In the Darkness, turn to the Light...... a review if you will.
So here is something that I am sure will really twist some of you up in your views of
me, a book review. But not any normal book review, a Christian Speculative book
review if you can believe it. But first a little bit of history on a few things, as some
may remember I used to be a youth minister and heavy into religion in my early years. I
have always prided myself on being well read in most religions and more so in the
Christian aspect. In fact there were a few years where I did nothing but research the
book of Revelation and the coming of the Rapture. So yes I have read speculative
Christian fiction such as the Left Behind series and even more speculative non-fiction
like the Late Great Planet Earth and others. But one thing that always caught my ear
and eye in those years was the resistance of many in the hierarchy of organized
Christianity to allow this type of writing to not only be supported but actually
encouraged. I have had some debates with people about this type of fiction and the
fact that they do not let their children read books with dragons and wizards and other
planets because it is against God’s view of things.
If that was the case many centuries ago, would the Bible have ever been written?
Since it is a book written by man but inspired by God, who is to judge in that manner
what is appropriate or not. I am sure that some of the stories of abject wickedness
that is portrayed in the Bible set society on its ear when they were debating which
books to include in what would become the Bible. However, they were looking to the
future and so is this group of writers in this anthology of speculative Christian fiction,
Light at the edge of Darkness. This book was sent to me by one of the author’s Susan
Kirkland after she and I re-connected over the internet after the death of my mother
last year. Now Susan and I were engaged when I first joined the Marine Corps, but life
and distance has a way of providing its own path of resistance and we moved on with
our lives. More then 10 years later, we started talking again and this is when she told
me about her writings, her books and this one in particular. I was intrigued and
interested and read the Lost Genre Guild’s website and while not interacting with
anyone there, I did pick up quite a bit a resistance from organized religion to this
book, this genre and the whole idea. Since I am pretty well known as a devil’s
advocate in debates, to see something that was so adamantly opposed by some was
interesting.
Susan sent me the book to read with the promise of a review on my web site. What
does any of this have to do with paintball, you may ask? Well nothing really, but this is
the World of TB, and not everything revolves around paintball in my world. However, I
know that some of you are Christian and play scenario paintball, a world of fantasy and
such and some of you might have found yourself at odds about enjoying this sport
while being a Christian. Maybe reading this book will help those feelings or even
change some of your opinions towards fantasy, horror, sci-fi and cyberpunk that this
book encompasses. Either way, you’ll have to buy the book to prove me right or
wrong.
27 short stories and novelettes is what await you as you prepare to read this
collection. It runs the gambit of fiction with horror, sci-fi, fantasy and more. All have a
distinctive feel in the fact they are written from a Christian perspective and as such all
try to impart a message that reflects the current feelings of many of the authors in
regards to Christianity and how they are attempting to spread the message. Now I do
not pretend to be an expert of the authors in this book, so in a way I got enjoy the
stories without any preset thoughts about each story. I feel I was able to hold each on
its own merits. And there were several that jumped out at me.
“Undeniable” by A.P. Fuchs is one that is particularly disturbing to some as it takes
you in depth into the journey of one man’s faith and makes you wonder if you could
do that same. Think of it as almost a modern take on Daniel in the Lion’s den and you
can see where it may be coming from and what the message is.
There were several that I found very enjoyable such as ‘The Rider’ by Deborah Cullins-
Smith. This particular story has a twist in it, that seems to permeate many of the
stories but like the others this one was enjoyable to pick up on. It is one of the
alternative western fiction stories with supernatural overtures that are sprinkled in
the book and is one you should take a close look at. Another was ‘The Agent” by Adam
Graham, mostly because of the ‘Faustian take’ set in a modern age and one that many
people have often wondered about when it comes to celebrities meteoric rise to fame
closely followed by their tragic falls back to mediocrity.
Of course, I read ‘Fair Balance’ by Susan Kirkland first, simply because of my past with
her and my interest in her writing and thoughts. Another of the stories with a twist,
it may be one that you don’t realize until the final scene because of the intentional
use of ‘un-acceptable’ clothing and the prose that makes one hold the introduced
characters in a distasteful manner until you realize that looks and manner should not
be confused as to who is good or bad.
And to me that is the biggest thing to take away from this book. The physiognomy
that just because something appears to be bad or counter-productive to your beliefs,
how many people will be led to God because of this book? I am sure more then most
may give it credit for, but this is a great book to buy for your teenage children or
youths as it will capture their attention and speak to them in ways that are sure to
bring about debate. Is there the potential for someone to read this book and then
venture into the darker fiction that most Christians cringe at? Sure, but we all must
remember that the message and the ministering of the message is supposed to be
what Christianity is all about. And this book is like attending a non-denominational
service with ministers for every age.
And yes there were some stories, I didn’t like or even didn’t get, but the beauty of
this book is that there are so many others that are great that you should give this
book a read. I will put the links below to several places, if you feel like exploring this
genre or book, feel free. And I wonder how many of you will be emailing me about
this……I can hardly wait to read them.
TB
So here is something that I am sure will really twist some of you up in your views of
me, a book review. But not any normal book review, a Christian Speculative book
review if you can believe it. But first a little bit of history on a few things, as some
may remember I used to be a youth minister and heavy into religion in my early years. I
have always prided myself on being well read in most religions and more so in the
Christian aspect. In fact there were a few years where I did nothing but research the
book of Revelation and the coming of the Rapture. So yes I have read speculative
Christian fiction such as the Left Behind series and even more speculative non-fiction
like the Late Great Planet Earth and others. But one thing that always caught my ear
and eye in those years was the resistance of many in the hierarchy of organized
Christianity to allow this type of writing to not only be supported but actually
encouraged. I have had some debates with people about this type of fiction and the
fact that they do not let their children read books with dragons and wizards and other
planets because it is against God’s view of things.
If that was the case many centuries ago, would the Bible have ever been written?
Since it is a book written by man but inspired by God, who is to judge in that manner
what is appropriate or not. I am sure that some of the stories of abject wickedness
that is portrayed in the Bible set society on its ear when they were debating which
books to include in what would become the Bible. However, they were looking to the
future and so is this group of writers in this anthology of speculative Christian fiction,
Light at the edge of Darkness. This book was sent to me by one of the author’s Susan
Kirkland after she and I re-connected over the internet after the death of my mother
last year. Now Susan and I were engaged when I first joined the Marine Corps, but life
and distance has a way of providing its own path of resistance and we moved on with
our lives. More then 10 years later, we started talking again and this is when she told
me about her writings, her books and this one in particular. I was intrigued and
interested and read the Lost Genre Guild’s website and while not interacting with
anyone there, I did pick up quite a bit a resistance from organized religion to this
book, this genre and the whole idea. Since I am pretty well known as a devil’s
advocate in debates, to see something that was so adamantly opposed by some was
interesting.
Susan sent me the book to read with the promise of a review on my web site. What
does any of this have to do with paintball, you may ask? Well nothing really, but this is
the World of TB, and not everything revolves around paintball in my world. However, I
know that some of you are Christian and play scenario paintball, a world of fantasy and
such and some of you might have found yourself at odds about enjoying this sport
while being a Christian. Maybe reading this book will help those feelings or even
change some of your opinions towards fantasy, horror, sci-fi and cyberpunk that this
book encompasses. Either way, you’ll have to buy the book to prove me right or
wrong.
27 short stories and novelettes is what await you as you prepare to read this
collection. It runs the gambit of fiction with horror, sci-fi, fantasy and more. All have a
distinctive feel in the fact they are written from a Christian perspective and as such all
try to impart a message that reflects the current feelings of many of the authors in
regards to Christianity and how they are attempting to spread the message. Now I do
not pretend to be an expert of the authors in this book, so in a way I got enjoy the
stories without any preset thoughts about each story. I feel I was able to hold each on
its own merits. And there were several that jumped out at me.
“Undeniable” by A.P. Fuchs is one that is particularly disturbing to some as it takes
you in depth into the journey of one man’s faith and makes you wonder if you could
do that same. Think of it as almost a modern take on Daniel in the Lion’s den and you
can see where it may be coming from and what the message is.
There were several that I found very enjoyable such as ‘The Rider’ by Deborah Cullins-
Smith. This particular story has a twist in it, that seems to permeate many of the
stories but like the others this one was enjoyable to pick up on. It is one of the
alternative western fiction stories with supernatural overtures that are sprinkled in
the book and is one you should take a close look at. Another was ‘The Agent” by Adam
Graham, mostly because of the ‘Faustian take’ set in a modern age and one that many
people have often wondered about when it comes to celebrities meteoric rise to fame
closely followed by their tragic falls back to mediocrity.
Of course, I read ‘Fair Balance’ by Susan Kirkland first, simply because of my past with
her and my interest in her writing and thoughts. Another of the stories with a twist,
it may be one that you don’t realize until the final scene because of the intentional
use of ‘un-acceptable’ clothing and the prose that makes one hold the introduced
characters in a distasteful manner until you realize that looks and manner should not
be confused as to who is good or bad.
And to me that is the biggest thing to take away from this book. The physiognomy
that just because something appears to be bad or counter-productive to your beliefs,
how many people will be led to God because of this book? I am sure more then most
may give it credit for, but this is a great book to buy for your teenage children or
youths as it will capture their attention and speak to them in ways that are sure to
bring about debate. Is there the potential for someone to read this book and then
venture into the darker fiction that most Christians cringe at? Sure, but we all must
remember that the message and the ministering of the message is supposed to be
what Christianity is all about. And this book is like attending a non-denominational
service with ministers for every age.
And yes there were some stories, I didn’t like or even didn’t get, but the beauty of
this book is that there are so many others that are great that you should give this
book a read. I will put the links below to several places, if you feel like exploring this
genre or book, feel free. And I wonder how many of you will be emailing me about
this……I can hardly wait to read them.
TB
