The Silent Partner (Book Review)

 

Review by Professor Alan

Hello, fellow Spirit Bladers, this is Professor Alan of the Quarter-Bin Podcast and Shortbox Showcase, both of which are available at the Relatively Geeky Podcast.

Today I am reviewing the novel The Silent Partner by Terrence King.

In this book, Homer is a defiant (but not fallen) angel, with a smart mouth and an occasionally shaky opinion of God. She has been in isolation in Heaven for a number of centuries, apart from the other members of the League of Angels, including that snobby Gabriel. But now God has brought her out of her spiritual time-out. He has a critical job on Earth for Homer, and she has only a few days to accomplish it.

Her mission is to help struggling magazine columnist Tom Summers get his first novel published. The problem is the ending, but if Homer can get him to change it, and then get it published, it may just change the world. I’ll be honest here, and say that the reason why his novel will change the world is never quite explained.

Anyway, the thing is that God is pretty picky about humanity keeping their free will, and so Homer is stumped as to how to accomplish her mission. She has to get Tom to change his ending, but she can’t override his free will to do so.

Tom’s life is falling apart, and all of his relationships are a mess. His brother is living with him and his girlfriend for the time being, and his boss and co-workers are all making his work life miserable.

The scenes with Homer are by far the strongest parts of the novel, and King's portrayal of God is both interesting and surprisingly reverential. The theology of free will is also an interesting plot point for the author to focus on.

I have no idea what Terrence King’s personal theology is, but as a reader it doesn’t really matter to me. What I look for in a book dealing with God and angels is the same whether the book comes from a self-identified Christian publisher or not- a generally reverential portrayal of God, a generally Biblical understanding of angels, and a consistent and mature handling of the theological topics involved.

And fortunately, that’s pretty much what I got from this novel. Would I use this as a theological textbook on all things spiritual? Of course not. But as I said before, the book portrayed a surprisingly traditional view of God and His angels.

Homer is not an angel in the New Age style that was so popular a decade or so ago. And although she has a smart mouth, which is probably not theologically precise, her main function is to serve God by serving humanity. He gives her a mission, and although she may grouse and complain, her purpose is to carry it out.

Even the few instances of Homer back-talking God didn’t really bother me. We know from 1 Peter that there are things that the angels long to look into, things that they don’t understand about God and His dealings with humanity. I can’t say that King was specifically trying to work that concept into the novel, but it’s what I drew out of it.

We don’t spend a lot of time with God, and what little we see of Him is only in His conversations with Homer, but we still get to see a God who is a mix of anger and love. He shows anger mostly at Homer’s rebellious streak, and her lack of trust in Him, and displays love for humanity in general and struggling novelist Tom Summers in particular. It’s an interesting take.

Also, the long-time theological debate between John Calvin and Jacob Arminius, that of free will versus predestination, is addressed here. The book does seem to come down on the side of Arminian free will, but not so strongly that it closes off the argument as a potential area of thought, and of conversation, among readers. And the presentation of that issue was more nuanced and subtle than I’m used to reading, which was a nice change of pace.

Unfortunately, there are too many plot threads going on besides Homer and Tom, and some of those are a bit too meandering or disconnected from the main storyline for my taste. But the characterization of the leads, and the snappy dialogue, keep the book moving at a nice pace, and make it an enjoyable read.

To be clear, this book is not a science fiction or fantasy novel in any way other than the active presence of angels and the characterization of the Almighty. Within that interesting premise, it is a fairly straightforward work of contemporary fiction. So I appreciate Paeter stretching the definition of the type of book he’s allowed me to review here.

As with most independently-produced novels, one more editing pass would have come in handy, but this book is still much better terms of grammar and syntax than the vast majority of DIY books I've run across.

If you’re willing to take this story as a novel, and let your theological guard down just a little bit, you might find Terrence King’s The Silent Partner to be a worthwhile book with which to pass some time.

Before I give my scores, remember that I am an actual university professor, so I may a bit of a hard grader. That being said, I give The Silent Partner a 7.5 for quality, and the nature of the book and the way it deals with its spiritual content are such that I give it a 9.0 for veracity. Sorry, guys, I’m just too old school to call that measure “relevance!”