Book Review: "The Chasm," by Randy Alcorn
Posted by
Max02
|
Labels:
Book Review,
Randy Alcorn
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Posted On Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 3:55 PM
I love books. Some of my favorite childhood memories include times reading great stories. This is the reason I signed up with Blogging for Books.
I was so excited to get the first book I had picked to review: "The Chasm", by Randy Alcorn.
I'd never before had a chance to read any other works by Alcorn, and, because I'm an avid reader of fiction, I figured this would be a good place to start.
I was SO wrong.
I've heard from many trusted sources about how great Alcorn's non-fiction materials are. However, I found myself sadly disappointed when I began reading this work of fiction.
"The Chasm" is the story of Nick Seagrave, a middle-aged business professional who finds himself in a dark world filled with hidden danger.
Had I known this story was a condensed version of the book "Edge of Eternity," also by Alcorn, I would not have chosen "The Chasm" as my first read.
As a work of fiction, I found the narrative to be rushed and a bit forced. It felt like a roller coaster ride, and not in a fun, exciting way. I was pushed from one monumental moment to the next before I had a chance to properly digest what was going on.
I don't know if it was the author's intention, but the main character, Nick, comes off as rude, arrogant, and, honestly, somewhat of a jerk. Multiple references of others as "ignorant, little people" doesn't easily endear me to Nick or the author.
The story didn't do much for me as an allegory either. The dark hopelessness of life without Christ is painfully obvious and overindulged. Not only has this symbolic story been done before, it's been done with more grace and creativity.
I can usually devour a 700+ page book in less than a week. It took me more than a week to finish this 110 page story. I had to force myself to pick it up and complete it. Had it not been for the requirement of this review, I seriously doubt I would have kept reading after the first few pages.
There is also a Readers Guide at the back of the book that asks questions about each chapter. after forcing myself to finish the book itself, I couldn't bring myself to even consider reading, much less answering, the questions.
All of this to say that, for me, "The Chasm" just didn't deliver.
I would not recommend this book to anybody.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
I was so excited to get the first book I had picked to review: "The Chasm", by Randy Alcorn.
I'd never before had a chance to read any other works by Alcorn, and, because I'm an avid reader of fiction, I figured this would be a good place to start.
I was SO wrong.
I've heard from many trusted sources about how great Alcorn's non-fiction materials are. However, I found myself sadly disappointed when I began reading this work of fiction.
"The Chasm" is the story of Nick Seagrave, a middle-aged business professional who finds himself in a dark world filled with hidden danger.
Had I known this story was a condensed version of the book "Edge of Eternity," also by Alcorn, I would not have chosen "The Chasm" as my first read.
As a work of fiction, I found the narrative to be rushed and a bit forced. It felt like a roller coaster ride, and not in a fun, exciting way. I was pushed from one monumental moment to the next before I had a chance to properly digest what was going on.
I don't know if it was the author's intention, but the main character, Nick, comes off as rude, arrogant, and, honestly, somewhat of a jerk. Multiple references of others as "ignorant, little people" doesn't easily endear me to Nick or the author.
The story didn't do much for me as an allegory either. The dark hopelessness of life without Christ is painfully obvious and overindulged. Not only has this symbolic story been done before, it's been done with more grace and creativity.
I can usually devour a 700+ page book in less than a week. It took me more than a week to finish this 110 page story. I had to force myself to pick it up and complete it. Had it not been for the requirement of this review, I seriously doubt I would have kept reading after the first few pages.
There is also a Readers Guide at the back of the book that asks questions about each chapter. after forcing myself to finish the book itself, I couldn't bring myself to even consider reading, much less answering, the questions.
All of this to say that, for me, "The Chasm" just didn't deliver.
I would not recommend this book to anybody.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
