Ezekiel's Shadow

Long's first novel offers a promising plot. Protagonist Ian Merchant, a bestselling horror writer, has writer's block, and his own life seems a horror story: he's being threatened by an unknown stalker. Seeking relief from his creative dry spell, Merchant goes to the Utah desert, where he has a life-changing experience, becomes a Christian, and is memorably baptized in a river. Returning from the trip to his home in Connecticut, he must wrestle with what it means to be made new in Christ, knowing that his identity and livelihood are wrapped up in his horror novels. Not only is he plagued with guilt about his life before he became a Christian, but he must also continue to survive the stalker. Asked by his editor to keep a journal of the mysterious stalking experiences, Merchant comes to realize that all roads led to his conversionDeven his writingDand that he is a new creation after all. While the premise is intriguing, the narrative shows several typical flaws of a first novel. Apart from Merchant, most of the characters are flat, more like caricatures than real people, and the dialogue is inconsistent. Often the plot is fuzzy, as though pertinent information has been inadvertently omitted. The stalker, for example, inexplicably saves the life of Merchant's wife; another important character goes missing midway through the novel, and readers never discover what happened to him. While Long's talent for building suspense bodes well for his future as a Christian novelist, more careful crafting would showcase it. (Feb.)