Christian fiction is coming out of the box and leading the way are authors such as John B. Olson. His soon to be released thriller takes the genre of suspense and supernatural fiction to an entirely new level, and it works.
Kind of.
"Shade" tells the story of grad student Hailey Maniates and her "protector", a homeless man who goes by the name of Melchi. When Hailey is attacked one night on her way home, he swoops in and saves her from whatever it was that wanted to kill her, carrying her to the hospital and then vanishing.
It's then that Hailey starts having visions...hallucinations...nightmares of astounding proportions. Diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, the doctors put her on medication to make them go away.
But they don't. And who, or what, was it that attacked her that night and that still hunts her? Where did the homeless man come from, and is he really a mere homeless man?
So begins the hunt...to find Melchi and discover who (or what) he is...to find Hailey's enemy and uncover why he (or it) wants her so badly...to know if there be vampires out there.
Yes, I said the "v" word...and if anyone can make it plausible, it's John B. Olson! Now, the first third of this one is confusing. Had he defined some terms earlier on in the story, I wouldn't have had to hunt so hard for the bread crumbs that kept me going.
But around the ninth or tenth chapter (I know, that seems like a long time...), this story really kicks into gear. And it's worth the read, just to see how he crafts this remarkable tale of shadows and redemption. I hope he continues in this genre for a while, honing his craft and creeping me out in a good way for many more novels!
This isn't one for the "Big Honkin' Chicken Club", but if you don't have a membership there yet, take a chance on "Shade"...I think you'll be glad you did! I'm giving it four out of five bookmarks, with a flashlight as a charm...it gets dark in here quite a bit!
"Shade" releases from Broadman and Holman October 2008 (so sorry to tempt you so early, but hey...a gal's gotta review what a gal's gotta review!).
Happy Reading!
Deena
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2 comments:
Not fair to tempt me so early! I am glad you said to give it awhile usually I give a book a 50 page chance and if it doesn't have me hooked, I pick up another one.. Just too many books to read!! LOL
Just read this one and I'll readily admit to being eligible for BHCC membership but for some reason I still torture myself with these books and the ensuing sleepless nights if the concept grabs my interest.
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