This Present Darkness

For the Chimaira EP, see This Present Darkness (EP).

This Present Darkness
First edition cover, 1986
AuthorFrank E. Peretti
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherCrossway Books
Publication date
1986
Publication placeUnited States

This Present Darkness is a Christian novel by suspense, horror, and fantasy author Frank E. Peretti. Published in 1986 by Crossway Books after first being rejected by fourteen publishing companies,[1][2] This Present Darkness was Peretti's first published novel for adults and shows contemporary views on angels, demons, prayer, and spiritual warfare as demons and angels interact and struggle for control of the citizens of the small town of Ashton. It is critical of Eastern and New Age spiritual practices, portraying meditation as a means of demonic possession.[3]

Sales were initially slow but jumped dramatically after singer Amy Grant promoted the book.[4] The book has sold in excess of 2.7 million copies worldwide as of 2013[5] and remained on the Christian Booksellers Association top best-sellers list for over 150 consecutive weeks after its release.

Its title comes from Ephesians 6:12 (RSV): "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Peretti followed This Present Darkness up with a sequel in 1988, Piercing the Darkness.

  1. ^ Van Campen, Todd (July 24, 1999). "Author Frank Peretti gives good a fighting chance". Marysville Appeal-Democrat. pp. D2. Retrieved July 6, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ^ Peretti, Frank E. (March 1, 2002). This Present Darkness. Tyndale Momentum. ISBN 0842361715.
  3. ^ Aichele, George; Pippin, Tina, eds. (January 31, 2002). Violence, Utopia and the Kingdom of God: Fantasy and Ideology in the Bible. Routledge. ISBN 9781134730483.
  4. ^ "Singer's Plug Puts 'This Present Darkness' in Spotlight: Fundamentalist Novel Finds Wide Appeal". Los Angeles Times. September 23, 1989. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Nelson |, Marcia Z. "Frank Peretti: The Father of Christian Fiction Doesn't Want to Look Back". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved May 5, 2022.