Book Review: The Resurrection by Mike Duran

The Resurrection by Mike Duran

Publisher: Realms

Publish Date: February 1, 2011

Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Christian, supernatural, suspense

My Review:
Why I read this:The blurb sounded fascinating.  I also saw it compared to some of Frank Peretti's works and Frank Peretti is the author that really got me into the supernatural Christian genre.

How is the novel driven: It's a toss-up, characters are important, but the plot is the main driving force I believe.


My thoughts: The Resurrection is an intriguging book.  At times I was a little lost, but most of the time, it had me hanging onto the edge of my seat.  You have some interesting and typical characters.  A mom with a bad hip she's had since birth, who pretty much does what is expected, is involved with a prayer group, is married and has two sons.  There is a minister who is just going through the motions, he lost his way years ago and can't seem to find his way back to God.  There are two other women in the prayer group with the main woman, Ruby, and one is the church secretary and there are a lot of strange goings-on that no one seems to notice in the town of Stonetree.

Looking back and writing the review - there is nothing really big that happens, just a lot of little things that come together to make the book.  And those things make it interesting.  This is one of those books where you do have to believe in the supernatural in it's good and evil forms being at work in the world, which I do.  I found the plot fascinating and love the type of stories where a small town is the battleground for good and evil and how everyday characters can make the difference with God's help.  The Resurrection is this type of book. 

Mr. Duran's writing is wonderful - his words flow from the page and I never found myself going back to a passage to read it again to figure out what it meant.  He is able to put his words on the page in such a magical way that you don't even realize you have read 100 pages in one sitting.

I look forward to reading more of his works and thinking on the ending and the significance of The Resurrection for some time in the future.  I like a book that does that, makes me think and The Resurrection definitely does.


My Rating: 4.25/5.0


About the Book:

When Ruby Case, an unassuming crippled woman, inexplicably raises a boy from the dead, she creates uproar in the quiet coastal town of Stonetree. Some brand her a witch, others a miracle worker. Yet Reverend Ian Clark could care less. Dogged by demons and immersed in self-pity, Clark is being unwittingly drawn into a secret religious order--one that threatens his very life. But he's about to get a wake-up call.

Together, Ruby and Reverend Clark are thrust into a search for answers... and a collision with unspeakable darkness. For behind the quaint tourist shops and artist colonies lies a history of deceit. And a presence more malignant than anything they can imagine. Yet a battle is brewing, the resurrection is the first volley, and the unlikely duo are the only ones who can save them. But can they overcome their own brokenness in time to stop the evil, or will they be its next victim?

About the Author: 

Mike Duran was a finalist in Faith in Fiction's inaugural short story contest and was chosen as one of ten authors to be published in Infuze Magazine’s 2005 print anthology. He is author of the short story “En Route to Inferno,” which appeared in Coach’s Midnight Diner: Back from the Dead edition, and received the Editor’s Choice award for his creative nonfiction essay titled “The Ark,” published in the Summer 2.3 Issue of Relief Journal. In between blogs, he also writes a monthly column for Novel Journey and has served as editor on the Midnight Diner’s editorial team. Duran is an ordained minister and lives with his wife of 29 years and four grown children in Southern California.

See my tour post here for an excerpt from the book.

***I received this book from the publisher through FIRST Wild Card Tours for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  I do not receive money for my amazon links since I live in NC (something about some law), so they are up purely for my readers to have a place to check out the book.***