Book Review: This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti

Rating: 5 stars

Published: January 1, 1986

Pages: 376

Genre: Christian Fiction

I have known about this author for many years now but being a certified scaredy-cat who is paranoid about reading/watching thrillers and horror books/movies, I decided a long time ago that his books were not for me. However, this year which is my year of reading more Christian fiction, I felt led to read at least one of his books so I chose this one which is I believe one of his most popular books. I went into it bracing myself for the worst like having bad dreams at night (which happened once to be fair) but didn’t expect to come out of it feeling as fulfilled and giddy to read more of his books as I do now.

This book is set in a small American town called Ashton which is being taken over by the devil and his agents who have cleverly and systematically infiltrated the town little by little through sorcery, manipulation and force. While the demons and their agents both human and spiritual work towards complete control of the town of which the College is the prime target, they do not expect the intervention of two people. One of them being Marshal Hogan, the new owner of the Clarion, the town’s newspaper, and the new pastor of the small church in Ashton. As these two men independently realize that there is a spiritual and physical warfare going on for the control of the town, they become the tools God uses to gather the remnants of Ashton to help fight this war between good and evil.

I was captivated and held spell bound by this story. I cannot explain how this book has helped me and lit a fire in me as a believer. The major takeaway from this story is the power of prayer and not to take any situation for granted. As the Bible clearly says in Ephesians 6:12, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. This book has reminded me and opened my eyes again to the importance of always putting on the whole armor of God every single day of my life. Most importantly, it has made me excited to read more, to learn more and to stand, sit and kneel in prayer more and more.

Least I forget, the writing, the plot, the pace, the story was absolutely incredible. This author is not overrated when people say he is a great writer and storyteller. I confirm that it is truly so.

I highly recommend this book to all Christian fiction, thriller and horror book lovers. You will enjoy the ride. There is a sequel to this book which I look forward to reading shortly. Look out for my review of it soon.

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The Author:

With more than 12 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called “America’s hottest Christian novelist.”

Peretti is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group. He and his wife were married in 1972, and Peretti soon moved from touring with a pop band to launching a modest Christian music ministry. Peretti later spent time studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA and then assisted his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, he gave up his pastoring position and began taking construction jobs to make ends meet. While working at a local ski factory, he began writing This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye. After numerous rejections from publishers and a slow start in sales, word-of-mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal’s bestseller list every month for more than eight years. Peretti’s two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1998) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction.

For kids, Peretti wrote The Cooper Kids Adventure Series (Crossways and Tommy Nelson), which remains a best-selling series for children with sales exceeding 1 million copies. In August 2000, Peretti released the hilarious children’s audiocassette series titled Wild and Wacky Totally True Bible Stories, reprising his role as Mr. Henry, the offbeat substitute Sunday School teacher found in two Visual Bible for Kids videos.

Peretti released his first-ever non-fiction book, The Wounded Spirit in 2000, which quickly became a best-seller. The book addresses the pain of “wounded spirits” and was written as a result of painful childhood experiences.

Frank Peretti and his wife, Barbara Jean, live in the Western U.S. In spite of sudden fame and notoriety, Frank still lives a simple, well-rounded life that includes carpentry, banjo making, sculpturing, bicycling and hiking. He is also an avid pilot.

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