Ezekiel's Shadow

by David Long and David Ryan Long

Book Overview

Best-selling author Ian Merchant struggles with his new Christian faith as he is haunted by the sins of his past, which appear to him as characters in his books, representing danger, betrayal, greed,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764224433
• ISBN13: 9780764224430
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A good first novel!!

Novelist Ian Merchant has written horror stories before, but this time, he finds his writing runs dry after he converts to Christ, and this is the beginning of this story idea.Having won a "Chrstie Award" for First Novel, David Ryan Long, gives us a character that has a bad case of writer's block, but then a stalker starts harassing him and he begins to feel the kind of fright he only used to write about. (Sounds like little like Stephen King, doesn' it?)This is a good premise, but what happens when a conversion requires a new believer to re-think his entire professional life can be very exciting, and the writing is there.Recommended!!

Engrossing and enlightening

Imagine you are Stephen King. Any horrific novel you write becomes an instant bestseller. Every horrific thing you write earns you more and more attention. Now imagine, as Stephen King, you undergo a life altering experience. The sick, scary stories are no longer inside of you. You think, for lack of a better description, that you are suffering from writer's block. The page stays blank. You fear you've lost the ability to write. Could something like that ever happen?It happens to Ian Merchant in David Ryan Long's Christy Award winning novel, Ezekiel's Shadow. Merchant is a best selling horror novelist who finds salvation through Christianity. It is not that he suffers from writer's block, as much as he no longer believes the desolate and deranged notions he once believed, and so he can no longer write about them. Not with passion. If not for his amazing wife, Rebecca, this new chapter in the fictional author's life would leave the main character alone to struggle trying to figure out what he's supposed to do with this newly changed life. But the heat is on. His long time friend and editor is anxious to read the next Merchant manuscript, especially since sales have been down and a new book would re-spark reader interest and generate some revenue. To make matters worse, someone is stalking the famous author, forcing him to suffer for past sins ... But this novel is about far more than the horrors of being stalked by an unknown assailant (and hounded by an eager, anxious editor). David Ryan Long writes the terrifying tale of how lost people can be without knowing they are lost at all. He scares his readers with a story that is riddled with His truth, and ways. Good vs. Evil. Man vs. Himself. Man vs. Man. Man vs. Nature. Betrayal. It's all in here.The characters are so well defined that you don't want the story to end. You care about Ian and Rebecca and their dog, Cain. You care about what happens in their lives, and in the lives of the other characters involved in the tale. Long writes about friendships and love. He writes about restoring faith in a humanity many have given up on. And he does so, not by preaching, but by using powerful, eloquent and gripping prose. Ezekiel's Shadow is the kind of engrossing novel that a reader savors page by page. Next? I look forward to absorbed in David Ryan Long's, Quinlin's Run.--Phillip Tomasso III, author of Johnny Blade & Third Ring

E. S. is a good read, especially for new Christians

This debut novel reads well and captures the feelings of those of us often have doubts about our lives and what is really of value. I liked the questions that Ian faced and his way of facing them.

2002 Christy Award Winner!

David Ryan Long is a much-deserved winner of the 2002 New Author Christy Award for his excellent first work, Ezekiel's Shadow. I picked it up at my favorite local bookstore and couldn't put it down. A thought provoking, intense thriller that displays the skill and poise of a seasoned novelist beyond Ryan's years. Looking forward to his next work with impatient anticipation!

TERRIFIC DEBUT NOVEL

I was so impressed with the way Long has portrayed real people struggling with real spirituality. The main character's spiritual journey includes past regrets, present failures and future fears. The suspenseful undertone of the man's past literally coming back to haunt him is mastefully woven into the very real crisis of the character confronting a rare spiritual awakening. Looking forward to future endeavors from this author!