As Darkness Falls
I have never read a Christian horror novel before, so I was very very excited when I got a copy to review. The first thing I want to say is that it is very creative! The words “Christian” and “horror” don’t really seem to go together but Thomas presents a very intriguing and entertaining story that slowly unfolds on the pages.
I use the word slowly here on purpose because I think the pace of the story is a little slow at first. I don’t exactly blame Thomas for taking his time on this one; you really want to set up the scene when it comes to a one-of-a-kind book. The beginning lays down some development for our protagonist, giving us background into her life at home and her relationship with her mother. We see a teenager who is struggling with her emotions and trying to adjust to her new environment. I kind of smiled as I watched her stomp her way through the first few chapters because it’s a story I can totally relate to. It is one thing to be the new kid at school but being the new kid at church is totally different territory. It was nostalgic and fun to explore that area in the beginning of the book, I was definitely smiling as I read.
One thing I noticed about this book is that it is written from a totally omniscient perspective. That’s something I don’t see very often so I was immediately interested from the first page—not to be confused with limited third person narration. This narrator was totally unbiased and detached from the main character. As cool as it was to find a book written in this style, I was quickly reminded of why it’s such a rare narration.
There were times where the story followed Roni around and then also followed Pastor John, and Ash, and Mrs. Novak—there’s nothing wrong with this, as many stories do have multiple narrators but they usually narrate the story with a respective chapter. As Darkness Falls would sometimes begin a chapter following one character and suddenly at the next break, we’re following someone else, and then another person by the end of that chapter. It was a little confusing at times and made it a little difficult to find any true development for most of the characters. I feel like the story would have been better if it hadn’t jumped around so much.
The last thing I liked about the story was the plot itself. Thomas does an excellent job at incorporating the Christian faith into the storyline, but he also scores bonus points for using the rapture as a theme. When the kids at camp decide to play “The Rapture Game” and suddenly teens begin vanishing—that’s something so good it makes you go, why didn’t I think of that!
If you’re a Christian or a fan of horror, this is definitely something you’ll want to give a shot. You’ll appreciate the cleanliness in the writing, and you’ll love the edge-of-your-seat suspense.
*The Rebel Christian received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*