Tare
Category: Books
It seems to me that over the years I have read a lot of Christian “end-time” fiction – the Left Behind series, Fire of Heaven, Threshold, the Apocalypse series, End of the Age, Age of the Antichrist, and the Thief in the Night series, to name but a few, not to mention the plethora of non-fiction books I have read on the subject. There’s just something about the whole “end of the world” scenario that causes me, and millions of readers around the world, to get excited, and somewhat anxious at the same time.
Tare, the first novel from Peggy Sue Yarber, is yet another book that can safely be classified as a Christian “end-time” thriller. However, whereas many “end-time” thrillers fail to make an impact because we’ve read it all before, Tare offers a new take on the whole “end-times” setting which, in my humble opinion, hits many of the right marks. For example, the story itself is quite involved (it’s of the blink and miss it variety of books) and is definitely not light reading. I had to read the book twice to figure out and catch all of the intricacies as well as all the plot developments and twists that Tare has to offer. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a turn off your brain, one plus one equals two type thriller, this may not be for you. And whereas many books fall short and leave the reader dazed and confused, there is a tremendous amount of payoff to be had if you should choose to read, and even reread this book.
On to the story: The story of Tare centers around a small town in America that has been “quarantined” from the outside world by a military lockdown. The invading force is a secret branch of the U.S. military that uses high-tech weaponry, such as full body suits fully loaded with advanced weaponry unlike the world has ever seen, to accomplish its goals. And this is no ordinary lockdown; escape is not an option thanks to a force shield has been setup to surround the town which kills any living thing on contact.
As this is a complete lockdown, and the people are held captive against their will, there are no incoming or outgoing communications or supply deliveries of any kind; everything the people may need is to be supplied by the invading force including money and food. The people of the town are under strict orders to follow every command that comes from the occupying military presence. The orders are quite simple, plant, grow and eat a crop of grain. However, as in many a good story, the true intention of the occupying forces is never disclosed to the townspeople, although the reader is privy to that information early on in the book. Not to ruin the punch line of the book I shall say this, all is not what it seems…
Shortly after the occupation of the town by the military force there are some brief skirmishes between the local populous and the heavily armed invaders, which result in the deaths of many townsfolk. After this the people begin to do exactly what they are told even if it is begrudgingly; talk of rebellion is only a breath away. However, this is something the “enemy” is well aware of and as such their insidious plan includes pitting the townspeople against one another to weaken the townspeople’s resolve and ultimately accomplish their sinister goal; this often leads the people arguing or fighting between themselves.
I could go on but if I did I would probably give away too much of the story, something I am always hesitant to do. Tare is a good book on many levels and I enjoyed it as much as any other good “end-time” novel. It is well written and has many of the right ingredients one would expect in a book of this genre – action, chaos, advanced weaponry, dark characters, and an even darker storyline which poses many thought provoking questions and scenarios.
What I liked most about Tare is it is solid Christian fiction. Over the last couple of years I have read quite a few books that were being sold as “Christian fiction” that had nary a mention of Jesus, the Bible, or anything else to do with God. In fact, I remember reading one supposed “Christian” novel that revelled in the extreme graphic violence it contained and yet the only mention of God was when one of the characters stumbles across a mangled body and yelps, “Oh my God!” Well I’m glad to say that Tare is indeed a work of Christian fiction. Not only is the storyline based on an actual passage of Scripture (the Parable of the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) there is also mention of Jesus, God, prayer, forgiveness, mercy, and many other things that puts this squarely in the realms of Christian fiction.
As a reviewer it’s always hard to critique someone else’s work, especially when you know they must have put a lot of time and effort into their finished product, but hey, I have to give the “down low” if I am to be honest with you guys. So here goes… The story is similar to something that Stephen King or Frank Peretti may have dreamed up with, and as such has the ability to grab the reader and not let go. However, everything in this book happens too fast. The book itself is just shy of 200 pages, yet the story begged to have been fleshed out and developed way more than its 200 pages. I have read many BIG books that are mainly “filler” and could have easily been cut down by 300+ pages. However, the storyline in Tare is so big, and complex, that I’m thinking this story could have easily have been 500-600 pages in length, without compromising the story or making it longwinded.
Because of this, I found the book to be somewhat lacking in character development and as such I found that I didn’t really feel or care for many of the characters in the book or the situations they found themselves in. For example, there’s a part in the book where twelve people are lined up and systematically shot. The imagery that came to my mind was the murder of the Jews in World War 2 Europe, and this is even hinted at, but never fully developed upon.
Peggy Sue Yarber has created a world that so needed to be explored from a pragmatic matter-of-fact, no-nonsense point of view, a character study if you will. Also the story was such that there could have been a real build up of tension as we got to share in the people’s feelings of loss and their hatred towards the invading force, all the stuff that makes for good reading – not only that, but it makes for good plot and character development too.
There were a couple of times in the book when Tare hints at greatness and where I was pleasantly surprised by the development, like the love/hate story between a regret filled and love sick soldier and a vengeful woman fighting an inner war of hate, turmoil, and forgiveness. Again, this could have been fleshed out to make the reader really care for these people and make the reader truly think about the tragic outcome.
One of the main things I found hard to get past was that Tare is written in the third person, present tense. Whereas most of the novels I have read are in the third person, past tense (he walked across the room) Peggy Sue Yarber chose to write in the third person, present (he walks across the room). As such, Tare, in many ways reads more like an exciting screenplay than a book. Nonetheless, I did get passed this and ended up thoroughly enjoying this book and even though it has a great storyline and is well written, I must admit I was left wanting more.
Peggy Sue Yarber has a promising career ahead of her as a writer. As a first book, Tare has all the makings of a great book, yet it falls short of reaching its true potential. However, with more experience and an editor not afraid to push for more, Peggy Sue Yarber could quite easily find herself in the same league as Frank Peretti, Stephen King, and Ted Dekker.
Christian St John
To order a copy of Tare visit the publishers website.
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