Customer Reviews

A Form of Godliness

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This is an excellent book and is set in the near future. Matthew Bridger is President of the United States and he faces many severe situations. Terrorist strikes have killed thousands of US citizens on US soil. International stress is huge, and suddenly oil supplies are disrupted. Politicians are moving against the president. How will President Bridger deal with this? Interweaved and well told is the story about Bryson Lawe a Secret Service Agent. Exciting story lines and very believable situations. Superb secondary characters. Some of the cast of characters are sinister and the supernatural elements are well done by Johnson. One character, Randall Sullivan believes that after he survives a terrorist attack he can now communicate with the dead, but just who is in control in these encounters? In some ways "A Form of Godliness" is written in the same genre as "1984" or "Brave New World" in that Shane Johnson looks at current situations and follows them to their logical and unnerving conclusions. The descriptions of events and the detailed way Johnson writes paints vivid and thought provoking images. Johnson also has great dialogue and the story flows smoothly. I had trouble putting the book down. The cliff hanger ending leaves me eagerly awaiting Shane Johnson's next book!

Imagine a perfect world, where school children are completely healthy, churches offer unconditional love, acceptance and hope, and long-dreaded diseases have been conquered. Such is the situation as A FORM OF GODLINESS opens. Yet if you take the time to look beneath this benevolent surface, something dark and horrifying exists.

In this world, drastically changed long after 9/11, we meet Matthew Bridger, Christian President of the United States, Bryson Lawe, Secret Service agent assigned to the President, and Karen Foley, Christian activist. Despite increasing pressure, President Bridger steadfastly refuses to succumb to threats and pressures by those forces determined to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Bridger knows what happens to those who oppose the Jewish nation, recalling the fate of the Philistines, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, and Nazi Germany-all determined to annihilate the Jews.

An oil embargo forces the United States to tap its own limited resources and rationing, angering the American citizens. This puts increasing pressure on the U.S. to withdraw its support of Israel. And the threat of nuclear war is an ever-present dangling sword.

Karen is hired at Sacred Child, an organization dedicated to the preservation and sanctity of life. When she discovers the horrible truth behind the benevolent façade of Life Quality, an organization diametrically opposed to everything Sacred Child stands for, despite all their lofty claims, Karen is determined to do whatever it takes to shut them down. But the cost of such opposition is high. Perhaps too high.

I found this book to be frighteningly real, and all too plausible. It is well-written, plot and character well developed. Even though set in the-perhaps not too distant-future it rings so true and the stage could very well be setting up right now. The world, the America, of this book has no room for God. His name has been removed from all currency, public places, the Pledge of Allegiance...sound familiar? Yet Christians continue to struggle against the forces of evil. But will it be enough?

A FORM OF GODLINESS should be read by every American. It is a glimpse into what is in store for us in America and around the world if we continue down the path we're headed.

First off, the only problems I had with the book were keeping the multitude of characters straight in my mind. Otherwise, it was a very honest look at the growing problems in the Middle East and the U.S. It shows the harsh reality of the ideology behind Islamic fanaticism. This is not Arabs, per se, as not all Arabic people are Islamic. As in all religions, there are people who consider themselves muslims who don't hold fast to their religion's ideology, but have their own, altered version of the religion. One such couple is also a part of the novel.

The moral and spiritual degradation of the U.S. is also a large theme of the novel and reflects well a possible outcome of our moral decline as a nation. It is truly frightening, even more so than the terrorists, in some ways.

After the escalating terrorist attacks on Israel, they finally respond to the religious enemy who seeks their annihilation, by using a nuclear response. Previously, a terrorist nuke was set off in the U.S., showing that the terrorists had access to those weapons now and would not hesitate to use them. The nuclear response is not shown as perfectly okay, but is shown as an act of Israel's national defense against the religious forces that seek their destruction.

The terrorists and those who support them will, of course, hate this novel for revealing the truth of their agenda. And they will also hate how Israel finally strikes back at them in the novel. This general theme is all laid out in prophecy and is now coming to pass. Mr. Johnson's novel is a vision of how this could possibly play out, and is also about the deepening spiritual and moral blindness of the U.S. It should serve as a wake-up call to all of us.

What a wonderful book! The plot definitely kept me riveted until the last page. Like all of Shane Johnson's past works this one lives up to the reputation.

The story is set a few decades into the future originating from the event of the 9/11 tragedy. The American dream has long been lost to the minds of a majority of the citizens, with emphasis especially on the sanctity of human life and brutal acts (described in the book) that are much more commonplace, seen as right and necessary for the "good" of mankind. One main part of the story focuses on how, in this way, America has lost its grasp of humanity, how the main characters struggle with and are impacted by this fact, and how the true purpose of God shines through the darkness.

Another main part of the book is the struggle of the US President (who is a Godly man) to maintain his relationship with Israel, based on Biblical truths he believes, during a time of war and extreme terrorism while attempting to battle the angry voices of citizens who are upset by his actions. The Arabs, enemies of the Jewish state, have issued threats and ultimatums to cut off all oil supplies to countries who side with Israel, and with Russia completely out of oil and the emergency reserve running low the President must make a choice on whether to heed the wishes of the Arabs and withdraw his support of Israel or continue his alliance and risk impeachment.

Many of the characters struggle with faith issues, especially when lives of loved ones are lost due to terrorist strikes. After an event in the beginning of the book, one man believes he has the ability to talk to the dead and becomes famous for it. Considering it more a burden then a blessing, his involvement in the plot is intricate but he is still blind to many things.

The overall gist of the book is how God truly works through disasters and struggles in order to allow everyone to see His light. It has a wonderful and inspiring ending that leaves you with a kind of thoughtful satisfaction. Apparently there is to be a sequel to the book to continue the lives of some of the characters...but does not end abruptly, most of the characters' stories are completed, at least for the time being.

The imagery and character development are descriptive and paint defined pictures in your mind as you continue through the pages. The story itself breaks open your heart to the reality of spiritual truths that play into every day life as well as the national and international realms.

AWESOME book, highly recommended. :)

Shane Johnson does it again with A Form of Godliness. Once again he has taken us to another world, but this time that world isn't too far removed from our own. And again, his work defies classification. Adventure, politics, the occult, morality, theology are all woven into an entertaining and thought-provoking tapestry, written in an engaging style with vivid description and penetrating emotion.

Having read "ICE" by author Shane Johnson, I was really looking forward to reading another one of his creations.

"A Form of Godliness" manages to pack a wide range of subjects and characters into 400 pages. In fact, one-third of the way through this drama I began to wonder if Johnson had bitten off more than he could chew with this one. But as I read on, I was glad my analysis was dead wrong and that Mr. Johnson is "batting-a-thousand" as far as I'm concerned.

The novel opens up with a terrorist attack on the Philadelphia Eagles football stadium during a game. The scene is eerily reminiscent of 9/11. From there, we are introduced to an amazing array of characters: Bryson Lawe, a Secret Service agent whose just happens to be performing his duties at one of the most dangerous time in history; Karen Foley, a strong-willed woman looking to put her faith into practice; President Matthew Bridger, a man who understands that to do what is popular is not to do what is always right; Rachel Webster, a woman dedicated to her work to save children society has deemed not worthy of supporting; and Melissa Torrence, a young woman who gets a second chance at life and doesn't waste it.

"A Form of Godliness" may be a work of fiction, but it is almost scary how close it is to reality. I found myself wondering how much of this stuff is probably going to actually happen in the next few years, and you will too! What is so good about Johnson's storytelling is that he manages to weave so many people into the story, people I actually hoped would survive and overcome the many obstacles they encountered.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good read. "A Form of Godliness" is a book about faith, forgiveness, and courage. It would make an awesome movie!

See ya next review!

Johnson sets this novel just far enough in the future to show the consequenses of radical secularism in the USA. Babies less than 1 yr. old are sold for body parts, alliance to Isreal is abandoned out of fear of terrorism and desire for cheap oil and a psychic with genuine supernatural knowledge is made a rich celebrity in a creepy "twilight zone" type sub-plot. Although sometimes a little preachy monologue creeps in (my only criticism) there are some profound lines and believable plot twists. If you have been missing Frank Peretti, read this and "Chayatocha" by Mr. Johnson.

In this post 9/11 world, Americans have lost their direction as if the terrorist attacks were God's fault instead of man's free will. Companies like Life Quality take advantage of the deep doubts about God by legally harvesting organs from handicap babies deemed unnecessary to battle crippling diseases, but the cost in saving a life is another life. Opposing Life Quality is Sacred Child whose mission is the sacredness of life.

On top of a world lacking spiritual harmony, the Russians begin an oil embargo that causes havoc in the United States and the terrorists hit New York again. While the world heads towards the end of days with Arab states invading Israel, public relations specialist Karen Foley works for Sacred Child and loves Secret Service Agent Bryson Lowe, assigned to President Matthew Berger. However, Bryson has doubts about God although he admires the devout beliefs of his beloved girlfriend and his employer. Bryson, Karen and Matthew seek a means for America to survive the Mideast mess and its own ungodliness.

A FORM OF GODLINESS is exciting and well written, but one sided on all issues whether they are religious or not (support for Alaska oil drilling for instance). The story line grips the audience with its description of a Sodom and Gomorrah United States and a globe in its final Revelations countdown. Though exhilarating anyone to the left of the Neocons (no room for Schwarzenegger in this tent so they need to switch amendments to a third term) or of Muslim descent will take exception to the religious and cultural stereotyping. Still the apocalyptic biblical crowd will appreciate Shane Johnson's tense inspirational thriller dedicated to Bush seemingly like a modern day Moses.

I really enjoyed this story and I plan to look for more by Shane Johnson. But the editing (or lack of) drove me crazy! Many times apostrophes were neglected leaving "were" instead of "we're" and "shell" instead of "she'll". The editor regularly used a style of grammar that was awkward, allowing this arrangement of words:"...Terrorist actions ALL HAD wrought their effects" instead of "...terrorist actions HAD ALL wrought their effects". Every time I encountered this (nearly every page) I had to turn it around in my head. I wanted to get out my red pen and do some mark up!!!! And a shame, too. Because the story held together pretty well, otherwise.

The author's prose is pedestrian. His characters are uninteresting. Massive faith crises are resolved in four pages of trite motivational speeches. His vision of the future is unimaginitive. He thinks that nuclear strikes on civillian targets are PERFECTLY okay so long as they're against dirty Arabs and not nice Americans or Israelites.

"Christian" fiction? I don't think so!