Customer Reviews

The Oath

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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!!

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?

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

This was the first large novel I ever read and I really, really enjoyed it. Ever since I have been turned onto reading because of it. The writing isn't complex but very descriptive. The plot absolutely rocks! Its not as scary as some people say, at least it wasnt for me but for creepiness its a great read and highly recommended.

The book I am reading is very interesting at the beginning but then again very confusing I don't know if it is because of me or just it really is confusing.
At the beginning of the book it starts out with somone running like crazy from somthing but it does not say what so you are very confused for the first chapter until you get to the second chapter which is lableded The Bear. I like this book though accept the fact I think this book is way to long for the topic. There is talk about Cliff a guy that was killed while camping at the beginning the sheriff thinks it's a bear but there is talk that it something. At the beginning I thought that it was a bear but then I started to have mixed feelings about this thing that killed cliff I am beginning to think that it is something else. Also I think that the author should have explained a little more at the beginning bu then again I think he did a googd job because I want to read more.

This book was the first one I ever read of Peretti's. I am not phased by violence, and in fact I love all the scary mixes in the story. It made it interesting. I love Frank Peretti's writing because he's not hesitant to put "scary stuff" in his books. I love that about him! I love his books because they are a little freaky. His books show me every time, that no matter what, evil never prevails, and that out of evil can come much good! The frightfulness of his books draw people in. For example, when I was reading The Oath(and I read it in five days flat it was so exciting) a friend of mine asked me about it. They read the back and thought it looked awesome. It wasn't the "Christian Aspects" of the story that drew her to the story. It was the fact that it looked exciting, and Frank Peretti is indeed a great fiction writer. Non-Christians can enjoy this book to the fullest and be spoken to at the same time. The fact that Frank Peretti doesn't "Christianize" his books is AWESOME! Meaning, he doesn't push Christianity on people to the point a non-believer won't listen anymore. He draws you into an exciting and invigorating story that is hard to put down. And without knowing it, those stories speak to the people reading them in ways they didn't expect when they first opened it up. The Oath, This Present Darkness, Piercing The Darkness, Hangman's Curse, Nightmare Academy, and The Wounded Spirit are all the books I've read from him, and so far not one of them has disappointed me. Everyone spoke to me in some way, and I can't wait to read the rest of the books he's got out there!

I'm starting to believe that Frank Peretti is incapable of writing a bad book. Everything I've read by him has been absolutely excellent. Mind you, I gave "The Oath" four stars instead of five simply because I didn't think it was as good as the other books of his I've read, but don't mistake that as saying this was in any way not a good book! I think it was absolutely excellent in many aspects of the word. This book will keep you on yours toes all the way 'til the end. It will make you think; it will make you understand just how desperate we are for Christ in our lives. It is an incredible book, and the sooner you read it, the better.

After reading "The Visitation", I eagerly anticipated reading "The Oath". I was disappointed and found myself skimming over many sections of the book that were repetitive and far too drawn out. It seems like the story could have been told in a few hundred pages less. There were brief moments of suspense, but most of the book was predictable. I would recommend reading other books by Peretti and not spend too much time on this particular one.

The Oath is a great work, but compared to The Visitation or Piercing The Darkness it doesn't hold up. Some of the battle scenes between the main character and the creature seem to drag on. The dialogue makes this book good. I think the book had about 75 to 100 pages too many.

"This guy is the Stephen King of Christian fiction," a friend of mine excitedly exclaimed when he got his copy of The Oath. I calmly reminded him that a) I'd never heard of Frank Peretti before and b) I didn't exactly care for Stephen King in the first place. Though the first part of my response has since changed, I still see nothing in The Oath to get excited about. The story is set in modern times, in a backwoods town where people mysteriously die in rather grotesque ways. After loosing his brother, the protagonist goes to investigate and finds more than he bargained for. Basically, The Oath takes complex spiritual issues and simplifies them by personifying them. Even that description is more exciting than this book. I'm not trying to write a negative review, but I really didn't like the characters; they were bland, Christian fiction stereotypes. Now, that's not to say the book wasn't readable--it was highly readable--and the story was actually clever, just not as well executed as I had hoped. Peretti has mastered the art of moving a story along, something many writers in his genre haven't figured out yet. There's a lot going on in this book and you don't get bored. The Oath is a safe book. I'd let my children read it without hesitation. There's nothing truly offensive within its pages. It has a wonderful moral lesson about feeding (indulging) sin and how sin overtakes us--something non-Christians would probably find puritanical and ridiculously executed. Nevertheless, I find nothing to truly hate about The Oath. It is what it is--a bedrock work in a genre that lacks definition, leadership, or any clear direction. It is the quintessential Christian fiction title--murky at times, laughable at times, but mostly entertaining, wholesome, and definitely a professional presentation (unlike much of what passes as Christian fiction). So what if it's a moral play? For anyone interested in Christian fiction, this is a good book and one that won't sour your pallet.