Hardcover
558 pages
Jul 2008
Tyndale House Publishers

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Review:

“Let the water and the blood, from Your riven side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure,” is the familiar lyric from Rock of Ages.

Riven is the name of Jerry Jenkins’s new novel. A member of the 100 book club, Jenkins said of this title, “This is the novel I’ve always wanted to write and unlike anything I’ve ever written. My hope is that it stays with you long after the final page.”

Jenkins nailed his goal. This is one of the better novels I’ve read. The characters are three dimensional in this meaty book. The author spun a believable tale of a person full of promise, falling quickly into the dregs of society.

Raised in a trashy trailer park by an alcoholic mom, Brady Darby had potential but allowed his anger to control him. Brady’s dad abandoned the family years ago. A tornado destroyed his trailer and killed his younger brother, the only person Brady cared for.

Thomas Carey was a career pastor who hadn’t even converted his own daughter. Diligently praying, reading his Bible, and memorizing scripture, Thomas yearns to make an eternal difference in someone’s life. Without other options, the tired man of God accepts a position as a chaplain in a maximum security prison. It is in this desperate setting that Brady and Thomas cross paths. Their unlikely partnership results in a surprising and haunting event that impacts countless others in the prison, the state, and throughout the nation.

In this contemporary novel, Jenkins examines God’s power over guilt, depression, and death. Riven explores God’s redemption, forgiveness, and the assurance that where Christ abides, hope never dies.

Jenkins is the author of the blockbuster Left Behind series which sold over 70 million copies. Jerry continues to write because he has a message to share and his vehicle is story. This is a great read for teens and adults looking for a compelling story. His dialog is masterfully crafted and the detail presented about the prison system is enlightening.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Matt. 9:12 NIV) Riven reminds us that we all need a Savior. PeggySue Wells, ChristianBookPreviews.com

Book Jacket:

When a condemned man with nothing to lose meets one with nothing to gain, everyone washed by the endless ripples of that encounter will forever recall the day a little bit of heaven invaded a whole lot of hell. Brady Wayne Darby and Thomas Carey could hardly have been more disparate individuals. Yet when Darby, a no-account loser raised in a dingy suburban trailer park, encounters Carey, a weary man of God, an entire--state indeed, a nation--is affected. Embark on a wondrous journey where death, guilt, and despair are unfathomably trumped by rebirth, forgiveness, and hope.