Customer Reviews

Violent Night

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reading Violent Night gave me the opportunity to reevaluate my faith and to question my complacency in watching our world slide down a slope of loose morals and uncaring attitudes. It renewed my resolve to lead an outwardly Christian lifestyle and to remember the Great Commandment above all else.
Byron Justice put me to task in his book, both as a Sunday morning Christian who does not always walk the walk and as a procrastinator who likes to fall back on the idea of a death-bed redemption. Judgment day could come at any time and my soul is not the only one at risk. Whom have I saved lately?
The story takes the reader through the violent days of judgment sparing no details. It also reveals the author's vision of the ideal world: a place of fairness and morals. The forsaken occupy a world of hopelessness and brutal suffering. Am I willing to risk being left in a world where my prayers find no ear? Am I willing to save myself but not willing to save others?
This book's fifth star is for substance. It is a fun read with likeable characters, but it carries a message the likes of which is rare in popular fiction.

Violent Night: a classic and a must read for anyone who is interested in spiritual warfare and the key to the other side religious experiences. While reading Violent Night you can't help but remind yourself that this is fiction; but is it? This book gives much food for thought, as Byron Justice has created characters and events that are so powerful and well detailed you would think the author must have personally experienced this adventure.

Like a clear cold winter night penetrating deep within you, Violent Night is spiritually bracing, biting and full of mystery. Spend some time with one of the greatest thinkers ever. You won't regret it. Byron Justice's style is very subtle, ornate, and powerful as he depicts a depth and beauty of spirituality in a world gone mad. What more could anyone ask for in a book?

Five stars for being a well-written, thought-provoking book.
Cliff Johnson, Author - Wrong Side of the River

Although I do not share the same philosophical viewpoint as the author, his depiction of an apocalyptic world was fascinating. The story is entertaining and moves rapidly, the characters are engaging, and the end carries an ironic twist that took me by surprise. The dialog between the teenagers is a little stilted, sounding more like adults than kids, even kids who don't swear, but that was a minor distraction. The concept was well thought out and played true to the end.

Ruth Souther, author of Immortal Journey: The Death of Innocence

"Let both of them grow together
until the Harvest;
and at Harvest time I will tell the reapers:
Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles
to be burned,
Then gather the wheat into my barn."
Drawing from these words attributed to Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, author Byron Justice relates his vision of a post-Apocalyptic world in his debut novel, `Violent Night.'
The story begins just prior to the Harvest and then follows the members of a youth group as they make their way through a changed world after it has taken place.
The world is then split into three dimensions: The Forsaken World they leave behind, The Place of Judgement where they journey in near isolation and The Other Side, where they find peace. Lightning acts as a gateway between the worlds.
This book is not titled `Violent Night' for no reason. In the second chapter, two murders occur and this is only the beginning of the violence described throughout the ensuing pages. At times it can be quite graphic and is not for the faint of heart.
This violent behaviour is most notably evident in the character of Buster Murphy, who appears to take pleasure from killing. He is spurred on by his father, Mitch, who raises him to be ruthless. As Justice says, "Buster was the glorious fruit of his father's fine upbringing."
The impression is not that Justice condones all violence, but that he acknowledges it as a natural part of man's psyche. He says it is when hate is allowed to grow that heinous crimes are committed; fighting is a way to release that hatred and anger and come to forgiveness.
Although I wanted to touch on the violent aspect of this novel, it is by no means overpowering, rather it is balanced by other elements which propel the story forward. It is full of adventure and suspense with meaty, well-developed characters with whom readers will identify. The fact that the majority of these characters are young - still teenagers attending high school before the Day of Reckoning - makes them that much more vulnerable and interesting. You will find yourself rooting for them - especially Jeff, the youngest member of the group, who decides not to travel to The Other Side with the rest in order to go back to The Forsaken World to find his mother. His encounters in The Forsaken World are ugly and vicious, made all the more disturbing by his lack of ability to reach out to the Lord anymore; His presence is no longer there. This made me realize how fortunate we are to have a loving Father we can turn to in times of despair. We should not take this for granted or we may find ourselves without him someday.
In `Violent Night' Justice has created a novel which follows the highly successful `Left Behind' series into the rocky territory of exploring one of the most controversial books of the Bible. Revelations is full of imagery and portents for the future and is highly subjective when interpreted. Having said that, Justice's interpretation takes us where `Left Behind' did not - to The Other Side with those who were able to make the leap of faith - and is definitely worth taking the time to read. It will make you question your own beliefs and that is always a good thing.

It was a good story and kept my interest. Not quite what I expected, but well written.

I read this book in one swoop and it had me on the edge of my seat. Each time you think you know what's going to happen, there's a twist! This is a well-written, absorbing tale that I highly recommend to anyone who's looking for a good read.

In Violent Night, the world is torn in two by thunder and lightning. During these stormy times, some are sent to unrelenting agony in the Forsaken World. Others, having been informed of what to do when the thunder comes, when they see the Squall Line approach, cross over to `the Other Side.' This places them in a new and safer world.
The author has done quite an interesting job of juxtaposing religious concepts of the end times, of `the Other Side,' with the practicalities of daily life. The `Other Side' depicted in Violent Night has no prisons and no wars. Jerusalem is in an international zone and Israel is at peace with the Palestinians. I'll drop a few more clues. Technology has stabilized somewhere in the 1970's with the exception of Mars exploration and nanobots that are making fantastic medical repairs.
A point of clarification: Before the lightning strikes and before entering the other side, Alfred Ramblin and his friends know none of this. The `Other Side' is just another campfire tale spun out by Leo Ramblin, Alfred's dad. But when Alfred and his friends encounter the Squall Line, they make the connection. They all realize how Key it was for each of them to have received the message, and how Key it was they too provided their loved ones with this Key, the story about the Squall Line. For equipped with the Key, when the storm rages, the informed person can cross over to `the Other Side.'
To not heed the warning, to not fully believe and act on the story can land one in dire straits. Cowering Jeff Kendleton knew the Key but struggled on for months because he did not trust the story. This landed him in the Forsaken World, a godless place without city services where anarchy reigns. Yes, the Forsaken World is a bad place, a place where Buster Murphy stalks his prey. Oh, we get a heaping helping of this Buster character. As a villains go, it is hard to say which measures higher on the scale of things contemptible¾Buster's detestability or his cardboard character. Buster's hatred of Alfred and the Temple Shadows crew stems from a misunderstanding passed on from his father, Murphy. It seems way back in Murphy's childhood, his tormentors told him that Leo Ramblin paid them to inflict much pain on poor Murphy. Murphy passes on this grudge borne of a childhood beating to his son and the insidious Buster makes a life's work out of tracking down and beating to death Leo, his progeny and all their friends.
A bit rough in places, Bryon has told an entertaining tale. There is much that could stand further development. Am I slow? I'm not sure I fully caught how one person shares The Key with another--admittedly a crucial piece of information. Also in the version I read, "Spanish Moss hung from the live oak like bunches of grapes." I'm sorry but this ol' country boy never really considered Spanish Moss as looking any more appetizing than spider webs (cotton candy?)."
Yes, this is a first book and written on a budget, I'm sure. Still, there is much that got to me. What, for instance, was the crucial event in 1972 responsible for the different histories of the Forsaken World and the Other Side? Are there seeds of a sequel in this?
The reader who can balance talk of the end times with the every day (?) adventures of high school students will find Violent Night an entertaining read. A word of warning though; once you've read Violent Night, if it begins to rain and you hear a certain play-list of rock songs from the 1970's, you'd better pack up your essentials quickly and get to someplace secure. Trust me, you don't want to know the Forsaken World first hand. There, now I've done my duty. I've told you `The Key,' I think.

This is a fast paced novel of suspense, but not the usual scary story. It has believable, will developed characters, some likable and some not. Justice has created an intrigueing and inspiritional multi level story that leaves one with much to think about.