Edge of Eternity

Edge of Eternity, Randy Alcorn, 1998, Waterbrook Press. Genre: Inspirational. 325 pages. Finished 3/27/2010.

LesOpinion: There had been a foul smell emanating from the Field Memorial Library shelves on my past few visits. Little did I know that it was this shitty book. According to the Gospel of John, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Randy Alcorn's writing is proof that God's relationship with the world is love-hate, at best. Alcorn is a minister of the evangelical-hate-everyone-not-exactly-like-me stripe. And he fancies himself a fantasy genre writer of Biblical import.

Now, when I was a literature student in days of yore, I had to read my fair share of allegorical religious writing. Heck, I've even read the Bible from cover to cover. I've got nothing at all against Christians or anyone else who espouses a particular religion. What I can't abide, though, is bad writing. And this book is bad writing from beginning to end.

It ricochets madly from event to event, with the word "suddenly" serving as the only transition. And then there is the gerbil. As in "Objections descended on me like a swarm of flies. I felt a terrible sting within, then saw the gerbil attached to my chest." It gets worse. Much worse.

Dumbest quote: "Darkness fell like a huge icicle from a roof." Or maybe it's: "My body felt like a freezer bag, my internal organs frozen artichokes, cauliflower, and peas." You be the judge.