When I first received my review copy of *The Chasm*, by Randy Alcorn, I looked it over. At first, I was a tad disappointed since it was obviously a short novella. I had thought it might be a bit longer. It also takes place during the time line of Alcorn's novel, *Edge of Eternity*. Thankfully, *The Chasm* was written in such a way as that one does not need to have read *Eternity* in order to understand it. With reassurances in hand, I settled down to read the book.

The story revolves around a man named Nick Seagrave. He is apparently a wealthy businessman who is estranged from his ex-wife and daughters. He suddenly finds himself in this mystical land, and he must choose between the simple red road, or the multiple other roads, in an effort to reach the beautiful City of Light. In the end, he discovers that the red road, like the others, leads to an infinite chasm. One that hopelessly separates the land where he stands, *from* the shores wherein lies the City of Light. What can he do? The answer is nothing. Nothing but have faith.

That seems to be the theme throughout the little novella. Faith. Only by faith in the Lord Jesus, can we escape the due penalty for our sins. And We ARE culpable for our sins, and thus the punishments of the Cross that our Lord willingly took upon himself. In the story, Nick finds himself joining a gang of others, egged on by their own resentments and demons, driving spikes into the feet of Christ. Then when the armies of Heaven implore the Lord for permission to destroy those who hurt Him so, the Lord denies it, pointing out that He could stamp the crowd at his feet out with "a thought". When he is asked why he allows such a pathetic, evil rabble to hurt him, he responds, "Because it is the only way to save them."

That struck a powerful chord with me. Not since I read *The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*, have I been so struck by a fictional representation of our Lord's sacrifice on our behalf on that Cross on Calvary. This book drove the point home. The pains and torment he undertook that day so long ago (for us, to His eternal mind, perhaps just yesterday), the hurts we deliver to Him when we hate Him, mock Him, blame Him, question His judgement, or so forth; are *all our fault*.

Think of it! Think of the pain that we must cause Him, though He in His holiness has every right to send the whole lot of us to Hell, and it would not be at all unloving or unjust of Him to do so. So what does He do? He comes down and *dies for us*!!

We sing songs in church of the enormous holiness and love of God, and His other amazing attributes. These songs do not even begin to cover the truth of the picture. God's attributes and Self are inexhaustible. In eternity, those of us who know Him will NEVER encounter the end of His Being. Randy Alcorn makes that all-too-neglected Scriptural point in his story.

I honestly can not think of any great defect in the slim story. Since it links to the events of the larger novel, *Edge of Eternity*, the length is obviously no real issue. The closest that I can come to a criticism, is that the violence is a bit graphic. Not gratuitously so, but because Alcorn seems to want to show how our struggle is for our eternal souls, and even sometimes our temporal lives. And it is a real battle, with unseen forces that we ought to be taking more seriously than we do.

The part that I liked, on a more minor level than the praise so far given by me, is the way in which the author weaves together beloved authors such as Lewis and Tolkien with *Scripture* in the narrative. Not only is it wonderful to see Lewis and Tolkien properly used and interpreted in another fictional work, but the use of Scripture is quite refreshing. The Word of God is supposed to be our first stop for knowledge and instruction, not a pit stop after some later human authors. I was glad to see Alcorn bring this correct place of the Bible into the novella. He even seems to throw a bit of Bunyan's *Pilgrim's Progress* into the mix, which is also great fun.

This book, despite it's short length at 112 pages, is a must-read. The vivid battles and imagery paint an accurate picture of how we, as sinners and enemies of God, were redeemed by His hand through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. It also paints a beautiful picture of what we can look forward to on the New Heaven/New Earth: inexhaustible paradise, with our inexhaustible Lord and God that we were created to worship. Amen and amen! I can not wait!!! HOOAH!!! Highly Recommended.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers. I am obligated to read it and give a review on my blog and on a commercial web site such as Amazon.com. WaterBrook Multnomah emphasizes their desire for honest reviews, whether positive or negative, in order to help them create a better product. The opinions above are my honest viewpoint. I want to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for allowing me to review this book, and thank you all for reading this.