Fiction Addict

Genre: Drama

Publisher: Segue Blue

Publication Date: August 2010

Reviewed by Josh Olds

Jesse Barlow grew up as a preacher’s kid and hated it. At age 18, he booked it to Hollywood destined for fame, fortune, and a movie career. Eleven years later and batting 0-3, Jesse returns to his hometown after a failed suicide attempt. Telling no one, Jesse returns to his hometown to make amends with his father, his former love, and the son he never knew he had. From the Dead is a story of one man’s return from the wayward path.

The story is character-driven, taking the reader on a poignant and well-written journey through Jesse’s life. John Herrick paints Jesse’s life realistically, and uses the language and sexual references to boot, which may trouble some readers. As becomes obvious, this technique serves to contrast with Jesse’s post-return lifestyle, but even to this reviewer it seemed at times a little over the top and I would have preferred that Herrick portrayed a few of the more explicit scenes in a more implicit manner. Herrick could have avoided this while making his point just as well.

While I appreciate the great redemptive arc that Herrick portrays, it just seems a bit too easy for me. In the wake of his suicide attempt, Jesse awakens a new man and the struggle with his past life (the sins of which are so prevalent in the first half) just goes away in a second. While God certainly does change hearts and minds, such a transformation is never that easy.

All that aside, From the Dead is written in a very engaging style, with the scenes between Jesse and his son, who does not yet know Jesse is his father, being very heartwarming and inspiring. Jesse’s love to sacrifice himself for his son is moving and serves as a great climax to the story. But the lack of tension driving Jesse’s transformation earlier in the story ultimately keeps the climax from being all that it could be.

From the Dead is a book with great potential. It is well-written and has a great premise, but a few flaws in the plot keep this good book from being the great read it could have been.

Review copy provided by the author.