Slain in the Spirit

Rating:
Summary: This is "real" horror
Review: I had never read a book by Melanie Tem so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a great read that was not in the traditional horror genre, but used religious fanaticism as a means to frighten. And this one is terrifying. What makes this book so scary is that there are people just like that in the world and this could actually happen.

Its the story of a blind woman who happens to be a lesbian, a woman who unwittingly became an obsession to a man she knew in school many years before. He believes her blindness is a sign from God that she hasn't embraced Him and he kidnaps her and keeps her until she can see. Of course, she's blind and nothing can get her nearly non-existent sight back. In fact, he has denied her all the things she needs to keep it from getting worse.

Wow, this one was non-stop and it never failed to scare me. It was a very suspenseful with many foiled attempts to escape. Russell is a character from our worst nightmares and his craziness could actually be ripped from the headlines. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was the ending. Though I thought this book fantastic, the ending left so much to be desired. It appeared to be almost rushed and I was hoping for more at the end.

Still, this is very good stuff and even with the ending, its worth buying and reading. It will creep you out very badly. Great!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed.
Review: I'm not an avid reader, but I enjoy a good kidnapping story and happen to work with the blind, so I delved into Tem's tale. This book had me wrapped through the first hundred pages. Her story telling technique was impeccable; her knowledge of the subject true and honest. I'm also a sucker for the "not so perfect" heroine.

And then....well, the heroine has about a gazillion chances to escape and takes, oh, two of them, and then she foils both. I felt like I was watching a bad horror flick where the stupid blond is being chased by the murderer and runs UP the stairs instead of out the front door.

I continued the book, as there were unanswered questions floating under the storyline that held the potential for a surprising and eventful ending. Suddenly, I found myself on the last page.... these questions left unanswered. I swear I flipped back and forth, not believing that such a weak, unsuspensful, non climactic ending would be the choice of this potentially great author. Did somebody kidnapp HER before she wrote the ending??

In short; don't expect greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed.
Review: I'm not an avid reader, but I enjoy a good kidnapping story and happen to work with the blind, so I delved into Tem's tale. This book had me wrapped through the first hundred pages. Her story telling technique was impeccable; her knowledge of the subject true and honest. I'm also a sucker for the "not so perfect" heroine.

And then....well, the heroine has about a gazillion chances to escape and takes, oh, two of them, and then she foils both. I felt like I was watching a bad horror flick where the stupid blond is being chased by the murderer and runs UP the stairs instead of out the front door.

I continued the book, as there were unanswered questions floating under the storyline that held the potential for a surprising and eventful ending. Suddenly, I found myself on the last page.... these questions left unanswered. I swear I flipped back and forth, not believing that such a weak, unsuspensful, non climactic ending would be the choice of this potentially great author. Did somebody kidnapp HER before she wrote the ending??

In short; don't expect greatness.

Rating:
Summary: Blind lead the blind
Review: Leila Blackwell has been virtually sightless her entire life, but she tries to live it as "normally" as possible. It is in a public restroom that she is confronted by Russell Gavin, an old high school acquaintance but not a friend. Russell is a Christian. He believes that Leila's affliction - indeed, all the misfortunes in her life - are punishment for the darkness that resides in her soul. He wants to save her, and to this end he kidnaps her, takes her to a remote location and keeps her captive and bound, bringing her out only to attend religious services with others of his kind. He also withholds the treatments she needs to keep her eyes from getting worse. (If she will only accept Jesus into her life, she will be healed.)

This is a pretty straightforward thriller from a writer whose work usually possesses far more depth, complexity and uniqueness. Characterization is good but the plot is simple: Leila must escape and get help before her vision deteriorates completely. The ending is sudden and somewhat unsatisfying.

I can mildly recommend this novel for fans of psychological thrillers, or if you're just looking for a quick, relatively unchallenging read. For true horror gems, though, I suggest seeking out the author's first three novels: Prodigal, Wilding, and Revenant, all of which were published in the early to mid-nineties under Dell's Abyss imprint. They are fantastic. This and most of her work since has been something of a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Blind lead the blind
Review: Leila Blackwell has been virtually sightless her entire life, but she tries to live it as "normally" as possible. It is in a public restroom that she is confronted by Russell Gavin, an old high school acquaintance but not a friend. Russell is a Christian. He believes that Leila's affliction - indeed, all the misfortunes in her life - are punishment for the darkness that resides in her soul. He wants to save her, and to this end he kidnaps her, takes her to a remote location and keeps her captive and bound, bringing her out only to attend religious services with others of his kind. He also withholds the treatments she needs to keep her eyes from getting worse. (If she will only accept Jesus into her life, she will be healed.)

This is a pretty straightforward thriller from a writer whose work usually possesses far more depth, complexity and uniqueness. Characterization is good but the plot is simple: Leila must escape and get help before her vision deteriorates completely. The ending is sudden and somewhat unsatisfying.

I can mildly recommend this novel for fans of psychological thrillers, or if you're just looking for a quick, relatively unchallenging read. For true horror gems, though, I suggest seeking out the author's first three novels: Prodigal, Wilding, and Revenant, all of which were published in the early to mid-nineties under Dell's Abyss imprint. They are fantastic. This and most of her work since has been something of a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping, psychologically insightful tale.
Review: Leila Blackwell suffers from keratitis, a condition that, coupled with prior eye problems, is slowly robbing her of her sight. Nevertheless, she stubbornly tries to maintain a "normal" lifestyle, often forsaking the companionship of her lover Cathy to act independently, as any fully sighted person might do. It's thus that she finds herself alone in a public rest room when a familiar male voice penetrates the silence, saying, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

The voice belongs to the born again Russell Gavon, a former high school class mate, who believes God wants him to save Leila from her sinful existence. With this objective, he kidnaps Leila and confines her in an abandoned building. The two engage in a protracted battle of wills, Russell believing Leila's soul is at risk, Leila soon realizing that her very life is what's really at stake. Hampered by worsening eyesight (Russell withholds her medication, believing the Lord will heal her after she comes to her senses) and self-imposed mental obstacles, Leila vacillates between defiance and despair between increasingly desperate escape attempts.

It is somewhat disingenuous to call Slain in the Spirit a horror novel; it is more accurately classified as a suspense novel, psychological thriller or tragedy. While certain aspects of the story can be deemed horrific, the book contains nary a whiff of the supernatural - whatever shivers the novel evokes lie in the characters' reactions to events, and in the way they treat each other and themselves. Still, this is enough, at least for someone with Tem's storytelling talents.

Tem continues her tradition of writing about damaged souls, characters whose personal demons are far more dangerous to their well being than are outside forces. Leila is a curious, almost annoying choice for a heroine. Far from the durable, quick witted protagonist one might expect to encounter in a piece like this (think Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark), Leila is exceedingly passive, almost complacent, at several points in the story even feeling empathy for her deranged captor's skewed point of view. Russell also defies expectations - although he's the villain of the piece, readers begin to feel sorry for this unfortunate man, whose mental illness makes him so dangerous. The interaction between the two, however, makes for edge of the seat reading.

Slain in the Spirit recalls (oddly enough, given the difference in their styles) some of Stephen King's work, particularly books like Gerald's Game and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, books which King took on in part because the narrowness of their scope, setting, and cast presented creative challenges. Like King, Tem meets that challenge, crafting a gripping, engaging story from the limited resources she allowed herself to work with. For instance, she does a masterful job of telling the story from Leila's point of view, forcing her to describe the world as her nearly blind heroine "sees" it, a colorless, claustrophobic, perilous world that Leila experiences primarily through her senses of hearing, smell, and touch.

Although some readers might be turned off by Leila's lack of personal growth over the course of her ordeal, or by the novel's ambiguous ending, most will realize that Tem has succeeded in wringing every ounce of entertainment value from her sad, but psychologically insightful, tale.

Rating:
Summary: Poor
Review: This book started out with potential but very quickly became jumbled with a poorly written ending. I would pass on this one!