Eisley Jacobs

Runaway Choices is what they call a 'Christian Speculative Fiction Novel". Having never read a speculative fiction novel, I wasn't sure what to expect. It took me awhile to get into this story and understand what was happening, but after I caught on I was very intrigued by it all.

Beck is a master at running away when things get difficult. So the story begins with her running away and on a plane to London, having no idea what she will do when she gets there, and no money to live on. Things really start to twist and turn when she is offered a job on the plane by the man sitting next to her, when they land in London. These type of "coincidences" will happen to her throughout this story. She realizes this offer is not what is seems, so she runs again, and eventually runs into a bellhop, Colin, who helps her run once more.

As these two team up together to seek answers to what has been happening to Beck, they are confronted by their past, and by a strange and evil person who keeps appearing, seeking a necklace Beck has been given (along with a journal that tells things from both Beck and Colin's past). Since Beck is good at running, she does this throughout this story and Colin has his hands full keeping up with her. It becomes apparent though that she's not only running from herself, but from the superhuman who has made it his life's goal to track her down and convince her to join him. But the power she receives when she gives her life over to God, and the forgiveness and love she experiences, will protect her from the evil.

This is not like any story I have read before. I liked how the author brought this story to a conclusion! Well done!… (altro)

Where I got the book: Kindle freebie. Eisley is an online friend.

Beck is running away from past hurts and involvements, and has decided to go in the direction of London. A random job offer on the plane leads to a mysterious sequence of events involving people who seem to know all about her, locations that disappear and reappear, a passport stamped in the future, and a mysterious object that seems to have unlimited powers. Added to that, Beck is being pursued by a man--or superman--she'd rather not have to face, and has walked smack into a new love interest.

I found it slow going getting into this novel; I'm not a speculative fiction reader for the most part (these genre adventures are certainly eye-opening!) and was not willing to suspend disbelief. In addition, there were some inaccuracies in the London scenes that bugged me, but they may soon be cleared up :)

Once Beck and hunky Colin got to Ireland and Scotland, though, I felt we were on much more solid ground. The action was fast, and reminded me somewhat of the novels of Charles Williams, or G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday in its dreamlike strangeness and unexpected shifts. The romance worked for me, and since this is a Christian novel matters stayed the right side of steamy.

At the outset there are no flags that this is a Christian novel, none of the "God bombs" so beloved of inspirational fiction (yippee!) There is a strong Christian message as the climax of the narrative begins, but I thought Jacobs handled it rather well - it was compelling rather than preachy, and not overly stressed as the story ended.

The writing got stronger as the novel progressed (I find this a lot in self-published debut novels), and my feeling is that the first section could perhaps have benefited from a rewrite to give it the fluidity of the later chapters. Still, this is an interesting story, and should attract the attention of readers who are interested in spiritual warfare or looking for something different in the way of hunt-the-clues style thrillers. Dare I mention Dan Brown fans?… (altro)