40 is a Christian spiritual fiction.

Tyler Harrison is a music producer who has just been told that he will die on his 40th birthday. He was raised as a Christian in a religiously stern house, however, he no longer practices nor believes in God.

Tyler has issues with his father, who believes his son is a failure. He has issues with work, his musicians never wish to show up for their sessions and his love life is void of life.

After seeing some terrifying hallucinations, Tyler thinks he is going crazy. He tries to explain things to his friends and co-workers, but they don't get it and make light of the events that are occurring. When Tyler agrees to go to the Lollapalooza concert, as part of his work assignment, it is there that he meets Matthew.

Matthew tells Tyler that in less than nine months he will be dead. It is now time to listen to the messages being shared and to learn from them. However, Tyler doesn't understand anything that is occurring and sends Matthew away. Before he leaves, he shows Tyler many ways in which he would have already been dead, if it wasn't for Matthew's interventions over the years.

Tyler goes into denial over the message that he has been shared. He ignores the attempts at putting his life in order and teams up with a DJ named Ellis who takes Tyler on a whirlwind of temptations and immoral conducts. For a while Tyler is caught up in this wild freak ride until he meets Pastor Will, who helps Tyler come to terms with his fears, his confusion and his life.

I thought this was a rather dull book. It started out great, caught my attention but then it pilfered out around the time that Tyler meets Matthew. Up to that point, there seemed to be meaning in the story and then the rest of the book drags on with mostly thoughts and ramblings of Tyler. I was hoping for more from this aspect of the book and expected a decent ending, but the ending was flat.

I didn't like the fact that there were expletives involved with this book, for a Christian read, I'm sure another way could have been used for the characters to express themselves. It just didn't work for me. I was also unimpressed with the disjointed thoughts shared with Tyler and the reader. Some of them didn't make any sense nor did they ever tie in with the rest of the story.

I didn't mind that it was written in first person, I kind of enjoy that and was impressed that it stayed in first person throughout the story, sometimes authors switch from first to third, but this wasn't the case. I found Travis likeable but I couldn't feel his plight, he didn't endear himself to me. As well, the editing was sufficient and didn't detract from the story.

I did like the references to bands, musicians and such that Travis quite often discussed. I liked his music list and the reasons why the songs were there and the underlying message was okay, but not enough for this reader to say this was a great read.

I had heard much on Travis Thrasher and was expecting a bit more from this. ( )

What if you knew the exact date that you were going to die? Thats just what Tyler Harrison has revealed to him by an angel named Matthew.

Tyler Harrison is a music producer who has a few regrets in his life, but when he is visited by an angel named Matthew, who is actually his guardian angel, and his guardian angel tells him that he will die on his 40th birthday, which is about nine months away. Well as you can imagine Tyler begins to wonder if perhaps he isn't loosing his mind. When Matthew reveals episodes throughout Tyler's life and allows him to see how his life has been spared through the years. As truths are revealed to Tyler, his emotions run the gambit, and he soon comes to the realization that money and things really aren't important when facing your own mortality. Will he change his life before its to late?

This book really fascinated me. Not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination, it took me awhile to get into the feeling of the story, the emotions are intense, and often comes off as dark and brooding. As I read the story I found myself wondering what I might do if I knew when I would die. I enjoyed watching Tyler grow and chance throughout the story. The guardian angel Matthew was quite unlike any other guardian angel I have ever read about. I thought the parts where Matthew allowed Tyler those glimpses of how things might have been had he not been around were fantastic.
While I would caution that there is a bit of foul language used in this story, it just adds another layer to the character of Tyler. If your looking for a story that will have you thinking about your own life, that isn't your run of the mill Christian fiction then give this book a try. I for one will be looking for more of Mr. Thrasher's work. ( )

40 A NOVEL by Travis Thrasher is a christian suspense.Music producer Tyler,starts to experience horrific hallucinations just shy of his fortieth birthday. He will be approached by Matthew,a man who claims to be an angel.Not knowing what to do with this information Matthew gives him,his begins to spiral out of control. He is afraid and confused.What would you do if you where told that would you die on your fortieth birthday,I wonder.Would you be like Tyler,and be afraid,angry,confused,turn from God,turn to destructive behavior or would you accept your fate without question and kept your faith.This is not only a suspense but also a story of faith.Finally,Tyler meets Will,a pastor who will help him find his way,restore his faith,find peace before his fortieth birthday. While "40 A Novel" has many questions it also has many of the answers to those seem questions about life and death. This story is written in first person,while I do not normally enjoy reading first person stories this one was interesting.If you enjoy a different sort of christian suspense than this is the one for you.You will find "40 A Novel" interesting and complex while it also has suspense.This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at Faith Words,a division of Hachette Book Group,Inc.and My Book Addiction Reviews. ( )