Category:
novel
Synopsis:
When going on a camping trip in the mountains in Idaho, Reed and Beck Shelton become seperated when they are attacked by a large monster that kidnaps Beck. Almost immediatly, Reed enlists the help of the small town of Abney to search for his wife. Beginning as a bear hunt, it becomes less and less plausible to Reed as more evidence shows something much more unbelievable. While the search continues and dwindles, Beck is left on her own to survive at the mercy of four large Bigfoot(s). Taken in as an adopted child by one of the females, Beck has to decide whether or not she has the courage and the will to save herself from her unknown fate. Meanwhile, a friends of the couple, Cap and Sing, begin their own investigation to find Beck. Along the way, Cap, a former microbiologist who was fired for his anti-Darwinism stance, finds out that there is more to Reed's story of Beck's abduction than anyone realizes and begins to delve deeper into an underground project that set out to prove that beneficial mutations existed and worked.
Context for time depicted:
The novel takes place in present day and illustrates through the various storylines people's general inability to accept anything that cannot be proven. The search parties refuse to believe Reed that Beck was kidnapped by a Sasquatch just the same as scientists refuse to believe in anything that disputes the theory of beneficial mutations.
Context for time of production:
Nothing in particular was happening to cause Frank Peretti to write this book. It was simply a matter of interest to him and he wanted to raise questions as to the viability of evolution and Darwinism versus an intelligent design theory. Outside of Frank's immediate world and in the scientific community however, there are controversies swirling around concerning the ethics of cloning and genetic engineering.
Assessment:
This book is extremely entertaining and a quick read despite its length of over 400 pages. While the actual "mad scientist" does not appear until the latter half of the book, hints and clues are scattered throughout the book until its climactic ending. The author is a Christian writer and manages to weave instances of faith into the story without preaching to the reader or invading on his or her religious beliefs, if any. The main focus of the story is whether or not evolution is really as solid of a theory as people are taught to believe.
References:
Peretti, Frank E. Monster. Nashville, Tennessee: WestBow Press, 2005.
Peretti, Frank. Interview with Belinda Elliott. Frank Peretti: Creating a 'Monster' 2005. 15 Apr. 2008 <http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/books/elliott_FrankPeretti.aspx>.
How would this be used?:
This book could be used to address the issue of how far should a scientist go to prove or disprove a theory. Also, it could be discussed in the same fashion as Frankenstein, namely how much control should scientists have over creating artificial life or manipulating nature.