Adrenaline

Earlier today, I finished reading Adrenaline by John Olson. This is one of the books I picked up at the ACFW conference, so you know it's a Christian book.

It's the story of a biochemistry student named James Parker. Parker is researching possible cures for muscular dystrophy, a disease that has him confined to a wheelchair and is threatening to kill his sister. He believes he's found a cure in an adrenaline-based drug, but his life becomes complicated when he rescues a young woman named Darcy from a group of drug addicts.

Parker and Darcy are soon plunged into a life-threatening adventure as they try to learn if the drug really works. The problem is, mysteries keep cropping up, more than I can really explain here.

I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I think of this book. It was exciting and well written, but I think the plots were so densely layered that I got a little lost every now and then. Olson piles on the mysteries and conundrums, almost to the point where the plot gets bogged down in places.

It was a good read that got my attention for two reasons:

1) It wasn't what you would call an explicitly Christian book. While Parker and his family are Christians, there isn't a lot preaching in this book. They were quietly Christian. Moreover, Olson never beats anyone over the head with the faith stick. That's not a bad thing; it was a pleasant change after reading a few books where the faith stick was overused. There's really nothing wrong with writing a story where Christianity is more of an underlying, subtle factor, not an overt, end-all and be-all of the story.

2) It was definitely a sci-fi book. You can label it "mystery/suspense", but it's still sci-fi. Adrenaline 355 (or "Mighty Mouse", as it comes to be called) is something straight out of sci-fi. Read the book and you'll see what I mean.