Comes a Horseman

Hello All. In the interest of having something to write about besides my frequent trips to the doctor or e.r., I will now be occasionally reviewing new books by Christian authors. As some of you know, and the rest of you don't, I am attempting to complete a novel. This journey has led me to some interesting places and has allowed me to meet some new and nifty people. Part of this journey has been an exploration of the Christian book market.

I was very turned off in my teen years by Christian novels because the market was dominated by romance fiction. Now, I'm all for romance, but it can get old in novel form, kind of like Nancy Drew(read one, you've read them all). I ate up the early Frank Peretti's because they were new and different. But there wasn't much else out there in the Christian book world that I wanted to read. So I kind of gave up on it. I worked at a Christian bookstore in college. I can't recall any book from that time that made me want to read what I was selling. I'm sure there were some good books out there, but I had no way of knowing which ones were worth the money.

So, back to the present....In researching my market(since I am writing Christian fiction) I have discovered a whole new world of Christian fiction, and frankly, I'm kind of excited about it. While there is still plenty out there for the romance fans, there are many more authors trying to make the Christian book market a more diverse place.

Hanging out at sites for Christian writers has given me a new perspective. It also lets me know what or who I should be reading. This month's buzz is for Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo . It is about a pair of FBI agents on the trail of a conspiracy involving the Anti-christ. Now I know what you are thinking(especially you, splitcat), that does sound formulaic, but after reading the Amazon reviews I think I must read it. Generally, I don't pay much attention to the hype that the publisher provides, they obviously want the book to sell. However, if someone takes the time to write a review, they must have liked it. It apparently is in the top 100 bestselling thrillers on Amazon, and seems to be one of those rare books that lives on the boundary line between Christian and secular, appealing to a wide variety of people. Apparently, the movie rights have also been sold recently. The brief excerpt I read on Mr. Liparulo's website definitely made me want to read more. Once I've actually read the book, I will let you know what I think. It would make me very happy to find more Christian authors to enjoy.

I must say that it is encouraging to know that Christian fiction, as well as fiction by Christian authors(yes, there is a difference) is making itself known to the rest of the world.