Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell

The faith of the forebears of Old Greenesboro had bound the Strange Man to the North Woods for over a century.  But now the faith of that bygone era has faded.  The people have stopped believing in demons and God.  The Strange Man is free to roam.
A terrifying storm approaches the town.  The turbulent clouds darken the sky as approaching evil darkens the community.  There is a creature from the North Woods stalking - a spiritual being with only evil intent.  As the terrible storm passes over the town some can sense a feeling of spiritual darkness settling upon them.
Many of the inhabitants remember their parents telling them of the bogeyman.  For generations the tales were told to the children.  The bogeyman was said to live in the North Woods.  Has the evilness of the bogeyman been released from the North Woods to haunt the town?
People begin to feel and see a being that causes pure terror.  Could the taloned creature be the devil come to claim those he thinks are his?  Is this the bogeyman?
The novel centers around Dras, a twenty-two year old unemployed man who drinks too much and scorns the faith of his brother and parents.  When the evil creature says he is after Dras' friend Rosalyn, the prodigal Dras knows he has to protect his friend.  But how?  Even his preacher brother refuses to help.  Is there any way Dras can keep the evil away from Rosalyn?
This book is not for the weak at heart. I usually read fiction right before bed but I had to read this earlier in the day.  Frank Peretti step aside.  This novel brings spiritual warfare to a new level of visualization and excitement.  And the story does not resolve at the end of this book.  "...[T]he battle is just beginning..."  (266)
There is also a short story at the end of the book, a sort of prequel to the novel.  (The action takes place ten years before the novel.)  I would have placed it at the beginning and suggest you might read it before the novel.
I am not so patiently waiting for the sequel.
This book was provided for review by Realms, A Strang Company.

Realms, A Strang Company, 266 pages.

Publisher information, reviews.

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