Book Review: Powers by John B. Olson

Title: Powers
Author: John B. Olson
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group, Nashville
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 392
ISBN: 978-0-8054-4
Genre: Christian fiction/suspense

Mariutza: Gypsy girl raised in a swamp. Never seen the city.

Jazz: Musician. Current gig-nightclub. Thrives on city life.

The two seem anything but likely partners. When a band of men murder Mariutza's adoptive grandfather, she flees the swamp. In the city, she finds Jazz. In pain from a wound, she needs his help. Although Jazz thinks Mari might be crazy, he can't just leave a wounded girl on the street.

But Jazz has trouble of his own-a strange letter that warns of danger, and a band of hooded men chasing Jazz. The more Mari and Jazz talk, the more they feel that the men who murdered Mari's grandfather are the same ones after Jazz. For unknown reasons, the police and FBI are tracking them. Mari, however, is more afraid of the "Badness" than of FBI agents.

Mari claims Jazz's face is the same as the one in her grandfather's painting of Jaazaniah the Prophet. Although Jazz knows he's only a musician, Mari keeps insisting that Jazz exercise his prophetic gifts. Jazz doesn't even believe in God.

Unanswered Questions in Powers

Powers is more of a stand-alone novel than a sequel. But it does follow up on an earlier novel by Olson, a novel titled Shade. If you read my review on Shade, you'll see that I found it a confusing book. Even after finishing the last page, I still didn't understand what had actually happened.

Since I knew Powers followed up on Shade, I thought Powers might clarify the events in the previous novel. Especially when characters from the first book reappeared in Powers, I thought I'd finally figure everything out. But Olson barely refers to the events of the first book. Several characters pass up prime opportunities to explain past events.

Powers did present a more coherent story, but it also left big questions unanswered. The biggest question was why the FBI would have been after Jazz in the first place. After all, this is the plot line that drives the action of the novel. It's the main story thread. But when we get to the end, we still don't know the reason behind this manhunt. Without that answer, the story fails to make much sense.

There's also the issue of Mariutza Glapion and Marie Paris Glapion. Mariutza is the heroine of Powers. Marie Paris is some sort of voodoo woman. Similar names, right? In fact, the FBI even gets the women confused. Clearly Olson gave them similar names for a reason. But Olson never explains how Marie Paris fits into the overall story. As a result, the scenes with Marie Paris left me thinking, Huh? What was the purpose of that?

Why to Read Powers

So why read Powers if it has these flaws? I have to admit, I was disappointed with Powers. But I think Olson has some good ideas. In Shade, he came at the vampire craze from a different angle than anything else I have seen. In Powers, he built on a more obscure biblical story, the story of the Rechabites.

Sometimes if I can't understand where a book or movie is heading, I just get bored and move on to something else. But the suspense kept me turning the pages in both of Olson's books, despite my confusion. Olson keeps up a good pace, yet he keeps the action free of graphic violence or offensive language.

In short, Olson has done some positive things with Powers. I just wish he would have done more.

I am curious enough about his ideas and development as a storyteller to consider reading future novels he may write.

Note: B&H provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.