This Present Darkness

Atop the little white church, Signa and his two companions continued to stand guard as the darkness descended over Ashton, deeper and colder with each passing moment. All over the nearby neighborhood dogs began to bark and howl. Here and there a quarrel broke out among humans.
“He’s here,” Signa said.

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti is an eye-opening look at the spiritual war that rages around us. Peretti once again delivers a captivating story with a thought-provoking theme. After reading this book, your entire view of the world will change.

Plot

With the sheer amount of stuff going on in the plot, it’s hard to boil it down to a 100-word summary. So in this case, I’ll let the book describe itself.

After the film in her camera is mysteriously destroyed at a small-town festival, reporter Bernice Kreuger knows she’s found something worth covering up. She brings the investigation to her boss, Marshall Hogan. Along with the local pastor of a struggling church, Hank Busch, they find something much bigger than they expected—a demonic plot to enslave their town and, eventually, the world.
The tiny college town of Ashton becomes the unlikely battleground in a cosmic clash between good and evil. Unseen by the human protagonists, armies of angels and demons wage war against one another in the spiritual realm for the souls of the people of Ashton. Up against supernatural forces, the future of the town seems bleak—but the power of prayer might be able to influence the outcome of the fight.

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This Present Darkness alternates between three subplots. The pastor of a small church, Hank Busch, fights the growing demonic oppression he sees in his town. Marshall Hogan uses his newspaper experience to track down a vast conspiracy that threatens to destroy the town. Angels and demons battle for control of the town.

As always, Peretti kept me on the edge of my metaphorical seat with intense action scenes and constant suspense. It kicks off at a slow pace, but after several chapters, things pick up and don’t slow down until the end. I could hardly tear myself away.

Characters

This book shows the plot events through four lenses. Hank Busch, a Christian, recognizes the spiritual warfare but doesn’t fully understand it or why it’s come to his small town. Marshall Hogan’s search for answers brings him across a secret New Age group, but he doesn’t grasp how they hold the seemingly supernatural power that they do. Through the angels’ eyes, God’s plan for the town is revealed and put into place. Demons influence non-Christians to work their will, harassing and even possessing them.

I enjoyed how the author realistically portrayed the human view of the events. A Christian looks at the problems of the world and knows it’s because of Satan’s influence. A moral non-Christian is appalled at the state of the world but can’t make any actual difference because they don’t see the underlying reason.

Many side characters come into the story, and they’re all well-written and realistic.

Theme and Content Warnings

The power of prayer is the primary message. As the story shows the angels’ and demons’ points of view, you see the sheer terror even the fiercest demon has for a praying man. It’s an encouraging truth—Satan’s strongest fortress is a cardboard box when faced with the power of God. While demons cower before prayer, it strengthens angels. The book also shows the angelic intervention caused by prayer.

However, one thing is missing from this message. In passing, someone quotes Matthew 17:21, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting,” but fasting never comes up again. It’s a huge topic, but in short, I doubt the Christians of Ashton could have accomplished all they did without fasting. To me, this makes the book incomplete.

The author necessarily takes many creative liberties in the details of spiritual warfare. For example, the supernatural forces clash using swords—which is probably not what really happens. Angels and demons die because of the conflicts, and it’s unclear where they go after death. Near the end, a female angel becomes part of the plot (the Bible does not contain a single female angel, seeming to indicate there are none).

Those familiar with Peretti’s books already know what content warnings to expect from This Present Darkness.

The book is free of profanity, but multiple times it states something like, “He cursed.” Some characters use euphemisms for profanity. Someone paints a profane phrase on the pastor’s house, but the actual words are never given to the reader.

A death that happens “off-screen” is discussed, and it’s said no one knew the character was dead until blood flowed from under her door. Another character comes across someone who committed suicide—more blood is present, but it’s only briefly mentioned.

A character being falsely arrested for prostitution is an important plot point. She spends the night in a jail cell full of women arrested on similar charges. At one point, a demon-possessed woman attempts to seduce the pastor by holding hands with him and acting a bit too friendly; she fails in her efforts. She later claims to have been abused by him.

The prominent presence of demons leads to some creepy scenes, as would be expected. The previously mentioned demon-possessed woman viciously attacks one character, screaming, biting, and clawing at him. A few times, characters perform cultish rituals to contact demons.

It would take many more words to list every content warning from this book. The darkness is very present in This Present Darkness. However, Peretti writes everything in a way that is completely appropriate and suitable for reading.

Overall

This Present Darkness is an amazing book. Expert writing, combined with a powerful theme, creates a story to be remembered. However, due to the content warnings, I would only recommend this to older teenagers and adults. The author takes care in presenting sin, but the nature of the sin makes the target audience skew older.

Thanks for reading!