With the help of a hair dresser and a dead man, Fr. Oliver steps into a world of evil, unlike anything he has ever seen before. What he discovers, threatens the very existence of the Catholic church and the souls of thousands of unborn children. Fr. Oliver wants to serve God, but he keeps getting kicked out of churches where he is assigned to serve. If he speaks of what he sees, people will die. He can't tell the pastor or the bishop, but things are about to get worse.
Diogenes is Christian Fiction author living in North Carolina. His debut novel, "A Rabbit's Tale An Easter Story," is the winner of the 2016 Reader's Favorite Award in the "Tall Tale" category, and also the winner of the 2015 Global Ebook Gold Medal in the Christian fiction category. It is a suspense filled, feel good novel. In spite of the title, it is not a children's book. His second novel, "Persistent Evil," picks up where A Rabbit's Tale ends. "I don't write preachy books, but there is a undercurrent of faith. I write for general audiences and try to keep the content PG-13+."
This was a really strange book which I read with some difficulty. The mix of genre between Christian and horror was a very uncomfortable fit for me. The writing style is plain, almost like a news reporter, and easy to read - but it was oddly unemotional, even in the middle of the most apalling and frightening events. Ruiz does well to communicate how confused Monty is when he regains self-awareness. The horror of a realistically presented practice of occult, demonology and black magic/voodoo is memorable. The priest, Father Oliver, is a complex character whom I found difficult to relate to. His burdensome gifts are a part of it, but Oliver seems to be almost psychopathic in the distance across which he relates (or tries to) with ordinary people. The evil characters are undeveloped, being almost cardboard cutouts. I believe the author's purpose in writing this book to be admirable, but question his choice of genre.
Or is it? I was surprised to find this book had so much faith, not disappointed, simply surprised. The best review I can possibly give this book is to share the epiloge. This is an amazing story of evil against good, one mans journey guided by the Good Lord to make a difference in the lives of mankind. The Epiloge: When is it too late to ask for forgiveness? The human lens through which we try to understand God’s love falls short of grasping a love so large and encompassing that it could forgive someone after they’ve committed an atrocity. This leads to the question: Why do we do what we do? Monty’s free will was compromised before he was born. Is our free will compromised without us even realizing what’s going on? Perhaps not as obvious, but equally dangerous is our overriding denial of the impact the media has on our behavior. Reality TV, gratuitous violence, self mutilation, aggressive secularism, plummeting standards of what is deemed acceptable in our society, violent video games, all have a dramatic impact on our free will. Like Mama Crossbones held Monty’s free will captive, are we allowing ourselves to be held captive by mind-numbing entertainment programs, hatred, and an over dependency on technology? These are our crossbones. But, how can one see clearly past all the clutter and noise? How can we deprogram ourselves and know we are on the right track? How can we know that we are truly being ourselves, and that our free will is our own? We can all find answers to these questions in the same place Monty found answers: in God. God’s will is that we should love one another and find happiness and eternal life through Christ. The delusion of God, or the conviction in God, depending on your point of view, is the only way to find true happiness and purpose. Thank you Diogenes Ruiz for an amazing eye opening story. can't wait til I can afford more of your stories.
This book was truly frightening. For a long time I didn't really believe in evil. I viewed it as a lack of goodness. But, it does exist. This book portrayed evil so well. I am looking forward to The Frances Conspiracy. And, I have just downloaded book 1 in the series.
I enjoyed this while I was reading it. I did find the writing a little stilted. I didn't read book one in this series and this is book 2. The story is interesting enough for me to find out what happens to the priest fighting evil in the world. To my dismay they don't carry the next book series on Amazon!!! Well, darn it.
It is so rare to come across a good book with a Christian theme. This was a wonderful story. It needs a little polish, but I loved the mystery. Hoping to read the Frances conspiracy soon.