We all live in this world. Some of us accept the possibility of other people living in other worlds. But suppose the inexplicable reality is that we all live in two worlds—the waking physical world and its dark mirror image in the spiritual realms—and there is no way to cross the threshold and see the spiritual world in which we move without knowing it.

Unless you have Affinity. Then the boundaries can be broken down and broken through.

In Affinity, Dianne J. Wilson creates a story of spiritual warfare in the style of a fantasy. Dispensing with the vision of angels and demons hovering over us, Wilson constructs the spiritual realm as a strange landscape where the soul is unveiled and death takes solid form. Her young heroes, who spend their dreams in the spiritual world, draw out the parallels to the world in which they wake up. And so the battle is joined in both worlds.

A strong spiritual element suffuses the novel, and the heroine’s confession of Jesus makes it explicitly Christian. In the spiritual realm, however, God curiously appears under the name of Tau. Certain aspects of the story are left in confusion, and though some may be awaiting clarification in the sequel, others—notably, the concept of the Affinity gift itself—ought to have been firmly established already. Despite its weaknesses, Affinity is a creative and original play on old concepts, and if you’re willing to take the ride, you’ll find it goes places.

Best for: Older teens; fans of spiritual warfare novels.

Discern: Child abuse; violence, sometimes directed at older teens or children; themes of parental abandonment.

Dianne J. Wilson

DianneJWilson.com
@DianneJWilson