Illusion by Frank Peretti

Illusion

Frank Peretti
Genre: Mystery/Christian Fiction

Published: March 6, 2012

Publisher: Howard Books

ISBN: 1439192677

Description:

Dane and Mandy, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns and tries to rebuild his life without her, Mandy, supposedly dead, awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in a strange world, she uses her mysterious powers to eke out a living, performing magic on the streets and in a quaint coffee shop.

Hoping to discover an exciting new talent, Dane ventures into the coffee shop and is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot explain. But more than anything, he is emotionally devastated by this teenager who has never met him, doesn’t know him, is certainly not in love with him, but is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met and married some forty years earlier.

They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy’s powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her.

Frank Peretti has crafted a rich, rewarding story of love and life, loss and restoration, full of twists and mystery. Exceptionally well written, Illusion will soon prove another Peretti classic.

Review:

Rating:

 Illusion by New York Times Bestselling author Frank Peretti was frankly, a bit of a letdown for me. Peretti has long been one of my favorite authors in the area of Christian fiction, always dazzling me with suspense, mystery, and a deeper meaning in his work. This time however, I was very disappointed.

I found this book to be quite boring actually. It seemed to never quite draw me in the way that some of his previous books have. I think that one of reasons I didn’t quite get into it was the characters. They were all very flat, and also very forgettable. I think that in order for this to be a stronger story, the characters need to be a bit more dynamic.

Another thing that I didn’t really care for in this book was how the dialogue and storyline seemed to jump around from person to person/perspective to perspective. I normally don't mind these kind of breaks, but in this book I found them to be a bit confusing at times.

I did like the authors added note in the back of the book, relaying the less obvious but deeper meanings that can be found in this book. I think that it was a great move to put that in there, and will give readers something to ponder on after they have read this book.

I also enjoyed the basic storyline in this book, the sort of science fiction with a twist. It was very refreshing compared to the normal science fiction story lines that have been storming the shelves lately.

Although this book didn’t meet my expectations, I would say that this book was an OK book overall. I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a mystery, with just a touch of science fiction!

;)

*The Book Blogging Beauties received a copy of this book from the publisher/Handlebar Marketing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are that of the reviewer. We were not compensated for this review.