In this installment, we discover what happens when someone chooses the wrong flavor of Christianity — and it is a dire warning indeed, if a completely false one. Today, Lord Snow Presides over a contemporary denominational squabble that reveals all too much about its target audience.
In this installment, angels openly shrug about the potential of humans going to hell, while doing nothing to prevent it for Jesus reasons. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the shocking immorality of evangelical heroes.
In this installment, we check out the deteriorating marriage of Kate and Marshall Hogan. In two of the subplots given to us in Chapter 21, their relationship takes center stage. So today, Lord Snow Presides over some more evangelical projection — this time in the case of the Hogans’ marriage!
In Chapter 21, Frank Peretti skipped merrily across a whole bunch of plots, giving us a little taste of each one, George R. R. Martin style. I only touched on each of those plot vignettes last week. So now, let’s zero in on one of the most interesting of the lot of them. Today, Lord Snow Presides over just how easy it is for wingnuts’ meetings to get completely out of hand.
In this installment, we trudge through the midpoint plots one by one, without regard for good storytelling of any kind. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the midpoint slog in This Present Darkness.
In this installment, we learn more about the inner workings of the bad guys in the story — and glimpse a possible real-world inspiration for this book’s plot. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the lack of originality of This Present Darkness.
In this installment, we discover yet more evangelical weaknesses that have somehow been projected onto their worst enemies. Today, Lord Snow Presides over a town overtaken by the forces of evil — which look remarkably like the forces of evangelicalism!
In this installment, we examine how one side character ended up joining the bad guys. Peretti presents it as an awful and bad thing, ominous and scary, but wow, it really struck me as a projection! Today, Lord Snow Presides over a recruitment that sure looks a lot more like an evangelist’s dream proselytization.
In this installment, we witness an extended exposition dump in two scenes. Today, Lord Snow Presides over Frank Peretti’s total lack of understanding of journalism.
In this installment, the bad guy’s closest servant turns out to be a whistleblower, while angels help out way more than usual while somehow being way less helpful than they really should be, and we learn how little Frank Peretti knows about women’s fashion in the 1980s. Today, Lord Snow Presides over Christians’ illusions and mythology about prayer and angels.