by Jason Joyner | Apr 20, 2011 | Blog, cheap real estate in Greensboro, CSFF, speculative fiction
People are strange, when you’re a stranger…
Yep, we’re wrapping up the CSFF Tour featuring The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell. I wanted to look at one interesting tactic he used, after highlighting a couple of blog posts from my tourmates.
Jessica Thomas takes an in-depth and thoughtful look at the book and issues raised by it, including discussing the nature of Satan.
Bruce Hennigan looks at the way Christian fiction has changed by accepting a book such as The Strange Man. (Even though it is labeled “supernatural suspense,” it really is a horror story).
And our intrepid leader Becky Miller discusses the elephant in the room, considering the theology of being saved and bearing fruit as it plays out in the book.
Oh, and the book comes with a bonus short story, “Among The Dead,” set with the same characters and location but 10 years prior. It gives a nice context for the book, and is plenty creepy in only a few pages!
One trick Greg used that I liked is making the quiet, struggling town of Greensboro a character in the book. The town has a role to play as pivotal as most of the characters in the book, with only the Strange Man, Dras, and Rosalyn taking a bigger part.
The town had thrived in the past, but a new highway left it behind, and the town was dwindling. Dras’s best friend Rosalyn wants to get out partly due to the lack of a future there (partly to escape her past as well). Many times in the book Greg gives Greensboro enough personality that it stands out as part of this drama, instead of just being the setting for it. When the ancient evil that has been hovering about, abiding its time, decides that the spiritual climate has diminished enough in the town to allow evil to show itself, it is really the inciting event of the book.
I’d like to see a little more description of Greensboro and its layout, but Greensboro makes for an interesting part of the story in its own right.
There’s more opinions and discussion out there, and I invite you to check out the other fine folks talking about The Strange Man at Becky’s blog.
The Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour – the best blogging of the month!
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 19, 2011 | Blog, CSFF, pants are preferable, reviews, speculative fiction
The Strange Man.
It is an evocative title. Why is he strange? What is going on? A look at the cover grabs your eye and might give shivers to someone.
Why have a book like this in Christian speculative fiction?
As others have said in better arguments, Christian fiction is a place that should be able to depict the fight between good and evil, light and darkness, with more authenticity than any horror writer or slasher film. We know there is a battle for souls, with eternal consequences. We know we have a real enemy that is worse than anything that can be imagined.
The review:
The Strange Man has an interesting premise, a promising introduction, a mix of suspense and a little goofy humor, and a cliffhanger ending. These are all positive things I got out of the book. I gave a short synopsis of the book yesterday, and the main character Dras Weldon is an unlikely hero. He does some crazy things like haggling with kids over a vintage G.I. Joe action figure (Snake Eyes! – mega geek points there) and riding his bike sans pants. He adds some humor over the first 2/3 of the book with his slacker ways. Unfortunately, he also becomes a hard character to root for, as his immature ways and cluelessness made me want to smack him after a while.
Overall, the book has some strong points, but ultimately failed to engage me at several points. The suspense is built up well in the first act, but sags in the middle. He ups the ante considerably in the third act, but some of the character progressions seem to be too much in too short a time.
SPOILER ALERT!!
Dras realizes to fight the demonic influence of the Strange Man he must turn to his childhood faith. He was painted as such a stunted adult that his turn-around and willingness to sacrifice anything for his friend Rosalyn is too incredible. I’m willing to accept a demonic force walking around town, but a sudden shift of character is too much. Also, the events that lead to the climax seem too outrageous as well. Dras is accused of killing a police officer, and when that happened I put the book down in frustration for the day. Too improbable, so it threw me out of the fictive picture I was painting in my mind.
END SPOILERS
It seems that Greg has enjoyed the horror genre and wants to emulate it with a Christian twist. I admire his goal, and I applaud writers using this genre (not necessarily my preferred, admittedly) to share a redemptive theme in an accessible form. Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t have enough behind it to propel it through the whole book. The middle starts bouncing us around different people, confusing me and taking away from the central characters. Plot points are introduced and lost. The trick is, this is supposed to be The Coming Evil Trilogy. I don’t know if there’s enough to power it through.
It also suffers from a lot of inconsistencies. Greensboro is at once a dying town, but other times has crowds of teens and college-aged students at a dance club. Demons outrace cars but can’t catch Dras on his bicycle.
Finally, as a writer I noticed that he had a hard time staying in one point of view for a scene. I don’t know if general readers pick up this like I do (having been ruined for reading like I have) but I know I had to check back several times to see who was doing the thinking/perceiving. All of that tends to throw off the reading experience, I feel.
The end even felt improbable from the spoiler section above, but he put enough What the? factor that I am curious to what happens next. Unfortunately, I won’t be returning to Greensboro to find out.
Now this is just one person’s opinion. Becky Miller keeps track of all the tour posts, so be sure to check around to see if I’m way out there on this one. It wouldn’t be the first time…
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(I received a free copy of The Strange Man in return for a review and my participation in the CSFF Blog Tour. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 18, 2011 | Blog, CSFF, speculative fiction, suspense, There's a Strange Man on my book cover
April – the month that should herald in spring. In Idaho it is ushering in strange weather. Well, not really – our weather usually stinks this time of year. But it is also the month to introduce The Strange Man to you, courtesy of new author Greg Mitchell and the Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy tour.
We’re in the midst of a supernatural suspense kick. Last month we featured Mike Duran and his book The Resurrection. In June we have Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso. We’ve done runs of fantasy, blocks of YA speculative fiction. If you’re in the mood for a supernatural scare, then we are the place to be.
The Strange Man is Greg’s debut novel. It has a haunting cover and an interesting premise.
The town of Greensboro is a typical town that is struggling with new highways and more interesting things to do in its neighbors. The people are holding on to what they’ve had in the past, except for their faith. That seems to be slipping away, and someone is noticing this.
Dras Weldon is your typical adult adolescent, not willing to grow up and out of his world of comic books, action figures, and B horror movies. The fact that his childhood best friend Rosalyn is looking to actually move on from Greensboro isn’t helping. He is tired of hearing criticism from his older brother, the pastor, as well.
When The Strange Man decides the time is ripe for Greensboro’s harvest, Dras is an unlikely combatant. He doesn’t have anything to fight with, unless he can reconnect with his withered faith in time.
Below you’ll find what our other tourmates are saying. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing The Strange Man, and Wednesday I’m planning to talk about an interesting character in the book – unless the tour surprises me with something else. It has before!
Noah Arsenault
Red Bissell
Kathy Brasby
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
Amber French
Tori Greene
Katie Hart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Carol Keen
Inae Kyo
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Gavin Patchett
Andrea Schultz
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 18, 2011 | Blog, CSFF, speculative fiction, suspense, There's a Strange Man on my book cover
April – the month that should herald in spring. In Idaho it is ushering in strange weather. Well, not really – our weather usually stinks this time of year. But it is also the month to introduce The Strange Man to you, courtesy of new author Greg Mitchell and the Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy tour.
We’re in the midst of a supernatural suspense kick. Last month we featured Mike Duran and his book The Resurrection. In June we have Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso. We’ve done runs of fantasy, blocks of YA speculative fiction. If you’re in the mood for a supernatural scare, then we are the place to be.
The Strange Man is Greg’s debut novel. It has a haunting cover and an interesting premise.
The town of Greensboro is a typical town that is struggling with new highways and more interesting things to do in its neighbors. The people are holding on to what they’ve had in the past, except for their faith. That seems to be slipping away, and someone is noticing this.
Dras Weldon is your typical adult adolescent, not willing to grow up and out of his world of comic books, action figures, and B horror movies. The fact that his childhood best friend Rosalyn is looking to actually move on from Greensboro isn’t helping. He is tired of hearing criticism from his older brother, the pastor, as well.
When The Strange Man decides the time is ripe for Greensboro’s harvest, Dras is an unlikely combatant. He doesn’t have anything to fight with, unless he can reconnect with his withered faith in time.
Below you’ll find what our other tourmates are saying. Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing The Strange Man, and Wednesday I’m planning to talk about an interesting character in the book – unless the tour surprises me with something else. It has before!
Noah Arsenault
Red Bissell
Kathy Brasby
Grace Bridges
Beckie Burnham
CSFF Blog Tour
Amber French
Tori Greene
Katie Hart
Bruce Hennigan
Timothy Hicks
Carol Keen
Inae Kyo
Emily LaVigne
Shannon McDermott
Matt Mikalatos
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Gavin Patchett
Andrea Schultz
Kathleen Smith
Donna Swanson
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 23, 2011 | Blog, books, getting in the last word, Mike Duran, speculative fiction
I told you it would be interesting!
The CSFF Tour is wrapping up its feature of The Resurrection, the debut novel by Mike Duran. There’s a lot of interesting opinions out there. The book was well-received by most, but there were a few who thought it didn’t meet its potential. Becky Miller keeps track of all the posts, and Mike has highlighted a few posts that stood out to him. You can find my interview with Mike under part 1 and part 2. Thanks Mike for taking your time with me and my questions! Although…I never did see an answer to question 8…
I reviewed the book a couple weeks ago, getting ahead of myself. Still, I wanted to comment on some things that came out from the tour.
1. It’s not horror.
For those who can’t handle Stephen King and Dean Koontz, don’t fear. The Resurrection is a very suspenseful novel. You may be on the edge of your seat. But it doesn’t cross over into the horror category IMO. But be warned, Mike’s next book may be treading into that territory, from what I’ve heard.
2. There’s a lot to ponder.
I think a book that stands out not only entertains, but makes the reader think. Several people on the tour have noted this about The Resurrection. The part that has amazed me is the variety of themes and ideas people have gotten from it. I saw the themes of faith, modern philosophy vs. the gospel, and the real continuing battle between good and evil in the book. A lot of other thoughts were pulled from it as well. For this Mike, you should be proud.
3. People are interested by something other than a “standard” literary evangelical Christianity.
In CBA there seems to be a general feel for a church. A church in these books may be modern or traditional, but seem pretty middle of the road. Actually, Canyon Springs Community Church in this book is as well. The fact that there’s a resurrection, a miracle, sets the book apart. There is an interesting discussion at Becky’s blog regarding the gifts of the Spirit that is encouraging to me. It would be nice to see a little more of the wide variety of Christian expression in CBA novels. If the church is made of “every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,” (Rev 7:9), then we should see God’s vast character highlighted in Christian fiction, right?
4. Spiritual warfare = Frank Peretti.
I didn’t think The Resurrection aped Mr. Peretti too much, but a lot of people made that connection. His Darkness novels are still standouts in my mind for Christian fiction, but just because a novel touches on spiritual warfare themes, it doesn’t make it a Peretti knock-off. Not knocking those who see that. Not knocking at all really…moving along….
5. Readership for CBA novels is evolving.
I thought there would be a little MORE controversy over The Resurrection, since it features miracles, ghosts with catchy monikers, and the spiritual warfare angle. Mike likes to provoke thought at his blog Decompose, so I teased about controversy with this tour. However, the participants didn’t fuss over this book at all. There were honest critiques and discussion over whether plot points (like the ghost) worked. But no one quit the CSFF over a lack of doctrinal purity (this has happened before, I’m not kidding). We have a lot of new folks lately and I really love CSFF Tour time because of the thoughtful exploration of the books we feature.
6. You need to buy The Resurrection.
Enough of sitting in front of your computer and reading this! Go here, order the book, and you’ll have a great way to pass the time when (if, in Idaho) spring arrives. Thanks for stopping by!
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 23, 2011 | Blog, books, getting in the last word, Mike Duran, speculative fiction
I told you it would be interesting!
The CSFF Tour is wrapping up its feature of The Resurrection, the debut novel by Mike Duran. There’s a lot of interesting opinions out there. The book was well-received by most, but there were a few who thought it didn’t meet its potential. Becky Miller keeps track of all the posts, and Mike has highlighted a few posts that stood out to him. You can find my interview with Mike under part 1 and part 2. Thanks Mike for taking your time with me and my questions! Although…I never did see an answer to question 8…
I reviewed the book a couple weeks ago, getting ahead of myself. Still, I wanted to comment on some things that came out from the tour.
1. It’s not horror.
For those who can’t handle Stephen King and Dean Koontz, don’t fear. The Resurrection is a very suspenseful novel. You may be on the edge of your seat. But it doesn’t cross over into the horror category IMO. But be warned, Mike’s next book may be treading into that territory, from what I’ve heard.
2. There’s a lot to ponder.
I think a book that stands out not only entertains, but makes the reader think. Several people on the tour have noted this about The Resurrection. The part that has amazed me is the variety of themes and ideas people have gotten from it. I saw the themes of faith, modern philosophy vs. the gospel, and the real continuing battle between good and evil in the book. A lot of other thoughts were pulled from it as well. For this Mike, you should be proud.
3. People are interested by something other than a “standard” literary evangelical Christianity.
In CBA there seems to be a general feel for a church. A church in these books may be modern or traditional, but seem pretty middle of the road. Actually, Canyon Springs Community Church in this book is as well. The fact that there’s a resurrection, a miracle, sets the book apart. There is an interesting discussion at Becky’s blog regarding the gifts of the Spirit that is encouraging to me. It would be nice to see a little more of the wide variety of Christian expression in CBA novels. If the church is made of “every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,” (Rev 7:9), then we should see God’s vast character highlighted in Christian fiction, right?
4. Spiritual warfare = Frank Peretti.
I didn’t think The Resurrection aped Mr. Peretti too much, but a lot of people made that connection. His Darkness novels are still standouts in my mind for Christian fiction, but just because a novel touches on spiritual warfare themes, it doesn’t make it a Peretti knock-off. Not knocking those who see that. Not knocking at all really…moving along….
5. Readership for CBA novels is evolving.
I thought there would be a little MORE controversy over The Resurrection, since it features miracles, ghosts with catchy monikers, and the spiritual warfare angle. Mike likes to provoke thought at his blog Decompose, so I teased about controversy with this tour. However, the participants didn’t fuss over this book at all. There were honest critiques and discussion over whether plot points (like the ghost) worked. But no one quit the CSFF over a lack of doctrinal purity (this has happened before, I’m not kidding). We have a lot of new folks lately and I really love CSFF Tour time because of the thoughtful exploration of the books we feature.
6. You need to buy The Resurrection.
Enough of sitting in front of your computer and reading this! Go here, order the book, and you’ll have a great way to pass the time when (if, in Idaho) spring arrives. Thanks for stopping by!
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