Christian Fiction Review Blog

In THE VOID, by Mark Mynheir, we meet numerous characters, all delivered to us in an orderly fashion with respect to the story. They are the ones who tell the story, which is powerful, because you get to see the situation from different perspectives. I'm partial to character-driven writing, because that's the way I do it. It's not the only method, but one of the two favored methods, the other being plot-driven writing. In character-driven writing the very first thing you have to do is breath life into people, then write your story. Mark does this and more. You can feel with them, see into their thoughts, feel the emotional pain that they go through. The reason for doing this is so that when you start moving with your plot, it will fit the characters you have created.

Characters speak to the author as much as they do to each other and to the reader. They get to say, “Wait a minute, I don't do that,” and the author either listens, or comes out with a predictable piece of weak writing. Mark not only created believable characters, but he was faithful to their personalities throughout the work. You can feel the ego of Warren Finstead, the pride of Dr. Silverstein, the apprehension of Dr. Meyer. You are dragged into the weary world of Special Agent “Robbie” Sanchez, as she is burning out in her job at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, laugh with Special Agent John Russell and Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Alan Cohen over the antics of Special Agent Tim Porter, and his “new” car. You feel the gentle, but firm person of Officer Brad Worthington, the pain of his Palm Bay PD partner Eric Casey. One of the things that is done well, is his portrayal of “Adam”, the special product of LifeTex, thanks to Drs. Silverstein and Meyer.

Scripture tells us that God is an author. I like that. It gives me a connection with Him that I wouldn't have had otherwise. Of course you can probably find your own connections, because God has made us that way. To farmers He is the the one who plants seed. To the rancher He is the Good Shepherd. For those more inclined to use their hands, He is the Carpenter's Son. He's fished with the fishermen of Galilee. Argued with the rabbis in the Temples. Partied with tax collectors and sinners. Yet, to me, the connection is one of an author. As the Author, the Bible also says that we were created before the foundations of the world. In other words, before God began writing the story of the people on Earth, He created each of us, knew what we would say and do, even what decisions we would make. He didn't create us to make wrong decisions, but being a loving and merciful God He allowed us to chose our own destiny...one that He already knew. Knowing this beforehand does not impede our free will, nor does it tell us that God created some people for Heaven and some people for Hell. We were all, each of us, created to become His children. The fact that so few of us actually take God up on this gracious offer is not His fault, even if He knew in advance. As the writer of our story, He had to restrict Himself to the choices we would make. He had to make sure that we were “in character” as it were. Why am I saying all of this? Because THE VOID is about choices, about conflicts, even about the creation of life. If God created us in a certain way and we were to create life in a completely different way, what would be the outcome? One possibility is given to us in this story. THE VOID, is very real. Yet it is not a place. It is a “non-place” if I can put it that way. It's more that just emptiness, it's the absence of something necessary. And that is about all I'm going to tell you today.

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