The sleepy, eastern Washington wheat town of Antioch has become a gateway for the supernatural—from sightings of angels and a weeping crucifix to a self-proclaimed prophet with an astounding message.
The national media and the curious all flock to the little town—a great boon for local business but not for Travis Jordan. The burned-out former pastor has been trying to hide his past in Antioch. Now the whole world is headed to his backyard to find the Messiah, and in the process, every spiritual assumption he has ever held will be challenged. The startling secret behind this visitation ultimately pushes one man into a supernatural confrontation that has eternal consequences.
* from Goodreads
Hott Review:
I’ve been wanting to read some Christian Suspense Thrillers for quite some time. Since, The Visitation was on sale for $1… last year… I grabbed it and finally added it to my calendar. It wasn’t what I’d expected.
Honestly, I’m not sure what I expected.
As I read I was very conflicted. I don’t know about you but I enter every page thinking it’s non-fiction. That the characters are real and the plot plausible. Even fantasy. There really isn’t much I believe couldn’t happen. Yet, as the residents of this small town saw the supernatural I found myself skeptical. Not of what they saw, but of how it originated. And then feeling guilty for not believing that God could, or would, do these things for us.
And yet…
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
1 John 4 New King James Version (NKJV)
What I liked: I really liked how The Visitation brought out strong emotion and really made me think about my convictions. I spent time getting to what I really believe and why. More than that, I more fully understand my position on quite a bit of the religious “stuff” I wasn’t quite sure about previously. Plus, what I’m sure is more important to you, The Visitation is an enthralling psychological thriller that’s just… well, creepy.
What I didn’t like: The Visitation is an uncomfortable book. It showcases the worst of religion and the people who relish it. It’s sad, disheartening, and painful. I really had a difficult time reading this. I kept putting it down to reach for something lighter, or my Bible.
Frequently, I found myself confused by the characters. There were so many I kept mixing them up. For some reason this old brain had trouble staying on top of our.
I’m not sure how many more “Christian Suspense” novels I’ll read. Personally, I don’t think the message is as strong as the misrepresentation.
More…
| Author: | Frank E. Peretti | ||
| Source: | I purchased The Visitation on June 24, 2016. It was on sale for $1. | ||
| Publisher & Date: | October 10th 2011 by Thomas Nelson (first published May 7th 1999) | ||
| Genre: | Christian Suspense | ||
| ISBN: | 1401685226 (ISBN13: 9781401685225) | ||
| Pages: | 528 | ||
| Grade: | B | ||
| Ages: | 16+ | ||
| Steam: | Adult | There are some quote intense situations and intimacies that are not appropriate for all readers | ||
| Setting: | Antioch, Washington | ||
Author Bio:
With more than 12 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called “America’s hottest Christian novelist.”
Peretti is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group. He and his wife were married in 1972, and Peretti soon moved from touring with a pop band to launching a modest Christian music ministry. Peretti later spent time studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA and then assisted his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, he gave up his pastoring position and began taking construction jobs to make ends meet. While working at a local ski factory, he began writing This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye. After numerous rejections from publishers and a slow start in sales, word-of-mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal’s bestseller list every month for more than eight years. Peretti’s two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1998) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction.
For kids, Peretti wrote The Cooper Kids Adventure Series (Crossways and Tommy Nelson), which remains a best-selling series for children with sales exceeding 1 million copies. In August 2000, Peretti released the hilarious children’s audiocassette series titled Wild and Wacky Totally True Bible Stories, reprising his role as Mr. Henry, the offbeat substitute Sunday School teacher found in two Visual Bible for Kids videos.
Peretti released his first-ever non-fiction book, The Wounded Spirit in 2000, which quickly became a best-seller. The book addresses the pain of “wounded spirits” and was writted as a result of painful childhood experiences.
Frank Peretti and his wife, Barbara Jean, live in the Western U.S. In spite of sudden fame and notoriety, Frank still lives a simple, well-rounded life that includes carpentry, banjo making, sculpturing, bicycling and hiking. He is also an avid pilot.
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