Here in the Not Yet

by David Spaugh

Blaming himself for his father's death, Ben Knight has become lost and broken, losing himself in his guilt and the daily grind of life. On what he mistakes for a routine jog, Ben steps out into the chill of another winter’s morning, unaware that there are forces at work in the New England countryside, forces that will blur the lines between reality and nightmare.

Lost, alone, and surrounded, Ben faces off against the great unknown, the darkness, and the demons lurking within. Will a hero emerge, tempered by trial and conquest, or merely the broken remains of what was once a man?

HERE IN THE NOT YET explores the chasm between faith and fear, the tragedies of life, and what is born from dust and ruin.

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2023

Reviews

[Elicia Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need more of if this- thrilling stories from a Christian worldview that aren’t afraid to explore the scary things in the woods. I’m giving 3.5 stars, rounded up for being indie, “blurry” (supernatural) and a debut. {{This is a really good rating from me! I tend to be stingy with my 4 & 5 stars.}}

Here In the Not Yet explores grief, fear, death, trauma, supernatural beings, familial relationships and the effects of our limited perspective. It does so with well-written sections of action and a thrilling chase and everyday conversations between loved ones.

The novella length was helpful so I didn’t get overwhelmed with the heaviness of the topics. There were also natural breaks from the tense action within the storyline, so that was helpful. However, the pacing did feel a little jarring because the back and forth was actually slow. The periods of action were broken up with several chapters of dialogue (which again, offers the reader a nice breather.) Those sections felt a little long to me. After such edgy action scenes, I got a little bogged down in the dialogue. Once I settled into the dialogue-heavy sections, I was literally tossed back off the mountainside. To be fair, dialogue in general isn’t my favorite, so it could be a matter if personal preference that I’d want the pacing broken up more. I thoroughly enjoyed the careening off the mountainside parts, though!

This story has a lot of feels. The reader should be prepared for that. The dialogue is clever, fun and often relatable but contains a lot of verbal processing of various emotions. Unprepared and wanting the action back, I found myself rushing through it sometimes. So many of us have trauma of varying kinds. We live in such a broken, “not yet” world. It can be tempting to read fiction and ignore our own similar struggles. I hope readers can let this cast of characters inspire them to process, heal and repeat within God’s living arms!

When I think back to George MacDonald’s body of work, he moved from preaching mini-sermons in the narrative of his early novels to weaving those themes seamlessly into his stories. To be honest, I prefer something in the middle. I enjoy a mini-sermon here and there. I like a narrator to rant once in a while and drag me into his passion. Here In the Not Yet contains a few micro-sermons and I’m not mad. I’m interested to read more of this authors work as he grows to see if this aspect of his writing develops into something really cool!

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. I’m starving for thrillers written from a Christian perspective that is also awake to the real things that go bump in the night and the spiritual implications of their reality. (Holds empty plate out:) More please!!

[Jessica Reisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intense book about tragedies and how people over think and over analyze situations, when we really just need to rely on God and not ourselves. Very action packed and vivid descriptions of what was happening. My only wish was there was more of the creatures, though maybe since most interactions with the paranormal are brief, that’s why it was that way.

[Kasumi Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here in the Not Yet is inspiring and encouraging. It has the right mix of thriller and “blurry” aspects that kept me reading. An incredible, thought provoking exploration into the inner workings of the mind, and soul, and the hope that is found when troubles and tragedy arise.

[Stephane Lemay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was one of the fortunate readers blessed to have access to this story before it’s official release. I found it engrossing. A tale about loss and the effects it had on the protagonist. The feelings of guilt and shame coupled with the hope of redemption.

I thought it was a strangely personal and thought provoking story that kept you flipping the pages, wondering where it could lead to next.

A great first effort by a budding author. I look forward to his next book. Well done.

[ChaoticBookoholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out with too many descriptive sentences and not enough explaining the story. I didn't even know what was really going on right now in the current scene because it seemed to go so off track. It did get much better, though, and was a good read.

[Lynn McPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here in the Not yet is a short but suspenseful read ultimately about how sometimes helping someone else can you with yourself and God will often put the pieces in place for that. Without getting into too many spoilers, Main Character Ben is a very relatable and even refreshing character. He's a man of faith and knows God loves him. But like anyone he's frustrated and brooding over the struggles he perceives he can't fix yet in the wake of a recent tragedy. What if thoughts and feelings of loss and not being worthy to hound him constantly. Ben is struggling with many common issues on top of all that, baby on the way, finding a job and figuring out how to be better. I would say I enjoyed 2 things a lot about this book

1) Ben lives up to what God wants from us - to be a hero. Just knowing even if the situation is overwhelming, you just do what you have to do because human beings are suppose to help the weak. It's one of those humbling and inspiring things where you're like 'whether you fail or not isn't the issue. It's your heart trying to do better and letting your spirit act when it knows it's suppose to for the sake of another. Everyone has problems, sometimes worse than yours. But at least someone has else has gone through what you have and rather then cling to those what if thoughts, Ben's walk in the dark woods is being the light for someone else then be his own darkness.

2) I enjoyed how unresolved the mysterious beings in the woods are. They aren't a huge part of the story. But they serve to remind there's always this great unknown evil lurking and waiting patiently to take you. Some people get lost to them. Some manage not to.

3) yeah there's a third. I like how sometimes I could be reminded of a bible scripture when reading the characters thoughts. I personally don't always remember the numbers of what the scripture is. But lines stick with me and I recall them like how the characters sometimes do. Overall It was a good story about a few individuals who struggle to embody what they know is right through their pain and knowing God is looking out for you even when you have trouble listening to him.

[Fawn Barrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book... I related it to my own life. I lost my mom in our house fire when I was only 18. Lost my husband too early, as well. Yet God is what guides my life. We must always have faith!!

[Ethan Dahlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible story about love, grief, resilience, and hope. I think my favorite part of this book is how relatable it is, from the dialogue to the imagery. I could definitely picture each part of the story, and I was surprised at how quickly I became connected to the characters. This book challenged me to dive deep into my own resilience, faith, and emotions.

Thank you David Spaugh for writing this book and following your calling. I am so proud of you, brother!

[Thomas Karsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was going to be more of a psychological horror and less of a bible verse. Great writing for the most part however.

[Alyssa Dahlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Job well done! This was truly a phenomenal debut. This was a shorter work of fiction, which concerned me at first, but the detailed description and beautiful storytelling drew me in from beginning to end and left the story feeling whole. I could picture every scene vividly and felt connected to the emotions of each character which I imagine would be hard to do from a writing perspective. This book captured grief, reconciliation, fear, guilt, torment, faith, love, hope, resiliency and redemption stunningly, and I can honestly say that I walked away from this story with things to personally reflect on (which I also believe is hard to execute through fiction writing). I am truly encouraged as I walk through my own “not yet” journey!

Also, can we just talk about this cover?! I know people say to not judge a book by its cover, but I definitely do sometimes (not gonna lie). This one is cool, and I love the clarification of one of the elements David included in the acknowledgment. Clever!

[David Spaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Must Read Review via Reedsy - see link below!

https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/her...