"This might be one of the best novels I’ve read in a couple of years."

So writes author and blogger Sarah Reinhard in her recent review for National Catholic Register of Robert Ovies’ new novel, The Rising, published this spring by Ignatius Press:

This isn’t a thriller. It’s not a horror novel. It’s a serious consideration of what that would mean for a normal kid and his family.

On the surface, this seems like it could be either heretical or awesome or even some combination of both. Ovies, however, forces us to go deeper. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be dead? And what are the implications of a boy having this ability?

C.J.’s dad has an entrepreneurial streak, his mom is very protective, and it seems no one’s really concerned about him. For a nine-year-old boy, raising people from the dead could be a neat trick. For the rest of the world, it’s an opportunity to spit in death’s face.

And let’s not forget exploitation, because you know that would happen. The media and even the Church get in on the “what can you do for me?” side of things and, in the end, the hero of the story is the most unexpected person.

This isn’t just entertaining reading, though it’s definitely that. It’s also an examination of life and death. This book is really a consideration of human nature and maybe even divine nature. It’s a look at relationship and trust.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this book the whole time I was reading it. It’s fast-paced and yet it has a way of getting into your brain and making you think.

This might be one of the best novels I’ve read in a couple of years. It gets my highest recommendation. You won’t be sorry you read it!

IPNovels.com published an interview with Ovies in April, in which the novelist discusses his research, key themes, and the writing process. Here is more about the novel:

The Rising: A Novel[image error]The Rising makes you think, wonder, and then ponder what death, life, and love really mean."
- T.M. Doran, Author, Towards the Gleam