We All Fall Down

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Summary: This is an important book
Review: For far too long, fictional explorations of Christianity have been held hostage by poorly written novels that seemed more interested in progaganda than in truth. It's a history that has done too much damage on both sides of the fence...............................................

On the other side, novels that take such simplistic viewpoints about the faith utterly fail to engage practicing Christians or challenge them to explore their beliefs with any real depth. Left Behind turns off non-Christians and allows Christians to develop a sense of self-satisfaction. Both results are harmful.

Caldwell's novel avoids both traps. I have no idea if Caldwell is a Christian or not. What I do know after reading his novel is that he takes the Christian faith seriously, seriously enough to honestly look at why so many people reject it, to honestly look at what it is in humanity that keeps us seperate from God. This novel can be read as a character study, an exploration of spirituality, or simply a good adventure. It succeeds on all levels.

It's my dearest hope that We All Fall Down becomes a widely read novel because Christianity needs to be talked about in a mature, intellegent fashion, both so that non-Christians can feel like there is a door that is open to them, through which they feel comfortable in exploring these issues and so that practicing Christians have help in engaging themselves in a deeper exploration of their faith. Caldwell's novel brilliantly achives both of these tasks. It is a novel that is a pleasure to read and one that lingers in the thoughts for months after it's completion.

Buy this book.

Recomend it to your friends, both Christian and non.

It's an important work

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Summary: Don't miss the fist great books about Revelations.
Review: For many years now, there have been an awful lot of books produced about Revelations. The emphasis is on awful. For whatever reason, those books have often been poorly writen, preachy to the point of offensive, and completely lacking any real spiritual insight. Finally, in the last few years, two authors have produced amazing books about Revelations. Brian Caldwell's We All Fall Down is the first truly mature look at Revelations. It's not a book for people looking to stand at a distance, as it is an emotionally devistating piece of fiction. It is raw and uncompromising, a book that will grab you by the throat and shake your soul. I don't think I have ever read a book that challenged me to examine my faith so strongly. BeauSeigneur's Christ Clone Trilogy is equally impressive, if in a different way. While Caldwell's book focuses on the spiritual psychology of a single character, Beausigneur tackles the big picture. His novels are intellegent and incredibly well-researched. His novels make you believe that the end of the world could happen, not just spiritually, but intellectually as well. The two authors complement each other quite well, with BeauSigneur tackling the big picture and Caldwell zeroing in on the personal.

What both writers have in common is a perfect ear for dialouge, a scathing intellegence, and an insight into spiritual matters that was exciting to read. After suffering through so many second rate novelists tackle revelations, it was an incomparable pleasure to read these magnificent books.

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Summary: my review from Strange Horizons Magazine
Review: I would like to recognize one exceptional book in the Christian apocalyptic fiction genre. Brian Caldwell's We All Fall Down is a quality work amidst the hack novels of Pat Robertson and the like. Its protagonist is a man who is very familiar with many apocalyptic scenarios. Caught up in the Christian end times, he tries to use his learning to advantage without submitting to God. This work is much darker and more disturbing than anything one can find in the Left Behind series. We All Fall Down is unflinching in its descriptive and psychological realism, and this has made it a controversial work in the evangelical Christian community. We All Fall Down turns polemic into art, giving both believers and unbelievers something to think about.

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Summary: It doesn't get any better than this
Review: It's about time. I am so tired of all fiction that tackles Christianity being timid and meek. Everything I've read lacks passion and fire. The writing is inevitably poor and the theology insultingly simple. Brian Caldwell has broken all of those rules with We All Fall Down.

This isn't a cheap exlotation book about the end of the world, but it also isn't a timid, wussy book, afraid to dig into the meat of Christianity and see what's really there. We All Fall Down is a bold novel that explores the ramifications of Christianity like no other novel I've read. It's full of sharp dialouge, piercing insights, horror, humor, adventure, and, yes, even sex. It's the only fictional book about Christianity I've felt comfortable giving to my non Christian friends. Certainly the only such book I've felt proud and enthusiastic to give them. This isn't a comforting, soothing book- it's powerful. It will grab you by the trachia and make you think about who and what you really are. By the end of it, you might not be as sure as you are now. It's that good.

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Summary: It will linger long after you finish it
Review: One of the things that has always amazed me as a Christian is when other Christians seem to think that being religous requires shutting your eyes to the reality of the world. One of the basic tenants of our faith is that we live in a fallen world. The Bible itself is a document that refuses to hide its eyes from evil, as it's filled with graphic descriptions of adultery, violence, and nearly every form of evil known to man. I don't believe that we can hide our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist.

With that in mind, some of the the reviews here amaze me. Caldwell has written a novel for adults that takes on the evil of the world without blinking. If you want a G rated look at evil, we all know that there are plenty of books out there for you, books where we know that a character is evil because he uses the word 'damn' once or twice. Those books are also simple-minded and of limited use. We All Fall Down is intense and brilliant. No, this book is not for children, and, I suppose, if being a Christian means pretending that you can't handle an exploration of the world as it truly is, than it's not for you either.

I'm a Christian, but I'm also an adult. Caldwell has written a smart, thoughtful book that speaks to me on those levels. It's about time someone did.

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Summary: Ridiculous criticisms of a wonderful novel
Review: We All Fall Down is a brutal, difficult, troubling novel. It doesn't pull any punches when it comes to describing the horrors of the end of the world or in portraying the sinful nature of its main character. This is certainly not a book that everyone will enjoy. I, however, very much did enjoy it. More, I found it transformitive in the way that it made me see some of the ways I lie to myself about who and what I really am. It made me re-think what it means to be spiritual and honest. But, of course, if you're going to talk about sin and the nature of evil, you need to show it, to explore it. Caldwell does that masterfully. But of course, that is going to be difficult to read. If you don't want to explore the nature of sin, you shouldn't read this book. However, if you are looking for a thoughtful, intelligent, insightful book about why we are the way we are, why reject God so often for sin, why we can't seem to do right no matter how hard we try- this is the best book out there.

And while I can certainly understand why this book might to too harsh for many people, some of the problems people have with it are simply ridiculous. It's Satan who compares Reagen to Pol Pot, and it is obviously playing up to Jimmy Lordan's liberal nature. Reading it any other way is mistaking the author for the character of Satan. Satan is telling Jimmy what he wants to hear. If anything, I read an implicit critique of liberalism in the way both Jimmy and Joe are liberal, supposedly caring about people more than others when they constantly act selfishly. Their liberalism is obviously just an empty stand that makes them feel that they are morally superior to other people. And as to the language in the book, the character of Jimmy is obviously full of rage, guilt, sadness, and impotence. He feels powerless in the face of God and is, in a self-destructive way, trying to fight against those feelings and pretend they don't exist. He swears like a teenager- hoping no one will see past the false front to the sad, ugly man underneath. The language he uses reflects this perfectly. I applaud Caldwell for refusing to hedge when it comes to his depiction of character. The language is completely true to who this person is and what he is trying to do.

This is one of the best books I've ever read, but it's not escapism or a feel-good Christian book. It will cause you to question the depth and relity of your beliefs and, in my case, has the capacity to bring you closer to God because you have been willing to be honest in looking at yourself and the deceptions all of mankind uses to justify itself and feel rightous. Just know if that's what you're looking for in a book. If that's not what you're looking for, I would suggest you pass on this one. But don't criticize it for what it's not trying to be. Don't we have enough G-rated, paper thin explorations of the Endtimes? I'm glad someone's finally written a book that smart, searching, thinking adults can read without having to roll their eyes at amateur writing and simplistic theology.