by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2010 | Blog, books, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
Robin Parrish chills and thrills in his latest book
A few weeks ago I used Nightmare, the new book from suspense author Robin Parrish, as a springboard into a discussion about the boundaries of Christian fiction. Since then, a discussion has taken on a life of its own (others started talking about this at the same time).
I got caught up in this debate, but in the meantime I finished Nightmare. So what is this book about, and does it “fit” in Christian fiction?
Nightmare is the story of Maia Peters, a college student who had an unusual upbringing – her parents were ghost hunters on a famous TV show. Maia grew up on the paranormal, so there wasn’t a lot that could scare her. When her friends drag her to the latest in theme parks, “Ghost Town,” she isn’t impressed.
That is, until a familiar face and voice form out of a mist and warn her, “The nightmare is coming.”
The face belongs to Jordin Cole, a rich orphaned classmate who has a fascination with the supernatural. Jordin had hired Maia to explore several “known” hauntings to explore these phenomena, but Maia hadn’t seen her in months. She didn’t know that Jordin had disappeared.
Now Jordin’s fiance is looking for her and asking for Maia’s help. The pair retrace Jordin’s steps, trying to find the nightmare before it comes. However, messing with the supernatural may have a heavy price to pay…
—
The Good
Robin Parrish is one imaginative fellow. He has come up with some amazing tales in his writing career. Nightmare does not disappoint. The plot alternates between Maia’s search for Jordin and the adventures Jordin and Maia have seeking out haunting hot spots. You can tell Robin did his research, as the settings are actual sites of reported paranormal activity. There’s an added bonus of grainy pictures in front of these sections. The pace doesn’t let up, and he has a gift for keeping the pages turning frantically. This was the type of book I’d pull out of my backpack in between work assignments to read “just a little more.”
Several reviewers commented that this was a book to read with the lights on. There was one section that seemed a little creepy to me, but nothing that was excessive. I can see how some people might get freaked.
Finally, that cover ROCKS! Best one I’ve seen this year.
The Critique
Robin is also very intelligent, and he writes with a specific voice and a fluent vocabulary. After reading all of his books, I feel his characters sound too much alike. Maia didn’t seem to be too feminine (which was her character), but I never felt she had a “female” voice. Then again, Robin always seems to have very intelligent characters, so perhaps this is natural. Not a big deal, but something I noticed in this book.
The “Huh?”
I think every book has a “huh?” moment. Robin is proud of his geek cred (since he blogs for ForeverGeek). So I was pretty shocked when I came upon page 259. There is an otherwise excellent Star Wars reference, but “Wookiee” is misspelled! Don’t worry Robin, I blame it on the editors.
The Verdict
As far as Nightmare goes, it is a very entertaining, suspenseful read. It also makes one think about some mysteries in our world in regards to the paranormal. The book doesn’t spell it out for the reader – we get to think about it. I recommend this book to any fan of suspense, paranormal, or horror fiction.
Now where does this book belong in the library of Christian fiction? Well, *looking at his watch* we’ve run out of time. Check back next time with my thoughts on this…
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2010 | Blog, books, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
Robin Parrish chills and thrills in his latest book
A few weeks ago I used Nightmare, the new book from suspense author Robin Parrish, as a springboard into a discussion about the boundaries of Christian fiction. Since then, a discussion has taken on a life of its own (others started talking about this at the same time).
I got caught up in this debate, but in the meantime I finished Nightmare. So what is this book about, and does it “fit” in Christian fiction?
Nightmare is the story of Maia Peters, a college student who had an unusual upbringing – her parents were ghost hunters on a famous TV show. Maia grew up on the paranormal, so there wasn’t a lot that could scare her. When her friends drag her to the latest in theme parks, “Ghost Town,” she isn’t impressed.
That is, until a familiar face and voice form out of a mist and warn her, “The nightmare is coming.”
The face belongs to Jordin Cole, a rich orphaned classmate who has a fascination with the supernatural. Jordin had hired Maia to explore several “known” hauntings to explore these phenomena, but Maia hadn’t seen her in months. She didn’t know that Jordin had disappeared.
Now Jordin’s fiance is looking for her and asking for Maia’s help. The pair retrace Jordin’s steps, trying to find the nightmare before it comes. However, messing with the supernatural may have a heavy price to pay…
—
The Good
Robin Parrish is one imaginative fellow. He has come up with some amazing tales in his writing career. Nightmare does not disappoint. The plot alternates between Maia’s search for Jordin and the adventures Jordin and Maia have seeking out haunting hot spots. You can tell Robin did his research, as the settings are actual sites of reported paranormal activity. There’s an added bonus of grainy pictures in front of these sections. The pace doesn’t let up, and he has a gift for keeping the pages turning frantically. This was the type of book I’d pull out of my backpack in between work assignments to read “just a little more.”
Several reviewers commented that this was a book to read with the lights on. There was one section that seemed a little creepy to me, but nothing that was excessive. I can see how some people might get freaked.
Finally, that cover ROCKS! Best one I’ve seen this year.
The Critique
Robin is also very intelligent, and he writes with a specific voice and a fluent vocabulary. After reading all of his books, I feel his characters sound too much alike. Maia didn’t seem to be too feminine (which was her character), but I never felt she had a “female” voice. Then again, Robin always seems to have very intelligent characters, so perhaps this is natural. Not a big deal, but something I noticed in this book.
The “Huh?”
I think every book has a “huh?” moment. Robin is proud of his geek cred (since he blogs for ForeverGeek). So I was pretty shocked when I came upon page 259. There is an otherwise excellent Star Wars reference, but “Wookiee” is misspelled! Don’t worry Robin, I blame it on the editors.
The Verdict
As far as Nightmare goes, it is a very entertaining, suspenseful read. It also makes one think about some mysteries in our world in regards to the paranormal. The book doesn’t spell it out for the reader – we get to think about it. I recommend this book to any fan of suspense, paranormal, or horror fiction.
Now where does this book belong in the library of Christian fiction? Well, *looking at his watch* we’ve run out of time. Check back next time with my thoughts on this…
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 12, 2010 | Blog, Clive Staples Award, CSFF, speculative fiction, top books
My friend Becky Miller is a tireless promoter for Christian speculative fiction (encompassing science fiction, fantasy, and similar genres). Last year she worked with others to introduce a new award that would highlight Christian speculative fiction. It was christened the “Clive Staples Award” (being the full name of one C.S. Lewis).
If you are a regular reader, you can vote for this year’s winner. The rules are that you read at least two of the finalists. You can vote throughout August, with the vote closing September 1. You vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place book (with the option only vote for 1 or 2 if you don’t have a full three choices).
I encourage any fan of the CSFF Tour or the books we promote to take advantage of this opportunity. This is for the readers to speak out. I have my clear favorites. Let’s see in September which book is this year’s Clive Staple Award winner! Go vote HERE!
by Jason Joyner | Aug 12, 2010 | Blog, Clive Staples Award, CSFF, speculative fiction, top books
My friend Becky Miller is a tireless promoter for Christian speculative fiction (encompassing science fiction, fantasy, and similar genres). Last year she worked with others to introduce a new award that would highlight Christian speculative fiction. It was christened the “Clive Staples Award” (being the full name of one C.S. Lewis).
If you are a regular reader, you can vote for this year’s winner. The rules are that you read at least two of the finalists. You can vote throughout August, with the vote closing September 1. You vote for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place book (with the option only vote for 1 or 2 if you don’t have a full three choices).
I encourage any fan of the CSFF Tour or the books we promote to take advantage of this opportunity. This is for the readers to speak out. I have my clear favorites. Let’s see in September which book is this year’s Clive Staple Award winner! Go vote HERE!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 19, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, speculative fiction
Yes! Another blog discussion on the boundaries of Christian/CBA fiction!
Seriously, this has been dragged around the virtual block more than a few times. If you’re late to the party and want to catch up, I hinted about this subject, then talked some more about it, based off the new Robin Parrish novel Nightmare, and intertwined this subject with a review of a new, gritty police procedural Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand.
Nightmare is a book best categorized by the term “paranormal suspense,” while Back on Murder is a very real-to-life crime novel. How do these two relate with each other and pushing the boundaries of Christian fiction?
The CBA market (fiction carried by Christian book stores for the uninitiated) is a growth market for the publishing industry. In the 1990’s it was mostly historical fiction, romance, or historical romance, with the Left Behind series thrown in for good measure. Oh, and this guy Frank Peretti had some spiritual warfare novels that were a hit.
In the 2000’s CBA has grown to hold pretty much any genre of fiction: suspense, science fiction, fantasy, chick-lit, horror, romance, contemporary, historical. For some reason Amish stories are a particular favorite, but we won’t go there today. Still, there are questions about what gets published under the (nebulous) banner of CBA fiction. Nightmare got great reviews from a recent blog tour for its writing and suspense, but a few people questioned the subject of ghosts and how they were handled in the book (I’m currently reading Nightmare and will go in detail on it later).
How far will CBA fiction go? I think it will go where the market allows, being a business. I don’t expect it to cross into subjects like erotica or new age topics that don’t measure up with the Bible. Slowly publishers seem okay with the “grey areas”, but this market still skews mostly to the Evangelical Christian reader.
Does Nightmare push the boundaries? Perhaps. Should it? Maybe. Maybe it should be published in the “secular” book market (the ABA is the umbrella term for publishers who don’t produce books with mainly Christian book stores in mind. Basically most of the publishing world…). I think Robin’s book could go either way. Maybe its place is in a larger field to play in. Then again, there is a much bigger market out there, and perhaps it would not find an audience with so many choices available (not for poor quality, but sheer numbers of other books).
How about Back on Murder as far as pushing boundaries? My friend Nicole didn’t think it did. Maybe not in a controversial way. I feel like it does in the fact that I haven’t read a book like it in CBA fiction (then again, straight crime/police procedural novels aren’t my first choice). I think it could stand in ABA fiction as it is – especially compared to the garbage that James Patterson writes.
Some books are more or less written for the CBA market. There is a valid place for this market, but it has struggled with self-imposed rules and (mostly undeserved) image problems of being inferior quality. I see certain writers with their feet firmly planted in the CBA market. Others like Tosca Lee, Gina Holmes, Mark Bertrand, and Tim Downs have written stories that could crossover, in my opinion, quite easily to the ABA market, due to the quality and way that faith is handled. Why do we not see these more prominently in Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc?
CBA fiction is growing in a good way, and I’m happy to see it. I just wonder if some books still aren’t better off in a different pond…
What say you?
—
by Jason Joyner | Jul 19, 2010 | Blog, CBA, christian fiction, speculative fiction
Yes! Another blog discussion on the boundaries of Christian/CBA fiction!
Seriously, this has been dragged around the virtual block more than a few times. If you’re late to the party and want to catch up, I hinted about this subject, then talked some more about it, based off the new Robin Parrish novel Nightmare, and intertwined this subject with a review of a new, gritty police procedural Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand.
Nightmare is a book best categorized by the term “paranormal suspense,” while Back on Murder is a very real-to-life crime novel. How do these two relate with each other and pushing the boundaries of Christian fiction?
The CBA market (fiction carried by Christian book stores for the uninitiated) is a growth market for the publishing industry. In the 1990’s it was mostly historical fiction, romance, or historical romance, with the Left Behind series thrown in for good measure. Oh, and this guy Frank Peretti had some spiritual warfare novels that were a hit.
In the 2000’s CBA has grown to hold pretty much any genre of fiction: suspense, science fiction, fantasy, chick-lit, horror, romance, contemporary, historical. For some reason Amish stories are a particular favorite, but we won’t go there today. Still, there are questions about what gets published under the (nebulous) banner of CBA fiction. Nightmare got great reviews from a recent blog tour for its writing and suspense, but a few people questioned the subject of ghosts and how they were handled in the book (I’m currently reading Nightmare and will go in detail on it later).
How far will CBA fiction go? I think it will go where the market allows, being a business. I don’t expect it to cross into subjects like erotica or new age topics that don’t measure up with the Bible. Slowly publishers seem okay with the “grey areas”, but this market still skews mostly to the Evangelical Christian reader.
Does Nightmare push the boundaries? Perhaps. Should it? Maybe. Maybe it should be published in the “secular” book market (the ABA is the umbrella term for publishers who don’t produce books with mainly Christian book stores in mind. Basically most of the publishing world…). I think Robin’s book could go either way. Maybe its place is in a larger field to play in. Then again, there is a much bigger market out there, and perhaps it would not find an audience with so many choices available (not for poor quality, but sheer numbers of other books).
How about Back on Murder as far as pushing boundaries? My friend Nicole didn’t think it did. Maybe not in a controversial way. I feel like it does in the fact that I haven’t read a book like it in CBA fiction (then again, straight crime/police procedural novels aren’t my first choice). I think it could stand in ABA fiction as it is – especially compared to the garbage that James Patterson writes.
Some books are more or less written for the CBA market. There is a valid place for this market, but it has struggled with self-imposed rules and (mostly undeserved) image problems of being inferior quality. I see certain writers with their feet firmly planted in the CBA market. Others like Tosca Lee, Gina Holmes, Mark Bertrand, and Tim Downs have written stories that could crossover, in my opinion, quite easily to the ABA market, due to the quality and way that faith is handled. Why do we not see these more prominently in Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc?
CBA fiction is growing in a good way, and I’m happy to see it. I just wonder if some books still aren’t better off in a different pond…
What say you?
—
