1.0 out of 5 stars
couldn't make myself read the whole thing, May 23 2003
this book was horible!! I didn't get half way through the book before i lost ALL respect for the characters!! I am a fan of Peretti and I love some of his other books but i must say DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
It's Not That It's Terrible, Aug 3 2003
This book isn't a bad book in the usual sense: It's story is reasonably interesting, and it's readers won't have a problem getting through the whole thing.
The prose is only occassionally brilliant, and usually utilitarian--it just gets the job done. The short "scene-switching" get's to be annoying, especially towards the end.
And the story. . . it's "just so". Everything goes the way you would expect. There are few surprises except in the details. Unless you were already pulled into the book for religious reasons before you began, there is little in it to make you live it. There is no overwhelming uniqueness or other quality--it hardly looks deep into your soul and tells you something about the universe or humanity the way that, say, Hemingway can. (But who can measure up to the greats?) Peretti's biggest fault with respect to the story is the utter flatness of the characters. Perhaps the action-pacted-ness of it left no more room for character development.
One gets the feeling this book is aimed at a more mature audience (the age of the characters, the apparently sincere portrayal of sexuality, the graphic violence, etc.), but there remain elements (I don't want to give away the story!) that are just too hoaky, too Power Ranger or G.I. Joe.
But those faults might be forgiven. After all, one doesn't expect John Milton when one goes to see Terminator 3. What can't be forgiven, what bothered me the most was that it seemed Peretti's sole motivation was to make a single theological statement: if you do bad things you will be punished horribly. What a soul-less, mindless religion. Where is the relationship with the Eternal Creator God, the mystery of the universe? How can there be depth in a spirituality that reinvents adult human beings as children obeying soley to avoid a spanking?
Discussions about things like "is eternal damnation biblical" are irrelevant: I am God's servent even if I do not get the lollipop in the end; even if a spanking is fated yet will I believe in him. I question the morality of using threats of suffering as an evangelistic tool. How can we criticize the medieval Christians and Muslims who forced conversion at the end of a blade, when we do the same with the precipice of hell?
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Oath, Sep 13 2011
The Oath was very good. It's a book that keeps you interested and a little creeped out, haha. It starts off with a bang and then keeps you turning the page. One of my favourite things about this book was the odd clippings from the old town folk that randomly pop up in the book. The metaphor for sin coming to life as a real thing that can destroy you is very creative. All in all it was an interesting read, I would recommend it for sure!
-T
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