3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wasn't sure I'd like this one, August 30, 2010
This review is from: Darlington Woods (Paperback)
I grabbed this book off of a goodreads giveaway and wasn't sure how it would go. I'm not very religious and tend to get turned off when things get too preachy. Not so here. While there are religious references and an exploration of the power of faith, it does so in a very mild manner. The plot is intriguing and the characters well developed. I was worried that my TBR pile might drop below 50, but now I can add a few more books by Dellosso and give myself a little extra padding. :)
Thanks Mike and I look forward to reading more!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome third book!, April 20, 2010
This review is from: Darlington Woods (Paperback)
I won't give away much of the plot of the book as other reviewers have done because I wouldn't want to know anything of the plot other than the synopsis before reading the book. I will say this: this book will blow your mind! It grabbed me from the first sentence and did not let go until the end of the story. I have read all of Dellosso's books and he just keeps getting better and better.
His books always reveal some aspect of the Christian life and inspiration shines through the darkness in each story.
This one deals with fear. As the book of 1 John tells us, fear torments and it certainly has Rob Shields in its grip in a powerful way, crippling his life for the last 22 years. This story is all about how fear can grip people, even an entire town and not let go until someone becomes brave enough to allow God's light to shine through.
I am eagerly awaiting the next book by Mike Dellosso.
Do not hesitate to buy this book!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique Look at Fear!, December 9, 2010
This review is from: Darlington Woods (Paperback)
I don't normally read scary books like this one because I'm a chicken at heart! This book is ACFW'S Book Club pick for February 2011. I'm in the ACFW book club and leading the discussion so I'm committed to reading this book. I'm thankful for the review copy of this book from the author.
I'm so glad I read the author notes before I started reading the first chapter of this book. It gave me a glimpse into the author's heart when he said, "Let's talk about monsters, shall we? Let's just sit-down and spend a little time in conversation about things that go bump in the night and images that haunt us while we sleep peacefully in our beds...I believe in monsters. I've seen them, even battled them. And no, I assure you, I'm not crazy.
The monsters of which I speak are around us every day and come in varying forms. They are called cancer...Parkinson's juvenile arthritis. Monsters' called abuse, murder and neglect...the web they spin, the wounds they carve, the hatchet they swing all go by the same name: fear.
Mikes words drew me in and gave me a clue that I was about to read something heartfelt, unnerving, and unusual about fear and what it looks like? I was right, here's what Rob says, "When fear rules you, when it calls the shots, tells you what you can and can not do, when it paralyzes you for days on end and robs you of the freedom others enjoy so carelessly; that's crazy."
Mike wrote in several points of view which made the story move along. The pov's were Rob, Julie, Mary Jane, Jimmy and Waxman. This helped to create quite a suspenseful, creepy tale of how fear got a strong hold of the minds, emotions and lives of a whole town. Switching pov's helped me be able to read this scary story. I have to say that had this author stayed in Jimmy's point of view the whole book I wouldn't have made it past chapter one. It would have just been too creepy and horrific to read a whole book through little Jimmy's eyes.
Rob Shields is a man on the edge. His wife was murdered three months ago and his son Jimmy is missing. Rob is convinced that his son is in the town of Darlington. Rob starts to question his own sanity as he struggles with knowing the difference between nightmares and real life. It's getting hard for him to know when the nightmare stops and reality begins.
Rob stops at a restaurant and asks for directions to Darlington; people get fearful and nobody wants to talk. Then a mysterious man leaves a note with directions on Rob's table. Julie, his waitress, says she'd like to help him find his son. This seemed odd, but everything about this town and adventure was odd. I did enjoy Julie's character and the comic relief she provided with lines like this, "This is a problem I don't think duct tape could solve."
Mike's wit, compassion and effective story-telling through the many different points of view and how they all wrestled with fear was intriguing given the fact this author went face to face with the cancer monster while writing this book. I enjoyed the twists, turns, suspense and the "aha" moments when truth was brought to life in the middle of the darkness. I rooted for Rob and Juli as they fought fear and looked it in the face, and saw there was hope of breaking the chains of fear and living free of its grip. God is always with us. When we shine our light inside the darkness (fear), that darkness has to leave. It's not welcome anymore. I really enjoy this aspect of the story. It's strong, powerful and oh so real! Treat yourself to something unusual that will have you look at fear and monsters in a whole new light!
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