Michael Potts's Blog: Bits and Pieces: Book Reviews and Articles on Writing, Horror Fiction, and Some Philosophy - Posts Tagged "mike-duran"

The Resurrection by Mike Duran

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The Resurrection" is Mike Duran's first book; I had previously read and reviewed his second book, "The Telling." Again, this is well-written Christian horror fiction. The Evangelical Christianity is slightly too much "in your face" compared to "The Telling," but it does not become a bit off putting until near the end of the novel, and even then there is sufficient suspense to keep the reader going. The plot is similar to the second book; a preacher has lost his faith due to the death of his sister in a car accident and the subsequent devastation in his life, including a divorce from his wife. A woman in his congregation prays over a man at a funeral, but has no idea that after she prays and touches him the dead man will sit up, alive and well, in his coffin. This leads to a battle between good and evil that reminds me somewhat of the plot of some old Hammer films. There is a mysterious society of intellectuals, demonic "gods," a secret altar -- the author's descriptive powers are strong, so I imagined the scenery throughout. The grouping of witches and New Age people into one Satanic group was off putting, but that is standard Evangelical fare. One interesting aspect of the book is that it raises the possibility that ghosts exist, something that most Evangelical Christians are loathe to believe. Duran, in an appendix, mentions the possibility of ghosts or other entities and suggests that Evangelicals at least be open-minded about the possibility of their existence. The ghost described in the text is sufficiently creepy, different than many other ghosts in the literature. Duran has a knack for putting new twists on old tropes. Thus within its genre, I think it deserves four starts; it is an interesting, scary, and worthwhile read.



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