"Pieces of Light" by Julie Cave — Book Review
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen
I am not going to give out too much information and spoil the story for you. Like the second book, Pieces of Light does not follow a formula to seem like a rehash of the previous books. In fact, it opens with the killer writing his thoughts in a journal while in prison. Then we are taken back to how it started.
Someone hates Christians and Christianity, saying that we're all hypocrites because of what happened to him — he was the victim of abuse by a church-going man that people thought was wonderful. His response when he was older was to bomb churches. But he did not want total devastation, he wanted to "make a statement".
This book does not deal directly with evolution, but we see some of the fruits of evolutionary thinking. In this case, the despair inherent in evolutionary beliefs such as atheism and secular humanism. When we are given the message that the universe and life itself happened by chance, life evolved through time, chance, natural selection and mutations, we are all just rearranged pond scum, there is no God, no final judgment, no Heaven, no Hell, when you die, you're worm food — no wonder people are depressed. Julie Cave did research on this book as well, which adds to the depth and believability.
Like the other books, there are concurrent story lines with other characters — including betrayal, forgiveness and redemption. Also, Dinah Harris is a recovering alcoholic as well as a relatively new Christian. She has to decide if she is going to stay true to her faith and convictions. Other story lines that began in Deadly Disclosures continue, and some are resolved.
As I stated before, I am reluctant to read Christian fiction because there is a tendency for the writers to make their characters shallow, with unrealistic happy piety. These characters are believable, and Dinah Harris has her struggles as well as victories. Not everything ends up in a pretty package with a nice bow on top where everyone receives the gift of salvation. But the gospel message is very clear, and we're left with hope that some of these people will come around.
I recommend Pieces of Light, and the entire trilogy for that matter. It is available at several retailers as softcover or e-book, including Answers In Genesis. For that matter, you can buy all three paperbacks in a boxed set. No, I do not get anything at all for doing these reviews or linking to sellers.