Bookish Sundays: The Oath

I'm already off to a bad start with this series.  Sorry it's a day late, we spent the afternoon and evening in Seattle yesterday, and by the time we got home, I just fell into bed.  Walking for hours around an amazing city while being attacked by a head cold was interesting, but not great for my stamina.

Title: The Oath


Author: Frank Peretti

Category: Christian, Fiction

Synopsis (c/o Barnes & Noble): "An ancient sin. A long forgotten oath. A town with a deadly secret.

Something sinister is at work in Hyde River, an isolated mining town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Something evil.

Under the cover of darkness, a predator strikes without warning--taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion.

The community of Hyde River watches in terror as residents suddenly vanish. Yet the more locals are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, sworn to secrecy by their forefathers' hidden sins.

Only when Hyde River's secrets are exposed is the true extent of the danger fully revealed. What the town discovers is something far more deadly than anything they'd imagined. Something that doesn't just stalk its victims, but has the power to turn hearts black with decay as it slowly fills their souls with darkness."

Frank Peretti is yet another one of my favorite authors.  His ability to translate everyday issues that the average Christian faces in life, and transform them into a tangible reality keeps me coming back to read his novels over and over and over.  

This particular story confronts maybe the largest issue most Christians face in their walk with the Lord; sin, and our ability to admit, accept, and forgive.  While it can be hard to see the affects of our denial and what it can turn us into, Peretti creates a world where sin is a dragon to be fought, and a black mark on your heart that only the Lord can erase.  Suspenseful, intriguing, dark and realistic, this novel keeps you on the edge of your seat as the characters search for something more than themselves.

I read this particular book when I was quite young, and would definitely not recommend it for younger teens or kids.  Not only could the concept be more difficult to grasp, if they are anywhere as impressionable as I was as a kid, they could have horrible dreams (or maybe I was just a tad too queasy...?).