Comes A Horseman

Reviewed by Stephen: 6.5 out of 10.

If writing ability alone determined the rating I gave this book, then it would, without a doubt, get a straight 10 out of 10. The creative descriptions, ingenious similes, down-to-earth dialogue, cliff-hanger chapter conclusions and cunning storyline were all highlights while reading Comes A Horseman. Robert Liparulo is, as one person so fittingly put it, a writer of immense talent.

In the opening chapter we are catapulted straight into a fast-paced, action-packed assassination scene. Having a soft spot for books that propel you directly into an action sequence, I had high hopes that Horseman would climb its way into being one of my all-time favourite books. This high-octane quickly ebbed, however, as can be expected in a novel to make room for character development in a situation not under pressure. But along with the waning energy came the lengthy, and yes, sometimes tedious descriptions.

By the end of Horseman, I had developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with Liparulo’s in-depth descriptions within the story he was telling. On the one hand, I appreciated, and was even sometimes astounded, at the creativity he injected into whatever and whoever he described. You could more firmly grab a hold of the intricacies of the scene and become better adjusted to what was happening. On the other hand, these same descriptions quite often tripped up the story and caused what I would call ‘reader slogging’, where you as a reader must wade through the hard yards of the first half of the book to get to the stage where you can’t put it down.

My biggest criticism with this book was the stage of ‘not being able to put it down’ not making itself apparent until the final 5 chapters. This ‘reader slogging’ would also, unlike other thrillers, keep popping its head up, even so much as during a fight scene. Halfway through an intense hand-to-hand combat with a ‘walking bicep’ you would be thrust into some childhood memory, flashback or training technique learned in the past. To illustrate my point further, the character wouldn’t just take his shoes off; he would untie his shoelaces, take his shoes off and carry them with the ring and middle fingers of his left hand. Sometimes detail is excellent; but sometimes you just want to cut the talk, skip to the good parts.

This story, I would have to say, is not one for the queasy or faint of heart; it is quite a gruesome book, and Liparulo makes no apologies for not shying away from gory details. However, he does have a strong underlying sense of morality and a clever portrayal of Christianity that is so real and so compelling that it can’t possibly turn away an unbelieving reader. These things, along with Liparulo’s fresh take on the events surrounding the end-times as described in the book of Revelation, were what reconciled the reading of this book to me as being worthwhile.

My final thoughts would be that, although I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I would have liked to, Horseman is still worth the read — even if only for the astounding writing and thoughts that come from the hand and mind of Liparulo. It gave me a fresh glimpse of just how horrifying evil can be, and the tremendous hope that we, as Christians, have in Christ.

Liparulo certainly has a strikingly unique story with Horseman, which, in a world of copy-cats and lookalikes, can always be appreciated. But, by all means, please enlighten me if you understand how the story and back cover description ties in with the title of the book. Maybe I just missed something.

Click here to visit Liparulo’s site.