Customer Reviews

Isolation: A Novel (Faithwords)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently discovered Travis Thrasher through Amazon and I must say that he is now one of my favorite authors. After reading "Isolation" I quickly ordered and read "Blinded" and "The Second Thief", both of which I also highly recommend. Over the last few years I have been disappointed by Ted Dekker's books. I LOVE Frank Peretti, however he simply is not prolific. I have greatly enjoyed some of the books of authors T.L. Hines, ("Raising Lazarus" was one of the best books I have read in a LONG time), Melanie Wells, Tom Pawlik, Bill Myers and Tim Downs. However, Thrasher writes in a style that REALLY appeals to me. In "Isolation" Thrasher has written a Christian novel that gave me chills and goosebumps at various times along with a strong positive message that was in no way preachy. He writes in such a way that everything that he is describing is crystal clear. I had no problem imagining the scenery in my mind. His basic premise, introduce ordinary characters, put them into extra ordinary and supernatural situations and see how they response. Overall a very enjoyable book, my only real issue was a desire to see Thrasher develop more of the past of one of the book's main characters. I am GREATLY looking forward to reading more of Thrasher's past and future books. The Journey is everything!

Most novels are written for the purpose of providing entertainment for the reader. That's fine, of course, we like to be entertained. We want to escape into the universe the author has created for us, to remove our cognitive self from its daily toil with life and allow our imagination to be immersed in the story. Some novels also contain solid themes or good morals, but the endgame is still about entertaining.

Every once in a while a novel comes along that has both a riveting story and also a powerful message to share. I am thankful to state ISOLATION is such a novel.

"A family on the edge... A house with too many secrets... A relentless killer..." The Miller family is taking time off after being missionaries to a small village in New Guinea. The village is struggling against an intense demonic presence and incidents that occurred before the Millers left are presented to us as the narrative unfolds.

The Millers move into an enormous, 40,000 square-foot lodge in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, a dream home provided for missionaries on furlough. Their excitement soon begins to ebb as baleful discoveries are made, and a foreboding, dark presence bears down on them.

The Millers are thrown into a warzone involving the mind and spirit. This spiritual warfare challenges the existence of the core of their faith as they struggle to deal with what is real, what is imagined, and what they should and shouldn't believe in. It is also a wonderful depiction of human nature, even missionaries struggle with faith.

I respect Thrasher for not attempting to answer our questions about faith. Faith by its very definition means to believe in something we cannot understand. Why isn't God listening to me? Why isn't He dealing in my time zone instead of some infinite, ethereal semblance of time? There are no sermons on the existence of God. Nor does Thrasher try to answer the age-old question of why God allows bad things to happen to good people.

The characters are well-developed and I quickly discovered I empathized with each one of them and their specific fears. I liked the way Thrasher bounced in and out of narration and character thought, at times even narrating in third person and interjecting a thought from the character's perspective in midsentence. The dialog was easy and flowed well. The creepy house is a character in itself, creating a perfect setting for the novel.

Elements of the story may seem familiar to readers of Stephen King's THE SHINING. Thrasher even jabs at the resemblance by referencing THE SHINING in the story. But ISOLATION is a much deeper and even more frightening story. If you've based your whole life on believing in God, then come face to face with demons whose powers claim victory on your lack of faith--that's scary.

The horror elements in the novel are not solely faith-based fears. There is murder, gore, evidence of ritualistic sacrifice and torture... None of which is excessive, but Thrasher does a commendable job of staying true to the horror genre. The demons are terrifying and the house is disturbing. But the story is good.

[Rating: 1-5 Stars]
Plot: 5
Character: 5
Dialog: 5
Setting: 5
Theme: 5

I really enjoyed this book and I really enjoy reading Travis Thrasher's books. Suspense with a Christian view point. If you like Ted Dekker or Frank Peretti, you will enjoy Travis Thrasher. I am looking forward to the next book.

I read in an interview with Travis Thrasher, that he likes to write stories that are all character-driven - he says "I like to write about main characters who are flawed. At the core, I want to write about real people who are searching, who are failing, and who are stuck in some drama which forces them to change." That is the main case here. The topic of this book is spiritual warfare - something that Frank Peretti first brought to our awareness in his books. Travis takes it up a few notches for sure; almost too graphic for my taste in some parts. I have a friend who was a missionary for many years, and when I visited her, she would tell me of the spiritual battles that were so visible in Africia and the other places she stayed. When there is a spiritual strong-hold by the enemy (in an area), very crazy things happen because the enemy has been given permission to operate there.

Travis did research for this book and says some things were so graphic that they didn't make it into the book (I can't imagine what parts those were, because the few things he put in his book were graphics-overload for me). Travis says that the scariest things weren't graphic, but just the fact of being alone - isolated. Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean that you will always feel HIS presence, or know why He does the things He does, or hear God or understand His plan. His ways are definitely not our ways. It's easy for those who are on the front lines in ministry, who have see the dark side, to feel isolated and all alone. These are the things they can't teach you in a book. Travis says that when you let your guard down and don't rely on God, you're prone to attack. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. The main character feels alone - isolated. He can't explain what he has gone through and if he shares what he feels, people might think he's crazy. The story is about the forces of good and evil in an all-out battle.

Oh, to have that child-like faith! The missionary's only son believes. He has faith even when his parents are weaving in their faith and are disillusioned.This book is not for the faint of heart. If this were made into a movie, I would be putting my hands over my eyes to block out the graphic parts. It has a powerful message, but I would have liked less blood (I'm sure the missionarys in real life would have too!). This book makes you aware that the devil is alive and well, but God is too. We can be overcomers, but it takes work - nothing is easy. Travis Thrasher's next book is Ghost.

Nora StLaurent
Book Club Servant Leader - ACFW Book Club Assistant
www.psalm516.blogspot.com

I recently finished reading Isolation. I have to say that I don't usually like scary stories, but this one has to be the best one I have ever read. Crime shows can have good story lines, bit this book far exceeds them. It has such a profound message to it. It took me through an emotional roller coaster and showed me that God can prevail in ANY situation. Travis truly has a God given gift for writing.

P.S.- This is the last scary book that I will ever read at night. I'm 17 and I got so scared that I ran downstairs to be with my sister and mom.:p awesome book:)I DEFINITELY recommend it!

What can I say? Is it even possible for Travis Thrasher to write a bad book? With Isolation Travis spins a tale of suspense unlike anything he has written before. All I can say is prepare to be isolated because you are not going to want to put this book down until you've read every last word.
For fans of suspense. This one's for you.
Absolutly amazing

After reading Thrasher's Sky Blue and meeting him at my book club I bought all of his other works. Isolation was my next read and at first I found myself being a bit disappointed. It moved slowly for me at first but it caught enough of my attentnion that I kept coming back to it. I got about halfway through and suddenly could not put it down. The mystery of the huge creepy lodge and a character that kept appearing but we didn't know how he fit got me and I just had to find out what happened. The theme of good versus evil and spiritual warfare got me thinking, and whether or not you believe in those things, the book is a good read. If you are a person of faith, as I am, it brings a whole new dimension to the story. I recommend this book. And while I have a whole shelf of his other works to read, I am ordering his latest- Every Breath You Take because I just have to have it. It can be purchased directly from his website [...]

Thrasher's Isolation keeps you guessing and disecting until the very end! You will question sanity, weigh reality, and crave more! This is the first book of Thrasher's I have read and when a book gives me goosebumbs I will keep going back and begging for more! My future is written(no pun intended)! I am going back to the library to check out all of Thrasher's books! He is my new favorite Writer!

Isolation is the perfect title for Travis Thrasher's supernatural thriller. The story can basically be summed up by this one word, since Isolation is a novel about a family of missionaries cut off from the outside world by the elements, while feeling isolated from God and each other. After the family accepts an offer to move into the secluded mansion of an eccentric millionaire that is being re-tasked as a missionary retreat, they must confront a sadistic killer and their own doubts and fears.

Isolation is not a book filled with a lot of traditional "action", but it did contain many creepy and suspenseful moments. Also, there was never any portion of the book where I felt myself losing interest in the characters or the plot and felt that the characters seemed very authentic and the plot had a few great twists. My only criticism is that I would like to have seen more focus on the killer and the satanic cult elements of the story and a little less on the family's inner doubts, but I also understand that since Isolation is a "Christian" novel, these elements may have been intentionally downplayed to meet the needs of the core demographic. All in all, Thrasher has penned an interesting supernatural thriller and I greatly look forward to reading more of his work in the future.

I have been a fan of Travis for quite a few years. At a recent book signing, he told me that this was a dark book, Stephen King like with a Christian twist. I wasn't sure how that could be pulled off, but he sure did a good job. It was a great book to read on a dark winter night in front of a roaring fire. I live near Wheaton and I went to college in the Smokey Mountains, so I could visualize in my mind the places that he was referring to in the book which makes it seem all the more real. Keep up the good work!