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.

Crafting the Creeps through Fiction: Questions for the Authors Who Do It Best

In 2011, the third author in this series published his first novel, and then in 2012 he published his second. Mike Duran has written The Resurrection, The Telling, as well as a novella titled Winterland. I’ve read The Telling and will most likely be purchasing the other two in the near future.

The Telling is not a Horror novel with undertones of Christianity. The story depicts a blunt battle between good and evil. As strange things begin to happen in his hometown, Zeph Walker, a childhood prophet, must decide whether or not to admit the truth he’s been hiding from for years.

Duran regularly posts on his blog, and also has various other types of work that you can find under the Books tab. I’ve read some of his posts and posts he’s written for other sites, and they’re not to be missed. Recent articles have been creating quite a stir for some readers. I definitely suggest you check them out.

Mike Duran was gracious enough to send some great answers for Crafting the Creeps through Fiction.

1) As a writer, do the voices in your head ever overwhelm you?

“Ha! I think that's called "schizophrenia," isn't it? I've heard it said before that writers need to develop a kind of multiple personality syndrome. In other words, we need to learn how to actively cultivate the voices in our heads. I know, that sounds weird. But when it comes to creating characters, the author is the first and best prototype. Most of your better characters will be culled from yourself. But if it's true that we need to cultivate these fictive persons, then it's also necessary to assign rooms for them, so that at the end of each day we can lock them there.”

2) What's something no one will ever say about you?

“Interesting question. I hope no one would ever be able to say I'm boring, uninteresting, or dispassionate. I'd rather have folks say I'm intense, I think too much, and enjoy deep conversations.”

3) What is your least favorite interview question to be asked?

“What's you're favorite color, food, or something like that. Those kinds of questions always seem so lame to me. It's almost like the interviewer did not want to exert the energy to research their subject and ask some provocative, informative questions. You'd think if someone was interesting enough to be interviewed, what their favorite color was would be way down the list of questions one can ask. (And, by the way, my favorite color is green.)”

4) What is your earliest memory of being afraid?

“It probably had less to do with fear than being profoundly disturbed about the nature of the universe. I was probably 5 or 6 years old. My dog, Daisy, was my best friend. She slept at the foot of my bed every night. We had a very close relationship. Well, my mother brought home some chicks one day and we kept them in a little pen out back. I was mesmerized over those little yellow fuzzballs. Until one day I came home and found that Daisy had slaughtered all of them. The back yard was strewn with chicken guts. perhaps the most disturbing element of the event was having to reconcile how the dog I loved could massacre such innocent little things. It scarred me for life.”

To find out more about Mike Duran and his writing, I recommend following his blog. You can also like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

Blog: http://mikeduran.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cerebralgrump

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cerebralgrump