Deadline (Content & Quality) Book Review

 

Overview

Jake Woods thinks he has an OK life. Sure, he's divorced, but he has two good friends, the atheist Doc and the Christian Finney. That is, he does until they get sent to the ICU after a car crash, and they both die. Then, Jake learns the shocking truth. The accident was not an accident. He gets launched into the investigation to find the murderers, and some things he learns starts to hit him closer to home, or what used to be his home. 

Negative

Jake and his friends served in the Vietnam War, and while there they got drunk and committed several sexual sins "Not because casual sex and drugs were so great," but because it reminded them of home. It's also mentioned that Doc and Jake, who regrets what he did, cheated on their wives. Doc (Who, yes, is actually a doctor.) did some abortions. Jake goes on a date with someone who tries to get him to come home with her (Subtly, and he refuses her.). The three generally led non-Christian lives, until Finney became a Christian and Doc died. There is a story arc involving Jake's daughter, who becomes pregnant, gets HIV, and considers committing suicide (She doesn't, and makes the right decisions in the end). Finney dies and goes to Heaven, meeting Jesus and his friends and family members who died, along with his guardian angel, Zyor. The author says that he researched the Bible heavily for these scenes, but some people may not like them. There is also a brief scene where Doc dies, and then realizes he is all alone and going to Hell, though he thinks it's better than going to Heaven. There is a gunfight scene where a man is shot twice at close range in the head. A couple flippant uses of the word h*ll. 

Positive

This is a story with some strong Christians in it, who even when everything seems against them, including, at times, the protagonist, keep the faith.*SPOILERS* Jake becomes reconnected with his family, including his mother, daughter, and wife.  Jake repents, becomes a Christian, and God begins to turn his life around. *END OF SPOILERS*. The author collects many different viewpoints, including Liberal, classical Liberal, Conservative, and Christians. The front cover has a quote from Frank Peretti, "There should be no ignoring the vital message of this book." And that pretty much sums it up. This is a story about God taking the most far gone people and cleansing them.

Conclusion

When I first started this book, I didn't like what I saw at first at all. By the time I finished, I had changed my mind. This book's message is good. The story is good, but it has its flaws. At times, it feels like the author goes on a field trip from the plot to grab political and moral essays from different people or detailing the daily routines of the characters. I think the book might have been better if some of these moments had been cut out. At other times, the message is more clearly woven into the plot, such as the author's Christian views on abortion and sex being intertwined with Jake and his daughter's character arcs. The ending is the kind that can make you cry, something I've found some Christian literature often fails to do, but this one succeeds.