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The Oath (Paperback)

~ (Author) "SHE RAN, tree limbs and brambles scratching, grabbing, tripping, and slapping her as if they were bony hands, reaching for her out of the darkness..." (more)
Key Phrases: loading yard, bear theory, cavern entrance, Hyde River, Harold Bly, Hyde Hall (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (322 customer reviews)

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Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition, June 30, 1995 $7.99 -- --
  Library Binding, September 30, 1999 $22.25 $22.25 $17.80
  Paperback, March 12, 2007 $8.93 $1.74 $1.49
  Paperback, August 20, 1996 -- $2.95 $0.01
  Mass Market Paperback, April 9, 2007 $7.99 $3.90 $2.69
  Audio, Cassette, Abridged, Audiobook -- $19.95 $1.75
  Unknown Binding, Unabridged, Audiobook -- -- $0.76
  Audio, Download Offsite Link $12.07 or less with new Audible membership

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Under cover of darkness, something evil is at work in Hyde River, an old mining town deep in the mountains. Its latest victim, nature photographer Cliff Benson, was brutally killed while camping -- and his wife Evelyn has been driven nearly mad by what she saw, but she can't remember what it was. The sheriff thinks a rogue bear killed Cliff. But townspeople whisper -- and Cliff's death is just the latest in a long string of bizarre "accidents." Cliff's brother Steve is determined to find out the truth about what's concealed in the old caverns near Hyde River, a mystery that the local folk legends only hint at. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Booklist

A wildlife biologist named Steve Benson has come to the remote mountain town of Hyde River to investigate the gruesome death of his brother. Benson tracks down and kills a grizzly, but then more people are killed and the bears are exonerated. Benson begins to listen with seriousness to the ravings of an old hermit who says that there's a dragon who lives in Saddlehorse Mountain and who lives on sin. It seems that in the 1880s, when Hyde River was a booming mining town, a fire-and-brimstone preacher was hanged, and the perpetrators then signed an oath embracing Reason as their god. In more than 100 years, their sins have grown into a monster. Steve tracks the chimerical dragon, which toys with him and lets him go. Steve is the embodiment of reason but feels the weight of sin when he begins an affair with a married woman, a local deputy named Tracy. A red mark appears over his heart, and gradually it begins to ooze black slime. Judgment Day arrives, and the dragon comes to claim its own. Steve, at last a believer, stands alone to do battle, rather like Bilbo Baggins of The Hobbit, except that Peretti writes with a grim fervor rather than playfulness. Largely because of the success of This Present Darkness (1987), Peretti's name inspires awe in the religious publishing world; The Oath is so heavily anticipated that its prepublication sales placed it fifth on the Evangelical Christian best-seller list. John Mort --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 558 pages
  • Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Other Printing edition (August 20, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0849938635
  • ISBN-13: 978-0849938634
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (322 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #911,025 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #93 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Peretti, Frank

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Frank Peretti
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
SHE RAN, tree limbs and brambles scratching, grabbing, tripping, and slapping her as if they were bony hands, reaching for her out of the darkness. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
loading yard, bear theory, cavern entrance, west fork
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hyde River, Harold Bly, Hyde Hall, Tracy Ellis, Levi Cobb, Hyde Valley, Benjamin Hyde, Wells Peak, Phil Garrett, Sheriff Collins, Vic Moore, Jules Cryor, Andy Schuller, Maggie Bly, Carl Ingfeldt, Oak Springs, Steve Benson, Clark County, Evelyn Benson, Kyle Figgin, Charlie Mack, Doug Ellis, Cliff Benson, Deputy Ellis, Hyde Mining Company
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Customer Reviews

322 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (322 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No-Holds-Barred!, November 2, 2000
By Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
I've heard more negative response from other Christians toward this Peretti book than any other. Why? Because it's dark, maybe. Because it doesn't paint a gleeful, daisy-filled meadow scene for us, possibly.

And these are the reasons I consider this his best.

Without forgetting to grab our attention and build his characters, Peretti sets the stage for a powerful spiritual metaphor that hits the reader between the eyes. The seductive oath of this town comes back to haunt them, and by the end, no one will be left unchanged--for better of for worse. The consequences of flirting with sin are starkly portrayed here. Don't give up too soon; read on to the finish and you'll understand Peretti's point.

Of all Peretti's books, this one alone have I been able to pass out freely to my nonbelieving friends. The story is genuinely intriguing--not just a hastly sketched backdrop for a sermon--and it grabs your attention, demanding that you heed its warning.

This may not be for all readers, particularly those who like syrupy romance or immediate feel-goods, but it's worth the effort. If you like no-holds-barred Christian fiction, "The Oath" is for you.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A look at what goes on inside, May 3, 2000
By "stellane" (Mississippi) - See all my reviews
A fan of Peretti's from the first chapter of "This Present Darkness," I was not in the least disappointed in "The Oath." While "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" were true to life from start to finish, this book contained a different approach. Although I enjoyed every minute of it, there were several times during the reading that I stopped and thought, "This is so unreal. This could never happen." However, it was toward the end of the book that I realized it was a parody (in the loosest sense of the word) of what takes place in the spiritual world. The dragon that controlled the town was Sin, and although sin can never take a fleshly form and go around devouring unsuspecting townsfolk, in a spiritual sense, it does just exactly that. While we cannot see a smelly black substance oozing from our chests when we get sin in our lives, if we could see through spiritual eyes, we really would see a blackened heart, full of sin. As in the book, it is when the smallest sins get into our hearts and turn them "black," and we have removed ourselves from the realm of God's protection that the big "dragon" can come and eat us up. It is obvious that Peretti really knows something about the spiritual world, and this book, when taken in the right context, can help the reader to understand what is actually going on although we can't see it in the natural.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Time well spent......, March 21, 2001
By John K "jk1138@hotmail.com" (Welland, Ont Canada) - See all my reviews
A very good book! Peretti is very talented in his storytelling style. I read just about all of his adult books and this one ranks as one of his best (second only to the wonderful "This Present Darkness")

There are those who feel this book is too dark and too horrific--This is as close that Christian fiction can come to secular horror novels such as those by Stephen King and Dean Koontz--And I admit, I was surpised from some of the content I read and often thought to myself: 'And this is supposed to be a *Christian* book!?'...But really, it does make sense and is warrented. All in all, this story is about Sin. This book is very allagoric and symbolic of what sin is and what it can do to people. It usually starts small, and it grows. Quickly you become addicted to it. You don't even want to aknowledge your sin and so you become blind to it...that is until it is too late. You become a slave to sin and the only way to truly free yourself is through Jesus. Otherwise Sin will grow and grow until it devours you (Something litterally from this book). I know that this is starting to sound like a sermon, but this message is EXACTLY what this book is about...And yet, It never gets *preachy*

It's a fairly hefty novel, especially for Peretti, and at times you wish something more interesting would happen. But the pace never falters and it does manage to hold you. Only the most impatient of readers would put this book aside for good without having it finished.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Frank Peretti's Masterpiece
This is arguably Peretti's greatest work. The symbolism he uses is incredible. His characters, likeable but flawed. The pacing is good and the ending is satisfying. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Paul Joseph Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling! You'll wet the bed...for Christ!
I read this book a long time ago and loved it. I like most of Frank Peretti's stuff, and this one was especially good. I bought it for a friend.
Published 1 month ago by Nathan S.

5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't want to put this down
I was thinking that 550+ pages was going to make this a boring story, but it was far from it. I was downright intrigued by this story the way it just throws you into the action as... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Daniel Hayes

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok, but I'll take the dragon sans the preaching please
I never read anything by this author before (who's apparently a well known by everyone except me), so when I got a mouth full of Jesus in the middle of a book about a dragon who... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Riss

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK,
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK, I THINK ITS HIS BEST EVER, SHOULD MADE ALL CHRISTIANS THINK ABOUT WHAT EVIL IS IN OUR WORLD, WOULD RECOMMEND IT--WAY TO GO FRANK, KEEP IT COMING,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by TIA

5.0 out of 5 stars Oath
thanks so much, book looks great, came on time and brand new. I have read many books by this author so I know this too will be a good one.
Published 8 months ago by Pat A. Russell

3.0 out of 5 stars It was okay.
This book was okay, but I like "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" and "Prophet" better. I wish they had those for the Kindle. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Michael Blaski

5.0 out of 5 stars An on the edge of your seat thriller that believers can enjoy
This book is so great. I am enjoying it more than I did House because it is not so "out there" I do see how this plot relates to sin in our lives and as a believer I think it is... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Connie Mccluskey

4.0 out of 5 stars His best
I think this is his best work by far. And maybe one of the best Christian fiction books I've read too. Great story, great characters, and great suspense. I loved it.
Published 10 months ago by Jonathan E.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Action and Horror filled book!!!
I really like this book! I am a great Peretti fan, so I was expecting it to be exciting, action-filled, and have some horror and creepiness in it. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Katie McCurdy

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