Book Review: Isolation by Travis Thrasher

Thrasher, Travis. Isolation. New York: Faith Words, 2008. Trade Paperback, 304 pages. $13.99.

Purchase: Hatchette Book Group | CBD | Amazon

ISBNs: 9780446505543 / 0446505544

Subjects: Christian Fiction, Suspense and Thrillers
Chapter Excerpt

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Travis Thrasher knew in third grade he wanted to be a writer and wrote his first novel in ninth grade. Today, Travis has ten books in print. He and his wife, Sharon, live with their daughter in Chicago. For more information about Travis, visit www.travisthrasher.com.

Burned out and haunted by misfortune on the mission field of Papua New Guinea, Jim Miller and his wife and son move to an isolated mountain retreat in North Carolina to recoup. Jim is exhausted and disillusioned about God, and his wife, Stephanie, is afraid of what she sees in her husband. Since their move to North Carolina, she has also been sleepwalking and experiencing strange hallucinations. Exploring the retreat, Jim’s eight-year-old son, Zachary, stumbles across every young boy’s dream: secret passageways and hidden rooms. But he also discovers something else. Something evil. When a snowstorm traps the family in their new home, something out of their worst nightmares emerges and tests their faith in God.

This Christian suspense thriller is a gripping, enjoyable, fast-paced ride that is both scary and filled with clear faith elements. I was literally glued and closed the book one night only because I had to get some sleep. Yes, this is a horror tale, but the story is more about the family’s survival than about acts of violence, more about things that go bump in the night than about blood and gore. Thrasher does a splendid job of balancing scary scenes with a clear biblical message. I must admit that when I started reading the novel, the story felt vaguely familiar. After all, there’s a big, creepy house; a bad guy who’s as evil as they get; nefarious intent; and hints of possible demonic activity. These plot devices have been used time and again, but Thrasher did a good job of putting a new spin on them.

[Spoiler Warning] The nature of evil the family faces is a bit darker at times than I expected—or even wanted—but Thrasher does a good job of exercising restraint and handling details with tact. I could tell from the beginning revelations about a failed exorcism on the mission field that satanism was going to be featured in this novel. It was, and a few scenes left me feeling more than a little unsettled. But again, Thrasher exercised restraint and didn’t tell the reader more than he needed to know. Unfortunately, though, the imagination does tend to fill in the blanks. For that reason, I think a few story elements could have been scaled back. I didn’t really need to see all of the torture devices or the video clip of a whimpering woman just before being sacrificed.

Yes, this novel has a body count, but Thrasher does a good job of implying violence without throwing it in the reader’s face, although some details may be too much for some readers. I was impressed with how he’d stop just before the violent act and then cut to someone discovering the body. In that regard, he is a much nicer, cleaner version of popular horror novelist Stephen King, to whom he has been compared. For that reason alone, Thrasher deserves a thank you because I don’t touch King, who is typically too far over the edge in the language, violence, and subject matter departments for me to waste my time. In many ways, I think this novel is like vicariously enjoying the best of King without wading through a cesspool. So if you’ve wanted to read King but didn’t want to feel like taking a shower afterward, Thrasher offers a more acceptable and sanitized alternative.

I do have a few nitpicks with the novel. For one, I’ve never seen so many missionaries drinking beer, wine, and even gin in one book. The missionary’s wife even gets a little tipsy. Every missionary and believer I know avoids alcoholic beverages—and for good reason. Sure, believers may debate the issue, but I found the imbibing a bit distracting. One other nitpick is that if you’ve ever seen a horror film, you know that the villain always comes back, even when he’s supposed to be dead. This cliche unfortunately found its way into Isolation. My last nitpick is that I think events are tied up a little too neatly at the end (sort of like the end of Facing the Giants). I don’t want to give anything away, but a pretty severe event occurs to one member of the family. Somehow God works a miracle, and everything is suddenly fine. In my opinion this plot twist was the weakest part of the story.

I appreciate Thrasher’s message as depicted through Jim, the father, who has pretty much turned his back on God since things went sour on the mission field. We see Jim’s disillusionment time and time again. When the family faces trials, they should be reaching toward God, but adversity actually drives them farther away. Jim becomes more bitter and more isolated from what he knows to be true. His struggle, however, is compelling because so many of us can relate. How many of us have faced seemingly unexplainable hardships and couldn’t help wondering where God was? In the end, it takes a miracle to open Jim’s eyes. I was happy to see Jim return to his faith, but I couldn’t help thinking, Life doesn’t always work out that way. Things aren’t always magically fixed at the end. What if God hadn’t worked the miracle? Without the miracle, would Jim still have turned back to God? I guess that’s the million-dollar question for everyone. Do we still trust God when He seems to turn His back on us?

All in all, I was impressed with Isolation. Some of the subject matter flirted closer to the edge than I would have preferred. Some of the violence may be too much for some readers, but I personally don’t think Thrasher went too far. He is truly a master at suspense, and I had a hard time putting the novel down. I was also pleased that he didn’t compromise the faith elements in the story and produce a secular story with a couple of references to God thrown in. This novel centers squarely on faith and the Word of God, and I found that fact refreshing. In the end, it’s the Word of God that wins the day. This was the most suspenseful, fast-paced ride I’ve enjoyed since the latest Peretti. I’ll definitely be looking for the next Thrasher novel.

Adam Blumer is a freelance editor and writer as well as SI’s managing editor. A Bob Jones University graduate with a B.A. in Print Journalism, he served as an editor and writer for 14 years at Northland Baptist Bible College (Dunbar, WI) and Awana Clubs International Headquarters (Streamwood, IL). He has published numerous short stories and articles. Kregel Publications (Grand Rapids, MI) plans to release his first Christian suspense novel, Fatal Illusions, in spring 2009. God has blessed Adam and his wife, Kim, with two daughters. See his newly launched author’s Web site and his freelance editing Web site.

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