Monday, November 17, 2008

SHADE by John B. Olson


Christy Award–winner for Oxygen, Olson, a biochemist-turned-novelist, keeps pace with a page-turning thriller that will please fans of paranormal spiritual battle tales. In a goth-vampire–infused mind-bending race through the streets and underworld of San Francisco, Hailey Maniates discovers a deeper diagnosis than paranoid schizophrenia for her hallucinations. One man wants her as bait in a cosmic duel, and another—Melchi, the child of prophecy—wants to save her life. With the help of her graduate school friends and Melchi, Hailey turns from victim to fellow soldier with Melchi in the battle against the evil Mulo, the spirits of the dead who act like vampires. With breathless pacing, a sharp sense of suspense, memorable descriptions and a churning plot, this novel is a must-read for those who enjoy such authors as Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. Readers will appreciate carefully woven themes from Dracula, science, faith, conspiracy theory and divine battle. Christian themes surface in the supernatural warfare, and a Christian character, Susan Boggs, helps Hailey see beyond the physical world to a deeper reality.