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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
phenomenal read so many twists and turns really good
Where do I begin? This book is a new all time favourite.
It's not an easy book to read. It's intense. It's thought-provoking. It's eye-opening.
Depending on your beliefs and your experience, I could see this book being very triggering for some people. Witchcraft and possession are described in a lot of details, so brace yourself if that's a trigger.
I was greatly encouraged by this book. I have angels on my side because of Jesus! There is power in His name! There is power is prayer!
Besides the spiritual aspects (which was most of the book), I thought the conspiracy plot was fantastic. I liked the progression of the characters throughout the story, and I came to care about every one of them.
I have too many scenes to say which is my favourite one! I cried at so many points.
I couldn't put it down!
Check out my YouTube channel for my reading vlog I made for this book too! https://youtu.be/fiYdcSypkjU
It's not an easy book to read. It's intense. It's thought-provoking. It's eye-opening.
Depending on your beliefs and your experience, I could see this book being very triggering for some people. Witchcraft and possession are described in a lot of details, so brace yourself if that's a trigger.
I was greatly encouraged by this book. I have angels on my side because of Jesus! There is power in His name! There is power is prayer!
Besides the spiritual aspects (which was most of the book), I thought the conspiracy plot was fantastic. I liked the progression of the characters throughout the story, and I came to care about every one of them.
I have too many scenes to say which is my favourite one! I cried at so many points.
I couldn't put it down!
Check out my YouTube channel for my reading vlog I made for this book too! https://youtu.be/fiYdcSypkjU
So many mixed feelings. For a Christian book written in the eighties, there were many things I was impressed with. I also like that he was addressing and bringing to light the reality of spiritual warfare. It really made me think in ways even nonfiction books on the topic do not. However, there were many things that did make me cringe, ESPECIALLY the false rape accusations. Big trigger warning for sexual violence not being handled with care.
1 ⭐️ I was looking forward to reading this book after I looked it up and saw all the amazing reviews. I am definitely in the minority it seems when it comes to my opinion of this book. I just could not get into it. I did appreciate the writing style (easy to read) and the creativity of the book overall, but I was unable to relate to the story or sometimes even stay interested. This is a book that is outside of the genres of books I normally read, so maybe that had something to do with it as well. It just did not keep my interest.
I read these when I was a kid in High School. Wow that feels like so long away *frown*
Anyway.
I liked these books then but I don't think I would much like a re read on them at all.
Anyway.
I liked these books then but I don't think I would much like a re read on them at all.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I have to say, I found myself actually enjoying this book for reasons I am not entirely sure I can articulate. I am not very religious at all, and this book could probably be described nicely as "Christian fiction" or not so nicely as "Fundamentalist dribble". However despite the seeming agenda of conversion and proselytizing that this book put forth, I took it as a simple fiction book through and through. I treated it more like a serious version of Good Omens or American Gods, and tried to focus on it as a "Magical Realism" novel and not as a "Christian Novel". Because of that I think I was able to get through it, and ultimately enjoy it.
So, I have to admit, it did get corny or cheesy at times. The book focuses on the small town of Ashton as it is literally taken over by the powers of Satan. Satan's forces portray themselves as part of the "Universal Consciousness Society" in the town college. Basically they possess faculty members who profess beliefs in meditation, hypnosis, karma and other eastern philosophies. These beliefs are ultimately just demons possessing people and only the word of Jesus and the Angels who fight in the town can stop this.
As I write this I can fully understand why the non-religious or atheists might find this book obnoxious, but let me say the book never seems to take an aggressive stand AGAINST these practices, just the people in the book who use them for evil. It is not as anti-intellectual as I thought it could have been, though this is a thread the book pursues subtly.
The book focuses on two human characters, Marshall Hogan the journalist trying to uncover this conspiracy, and Hank Bushe the local pastor praying the demons away. Occasionally it focuses on the Angels and Demons as they fight in the background, invisible to the human characters. I found Marshall's sections of the books infinitely better to Hank's as they didn't seem to be preaching as much of the gospel. His stories were more grounded, down-to-earth, and focused on the actions of the mortal conspiracy to take over the town. Hank's sections of the books seem to deal with a lot of self-righteousness and it is in them that Peretti seems to insert most of his religious arguments and beliefs. Naturally as someone who is not very religious, these scenes turned me off of the book a little. Again, I should stress I never thought it got unbearably preachy or sanctimonious, just a little cheesy and transparent at times. In the end Marshall finds God, but it seemed really out of character at the time. This was when the book began to crank the preachiness up to 11 and the ending really did seem too cheesy and too perfect for what I was hoping would have more of a realistic ending with higher stakes.
Again, I don't entirely know why the book spoke so much to me. It should have been a book I hated with its overt agenda to spiritualize it's readers and it's cheesy reasoning that people act horribly and do drugs because "demons" and not because they are flawed or damaged people. But I think approaching this book as pure fiction (which I don't think Peretti would want it's readers to do) did massive amounts of good in getting me to enjoy the book. It is competently written, it's not as horribly written as it could have been given it's subject matter and agenda. But it still is what it is, and as a non-religious person I don't know if all the effort in the world to see this book as something other than what it was intended as could make me enjoy it more than 3.5 stars at best.
If you are a religious person who believes highly, or wants to believe, in Angels and Demons truly existing in this world, then you will love this book. If you are skeptical or if you are secular you might find parts you enjoy (like myself). But if you are not religious and do not like any book that deals with overt Christian themes or world views, then stay away. Even though this book is not heavy handed in it's message of universal salvation through Jesus, it is there and it is present in pretty much the whole book. So if that bothers you, then this isn't the book for you. For me, I was able to live with it, and with the right mind frame I was able to enjoy this book a little.
So, I have to admit, it did get corny or cheesy at times. The book focuses on the small town of Ashton as it is literally taken over by the powers of Satan. Satan's forces portray themselves as part of the "Universal Consciousness Society" in the town college. Basically they possess faculty members who profess beliefs in meditation, hypnosis, karma and other eastern philosophies. These beliefs are ultimately just demons possessing people and only the word of Jesus and the Angels who fight in the town can stop this.
As I write this I can fully understand why the non-religious or atheists might find this book obnoxious, but let me say the book never seems to take an aggressive stand AGAINST these practices, just the people in the book who use them for evil. It is not as anti-intellectual as I thought it could have been, though this is a thread the book pursues subtly.
The book focuses on two human characters, Marshall Hogan the journalist trying to uncover this conspiracy, and Hank Bushe the local pastor praying the demons away. Occasionally it focuses on the Angels and Demons as they fight in the background, invisible to the human characters. I found Marshall's sections of the books infinitely better to Hank's as they didn't seem to be preaching as much of the gospel. His stories were more grounded, down-to-earth, and focused on the actions of the mortal conspiracy to take over the town. Hank's sections of the books seem to deal with a lot of self-righteousness and it is in them that Peretti seems to insert most of his religious arguments and beliefs. Naturally as someone who is not very religious, these scenes turned me off of the book a little. Again, I should stress I never thought it got unbearably preachy or sanctimonious, just a little cheesy and transparent at times. In the end Marshall finds God, but it seemed really out of character at the time. This was when the book began to crank the preachiness up to 11 and the ending really did seem too cheesy and too perfect for what I was hoping would have more of a realistic ending with higher stakes.
Again, I don't entirely know why the book spoke so much to me. It should have been a book I hated with its overt agenda to spiritualize it's readers and it's cheesy reasoning that people act horribly and do drugs because "demons" and not because they are flawed or damaged people. But I think approaching this book as pure fiction (which I don't think Peretti would want it's readers to do) did massive amounts of good in getting me to enjoy the book. It is competently written, it's not as horribly written as it could have been given it's subject matter and agenda. But it still is what it is, and as a non-religious person I don't know if all the effort in the world to see this book as something other than what it was intended as could make me enjoy it more than 3.5 stars at best.
If you are a religious person who believes highly, or wants to believe, in Angels and Demons truly existing in this world, then you will love this book. If you are skeptical or if you are secular you might find parts you enjoy (like myself). But if you are not religious and do not like any book that deals with overt Christian themes or world views, then stay away. Even though this book is not heavy handed in it's message of universal salvation through Jesus, it is there and it is present in pretty much the whole book. So if that bothers you, then this isn't the book for you. For me, I was able to live with it, and with the right mind frame I was able to enjoy this book a little.
This book is absolutely amazing. Its a book that makes you think and its a book that you will never forget. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Its a little difficult to get into it at first, when it has to introduce all of the characters and its a little confusing. But once you get into it its amazing.
I’m kind of torn by this book. It’s like taking CS Lewis and asking him to write like Mary Higgins Clark. It’s pretty old at this point in time, and there are lots of old fashioned characters and clichés. Parts of it seem contrived. And it is based entirely on biblical theories that are somewhat vague and mysterious in the actual Bible. Who can really understand the intimate relationship between spiritual and physical interactions?
However, it was a really good reminder that everyone is engaging in a spiritual battle whether they take an active position or not. It forces you to introspection on where you are spiritually. I’ve thought about it many times since reading it, and it strongly encouraged my faith! But not because I took the entire thing as infallible Bible theology. I did genuinely enjoy it. So for that it gets 3 stars. I think you just have to read it for what it is: a mystery novel based on Christian spirituality.
However, it was a really good reminder that everyone is engaging in a spiritual battle whether they take an active position or not. It forces you to introspection on where you are spiritually. I’ve thought about it many times since reading it, and it strongly encouraged my faith! But not because I took the entire thing as infallible Bible theology. I did genuinely enjoy it. So for that it gets 3 stars. I think you just have to read it for what it is: a mystery novel based on Christian spirituality.