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A review by joshwrose
Monster by Frank E. Peretti
2.0
I have so many thoughts and few of them are good. I first read this when I was 13 years old and my family was entrenched in an evangelical culture. I received it as a gift for my birthday shortly after my grandfather passed away and decided to reread it when my grandmother recently passed. Unfortunately it has not aged as well or grown as I have.
This book is ableist, misogynistic, and wilfully ignorant.
First, one of the main characters loses her stutter after an immensely traumatic event for no reason. The author also likes to use the "r" word too often for my comfort.
Second, the aforementioned character's husband always seemed to know what was best for his wife and often disregarded her opinions. The author also gave her the personality of someone who liked to be clean and do her makeup. Nothing else. Anyone else thought it was creepy how they met at church and he picked her as if out of a lineup? Okay, groomer.
Third, it's like the author tried to channel his own Mary Shelley to write a new Frankenstein with a profound message about messing with natural order. Instead he wrote creationist propaganda, showing how little he understands science and how evolution works. In the end he doesn't even argue against evolution as much as he argues against genetic modification. But he makes no argument for a better theory either! Just tries to poke holes. He has no understanding of academia, and seems to believe that people outside of the church have no moral code of conduct.
The author's writing could have used a lot of editing. He changed how he called various characters all the time. I spent half the book with Deputy Saunders, but who the fuck is Dave? Oh his name is Deputy Dave Saunders? Be consistent! Actions were confusing. Did he look at the handcuffs or did he look at the case and take out the handcuffs?
The only thing that was good was the search/hunt for the "monsters" and the pacing he used to create tension.
I've read better Christian novels that aren't so agenda pushing, but it's been a while so I could be wrong there.
This book is ableist, misogynistic, and wilfully ignorant.
First, one of the main characters loses her stutter after an immensely traumatic event for no reason. The author also likes to use the "r" word too often for my comfort.
Second, the aforementioned character's husband always seemed to know what was best for his wife and often disregarded her opinions. The author also gave her the personality of someone who liked to be clean and do her makeup. Nothing else. Anyone else thought it was creepy how they met at church and he picked her as if out of a lineup? Okay, groomer.
Third, it's like the author tried to channel his own Mary Shelley to write a new Frankenstein with a profound message about messing with natural order. Instead he wrote creationist propaganda, showing how little he understands science and how evolution works. In the end he doesn't even argue against evolution as much as he argues against genetic modification. But he makes no argument for a better theory either! Just tries to poke holes. He has no understanding of academia, and seems to believe that people outside of the church have no moral code of conduct.
The author's writing could have used a lot of editing. He changed how he called various characters all the time. I spent half the book with Deputy Saunders, but who the fuck is Dave? Oh his name is Deputy Dave Saunders? Be consistent! Actions were confusing. Did he look at the handcuffs or did he look at the case and take out the handcuffs?
The only thing that was good was the search/hunt for the "monsters" and the pacing he used to create tension.
I've read better Christian novels that aren't so agenda pushing, but it's been a while so I could be wrong there.