Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Let me admit up front that Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins is the first Christian fiction book I've read. I read it because, as a public library director, I felt the need to sample a genre that so many of my patrons want us to buy books to support. I must say that, though I wouldn't want a steady diet of Christian fiction, (who wants a steady diet of any fiction genre?) I did find much to enjoy in Riven.
First I thought the characters were realistic and believable. Thomas Carey, a man called to the pulpit but frustrated by having to deal with members of a congregation who want to control the church rather than use it for the purpose it was intended. Dealing with small and petty people drives Thomas away from that which he loves. Thomas eventually becomes a prison chaplain and in doing so finds his true calling. Then there is Brady Wayne Darby, a man that after one bad decision after another ends up on death row placed there for a murder that didn't have to happen. It is the juxtaposition and interaction of these two characters that supply the real meat of Riven.
Second, the pace of the story, while slow, allows the characters and their situations to develop without one plot gimmick or twist. Jenkins reminds me of fiction the way it used to be written; without the literary equivalent of special effects and without the over use of formulaic writing.
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