This Present Darkness
by Frank E. Peretti
List Price:
Our Price: $8.65
You Save: $6.34 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.42 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Frank E. PerettiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-06-26
ISBN: 1581345283
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Crossway Books
Book Reviews of This Present Darkness
Book Review: Changed the way I think of angels and demons
Summary: 5 Stars
Review by Jill Williamson
Bernice Krueger, reporter for the Ashton Chronicle, finds herself in jail after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She came to Ashton to investigate the supposed suicide of her sister. Now, she and her boss, Marshall Hogan, start investigating some strange occurrences in town.
Hank Busche is a small town pastor who is trying to keep his argumentative congregation from falling apart. Little does he know, there are dark forces in town that are set on seeing him fail. As demons characters carry out their assignments, Marshall and Hank become more determined to discover the truth. But can two men fight a host of demons they cannot see? And why is the host of heaven standing around and watching? Aren't they going to do anything to stop this evil plot from taking over the town?
Wow. This book has changed the way I think of angels and demons. There are many references in the Bible that lead me to believe there is a spiritual war going on around us that we can't see. But never have I read anything to give me such a clear picture of how that might look. In Daniel 10, Daniel has a vision of an angel coming to speak to him. The angel says in verses 12-14, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."
This has always amazed me. That God told this angel to come and talk to Daniel, but the angel got held up fighting some demon over in Persia. In the Bible, angels are sometimes referred to as princes. I believe this angel was talking about how he was fighting with the prince of the Persian kingdom, who was a fallen angel, or demon, since he was resisting one of the host of heaven. It's this idea that Peretti builds his story around. The idea that there are angels and demons waging war around us in a dimension that we cannot see. They can see us, but we can't see them. And in Peretti's story, the demons want to rule Ashton and the angels are there to make sure God's plan prevails.
This Present Darkness is an awesome story. Marshall, Bernice, and Hank slowly stumble onto the truth and have to work together to save Ashton. I love how Peretti showed the angels as mighty warriors interacting with one another. I also loved how Peretti showed the power of prayer. I kept rooting for the characters to pray, already! This book was thrilling, scary, amazing, and brilliant. I can't say enough wonderful things about it. Everyone should read this book at least once in their life, if not over and over again.
Summary of This Present Darkness
?For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.?
Ephesians 6:12
Ashton is just a typical small town. But when a skeptical reporter and a prayerful, hardworking pastor begin to investigate mysterious events, they suddenly find themselves caught up in a hideous New Age plot to enslave the townspeople, and eventually the entire human race. The physical world meets the spiritual realm as the battle rages between forces of good and evil.
This Present Darkness is a gripping story that brings keen insight into spiritual warfare and the necessity of prayer. Since its original publication more than 2.7 million copies have been sold. The companion volume, Piercing the Darkness, continues the story of the battle between spiritual forces.
This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti, is among the classic novels of the Christian thriller genre. First published in 1986, Peretti's book set a suspenseful standard in spiritual warfare story-telling that has rarely been met by his contemporaries. Set in the apparently innocent small town of Ashton, This Present Darkness follows an intrepid born-again Christian preacher and newspaper reporter as they unearth a New Age plot to take over the local community and eventually the entire world. Nearly every page of the book describes sulfur-breathing, black-winged, slobbering demons battling with tall, handsome, angelic warriors on a level of reality that is just beyond the senses. However, Christian believers and New Age demon-worshippers are able to influence unseen clashes between good and evil by the power of prayer. Peretti's violent descriptions of exorcisms are especially vivid: "There were fifteen [demons], packed into Carmen's body like crawling, superimposed maggots, boiling, writhing, a tangle of hideous arms, legs, talons, and heads." This book is not for the squeamish. But for page-turning spiritual suspense, it's hard to beat.
Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Fiction Books
Reluctant Messiahby Salamon Eskinazi
Jason Aronson, Inc.; Published: 2001-07-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.95
Joshua, the Man They Called Jesusby Ian, MBE Jones, Ian Jones
Lothian Books; Published: 2000; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
The Christmas Angel (Cape Light, Book 6)by Thomas Kinkade, Katherine Spencer
Jove; Published: 2007-09-25; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.91
Price in other shops:
In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?by Charles M. Sheldon
Dover Publications; Published: 2010-12-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.70
Price in other shops:
On Hummingbird Wings: A Novelby Lauraine Snelling
FaithWords; Published: 2011-04-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Ghostwriter: A Novelby Travis Thrasher
FaithWords; Published: 2009-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
Cyril of Alexandria (The Early Church Fathers)by Norman Russell
Routledge; Published: 2000-06-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $112.73
Price in other shops:
![When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box [Paperback] by Ortberg, John Image](/images/When-the-Game-Is-Over-It-All-Goes-Back-in-the-Box-Paperback-by-Ortberg-John-0310253195-X.jpg){kind=small}
When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box [Paperback] by Ortberg, Johnby John Ortberg
Zondervan; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Then Comes Marriageby Angela Elwell Hunt, Bill Myers
Zondervan Publishing Company; Published: 2001-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Language of Silence: The Changing Face of Monastic Solitude (Traditions of Christian Spirit)by Peter Damian Belisle
Darton Longman and Todd; Published: 2003-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.01
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Visitationby Frank Peretti
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2003-09-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.10
Price in other shops:
Piercing the Darknessby Frank E. Peretti
Living Books; Published: 2002-08; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
The Screwtape Letters: With Screwtape Proposes a Toastby C. S. Lewis
Harper Collins Publishers; HarperCollins; Published: 2001-03-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.20
Price in other shops:
The Oathby Frank Peretti
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2007-04-10; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Tillyby Frank E. Peretti
AMZ - Omaha; Crossway Books; Published: 2003-07-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Prophetby Frank E. Peretti
Crossway Books; Published: 2004-03-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.60
Price in other shops:
Piercing the Darknessby Frank E. Peretti
Crossway Books; Published: 2003-06-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.84
Price in other shops:
The Oathby Frank Peretti
Thomas Nelson; Published: 2011-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.86
Price in other shops:
This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darknessby Frank E. Peretti
Crossway Books; Published: 2000-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Peretti Three-Packby Frank E. Peretti
Living Books; Published: 2003-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops: