It was a chilling story of a families' terror in a giant maze of a house in the high mountains of North Carolina. [isolation] was a good title for this book as well as a spot on description of what was happening to to the family. Something isn't right in the big lodge house that was supposed to give them a fresh start. We know that they are not alone... and they know they are not alone...but they are unprepared for the terrible thing that is residing as yet unseen within the rooms with them. A blizzard has imprisoned them inside with IT and what it wants is unimaginable. It was listed as "Christian fiction"...which I didn't realize at the time...but the author was in no way "preachy"...just told a very good story. ( )

Okay. So I'm not one to believe in God. Normally any book relating to God or his "mysterious and awe-inspiring ways" would strike out based on the premise alone. However, to me this book is slightly different. Yes it is Christian fiction and yes you can tell. The ending especially drove that home and is probably where the book lost points with me. As an ex-Catholic having experienced the process myself I think it offers a fairly accurate depiction of the emotional side to a crisis of faith. As far as the rest goes (the possession,demons,etc) it did go a little far and was a little out there. It did make for a little more interesting story-telling though. The murderer was a bit predictable but with all the other books and movies out there it's hard to surprise anyone anymore. The writing was simple and the story easy to follow. I liked Stephanie's visions/dreams/hallucinations, particularly the flesh chunks hitting her car. That was the first scene from a book in a long time to shock me. But I also enjoyed The Hellbound Heart so what do I know? Isolation is a nice quick read with a spooky vibe. ( )

4 stars, I liked this more than I thought I would. ( )

review copy for ARRA2.5 stars ( )

A missionary family finds themselves having to make a decision to move to a secluded home for the winter. The wife is uneasy about the move but she is having issues with nightmares and sleep walking so she figures it will be best to agree to the move. Once they get to the home, things start happening that disturb the family. The family has only their faith to lean on and they are beginning to question even their faith.

This is a well written Christian thriller/horror. I picked this book up at a Christian bookstore when I visited my family. I had never read a Travis Thrasher book and I am glad I picked up this book. I loved the suspense throughout the book and I did not figure out who the "bad guy" was until the end of the book. Thrasher kept me on my toes throughout the story.

What I loved the most about Thrasher's book was that the characters faced real conflicts about their faith. The way he wrote it was so realistic. So many books have conflicts about faith that are hard to relate to but Thrasher wrote a conflict that many Christians can relate to...having faith and questioning God. There were things that the characters said that I could relate to and I have said myself. It doesn't make me (or others like me) a bad Christian...it makes me real and I felt that Thrasher wrote the conflict in such a way that makes you not feel like a bad person for having the same kind of conflict in your life.

I also like that Thrasher wrote about some intense things without being too graphic. The reader gets the idea of what the characters are seeing without giving extreme descriptions. I was impressed that I could "feel" the evil in the rooms without the graphic descriptions.

This was a well written and intense story. I will definitely look into more Travis Thrasher books. ( )