Review of the novel HOUSE by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

                                                                   
                                                                  HOUSE 
                                              by Ted Dekker and Frank E. Peretti

                                                   A Review by Daniel Kuehn





I had heard about this book a long time ago and stumbled upon it at the book store recently.

The first thing I can say is this: This book is NOT terrifying. I expected it to be but it wasn't.

That being said, I really liked it. I expected it to be a LOT more horrific but instead I got a very well done supernatural suspense thriller.

Is it creepy? YES. Oh Lord, yes.

This book captured that nightmarish feeling you get when you are trying to get out of a dream-scape of some sort and every time you try, you end up worse than you were before.

Interestingly enough, this book broke rules. It did the deadly Changing-Point-Of-Views-In-A-Scene sin. And fascinatingly, it works. IT WORKS. The POV changes shot the story forward. Even though I wasn't "terrified", I was tense.

I couldn't stop reading. I wanted, no, NEEDED to know what happened to Jack and Stephanie.

I was also impressed by the character development. The characters were likable and hate-able at the same time. The authors didn't just puke information at you in the first couple chapters but instead make it a mystery all to itself on why characters are acting the way they do. Why is Jack bitter at Stephanie. Why is Stephanie in denial? Why is Randy so angry and strung out? Why is Leslie trying to be so logical she ends up illogical?
After reading three quarters of the way through, I had to wonder if any good was going to happen. How could anything so dark and terrible end well?
But little by little, the character's actions, choices, fears, and hopes are wove one at a time through the action.

Then I saw it.

Through the fear.

Through the darkness.

Through the House.

A Light.