The Telling - Not So Quietly Christian

The Telling by Mike Duran is the story of a guy named Zephaniah Walker. Now, here comes what I really enjoy about this book - it’s not quietly Christian. The Telling is pretty darn straight out there. What I mean is, when someone reads a lot of the books that are placed into the Christian Horror genre, it’s usually obvious that they are written from a Christian viewpoint and that they contain Christian beliefs. Yet the stories themselves are not necessarily always about, (I’m struggling on how to describe this…) they’re not always direct, physical battles between demons and angels, prophets and false prophets, or Jesus and Satan.

Most often our “demon” is a ferocious killer, a mysterious monstrous creation of some sort, or a biological weapon devised to gain power over the world in a matter of weeks.

(Obviously there is a plethora of both types of books, but I don’t encounter the bluntly Christian type much these days. A switch to something like The Telling is sort of relieving.)

Zephaniah Walker is a prophet living in a town called Endurance. He has officially given up being a prophet and is adamantly staying as far away from that part of life as he can. However, as readers, we know that the main character has to face his worst fear or his least favorite aspect of himself.

That’s exactly what happens to Zeph (for short), in The Telling.

I like this book because it’s not an analogy for the greater picture. Either Zeph is going to be the man he’s meant to be or he’s not and demons will have their way. No serial killer is going to be let loose or a girlfriend be kidnapped. The characters are faced strictly with accepting the truth of God’s power that’s in front of them, or blindly ignoring it and paying the consequences. There is a constant battle of accepting God and destiny or denying them both.

Duran’s ability to tell this tale without preaching it or falling into the stereotypical ideas about how Christians write stories makes me proud to say I read Christian Horror.

So easily could this book have had the worst case of stereotypical Christian cheese ever.

But it doesn’t.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical, I didn’t know if Duran could pull it off. But he did.

For the most part I liked Duran’s characters. Tamra Lane (recruited by her grandmother to help solve the mystery of what was happening in Endurance) got a little on my nerves now and then, but it wasn’t a hindrance to the story. My irritation was more along the lines of me wanting to slap her in the face so she would straighten up and see what was so obvious. I wanted her to get with the program and start working, haha.

But, you know, if I’m thinking of these characters as actual people, I guess a slap in the face would be sort of rude. Duran handled her stubbornness a lot better than I did. 

The one thing I’m always saying when it comes to characters is that I wish authors were more ruthless with the important one.

So I don’t know why I’m always so upset when they are.

Maybe I’m a sucker for falling in love with characters, maybe the authors I read are just that amazing at creating an empathetic connection, or maybe it’s some odd balance between the two.

Whatever it is… It sure is annoying.

Once again, I found myself falling into the trap of empathizing for their lives and caring when they die. I didn’t realize it till after the fact. I thought to myself, “REALLY? I fell for that again?”

That phrase “be careful what you wish for” is a deadly truth.

Duran will not bring you to the edge of your seat with anticipation. I mean, the book is good, really good. But you’re not wondering every moment whether or not the world is going to end or if the main character’s going to make it out alive. He does terrify you with every sentence, but expect some good jumps scattered throughout. Duran creates anticipation, with an undertone of fear, through mystery and through believability.  

Honestly, how many of us slip into the frame of mind that says, “God just doesn’t work like that anymore.”

Throughout Duran’s book he confronts us with the issue of belief or disbelief. Are we going to accept the facts or not? Not only are the characters faced with these questions, but the readers are as well. That is where the anticipation, the thrill, and the on-your-toes-feeling emerges.

I think that’s one of the main reasons why I like this book. Like I said before, everything that happens could be taken as completely corny or tacky, but it isn’t. Somehow, Duran’s writing is anything but cheesy. (I’ll admit there were parts that I thought were going downhill, but Duran brought it back and added something unexpected.)

In our culture Christian movies and writing are usually shunned. Artists are disowned because their work involves Christianity, Duran’s book The Telling steps up and refutes all of that.

And besides standing up for his beliefs…Duran is one good writer. Besides being thought-provoking, The Telling is a fantastic story packed with fears stemming from the spiritual world.

I’m looking forward to picking up Mike Duran’s second novel, The Resurrection.