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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Some books just really stick with you. I first read This Present Darkness in my early teens. That was twenty years ago. Few books outside of the Bible have been so impactful to my faith. But while it’s stuck with me, while I’ve always remembered the gist, a lot of the details had faded with time. I’m so glad I decided to revisit it, because I had forgotten so much in terms of plot and story. I was surprised by how tense and tightly plotted this novel is. It’s also faster-paced than I recalled. It’s amazing that a story I’ve read before could have me so on the edge of my seat. I almost literally couldn’t put this book down.
There is a battle raging for the soul of the small town of Ashton. Two men—a young pastor and a newspaper man—might unknowingly be the town’s last bastions of hope. And they don’t even know it. Through the eyes of the pastor, we bear witness to the spiritual side of this battle. Through those of the newspaper man, we see the more physical, tangible subterfuge. One underpins the other. But while the spiritual might be aware of the physical, the reverse doesn’t hold as true. It’s only when the two men—and thus, the two sides—become acquainted that good has any hope of triumphing over this present darkness.
When this novel was first published in 1986, Christian speculative fiction wasn’t really a thing. There might have been a classical allegory here or there, and C.S. might’ve taken the world by storm with The Chronicles of Narnia, but there was nothing specifically targeted to an adult, Christian audience. This Present Darkness was one of the first inroads into genre fiction promoting a Christian worldview. And I don’t think any fictional book outside of this one has so radically impacted the Christian world’s views on prayer and spiritual warfare.
While it has stuck with me through the decades since, my first encounter with this book was before my introduction to Stephen King. I didn’t realize how similar Peretti and King were in terms on tone and style. There’s just something about the styles of both men that I find immediately gripping. However, as much as I adore King, there are always a few things about any of his books that leave me feeling icky. I soldier on, because I think he’s a phenomenal storyteller, but those aspects or scenes remain. Reading a Peretti book is akin to getting everything I love in a King book—the storytelling, the layers, the tension and pacing—without the elements that don’t work as well for me.
Outside of the stellar writing, there were some other really strong building blocks to this story. I’ve already mentioned the tight plotting and the fast pace. The cast of characters was also varied and interesting, and the good guys were incredibly easy to root for. The setting of Ashton was well drawn, and all of the threads of the story were well balanced against each other. But my favorite elements were the themes. There’s the aforementioned emphasis on prayer and its impact on spiritual warfare. There’s also a good deal of discourse around all of the different seemingly innocuous tools the enemy can employ against the unsuspecting. For instance, New Age, Neo-Pagan spiritualism is the demonic weapon of choice in this story. It’s so easy to let yourself be taken in and deceived when you’re looking for truth everywhere outside of the Truth.
I can’t believe how well This Present Darkness has held up. For a 38 year-old story, it could have felt dated. But there’s a timelessness to spiritual warfare that really shines through. I’ve always listed this as one of the most impactful works of fiction I’ve ever consumed. And that still holds true. This book still packs an incredible punch. I can’t believe I waited so long to reread it.
There is a battle raging for the soul of the small town of Ashton. Two men—a young pastor and a newspaper man—might unknowingly be the town’s last bastions of hope. And they don’t even know it. Through the eyes of the pastor, we bear witness to the spiritual side of this battle. Through those of the newspaper man, we see the more physical, tangible subterfuge. One underpins the other. But while the spiritual might be aware of the physical, the reverse doesn’t hold as true. It’s only when the two men—and thus, the two sides—become acquainted that good has any hope of triumphing over this present darkness.
When this novel was first published in 1986, Christian speculative fiction wasn’t really a thing. There might have been a classical allegory here or there, and C.S. might’ve taken the world by storm with The Chronicles of Narnia, but there was nothing specifically targeted to an adult, Christian audience. This Present Darkness was one of the first inroads into genre fiction promoting a Christian worldview. And I don’t think any fictional book outside of this one has so radically impacted the Christian world’s views on prayer and spiritual warfare.
While it has stuck with me through the decades since, my first encounter with this book was before my introduction to Stephen King. I didn’t realize how similar Peretti and King were in terms on tone and style. There’s just something about the styles of both men that I find immediately gripping. However, as much as I adore King, there are always a few things about any of his books that leave me feeling icky. I soldier on, because I think he’s a phenomenal storyteller, but those aspects or scenes remain. Reading a Peretti book is akin to getting everything I love in a King book—the storytelling, the layers, the tension and pacing—without the elements that don’t work as well for me.
Outside of the stellar writing, there were some other really strong building blocks to this story. I’ve already mentioned the tight plotting and the fast pace. The cast of characters was also varied and interesting, and the good guys were incredibly easy to root for. The setting of Ashton was well drawn, and all of the threads of the story were well balanced against each other. But my favorite elements were the themes. There’s the aforementioned emphasis on prayer and its impact on spiritual warfare. There’s also a good deal of discourse around all of the different seemingly innocuous tools the enemy can employ against the unsuspecting. For instance, New Age, Neo-Pagan spiritualism is the demonic weapon of choice in this story. It’s so easy to let yourself be taken in and deceived when you’re looking for truth everywhere outside of the Truth.
I can’t believe how well This Present Darkness has held up. For a 38 year-old story, it could have felt dated. But there’s a timelessness to spiritual warfare that really shines through. I’ve always listed this as one of the most impactful works of fiction I’ve ever consumed. And that still holds true. This book still packs an incredible punch. I can’t believe I waited so long to reread it.
This Story was a slow burn. The main story is not that deep or altogether interesting. The two main characters are a pastor at a dying church wanting to compromise morals along with marriages, and a newspaper owner with a dividing family and monitored business.
Where this book shines is the conveying of the spiritual dimension, a realm that is physical and also unseen but all the more real yet fantastical. Consisting of angels and demons fighting a literal war for some forgettable Midwest town. It truly shows what a Christian means when they use the term spiritual warfare as they prepare to rip each other apart and kill each other over human souls, while everyone goes about their daily life. As everyone in the real world is trying to explain mysterious occurrences that only makes any sense when you look at them from the spiritual lens. Without this the whole book would fall apart as all that really occurs is murders, conspiracy, and cover up to mask a take over of a college.
It should be considered that this is a Christian story, and therefore all other religions as fascinating as they are not considered to be based in truth. Angels are not going to team up with Ganesh, to battle the war goddess Maras for an otter, in order to have a water dog to pass through obsidian realm of Iztepetl, in order to defeat Rangi and achieve enlightenment reaching ascension like the ancients in the pegasus galaxy (even though that story sounds awesome story). Some terms can be considered dated, for instance the term Eastern-Mysticism is used as a stand-in word for complex religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and probably tengrism if not more. Understandably this may turn many readers off, But that is how religion works, not everything is compatible. If that offends a reader and they can not stomach the perspective then this is not the book for them. However Christian or not I recommend this short read for the spiritual dimension alone for an enjoyable perspective.
Where this book shines is the conveying of the spiritual dimension, a realm that is physical and also unseen but all the more real yet fantastical. Consisting of angels and demons fighting a literal war for some forgettable Midwest town. It truly shows what a Christian means when they use the term spiritual warfare as they prepare to rip each other apart and kill each other over human souls, while everyone goes about their daily life. As everyone in the real world is trying to explain mysterious occurrences that only makes any sense when you look at them from the spiritual lens. Without this the whole book would fall apart as all that really occurs is murders, conspiracy, and cover up to mask a take over of a college.
It should be considered that this is a Christian story, and therefore all other religions as fascinating as they are not considered to be based in truth. Angels are not going to team up with Ganesh, to battle the war goddess Maras for an otter, in order to have a water dog to pass through obsidian realm of Iztepetl, in order to defeat Rangi and achieve enlightenment reaching ascension like the ancients in the pegasus galaxy (even though that story sounds awesome story). Some terms can be considered dated, for instance the term Eastern-Mysticism is used as a stand-in word for complex religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and probably tengrism if not more. Understandably this may turn many readers off, But that is how religion works, not everything is compatible. If that offends a reader and they can not stomach the perspective then this is not the book for them. However Christian or not I recommend this short read for the spiritual dimension alone for an enjoyable perspective.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had very interesting thoughts about the nature of evil. However it leaned on some old tropes a little too hard. Overall, glad I read the book. But it's a little over the top in places.
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
The audio book read by the author has music and sound effects that makes it feel like a movie! So good!
3.5 ⭐️I really liked the characters and the premise/plot. The characters were strong and determined. I loved that they seemed a little older or more mature. I liked the strong marriage. I also liked the cult vibes.
This is the first I’ve read from this author. I’m not sure if I’m not a fan of his writing style in particular or if it’s due to being written/published in the 80s. Either way, I don’t love the writing. It doesn’t have a natural flow and adds some corny-ness? It also feels like I would have really enjoyed it if it was about half the length. It was just so wordy and descriptive. Most scenes were longer than I hoped for
This is the first I’ve read from this author. I’m not sure if I’m not a fan of his writing style in particular or if it’s due to being written/published in the 80s. Either way, I don’t love the writing. It doesn’t have a natural flow and adds some corny-ness? It also feels like I would have really enjoyed it if it was about half the length. It was just so wordy and descriptive. Most scenes were longer than I hoped for
I would not have bothered to finish this book if it wasn't featured on The Great American Read. I don't understand how it found company among the greats. At best, I found this to be an unsurprising, unoriginal Christian fiction read fit for preteens and Sunday school groups. At it's worst it is a gross narrative typical of the 1980's Satanic Panic era rooted in stereotypes and ignorance of cultural appreciation. I can usually appreciate a good versus evil story but this was so rooted in dogma there was nothing original offered by this book at all. I'm very disappointed.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes