On Holy Ground (Paperback)

One thing about Roger Elwood -- when he's on, he's on. His best books are full of brilliance, bordering on genius. The others -- well, even books that aren't his best have moments of brilliance and power.

Where does this fall? Definitely in the upper end of the spectrum. I can't say this is the best Angelwalk novel, simply because the others are so good.

"On Holy Ground" recounts events of September 15, 1999, when a man entered a church and opened fire, killing and wounding a number of people. It is told from the POV of two angels from Elwood's Angelwalk series, Darien and Stedfast.

I have to admit I was a little worried when I picked the book up. The book uses a mix of documentary-like fact (pulling quotes straight from interviews) and the setting of the angels, which, however real it may be, must be left up to the imagination of the author because we just don't have the insight to see the actual events in the spiritual realm. At first I thought the mixing of fact and fiction would not work. But it does. Elwood uses the documentary tone to give us a portrait of the victims of this tragedy, a portrait of their life and legacy, and uses the angels as commentary and to recount the Biblical and spiritual truths presented. Their observations do not preach, although they come close to it. (The preaching comes at the end of the book with a well thought essay from a theologian about the nature of God and evil.) I was worried that the fictional angels would cheapen the true story. They do not. They serve to illustrate the spiritual underpinnings of an event like this in our culture.

My only real problem with the book was its length. It was too short. And at some points, Steadfast says some things that it seems to me should come from Darien's mouth . . . but that's just because I've read the originals recently, and is a minor "nit-pick".

I won't say "On Holy Ground" is entertaining, not in the way that Independence Day or Superman are entertaining. It is more like watching Schindlar's List. You know from the beginning that the book is heading into tragic territory. But it offers insight and encouragement, especially for Christians, through the iconography of Elwood's fictional angels.

B.