Book Reviews and More: Three Clawsome Tales - Corinna Turner

Wednesday, 13 December 2023

Three Clawsome Tales - Corinna Turner - An unSPARKed Collection

Three Clawsome Tales

Containing Liam and the Hunters of Lee'Vi, A Truly Clawful Christmas, and A Very Jurassic Lent

An unSPARKed Collection

Corinna Turner

Unseen Books

ISBN 9781910806210

Three Clawful Tales - Corinna Turner - An unSPARKed Anthology

This is a wonderful collection of three stories in the unSPARKed universe. Each of the three tales contained in this collection are available individually as eBooks, and currently this collection is only available a print edition. The stories contained in this volume are:

Liam and the Hunters of Lee'Vi

A Truly Clawful Christmas

A Very Jurassic Lent

I have read each of the stories multiple times. Two of them in the anthologies they originally appeared in and the other as a stand-alone. My son has also read them to me. But he was excited to read them again in this collection. We also picked up a copy of this one for our school library as they have copies of the rest of the series. When the librarian was told about the history of the first story, she read it that day before adding it to the catalogue.

The descriptions of the three stories are:

“Liam and the Hunters of Lee’Vi

CAN THEY FIND HIS FAMILY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE?

It’s Christmas week, but sixteen-year-old Tam and the hunters of the Lee’Vi are out looking for a pack of Utahraptors. Instead, they find a boy staggering through the snow, on a mission to save his family. Can they find them before it’s too late?

A Truly Clawful Christmas

CAN HE SURVIVE CHRISTMAS?

If young city-priest Father Benedict can’t find more volunteers for his Christmas Bazaar, he’ll have to cancel it. But an unexpected appeal from his bishop leaves him facing a very different Christmas. Suddenly, complaints from disappointed parishioners are the least of his worries. His new priority—survival!

A Very Jurassic Lent

PERFECT FAITH—LIKE SAINT DESMOND.

When a risky Ash Wednesday mission to sterilize T. rex eggs goes wrong, fasting is the least of Joshua, Darryl, and Harry's worries. Can they survive a protective Rex Momma and a pack of raptors, or will their Lent begin with tragedy?”

A quick review of each tail, oops I mean tale is:

Liam and the Hunters of Lee’Vi

The story begins with Tam and the hunters of Lee ‘Vi hunkered down. All camouflaged and trying for a big bounty on a pack of Utahraptors who have become a nuisance to the farmers nearby. They are cold, tired and hungry for the big bunty. But their plans go sideways when they see a young boy trudging his way through the snow drifts. Apparently, the buys family went off the road. Both his parents were out, and his older sister hurt. So he has gone to try and find the main highway. Oh and his last name happens to be McEvoy. A story that will always be near and dear to our family.

A Truly Clawful Christmas

This whole story is told from the perspective of Father Benedict, or Father Ben. This is Father Ben’s long awaited back story. How did he become a rural priest, travelling unSPARKed from camp to farm, and travelling far and wide to take care of the spiritual needs of his parishioners. It recounts how he goes from city priest with a busy parish to living alone in the SOS van travelling the countryside. And his first day unSPARKed is a doozie.

A Very Jurassic Lent

This was a very moving story, like many others in the series. As is obvious by the title it is a story that takes place at the beginning of Lent. It Starts on Shrove Tuesday. Harry and Darryl learn a lot about Hunter traditions for lent. Including full fasts, and marking with ashes. In this story Josh has to cull a T-Rex nest. One that has a lot of personal history for him. And God provides a Lenten miracle. But to find out what happens you will need to read this excelLENT story!

For those unfamiliar, unSPARKed is a series set in a not-too-distant future. Dinosaurs once again roam the earth. Just because a scientist could do something, did not mean they should have done it. Most people live SPARKed, in cities with walls and electrified fences. There are two groups of people who live unSPARKed, farmers who have electric fences around their farms and live in community with their close neighbours. And Hunters who live most of the time out on the road or off road in HabVI’s Habitat Vehicles.

This a great collection of MASTERfully written stories. It is an excelLENT read by a gifted and talented author, and one of our favourite contemporary YA and Catholic authors at that! A volume we can easily recommend for fans of the series! And for those who wants a trio of tales in a world like what you would picture 50 plus years after Jurassic World Dominion.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!