Archive for March 1st, 2010
House – By Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker
Well, it’s the first day of March and a Monday, so with no further ado, I’d like to introduce my new series: A Few Of My Favorite Things! I’ll be attempting to add to this every Monday for the month of March, so we’ll see what fun things I can come up with to write about.
The purpose of My Favorite Things is to let you know a little more about my reading style. I’ll be featuring posts on favorite authors and books and maybe even a little randomness on the side. I’m still debating about the randomness. However, for today, I have picked out an appropriate book that I think you’ll enjoy.
A Few of My Favorite Things
Today I’d like to introduce the book House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker, not to be confused with the TV show of the same name. I mentioned this book in a post a few weeks ago, and now I’m breaking it back out because it’s a fabulous read. According to the back of the book, it’s classified as general or suspense fiction.
For those who don’t know, Ted Dekker is a Christian author whose focus is on twisting your perceptions. His series of novels have thrilled and excited and horrified readers ever since he started writing, and his ability to completely leave any trace of Christianity out of his writing and yet still get his point across is fascinating.
Frank Peretti is a more established Christian author who’s been published longer than Dekker. Peretti’s specialty is writing spiritually charged novels that use a lot of metaphor and even allegory in order to serve his message. His books are fascinating in ways that make you think and wonder about the world around you.
Together, the two are the perfect authors for this book.
House is the story of two couples, brought together by a killer in the middle of the night. Both have been run off the road in the middle of nowhere on their way home, and they somehow wind up outside of a house-turned-inn. With no cell phone service and no other means of leaving due to slashed tires, both couples find their way into the quaint home where they are greeted by the family that runs the inn.
Meet Jack and Stephanie Singleton, a married couple whose relationship is on the rocks, especially after Stephanie took her wedding band off last month. Jack, of course, was devastated by the loss of intimacy and love that they shared, and Stephanie’s fear drives her moves now.
Alone in the Alabama hotel, the two meet Randy and Leslie, a couple who call themselves “long time associates” but are much closer than mere work partners. Randy and Leslie have also found themselves without tires on the gravel backroad and are looking for the owners of the inn.
When the odd, inbred family finally appears, the chess pieces are all in place for a killer’s deadly game. Betty, the wife and hostess, shows a hostility towards her guests that’s almost palpable as she tells them how stupid they are for coming when the murderer known as the Tin Man is on the loose.
Starting with a power failure and escalating to threats via bricks tossed down the chimney, boards nailed against all possible exits, and a truck rammed through the front door, the foursome finds themselves the pawns in this game. And there are only three rules to the Tin Man’s game:
“Welcome to my house.
House rules:
1. God came to my house, and I killed him.
2. I will kill anyone who comes to my house as I killed God.
3. Give me one dead body, and I might let rule two slide.
Game over at dawn.”
Thus begins Tin Man’s game. Driven by fear and adrenaline, the two couples band together in a fight for their lives as they discover their hosts’ secrets. But their mistake, the one that could potentially lead to their deaths, is going into the basement.
Once all four of them have entered the basement, Tin Man seals them inside, keeping them trapped in a maze unlike any they’ve experienced before. Changing rooms, shifting shadows, circus mirrors that don’t reflect human reflections all lead them down the road to insanity as Jack, Stephanie, Randy, and Leslie while away the hours until dawn.
But this house isn’t normal by any stretch of the word, and its owners are just as dangerous as the Tin Man. When Jack discovers a young girl hiding in the basements named Susan, her appearance seems suspicious: just how did she get down there in the first place? And why does she insist that Jack isn’t really hearing her?
The book follows the game, pacing each chapter by the time of the night. As the couples weather attacking inbreds, they try to figure out just what supernatural forces are taking part in their captivity. But the game ends at dawn no matter what, and for them to survive, someone must die.
It’s an adrenaline-laced adventure for the two couples as they try to survive long enough to get back up to ground level. But once they do, more mysteries and a killer awaits them. And the ending is shocking enough that you probably won’t be expecting it.
It’s one of my favorite books because the psychological thriller has a fabulous plot, well-developed characters, and a powerful, underlying message. It left me on the edge of my seat and kept me reading late in the night as I was too afraid to turn off the lights without knowing how the book would conclude.
In short, I’d argue that this book is just as intriguing, fascinating, and alluring as any on the shelves produced in the general market. The timing is perfect, and the turns of phrase are fabulous.
So, there you have it, one of my favorite things. I’ve read this book through twice and picked through it at random intervals to remember the plot. It’s definitely a book I’ll be keeping on my bookshelves for years to come.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Let me know!
-Rae-
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