Official Review: Even The Darkness by John Thomas Tuft

[JKO]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Even The Darkness" by John Thomas Tuft.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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There can be some pressure on a child to replace their retiring parent in a family business, especially when born into a clergyman’s home. What happens if that child does not want to fill their father's shoes but finds himself in them eventually? Even The Darkness, by John Thomas Tuft, is a piece of fiction that takes the reader through the experiences and struggles of Scott Daniels from his youth age through his time as a preacher. Scott is the only son of a respected preacher, Reverend Daniels.

After the death of his father, Scott accepts his pastorate degree but soon feels like he is not good enough to pastor his congregation, who frequently seems to require some kind of counseling. From being bullied at a young age to watching a child shoot himself, Scott tries to help as many people as he can. However, in a turn of events, Scott has his life crumbling beyond control when his marriage and career as a preacher are threatened as 'his demons' appear to get the better of him. What is Scott struggling with? How does it affect his marriage and vocation? Will he overcome his fears?

I must commend the author for an interesting plot. I mean, when I started this book, the story seemed difficult for me to follow, but I am glad that I continued reading. As I grew in the story, I got to understand why it was significant for the author to start the way he did. It was an emotional book, and the end is sure to leave readers in tears. Also, the character development was a joy to behold. As a result, I was very familiar with each character. I could recognize a character only from his/her statements. I was particularly fond of a character called Zeke. He was a drunk that filled the book with much-needed humor. I was attached to him because he made a lot of sense when he spoke, even if he often spoke in an informal tone.

Although the characters were well-developed, I felt that there were some characters that were left behind in the story. For example, Eddie was Scott's childhood bully and was brilliantly developed by the author in the first few chapters, but nothing was said about him after that. I was interested to know how he ended up, and I was disappointed that I didn’t have access to that information. Also, I was displeased with the number of grammatical and typographical errors I found in the text, especially with the word ‘from’ being spelled as ‘form’ throughout the book. I found that a bit distracting, and my reading flow was often compromised.

In all, this was a good novel, and I enjoyed reading it. I rate Even The Darkness 3 out of 4 stars. I have decided to take off one star because of the concerns I mentioned earlier. This book would appeal to readers that are interested in fiction and missionary books, and I highly recommend it.

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Even The Darkness
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[Harty Muli]

I'm curious to know how Scott's life pans out with the "demons" afflicting him even though he's supposed to be a preacher. Thanks for the enjoyable review.

[sirbobthewise]

What an interesting premise. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. I like the sound of Zeke already, and it sounds like there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding the plot of how Scott is going to handle the pressure in his current reality. Really great review!

[tcarter2007]

Excellent review. It simply explained the basic plot of the book without giving up to much of the plot.

[book_fanatic_]

Sounds like an interesting read. I would love to know about the 'demons' and struggles of Scott. Great review.

[Damis Seres Rodriguez]

Is not easy to help others when you can't help yourself right? Great review! It made me want to read the book.

[Priyanka2304]

I have read this book. I was also facing the same problems while reading. Thanks for the review.