The Falling Away by T. L. Hines

T. L. Hines is known for his novels of supernatural suspense. If you are looking for demonic influence, demon possession and the rescuing from those conditions and don’t care about theological accuracy, this book is for you. There is the spiritual disease, demonic influence, which humans under the influence can spread to others. There is demonic possession that can be transferred to another human through a blood transfusion. There are the rescuers, the Falling Away, who “channel” the demonic influence (spiritual disease) out of those infected. The Falling Away are people with compulsions (to handle the evil they channel). Quinn, the Falling Away heroine who helps the diseased Dylan, has “vacant eyes,” tells lies, steals cars, etc. She is hardly a model for a Christian!

If you are looking for theological accuracy with respect to the Christian faith you will be sorely disappointed. It is difficult to write a spiritual allegory and get most of it right. Hines doesn’t get much right. Demons are tied to the heart and transferred by a blood transfusion (where donor and recipient are not typed for compatibility!) (260) Demon possession does not happen at once as it takes from hours to weeks. Even though Dylan becomes demon possessed, he can “put” the demon in a “kill box” in his mind and overcome its influence. This “kill box” is described as “God.” “Inside me.” (297)
If you are a Christian who knows the Bible well, this book will probably grate on your theological nerves.
Two positive aspects of the book might make it appropriate to give to another with the view of discussing it. Quinn is willing to give her life to save Dylan (shades of Christ’s sacrifice) and there is a discussion of the problem of evil in the world (If God is all powerful and all good…).
This would have been a great book if the author had been more consistent with truly representing the Christian viewpoint of demons and how they can be confronted.

This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.