Prophet

Prophet, by Frank Peretti

Although this is an excellent book, I don't think that this is the author's best work. I know that he is capable of some pretty gripping plot lines and action scenes, and I felt that this book fell short of his other works. I struggled to continue reading for the first few chapters, and part of that was due to the fact that although I thought, "Peretti book = great book," another part of me said, "Ahhh!! He's using the A word!!" The A word stands for abortion.

The plot is this: The main character, John, is a news anchor. He and another reporter uncover a government scandal and reveal what a scumbag the governor is. They also uncover who killed John's father and make discoveries about family and God. My problem is that the government scandal could have been anything, but it was regarding an abortion. Don't get me wrong, I believe firmly that abortion is murder. However, I don't want to read about it, I avoid politics in general (any topic), and I don't think that people in the entertainment industry should be using their positions for things other than entertainment.

To be fair to Mr. Peretti, I will acknowledge that this book's message had to do with the privacy laws allowing minors to get abortions without parental consent. Because a minor is often incapable of making quality decisions, there is the opportunity to choose a clinic with low quality standards, inexperienced or unlicensed staff, or other qualities that might endanger the safety of the procedure. While this is a valid concern, the book was written nearly 20 years ago, and its message may have been important at the time it was written.

However, in the 20 years since the book was written, times have changed. People are willing to sue the pants off a McDonald's because they sell hot coffee. A doctor who botches an abortion? Serious trouble because of the willingness of people to sue. According to the Harvard Medical School, less than one out of 100,000 abortions ends in the death of the mother, which comes out to less than 13 deaths a year. Thanks to people's stupidity, greed, and frivolous lawsuits, our nation's pregnant teenagers can murder their children in safety.

Yes, that was a little bit of sarcasm at the state of the world now compared to how it was when this book was written (I was in first grade, and it was easier back then). To return to the topic of the book, rather than politics, I feel that Mr. Peretti's mission in writing the book was skillfully accomplished. He DID get me, the reader, thinking, talking, and researching the topic of abortion, and that I think was the reason he wrote it.

In addition, he emphasized, or the character of John emphasized, the importance of telling the truth. John's career was compromised because he told the truth, and in some ways, I wonder if the author felt the same way in writing this book. He was telling the truth about a controversial subject, risking his reputation as a writer. 20 years later, he's still writing awesome books, so I think we can safely say that the truth was the right story to tell.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good murder mystery, courtroom drama, or anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at the news/television industry. Also, there's a good side story about John's family, so I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in supernatural occurances, or patching up a broken relationship.