Books

Our book rating system:
= Five "ups". Excellent. You can't get much better than this.
= Four "ups". Great. One you should read.
= Three "ups". OK, but not great. Might be worth reading,
= Two "ups". Not that great, don't waste your time.
= One "up". Bad. Don't read it.
= No "ups". Terrible. Don't go near it.

This Present Darkness

Reviewed by Brian.

The first in Frank Peretti's adult book series, TPD is an incredible book. It's incredible to read these books and think that angels and demons really do exist (although probably not in the way they are described in TPD). TPD is about a town called Ashton that was originally a normal small town, but later becomes a town that demonic forces are trying to take over. The book is about the angels that try to keep that from happening, and the people who live in the town who try to figure out why so many strange things are happening. It also makes you think about the supernatural forces at work in this world, and how much prayer is needed. This book needs to be made into a movie!!!

Objectionable Content: There is a lot of stuff in this book that younger kids probably couldn't handle. The demons, especially the powerful ones, are very gruesome. There are witches and demon worshipers, as well as people possessed by demons in this book. The battle between angels and demons can be a bit nasty too. Also, there are some mentions of rape (never detailed or explained, but mentioned). Best for people 13 and up.

This book is an awesome read, I personally like it better than Piercing the Darkness, so if you liked that, you'll probably love this one.

Harry Potter series

Reviewed by Brian.

Ok, you might be thinking, "What? I thought this is a Christian site! And he gave it a five!". Well, yes I did. I couldn't give it any less. And while I know they aren't Christian books, I do not go along with the people who go crazy whenever they hear the word "Harry Potter" and start explaining how demonic it is. I do think it is something to be concerned about, but I don't think these honor the devil at all. First, they basically use the Halloween version of witches and witches. I'm not defending Halloween either. I don't care for the holiday myself since it has a bad origin. Second, the stuff in them is all stuff like silly potions that turn you into a pig, or charms that make a wand fly away from someones hand, and flying broomsticks with model numbers, and books that bite, etc. However, the bad guy, Voldemort, is a very bad guy and is explained in gruesome detail. This is something to be worried about, but not if you can handle it. Third, It's good versus bad. If all witches in this book were demonic, then why would they fight each other? Voldemort is obviously bad, and Harry and Dumbledore are obviously good. I think that when reading these, you need to be careful to remember that it is fiction. I think the most harmful thing about these books is that they can numb your thinking about witches. They make them seem like some can be good, and they seem like acceptable people in the books. Again, these aren't witches in the true sense of the word, but since a witch in Harry Potter is called a witch, and a witch in real life is called a witch, they can be confused and someone could eventually start thinking of them as not too bad. It is important to remember that the witches in Harry Potter are not real, and that witches are real and are NOT something to shrug off. If you remember this, I don't see any reason why you can't read Harry Potter for the sake of what it is...acceptable entertainment for people who know the truth about witches and who view Harry Potter as fiction, and fiction only.

Objectionable content: Voldemort is very bad and cruel, and also quite nasty. The Dursleys, Harry's relatives who he lives with, are mean to him, but in a humorous way. Some kids at school are mean and there is occassionally a bad word spoken. The kids at school are often hostile to each other, but everything gets fixed up. Harry's dreams about Voldemort killing his parents are scary. I would not recommend these books for children under the age of 11 or even 13.

While they do contain topics to talk about, they are extremely well written, and as I said above, if you don't let yourself confuse Harry Potter witches with real witches, I would recommend these books to anyone over the age of 11 (people older than 18 might not care for them, but then again they might).

Left Behind series

Reviewed by Brian.

The Left Behind books are the best book series I have ever read, and each book alone is worthy of a five out of five rating. They are about the end times. The first book introduces us to the main characters, and how they experience the rapture. They all have a story of why they were left behind, and why Jesus did not take them with him. On is a pastor, one is a pilot, one is a reporter, and one is a student who is the daughter of the pilot. The books chronicle their life as they become aware of the truth, as they meet other new believers, as they struggle to stay alive during the rise of the antichrist. The antichrist has succeeded in making most of the world think he is a great man who is going to save them by uniting the world. Instead, he is a man who is slowly being taken over by Satan and who is fulfulling the tribulation as explained in Revalation. The Tribulation Force, consisting of the main characters, is trying to bring as many people as they can to Christ and trying to stay alive at the same time. Nuclear wars, murder, mind-persuasion, and evilness are all summed up in the antichrist, who is the Tribulation Force's ultimate enemy. Working undercover, hidden, and with inside help from beleiver inside the antichrist's operation, the Tribulation Force strives to stay alive until...The Return.

Objectionable content is nothing unnecessary. Very little language, and very little suggestive themes (in the beginning, the pilot is wrestling with his consience to be disloyal to his wife. Besides that, just a little romance, not that these books are romantic at all.) Gore and violence are the only issues. Blood is described many times when people are shot at close range, or with very high powered weapons, and violence is rampant. However, these books would not be what they are if they took any one of those things out. Just something to think about before letting someone under the age of 13 read them.

These are the best books I've ever read, as I said above, and I would recommend them to anyone, Christian and nonChristian. They are incredible and wonderful. They have hit the NYTimes bestsellers list many times, and there are currently nine books in the series. If you haven't already, CHECK THEM OUT!!!