House (Hardcover)
www.teddekker.com
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1595541551
400 pages

----- Home Sweet Horror -----

On a beautiful autumn afternoon Jack and Stephanie are flying down a deserted county road in their ocean blue Ford Mustang trying to save a little time and cut off a large bit of their trip. Already running late for their marriage counseling appointment in Montgomery, Jack looses his patience when a Highway Patrol cruiser pulls him over for a bad brake light. Jack receives a stern warning to fix the light and a notice to watch for suspicious activity for a few miles. It seems travelers have started showing up dead in abandoned houses recently, their disabled vehicles located days later somewhere off the road. This serial killer has left no clues behind except for the sadistic methods used to bring about the deaths of his victims. After warning them, the officer says to look for the turnoff back to the state highway in about 20 miles and to get off the back roads after twilight falls. Since city folks tend to be a bit out of their element in the Alabama backwoods, Jack and Steph choose to ignore the officer’s warnings and continue onward.

60 miles later they both realize they’ve missed their turn and are hopelessly lost. While cruising down the road at a steady 65mph their Mustang suddenly rolls across a spike strip hidden under debris on the road and Jack loses control, narrowly missing several trees and spinning to a stop off the road. With all four tires flat, serious front end damage, and no cell phone service for the last 50 miles, they start walking. As is often the case when situations change, their minds begin to wander unbidden to the recent killings. Complete darkness descends and the ominous warning by officer Lawdale doesn’t sound so farfetched now. With a sigh of relief the exhausted couple finally stumbles on a cozy-looking bed and breakfast complete with cobblestone driveway and warm light streaming out the windows. Little do they know they’ve just travelled down the driveway to hell, their home (and possible resting place) for the next 10-12 hours.

Inside the house is another couple whose car was also disabled in an ominously similar manner. Both couples reassure each other they’ve been the unfortunate victims of some rather nasty backwoods pranksters and are finally safe and sound. Plans are made to retrieve the damaged vehicles in the morning after a night’s rest. As the residents of the hostel begin to make their appearance, it soon appears to even the most skeptical reader that all is not as it seems in the House in the woods. As the House begins to show its true nature, all the inhabitants must face their own demons and fears in person, whether or not they will be able to survive is anyone’s guess.

The only way out is in, the only way to win is to lose it all. One game. Seven players. Three rules. You have until dawn to choose… welcome home.

----- The Dekker & Peretti Dream Team -----

In case you haven’t heard of either author before, both Dekker and Peretti are best-selling authors in the Christian fiction world, although both are definitely crossover authors with appeal beyond the typical Christian demographics. I honestly don’t like the genre-title Christian Fiction since it implies specific religious or denominational beliefs that will only appeal to or be completely understood by a small segment of readers. Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti both write novels about good and evil, black and white, and the underlying reasons behind why we make the choices we do. Call them moral absolutists if you want, but there are lessons to be taken from their books no matter what your spiritual beliefs or lack thereof.

When I first heard that Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti were co-authoring a new book I was more than excited, I guess an appropriate word would be awestruck. I’ve been an admirer and avid reader of Peretti since his early novels including This Present Darkness and Prophet. While a master at supernatural thrillers with a message, Peretti has also penned several excellent non-fiction works that stem from his extensive personal struggles in earlier years. In my opinion his best work may actually be The Wounded Spirit, a book for all those with damaged or nonexistent self-worth and feelings of inadequacy.

Dekker on the other hand is a master at weaving twisted tales involving the powers of good and evil behind the scenes. Instead of just a murder mystery or a horror/thriller with a typical ending, Dekker probes into the reasons behind both heroic and destructive actions. His recent fictional trilogy titled simply The Circle was as complete and approachable work of literature as I’ve seen on the subject of free will, the natural ability to make choices we all have, and the often destructive results of our selfish desires. Other books by Dekker include Three, Showdown, and Blessed Child.

----- Bottom Line -----

While I’m a rather fast reader and like to finish a suspenseful novel as quickly as possible, I actually read House in one afternoon/evening. The tension and suspense created during the course of House is palpable and stress inducing. If you’ve seen movies such as Saw, 28 Days Later, or Phone Booth, you’ll understand slightly what reading this book is like. Where those movies focused on either blood and gore or psychological games to entrap the viewer, House keeps the reader engaged by a combination of staccato dialog and dark, disturbing environments. Unlike the typical hero-vs-psycho faceoff you’d see in a thriller, the main character in House (Jack) isn’t much of a hero. He’s more of an everyman Joe-next-door with his own weaknesses and inadequacies. While you may be able to guess the outcome of the story, it’s path there is never sure and always twisted in a unique way.

Do I recommend House? You bet I do, it’s Peretti’s best work since The Oath and one more great book for Dekker. If you want to feel the full impact of reading House in the right atmosphere, turn the lights down, leave all your window shades open, and read late at night. Just make sure you don’t work early the next morning…

NOTE: The good news is there is a movie version of House planned for sometime in 2007, let's just hope it's not ruined by poor casting and hacked-up dialog. The book is great just as it is, please leave in intact on the big screen!

Related Links:

•Ted Dekker: Black
•Ted Dekker: Red
•Ted Dekker: Three
•Ted Dekker: Blessed Child
•Ted Dekker: A Man Called Blessed

•Matthew Reilly: Scarecrow
•Matthew Reilly: Contest
•Matthew Reilly: Area 7
•Matthew Reilly: Ice Station
•Carsten Stroud: Black Water Transit

•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Still Life With Crows
•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Cabinet of Curiosities
•Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Brimstone
•Lincoln Child: Utopia

•Dean Koontz: The Taking

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!

© Openroad 2006

Recommended: Yes