…And dark it begins. An apostle-Paul-like story, as the back cover suggests,The Dark Man‘s world is a potent, realistic look at the unreality of the broken, sinful human mind.

Charles Graves is a master of disguise, running from his past and himself, chasing underground Christians.  Charles also sees things. Scary things.

Okay, nice idea. In trying to pigeonhole this book, at first I went, “It’s a spin on Dekker’s Thr3e.” But not so much. Then it seemed like one of those charismatic novels I’ve read, with visions and holy laughter and stuff.

Not so much either, nope. No pigeonholes. The Dark Man is too big for that.

Then I got mad on a couple of points. It seemed as if the main character was demon-possessed, even after becoming a Christian. As someone with former occult persuasions, I know the difference between interacting with the spirit realm as a non-Christian, and interacting with it as a true believer. I get riled at the suggestion that anyone indwelt by a demon could be a true Christian. “For greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

The story’s resident pastor soon corrected my misconceptions, correctly naming the dark man.

The second thing I got ticked about was the dystopic theme: the world has turned over. Okay, so in this book, Christians are getting persecuted in Texas. That does not mean the world’s turned over! That’s normal for most of the world! For the world to turn over, China, Iran, Myanmar and Co. would have to become bastions of religious freedom. Harrumph, the American (Texan!) hubris of it all.

Until the anti-Jesus cops start conjecturing that a persecuted Christian has jumped a plane to the safety of China.

Schooley’s world is full and complete.

You see, I’ve seen enough books that stop that far short, with pet spiritual paradigms or market-audience-only storyworlds. And I’m not lambasting the Christian market, here; it happens everywhere. I’m saying: This wasn’t it. No pigeonholes. No small world. No small God.

No small characters.

It just kept developing, until it unfolded into something so true that it’s bigger than fiction. Every character, no matter which “side” they’re on, has their own internal world, more honest and deeply developed than the external storyworld.

Every one of them could be called crazy if they talked out loud, but truthfully? They’re the same as all of us. The conversations they hold with themselves are a truly human antidote to the loneliness and desperation of life without God.

In the end, Charles Graves is massively complex, beyond anything I’ve seen dared in Christian fiction. Far more than Dekker’s Thr3e. More than any take on the spiritual realm that I’ve read. This is not about straightforward angels, demons, heaven or the invisible spirit world. On some level, it is a twist on magic realism, taken to the heights of biblical truth–one that doesn’t lose touch with the universe or the human soul as God made them.

Like its main character, the book itself is a master of disguises, and its true nature is only found at the end.

There are no explanations. Read it for yourself.

• 1st chapter at Marcher Lord Press
• At Amazon.com | Amazon.ca
• Buy from publisher