I don’t altogether share his views on what is and isn’t worth striving to preserve, within contemporary life, either—but neither of those things is really what I take issue with. I just found myself disappointed by the extent to which an interesting, believable, widely varying cast of characters suddenly flattened out into a dozen variations on the author’s own voice.
  
  The dialogue got weirdly declamatory and didactic—the book literally opens with an explicit statement that it’s set several years into our future, which is the wrong kind of jarring in the same way as a middle school essay whose opening line is, “My paper will be about...”. The period- and region-specific dialects lost consistency and coherence. The shifts in social norms tilted, in several instances, from considerable, but plausible over this timeline, especially in light of the considerable global changes in infrastructure and resource access—into extreme, implausible, and weirdly anachronistic. Like—there’s just no reason that a shift back to 19th-century living standards would automagically prompt a universal shift to 19th-century spoken language and writing conventions. Villains got flatter and more extreme. Plot devices felt less like ways to tell a story, more like ways to lead up to another sermon—or, in some cases, to avoid telling parts of the story that looked *interesting*, but weren’t obvious routes into the author’s particular critical lens.
  
  It just kind of felt like the book lost track of what it was doing. Fiction can take a position—even one I disagree with—and still tell a believable, interesting story. But the fifth or sixth time I read a character who’s, say, leaving on an expedition for uncharted country; or just walking away from some act of overwhelming violence; or engrossed in meeting their immediate survival needs... talking discursively to themself about how cheaply and foolishly built strip-malls used to be? It gets interruptive, and it gets clear that I’m reading the author’s inner monologue, not the character’s.
  
  The plot stayed interesting. And the characters came most of the way back to life, by book 4. But this one could have used one more real hard edit.
• 
  Jake M.

  Kunstler's story of a post-oil, politically shattered, small-town America is common yet unique premise. The small-town setting allows for an intimate focus on the social ecosystem of interdependent relationships. The story is set during the holidays and focuses on a half-dozen citizens including a wife guilty of murdering her husband and son, and a young man returning from his explorations of America. Character arcs are flat, and chapters present themselves as snapshots characters of lives over a short period of time. There seems to be a common thread of guilt and redemption, but there's no endpoint or grand narrative. This structure is not overly disappointing, but I fail to detect the author's intentions beyond a longing and wishful return for small-town, agrarian America. In addition, female characters outside of an obvious, cartoonishly evil female theocrat revert to having roles held by women in the nineteenth century. I doubt this would happen; it's not the default order of things, and counter to recent history thus diminishing the book's realist tone. I can guess this author's politics, but the premise and setting made me take the bait. Overall, Kunstler strives for post-apocalyptic realism that is little more than a thin disguise for nostalgia.
• 
  Lori L (She Treads Softly)

  A History of the Future by James Howard Kunstler is the highly recommended third book in the World Made by Hand series. These books are set in a future America after a complete economic, political, and cultural collapse has occurred. Epidemics have swept the land and the population has been decimated. In this world, those who are going to survive are forced to live literally by what they can do with their own hands and labor. It is sort of a dystopian pioneer setting - the simple life but in a changed, harsh world.
  
  It is just before Christmas in the town of Union Grove in upstate New York. While there is no electricity, the town is doing what it can to decorate and celebrate a much simpler holiday, but perhaps one with more meaning after the catastrophes of previous years. The New Faith Covenant Brotherhood Church has opened a tavern, a pet project for Brother Jobe, which gives the townspeople a place to fellowship and helps bring a sense of a new normalcy returning to Union Grove. Andrew Pendergast is thriving. He has kept busy, and with his many varied interests, is actually doing quite well in this new world where self-sufficiency is the key.
  
  But then the unthinkable happens - a double murder. It appears that Mandy Stokes, a woman whose sanity is truly in question, has murdered her child and husband on Christmas Eve. She needs to be locked up. The Brotherhood volunteers a place where this is possible and now the town must decide how to proceed. Is there a legal system intact to handle a murder trial? During the same time, Daniel Earle, the son of Mayor Robert Earle who left Union Grove at the end of the first book, World Made By Hand, has returned home. Emaciated, exhausted, and ill, Daniel needs a chance to recover, but even more important is the news he brings of the fractured outside world.
  
  The series started with World Made By Hand and The Witch of Hebron. Although I have read World Made By Hand, I have not read the second book and had no problem following the story. It might behoove readers interested in this series to at least read World Made By Hand first.
  
  Many of the same concerns I had with World Made By Hand continued with A History of the Future, with the exception of tying up the loose ends of the story. Naturally, if you are writing a series of books set in the same world, certain parts of the story and plot may continue on into the next novel, so that problem was neatly answered. The female characters continue to feel one dimensional and I still know that people around my part of the country could survive and thrive because they have a wealth of skills and knowledge that the people of Union Grove, NY, are somehow lacking. It is encouraging that the survivors are doing better and learning old/new-to-them skills.
  
  
  Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Grove/Atlantic for review purposes.
• 
  Mike Johnson

  A rather thought provoking book about a future US post two major bombings of DC and LA. In the current US environment of unbridled American exceptionalism, it's hard to even think about the US not continuing to dominate world politics forever - this possibility is what makes this book so fascinating.
  
  I couldn't help but be continually reminded of the 1960's Whole Earth Catalog environment when many of us baby boomers were planning for the worst and figuring how to live with no electricity, plastics, etc. Again, in today's US, this sort of thinking seems downright crazy - at least for now.
  
  This book is loads of fun - although the anti-suburban rant gets a little tiresome - even to me - a consummate anti-suburban guy. I thought it made some really interesting observations about physical health care and mental health and the return to a much more simple way of life in every regard.
  
  I'm off to find Book Number One of this series!!
  
  
• 
  Carolyn McBride

  Couldn't Put it Down
  
  Not quite as impactful as the first in the series, but gripping and engaging all the same. I couldn't put it down, and ended up reading it in two sessions. Very pleased with Brother Jobe, whom I wasn't quite sure I liked initially.
  I do hope there is, or will be, another volume in this series. The characters all grow on you and the reader is left with hope at the end. Very glad I bought this and the ones before it.
• 
  Chris

  This is the 3rd book in the World Made by Hand series and I have loved them all. This one ended in such a way that I know a 4th is coming. I'm already looking forward to it!
• 
  Ted Stark

  I enjoy this series. A different take on the post-apocalypse world.
• 
  Fanona

  so far this is the best of the 3. good series.
• 
  Jonathan Lackey

  This book reads like two books, one of them good, the other... weird.
  
  The World Made by Hand series definitely jumped genres at the end of the first book, from pure survival fiction to magical realism, and Kunstler doubled down in The Witch of Hebron (book 2) with the magical realism. I also happen to believe that book to be the darkest so far (I have not read book 4 at this writing). A History of the Future gets a little lighter, but also delves into the concept of demon possession. Brother Jobe is expanded on as a character, and the powers hinted at in the first two novels are shown more here. He is much more likable.
  
  I had stated previously that Loren Holder was my least favorite character because of the slipshod way he approaches his office of the ministry. Holder's character is largely relegated to the background, which is not really a negative, seeing as how organized religion in the town has been left to Jobe's posse of amish/menonite/pentacostal/fundamentalist/nazarene/hodge-podge religious folks.
  
  So why did I give this book 3 stars? Simple.
  
  The "Fox Fire Republic."
  
  The FFR is what became of about half the south (Western part of the former CSA) whereas the other became "New Free Africa" (I forgot the name cause I truly did not enjoy these sections of the novel). As you can guess, the south split along racial lines, and a race war began. The FFR is clearly the result of someone who has either never met a southerner or just wants to make a cartoon depiction of it. Everyone in the FFR is racist, they (literally) worship their leader, a blonde, ditzy country music singer who claims to receive direct revelation from Jesus, collects Thomas Kincade, and lives in a McMansion where she seduces young men. It would be a comedy skit were it not for the somber tone of the rest of the novel.
  
  I have no idea how someone who researches their novels as carefully as these, and then drops the ball by basically making a Larry the Cable Guy nation the enemy.
• 
  Stephen

  Third in Kunstler's "World Made by Hand" series, History opens on the town of Union Grove in winter, as it prepares to celebrate Christmas. The unexpected return of Daniel Earle, who has been traveling North America to find out what's become of the rest of the country following the collapse of everything. should make for a merry Christmas all around -- but Robert brings with him stories of horror, decay, and death, and Union Grove bears witness to a series of murders, including one on Christmas Eve. History revisits Kunstler's theme from the first book, the struggle to maintain a lawful order in challenging circumstances, and mixes this with Kunstler's speculations on the way world events might proceed with a peak oil collapse, and his commentary on everything from the human need for useful labor to the widespread use of crappy construction methods in the Bad Old Days. The main attraction here should be the goings-on down south, but Kunstler's view of the people of Appalachia and the South is patently ridiculous. I've been listening to Kunstler in interviews and lectures since 2008 and was surprised at how low-effort his worldbuilding for that area of the country was. Granted, this isn't his neck of the woods, but as someone who's traveled the country I'd expect Kunstler would deliver a more believable depiction. That said, I'll still finish the series, if only because I've already purchased the 4th book.
• 
  Wade Lake

  Book 3 in the World Made by Hand series continues to entertain. I am thoroughly enjoying this series.
  1) Once again, the post-apocalyptic small-town world is beautifully drawn.
  2) A single theme moves through the many tales within this book: "the importance of one's work." Each character explores an aspect of what it means to serve--oneself, one's master, one's family, community, country, God, or an ideal such as justice. The journeys to these discoveries are smart and eye-opening.
  3) Daniel's story feels like it could have, and perhaps should have, been its own novel. Nonetheless, it is tense and entertaining.
  4) Book 3 does (occasionally) feel a bit heavy-handed. By the 3rd book, readers are familiar with the author's premise and passion: a world dependent on a depletable fuel source is folly. Additionally, the racial attitudes and unsophisticated decorating tastes of the the Tennessee-area ruling party seem to spring from stereotypes that test the suspension of belief--but some of these scenes are quite funny, so ... moving on.
  5) Overall, an excellent book. The structure and theme exploration are far superior to most novels, particularly ones that fall (willingly or unwillingly) into post-apoc genres. The Witch of Hebron (book 2 in the series) is one of my all-time favorite books. History of the Future is not up to that level, but it's good. If you enjoyed the first two, you'll enjoy this one.
• 
  Pacific Lee

  The third book continues the theme of seasons, this time Winter.
  
  I think Kunstler is right to emphasize the importance of social cohesion and community in crisis situations. People will turn to leaders that offer them a place. In fact, it may be a duty for the well-off to have people as servants or workmen to give their lives meaning. It is unfortunate that Kunstler is not a Christian, though, which shows throughout his novels, especially in Southern caricatures.
  
  I had not really read fiction in a while before the World Made by Hand series. This book in particular talks a lot about the “old days” and what happened to the broader world in the age of decline and collapse, which could be useful if you’re looking to prepare.
  
  The winter theme isn’t carried as well through compared to the Halloween one, and the plot is weak. The backstory was just too wild, reading like fantasy at times. Also, all the women were sexualized a bit much (even the middle-aged ones), a bit perverse.
• 
  Ashley

  As I work my way through this series, this is definitely the weakest book so far. The rambling parts featuring Daniel’s exploits, which could have been very interesting were dull and dry and told without any flair. Just repetitive descriptions of people and food. The union grove story was much more engaging but I felt it was underdeveloped. Also, the character of bullock was becoming a bit of a cartoon. Mandy stokes story just abruptly resolved, the demons just left and she was fine? Many chapters felt unfinished, I was constantly checking to see if I had skipped a page. It overall just seemed poorly planned out and hastily executed for a series that I have enjoyed up until now. I will still read the final book, because of course I have invested a lot of time in this series but I can only hope that it is more engaging and satisfying that this book has been.
• 
  Emily Xaviere

  Some sections and ideas are just fabulous and I love how this whole series makes me think and think. I most enjoyed the story of murder, mental illness, and salvaging justice in Union Grove.
  
  Doesn't hang together as well as it should and some of Kunstler's frustrating prejudices show through. This book might have done better by women...if the women weren't scary crazy people.
  
  Particularly wish Daniel's story was either cut out OR much more fleshed out. Might have worked better if Daniel and the Foxfire Republic had its own book; there's too much caricature here.
  
  Are we supposed to like Brother Jobe? Three books in and I can't decide at all...