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King Windom
King Windom, a preacher known for his fiery sermons and his miraculous powers of healing, faces the perils of darkness and evil as a woman whose love is becoming an obsession and a rival preacher whose jealousy and hatred is becoming madness threaten to destroy him.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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About the author
John Farris
85 books165 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
American writer and screenwriter of both adaptations of his own books (e.g. 'The Fury'), of the works of others (such as Alfred Bester's 'The Demolished Man') and original scripts. In 1973 he wrote and directed the film 'Dear Dead Delilah'. He has had several plays produced off-Broadway, and also paints and writes poetry. At various times he has made his home in New York, Southern California and Puerto Rico; he currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. Early in his career he also wrote under the name Steve Brackeen.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 21, 2021
I'm honestly down the middle with this one. There were times when I thought this was my second favorite John Farris book (the first will probably always be Son of the Endless Night), and there were other times when the going was an absolute slog. There were great things that happened, but then there were a lot of lame moments. Moments that felt pretty lazy, actually. In the end I can only give it three stars.
Here's the good stuff. There is a character that I started out loathing, but over time I came to feel bad for him. And then he'd do something stupid, but then he'd win me over again, etc. I like to feel that way about characters. I thought that was an excellent touch. Another character struck me the same way, but there's a point in the book where he redeems himself, which was pretty cool. The carny parts of the book are fun, and I'm a sucker for a faith healing horror novel. At first I was bewildered because none of the back copy came into play until about halfway through the book, but that's OK. I prefer to be surprised by art. For example, I loved the Russell Crowe movie, Noah, specifically because it was *not* as advertised.
Here's something I found odd. Not good or bad, just odd. The n-word gets thrown around a lot in this one, but I see that it was originally published in the 'Sixties. So it's not that surprising. But! For some reason, despite this, Farris felt like he couldn't use the word "fart" when Philemon is experiencing some gastric discomfort. Coming from a modern perspective, I thought it was just weird that no one had a problem with the n-word, but god forbid someone say the word "fart." Even characters you're supposed to sympathize with use the n-word. It made me squirm, to be honest.
Here's the bad stuff: there are scenes that should be very passionate but are told very passively. I can look the other way on a lot of that, but there is a scene near the end (which is a spoiler, so I won't mention it) that should have been told in another way. The focus was off. Another thing that disappointed me were how many interesting threads Farris has in this book that lead to nowhere. This book could have been a lot better if he'd pursued those threads.
I can't really recommend this book. It's interesting, sure, but maybe not worth the price of admission.
Here's the good stuff. There is a character that I started out loathing, but over time I came to feel bad for him. And then he'd do something stupid, but then he'd win me over again, etc. I like to feel that way about characters. I thought that was an excellent touch. Another character struck me the same way, but there's a point in the book where he redeems himself, which was pretty cool. The carny parts of the book are fun, and I'm a sucker for a faith healing horror novel. At first I was bewildered because none of the back copy came into play until about halfway through the book, but that's OK. I prefer to be surprised by art. For example, I loved the Russell Crowe movie, Noah, specifically because it was *not* as advertised.
Here's something I found odd. Not good or bad, just odd. The n-word gets thrown around a lot in this one, but I see that it was originally published in the 'Sixties. So it's not that surprising. But! For some reason, despite this, Farris felt like he couldn't use the word "fart" when Philemon is experiencing some gastric discomfort. Coming from a modern perspective, I thought it was just weird that no one had a problem with the n-word, but god forbid someone say the word "fart." Even characters you're supposed to sympathize with use the n-word. It made me squirm, to be honest.
Here's the bad stuff: there are scenes that should be very passionate but are told very passively. I can look the other way on a lot of that, but there is a scene near the end (which is a spoiler, so I won't mention it) that should have been told in another way. The focus was off. Another thing that disappointed me were how many interesting threads Farris has in this book that lead to nowhere. This book could have been a lot better if he'd pursued those threads.
I can't really recommend this book. It's interesting, sure, but maybe not worth the price of admission.
Displaying 1 of 1 review