Customer Reviews

This Present Darkness

5 star:		(192)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

With THIS PRESENT DARKNESS, Frank Peretti broke onto the scene by graphically tearing back the veil between our world and the spirit world. Descending upon the small town of Ashton, angels, demons, and strongmen engage in vivid spiritual battle and we, the reader, are able to see it all unfold. Ever wonder what exactly a guardian angel might do? Here's one possible scenario.

While Peretti's theology on the subject may not be perfect (many of his ideas are pure speculation, but that's why it's "fiction"), he does most definitely give us a bold reason as to why prayer is so vital. Why prayer does, in fact, move mountains and can turn the tide in unseen spiritual battles that are taking place around us (as happens in the book of Daniel). For that reason alone, THIS PRESENT DARKNESS is worth reading.

To be fair, this is not Peretti's best written book. THE OATH and THE VISITATION are both more sound, from a literary perspective (real character development, for example, isn't the best here). But before the LEFT BEHIND series, no other Christian novels were as widely read as this and its sequel. It is a true Christian fiction classic and a real page-turner that will have you burning the midnight oil. FOUR 1/2 STARS.

This is a wonderful book! Frank Peretti writes in a style that is engaging and suspensful. He weaves together a plot involving both a human struggle of philosophical and political agendas, and the spiritual battle occuring at the same time between the spiritual forces of good (Angels) and evil (Demons).

It is this weaving of the plot between everyday issues and spiritual long term agendas that is the most compelling reason to read this book. The spiritual battles come to life in such a vivid way, that you may never view your life in the same way again! The images of how the spiritual battles are waged between God's Angels and the principalities of darkness, and how people are used for purposes beyond thier personal agendas, are presented in a manner which turns the perception of current events into something perhaps more than they appear to be.

The book starts a bit slow, seemingly the day in the life of a small town, but once the plotlines start coming together you won't be able to put it down. The main characters are developed well, and are presented as real people who could be our neighbors. It is fiction all the way, so don't expect an academic thesis on the supernatural and Biblical themes of spiritual realms, simply enjoy the story and the message.

I have given copies of this book to dozens of people and have not had anyone, Christian or Athiest, not enjoy the story. I highly recommend this book, as well as it's sequel: "Piercing The Darkness".

Have you ever known that you are supposed to do something, but you can't seem to motivate yourself? Have you felt like the whole world is against you? Have you ever felt like what you were doing just wasn't what you wanted? If you answered yes, then you should definitely give "This Present Darkness" a try. This book gives a possible reason as to why we have these feelings.

Frank Peretti gives us a tale of a small college town that has a war going on in it. It's not a war with guns and bombs, but a spiritual war. There are demons all over the town, making people turn away from God. The demons plan to take the entire town and rid the town of the angels that have come to help. It is a wonderful tale of good versus evil. It is very gripping and as my title tells, "Frighteningly realistic". I'm sure everyone has felt like they should be doing something, but there is something that is holding you back. This book gives a very unique idea as to why that happens. Read it and you might look at things a little differently. I highly recommend this book.

Interesting that people are saying his characters are "predictable." A sure sign of bad writing is "unpredictable" characters, which means, more likely than not, a weak plot and underdevelopment. I don't understand why people didn't just stop reading the book if it was below their literary caliber. What literary caliber that is I don't know, as the plot progressed so well and smoothly, with perspectives from so many different characters, not once losing the reader, that I'd call that some first-class writing. What I love about this book was the way it held me in suspense until I finished it all! You know it'll be a happy ending, but how that will come about keeps you riveted. Undoubtedly, it's dangerous to take the book as a Biblical parallel. It's a fictional work and uses convenient Biblical truths for illustration. But insightful-reminded me of the Screwtape Letters

Very entertaining writing. Very bad source for determining a biblical understanding of spiritual warfare. Case in point, the role of the Holy Spirit is non-existant in the book and yet without the Holy Spirit in our lives we have no "teacher, comforter, counsellor or guide". The gifts of the Holy Spirit are absent as well, which requires the ability of the believer or assistance of ministering spirits to accomplish God's work. Stick to scripture for proper understanding of how God works and the Christian response to Him

Peretti relies heavily on standard "thriller" techniques not to be confused with theology. I am especially botherd by his portrayal of mainline Christians as the tool of the devil. I don't think this is healthy at all for the church or the gospel. The only thing I find more disturbing than Peretti's theology is the evangelical church's response to it. Some say it is a "revelation from God." It must be a new revelation because I don't see Peretti's world portrayed in the bible.

I am also dumbfounded that people consider this the best book ever written. For me, it's not even close to Dickens, Hemmingway, Bronte, Fitzgerald and other writers of that caliber.

Peretti has reminded us of the power of story. A well told story can be more powerful than centuries of systematic theology and biblical studies.

This work of fiction by Frank Peretti draws a picture of the underlying spiritual powers at war in this world. He draws his inspiration from the Biblical passage Ephesians 6:12, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." The general plot line focuses on two main characters, a pastor and a newspaperman, who live in the small town of Ashton, where corruption and deception are threatening to creep in and turn the people to new-age occultism. The plot gripped my attention, and the characters were well developed. Clever twists in the story also kept me reading.

Further, the book is a good encouragement to prayer, an often underutilized aspect of Christian life. The colorful portrayals of angels and demons is primarily speculation, but mostly harmless. I would recommend reading "This Present Darkness," but one should make sure to keep the Biblical perspective on angels and demons in focus.

I think Peretti is the Stephen King of religious suspense fiction. This is one of his best, perhaps THE best. Very, very gripping and memorable. I would recommend it to adults but especially to teens as well. This story really shows the power of God. It's the most powerful and intriguing book about supernatural forces of good and evil battling it out that I've ever read.

For goodness sake it is a novel. When someone rights a novel they know that the beginning and the middle also will be difficult to get through because it will not exactly be 100% entertaining. When I started to read this book my dad told me about how much he wouldn give to be able to read this book for the first time again. I was reading through it and the story was interesting and compelling. The transition between angel and human and demon is so captivating that I could not put it down. That is only the middle/beginning though. (...) I am telling you to read this book because it will be a life changing experience of a book.

I enjoyed the book but as a Christian who cares about the bible, I was shocked by the theology of this book. It has almost nothing to do with the bible, yet people seem to take it seriously.

I strongly caution Christians (espcially new ones) when reading this book. I also encourage non-Christians to lean what real theologians believe