I was solicited to do this review by the author. He sent a copy of his book to me at no charge for the purpose of an honest review. First, I do not want to harm the author. Honesty demands that I give bad news as well as good news. The book is in dire need of editing, and rewriting. It was a difficult book to read. So much so, that it took away from the author’s message. The poor writing was so bad, I did not finish reading the book. You only need to eat so much of a sandwich made from rotten meat to know you won’t be nourished by consuming more of it. You would also know by that analogy that you may even be poisoned, and made sick by it. This is how poor the writing was.
I don’t want to give the impression that the review is based solely on the poor writing. It is also on the focus of the author which seemed to be an eschatological one. The book is a collection of short fictional stories, set in a diner, focused on the end times. I want to encourage the author here. Christian allegories, and stories, if done right, can be very inspirational, and thought provoking. When done wrong, they can lead people into heterodoxy, and be a waste of time. The stories that I read lead me to believe that the author should focus more on the glory of God, and seeking first His kingdom, and less on eschatological pursuits. In my opinion, he was passionate about what he wanted to communicate. He should take that passion, and use it to further improve his writing skills. It would help to take a few classes on writing, and literature. If that is out of the question, he should read the classics. If he coupled that with a class or two at a solid seminary, he might have something of value to add.
At the end of the day, his story telling skills are going to be subjective. If you like reading self-published books, with subpar writing, then you will like this book. I don’t. I usually grade a book for Christians either one of two ways. Does it add value to an individual’s personal Christian library? If the answer is, “No” I don’t recommend it. If the answer is, “Yes” I recommend it. In this case, the answer is no. I might change my mind if the author gets an editor to go through his work thoroughly, and he makes the necessary revisions. Again, what do I know? I’m just some guy, sitting at home, hacking away on an old Unicomp keyboard for his own web site. I apologize for the blunt summation, but I didn’t want to flatter the author, or protect his feelings, when he could really crank out some good work if he gets the education.
ps. Dave, you need to learn the difference between the book of Revelation, and revelations. You called the last book of the Bible, “Revelations” numerous times. Don’t start sentences with a conjunction.
Snyder's Soapbox 