Rooms by James L. Rubart

This is a fascinating, well-written book that will probably be unlike anything you’ve read. It’s a story about redemption. The subtitle is “A Mind Bending Story of Spiritual Freedom.” Mind bending is an understatement.

We meet Micah Taylor, six years out of college and already a Seattle software tycoon worth millions. His great uncle leaves him a house in Cannon Beach, Oregon, where Micah has some tragic family history. This house is no ordinary house. It’s about 9000 square feet with many interesting features and hidden secrets. I’m not going to disclose any of them, as the fun of this book is discovering the next thing that the house reveals and the next change to Micah’s life.

Micah goes on a spiritual journey. He’s a marginal, if even that, Christian. After the death of his mom, his dad completely rejects God. As Micah grew up, he drew farther and farther away from God until he was firmly planted in the world. His success, his company is everything to him. Then, he’s left the house. And this is where you need to read to find out what happens next. And next. And next.

Christians should read this book. There were several times I felt convicted. A few times tears welled up in my eyes. And many times, I was nodding, saying yup, that’s a challenge for me as well. But I believe people who do not profess to be Christians will also find this book fascinating. It’s a supernatural journey. For Christians, it should remind us of just how supernatural our God is and what He is capable of. It should be perceived as realistic, no matter how fantastic it is. For non-Christians, I believe it might spur some curiosity in you about God. But if not, I believe it will take you along for a thrilling ride just like it did me.

And did I mention, it’s written well. The language is great. The pacing is great. The characters are well-rounded and fascinating. In the Henry James scale, this book was interesting, instructive, entertaining, realistic, left a deep impression, and I really liked the story. I feel Mr. Rubart accomplished what he set out to accomplish. And you can read about what that is after you read the story, in the back of the book.

Being a Christian book, it has no profanity, no sex and in this case, no violence either. This is one of the better books I’ve read this year (although if you’ve read some of my other reviews, the bar isn’t that high). However, I rate this book a five out of five stars and highly recommend it to anyone, no matter your genre of choice.

I’m going to give it the top spot so far this year, mostly due to the impression it has left on me.

1. Rooms by James L. Rubart
2. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
3. Several Deaths Later by Ed Gorman
4. Citadel (Palladium Wars Book 3) by Marko Kloos
5. Barrier Island by John D. MacDonald
6. Fireplay by Steve P. Vincent
7. Wrong Place Wrong Time by David P. Perlmutter
8. Nowhere Safe by Kate Bold
9. Run for Your Life by C.M. Sutter

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