Aug
Christian Paranormal?
Okay, maybe I’m naive, but I’d never heard of Christian Paranormal as a genre. I know there is always the fight of good vs evil, but still… “Christian Paranormal”? Having said that… I just read John B. Olson’s book SHADE. It was riveting. I liked the way he wrote. I liked his style. And I loved the plot. It was major good vs evil. However, having said that… I think it would have been just as good a book and just as enjoyable and reached a MUCH broader audience had it not been pinned in by the constraints of “Christian Paranormal”. I say this because most folks I’ve come across are either very turned on or very turned off by anything in the “Christian/Inspirational, etc” where you’re hit over the head by the preacher and his pulpit. But for the most part, this book didn’t smack you in the face with it. It worked — mainly because the characters of importance were homeless and they were created in the way many homeless characters are: talking to themselves, repeating verses from the bible, ranting and talking crazy. But still, for the most part — it worked for this book. There were some parts that frustrated me, like when the story turned to the next main character who was a scientist and IMHO she was pretty wishy-washy. It got annoying at times… did she believe him, did she NOT believe him? Oh… she believes him! No wait.. she doesn’t. Oh look, she sees the weirdness happening with her own eyes… buuuuuut…. she sleeps on it and wakes up realizing she doesn’t believe him. GAH! But that truly was the only real “irritating” part, and the only thing that pulled me out of the fast and furious read. But it was fleeting and I’d get re-absorbed totally in the plot before long. This was a fast read and it held my interest (not an easy thing to do these days). So I’m going to give it a solid B.
