Robin Parrish has accomplished something in his latest novel, Nightmare, that I have yet to see anywhere else. He almost perfectly intertwines two genres, horror and mystery, in two parallel storylines. The reader gets to jump back and forth in alternating chapters between the adventures of Maia Peters as she searches for a missing friend, Jordin Cole, and the thrilling, yet somewhat terrifying, exploits of the world of the paranormal as Maia and Jordin explore some of America's most haunted locations. With each haunt, more of the mystery is uncovered for the reader. However, the clues come at the risk of experiencing the all too realistic scenes of horror as ghosts creep through the walls and skeletons crawl out of the closet. Nightmare is a literary entree that mixes in a pinch of Agatha Christie, a dash of Stephen King, and just a bit of Dan Brown for controversy. Although it is categorized as Christian Fiction, Nightmare will be enjoyed by Christians and secular audiences alike.
That's that for my official review. Now for my personal one. Ever since picking up his debut novel, Relentless, on a whim to review for college, I have been a fan of his Robin Parrish's work. I gave the book the good review it so rightly deserved (I'll post it later), requested an interview with him, and decided that I would read just about anything he writes. So far I have been true to my word. I enjoyed the rest of the Dominion Trilogy (of which Relentless was the beginning), but thought his first stand alone novel, Offworld, was only okay at best. After hearing about Nightmare, I told myself I would read it, but stay objective as I wasn't sure if Parrish lacked the skill for a stand alone novel, if he was going to be a one-hit wonder (the trilogy as a whole counting as one), or if he would knock my socks off. Well, I'm not wearing socks, but that's because my feet hurt. The fact is that Nightmare is a really good novel. It isn't quite a great novel, though, and that is through no fault of the author's. In a recent post on his blog (there's a link to it on the right), Parrish ponders whether he is in the right category, having been pigeon-holed into Christian Fiction. Let me first note that he also said he loves the people he has had the opportunity of working with at Bethany House and every opinion in this piece is mine and does not reflect the author's personal beliefs. I honestly think Parrish is stuck in a limbo. His work doesn't seem to be "Christian enough" to be taken seriously by the people who stride to the Christian Fiction section of their local Borders or Barnes and Noble, but it also seems "too Christian" to be accepted by the secular culture, especially since he's already breached the label of Christian Fiction. The other problem with his work is that it needs a better editor. Once again, this is no fault of Parrish's. Every author needs an editor (as I type this I keep asking my wonderful fiancee for help with words and whatnot) to take a piece that is really good, as is Nightmare and make it great, which is just the beginning of Parrish's potential. I enjoyed Nightmare thoroughly and will continue to read anything Robin Parrish's publishers deem worthy to publish. I just wish for his sake that readers would take him more seriously. I know I do.
I'm just saying is all.
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