House a Supernatural Thriller by Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker - Book Review
The Only Way Out is In
Christian writer Frank Peretti has more than 12 million books in print and is the million-selling author of Christianity-based suspense and spiritual warfare novels including The Oath, This Present Darkness, Monster and Piercing the Darkness as well as House.
Ted Dekker is the author of several contemporary Christian fiction novels. House loosely ties in with Dekker's "Lost Books" saga, through his "Project Showdown" trilogy. We know that House takes place in the same universe as The Paradise Novels Showdown, Saint, and Sinner, as it is referenced in Saint.
House, is an epic supernatural thriller about two couples fleeing from a killing maniac in rural Alabama. After seeking refuge in a remote, cozy-looking Victorian inn, Jack and Stephanie Singleton meet the three bizarre tenants of the house as well as another couple, Randy and Leslie.
As if the strange tenants were not threatening enough, soon a masked man named Barsidious White is stalking them through the ever-changing house. This mysterious antagonist tells the couples that he has killed God and will kill all seven of them unless they kill one of their own by dawn. He claims that if he gets one dead body by dawn, he may let the rest live, which pits them against the residents and against each other.
With one strange event and close call following after another, the characters spiral downward while their own worst traits begin to take them over. They discover Susan, a young girl who has survived the house, but they refuse to listen to her advice. However, when the couples come face to face with their own dopplegangers dressed in the same tin mask the real killer wears and bleeding black smoke, they eventually come to realize that the house, while real, mirrors their own heart and soul. Unless each can defeat the evil within, the evil in the house will claim them.
Jack and Stephanie begin to unravel the mystery, but Randy and Janet are not so fortunate. Will one of the characters make the ultimate sacrifice and free the rest from the malevolent House before they are all dead?
House is full of action and frightening glimpses of the supernatural for which Peretti and Dekker are famous. However, the multiple dopplegangers, while an interesting tactic, was not necessary and rather tepid fare in an otherwise outstanding novel. Every time the multiples showed up throughout the book, I lost interest in what might have otherwise been a riveting scene and had to stifle the urge to either giggle or yawn.
Eerie evil twins aside, House is more riveting reading from the two masters of the Christian supernatural horror genre, Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. If you like your blood to run a little cold now and then, you will want to pick up House. You might want to treat yourself to the movie version, too, and learn why "the only way out is in."
SOURCES
Wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_E._Peretti
Wikipedia.org/wiki/House_(novel)
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An author, poet, publisher, publicist & skincare consultant, I have written for publications including CCM Magazine, The Tennessean, Barbie Bazaar Magazine, Christian Activities & several local newspapers.... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentEnjoyed your writeup. House was quite freaky (the movie too) but it always seems I learn something new everytime I crack open a Dekker For a novel. I even wrote an article about a strange occurance -- "The Thirsty Prostitute in a Hospital Cafeteria". Thanks again for the review. :)
The DVD review is up at: Christian Horror Movie House Comes to DVD on April 7
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1622261/christian_horror_movie_house_comes.html?cat=38
I wish I had time to read all of Peretti's books!
I never knew there was a Christian horror genre! Thanks for lettign me know. I'm such a scare-dy cat... I'll stay away from these!
I wrote a review on this one too! I love Frank Peretti, although Ted Dekker isn't exactly my favorite. But I did really like House.
Peretti and Dekker are two of my favorite authors - for Christian fiction. They raise the bar, as it has long needed to be raised. ;-)
;-);-)
I love most of Frank Peretti's books. I agree with your reaction to this book. I read it once and that was enough.
I will have to look for this book! Sounds great. I love Scary.
I love a good spooky story.