The Callahans: The Complete Series [Kindle Edition]

I wish that someone had written a review that mentioned that this book was written for the purpose of proselytizing re: the Mormon religion. I was quite disgusted with the recurring theme that Mormonism is better than every other religion and that they are somehow supreme beings and even people with sound Catholic beliefs should give up their god and buy into the LDS beliefs.
I am not a disgruntled Catholic, I am a spiritual person who lives according to two principles; "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and 'love thy neighbour as thyself'. I do not subscribe to manmade rules and dogma of various religions and I am tolerant of the right of people to believe what they want to. I just don't like to have such negativism regarding other religions shoved down my throat under the guise of literature. I could not finish the whole book and would not recommend it to anyone.

I first saw this trilogy mentioned on the Kindle Boards and was delighted to find it since I love reading multigenerational historical novels. Having a Kindle made it even better since I looked forward to enjoying an entertaining epic (size is over 17,000 locations) without trying to juggle an oversized hard cover book. The premise also seemed sound dealing with immigrants to Utah with differing religions and backgrounds.

My rating is for the trilogy as a whole since there doesn't seem to be any sound reason to fragment it into three sections. I am disappointed that I can not rate it higher than three stars even though I believe that the author is a natural born story teller and writes in a very clear narrative style.

The problem I had with this book is that in order to sustain interest, the characters and story line should be compelling. I found that most of the characters including the two main ones, Tom and Katrina, to be one dimensional. The dialogue seemed wooden and completely absent of wit or humor.

The underlying theme of the book is their spiritual quest and it completely overshadows any other story line. Their spiritual angst and beliefs comprised a great deal of the book which had a heavy religious component throughout. I imagine that if this novel were summarized more accurately emphasizing this theme, it might capture a more appreciative audience.

As for the the other story lines, I felt as though I was reading a novel that was constructed by following a time line for the period listing all the major world events. It seemed as though the situations in the novel were expressly created to see how many famous personalities from that time frame could be incorporated into the story. Since so many historical events were included, they all received very superficial treatment.

I think the book would have benefited from having a more narrow focus and more multifaceted characters.

Spirit of Union Trilogy: Destiny (aka Book 1)
Of the three, this one is my favorite. A wonderfully thought out story line with well developed characters. This is a book for men or women, although, as a woman I found it very chivalrous and become quite fond of Thomas Callahan. Relationships between characters were en pointe with customary social standards of the time period this book was set. I enjoyed the romance involved with the two main characters, Thomas and Katrina Hansen. I was angry at Stromberg at his deception concerning Katrina and Theresa. I was amazed at Katrina's resilience (which continues throughout the series) and faith. I appreciate the author's reliance on God despite any religious differences I personally may have with the Catholic or Mormon belief systems. I was enthralled with a good, quality read that did not have questionable verbiage, situations or overly violent scenes.

Spirit of Union Trilogy: Conflict (aka Book 2)
The title explains it all. Historically the world is at war and you can bet that Thomas Callahan is somewhere in the midst of it, albeit financially or physically. As I reflect on my reading of this book there are many positive and prosperous situations that arise. The most prominent being the tragedy of the Titanic. Without divulging the events of this tragedy I am abhorred at Thomas in this book. I had tears in my eyes and the consequences of his actions on the life of his child just made me angry at him. Katrina becomes even more of a beautiful person to me--even after the loss of her first child in Book 1, her best friend, Teresa and the resilience she had after Teresa's death. I anticipated the end of this book so that I could jump into Book 3.

Spirit of Union Trilogy: Heritage (aka Book 3)
I loved watching the Callahan kids grow up and blossom into productive members of society. I was antsy when Thomas was wrapped up in the revolution and I couldn't believe that Katrina was able to accomplish the things that she did to get Thomas back to the United States. Although I don't necessarily find it difficult to believe that Tommy has received all the accolades and promotions in the Marine Corps we, as the reader, were there with every one of them. It seemed surreal and although we didn't experience the bombing of Pearl Harbor--I totally expected it. PJ almost totally disappears from the book and I would have loved to have seen him become more of a primary character. I loved the picture that was created with Thomas when he went for an escape on the mountain (the dream sequence). And Tess, isn't she just beautiful?! Like a parent who wants the best for their child I kept waiting and waiting for her to make better decisions regarding her marriage--to a man who loved her dearly. Tommy, poor Tommy...after all the successes in his career and his ultimate decision to settle down brings him the most horrific of endings. Wow, I just would have liked things to have worked out better for him in the long run!

Ultimately, with tears running down my face at the last chapter of the book, the last scene was the most beautiful written and touching I've ever read. This trilogy ended most appropriately. Again, I will not divulge the details, you MUST read them for yourself... but I would have wished nothing less on the Callahan family. A life that was undergirded with strong faith, a solid sense of family values, a hope for the best life has to offer and though there were many trials, in the end it was all beautiful.

Side note: Gordon, thanks for the opportunity to read this, I sincerely apologize for being two days late in my review. I hope I have not discouraged you from doing this again in the future!