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A review by c8_19
This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
For being a story of spiritual warfare, this felt rather surface level. Characters were too canned. Their dialogue didn't feel original or natural, and I could easily see where each of their threads was going to end up.
The pacing also needed some fine tuning. At times, though I was interested in the investigation Marshall and Bernice were doing, the leads they followed and facts they found were too drawn out, especially because they were really finding the same clues and turning over the same stones again and again. After the fifth time Marshall was given the same warning over his safety, I was like, "Okay. Got it the first time...and the second...let's get on with the story." On other other hand, though, the final conflict when all the different pieces face off was a flurry of things. Very choppy and tumultuous.
This story was taking on a lot, and I wonder if it was too much. Perhaps it the scope of it was told through the perspective of fewer characters, maybe just two or three instead of pretty much everyone in the town and the beings trying to invade and/or protect the town, it would have reached the depth I would have liked to see.
It should also be noted that a message within this narrative was that learning about things that are different from Christian theology is not okay and is harmful, which I don't think is true (speaking as a person who identifies as a Christian).
The pacing also needed some fine tuning. At times, though I was interested in the investigation Marshall and Bernice were doing, the leads they followed and facts they found were too drawn out, especially because they were really finding the same clues and turning over the same stones again and again. After the fifth time Marshall was given the same warning over his safety, I was like, "Okay. Got it the first time...and the second...let's get on with the story." On other other hand, though, the final conflict when all the different pieces face off was a flurry of things. Very choppy and tumultuous.
This story was taking on a lot, and I wonder if it was too much. Perhaps it the scope of it was told through the perspective of fewer characters, maybe just two or three instead of pretty much everyone in the town and the beings trying to invade and/or protect the town, it would have reached the depth I would have liked to see.
It should also be noted that a message within this narrative was that learning about things that are different from Christian theology is not okay and is harmful, which I don't think is true (speaking as a person who identifies as a Christian).