Friday, May 31, 2013

Is Christian Fiction Improving?

I keep hearing that Christian fiction is getting better, but someone has yet to prove it to me.  Last week I downloaded a Christian mystery novel by a well-known author and was horrified at the terrible plot and mediocre writing.

Tim Challies wrote a post about "The Ultimate Christian Novel" which would be called Cassidy: Amish Vampiress of the Tribulation.  He meant it as a joke, but, honestly, the book I read had an outlandish premise, a wimpy heroine and way too much blood. Sadly, it was not a parody.





2 comments:

Annette said...

I hear you, meaning I agree.
It's rare for me to read a Christian fiction novel that I find excellent. So many are what I call bubble gum reads, they start off pretty good (at least I'm hoping), but then loose their flavor quickly.
Further I'm really tired of the girl meets boy, problem, they work it out, then everything is wonderful and the story ends pretty.
I'm also tired of Amish stories.
I'm also tired of the perfect female that is pictured on the front of nearly 100% of all books.
And further I'm tired of wondering if when people review these books they are stuck with giving only 5 star reviews, because I sure don't.
So sorry, I'm just venting.
These are the Christian fiction books I've read this year that I consider great, and not the norm in Christian fiction.
The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen
January Justice by Athol Dickson
Miracle on Snowbird Lake by Stan Bednarz
Unholy Hunger by Heather James
Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd

Carol said...

I've been so disappointed with our Christian bookshop, a large one; some decent ones I've read (but not recently) are Currency Lass & Certain Lives both by Margaret Reeson and The Hawk and the Dove Trilogy by Penelope Wilcock.