Prey Without Ceasing

De: Andrew Franks

Narrado por: Kellen Boyle

This church is haunted.

For Dalton, the son of a preacher man, a longing to serve both his family and his God may be the thin difference between expectation and salvation.

However, when Dalton learns of his brotherʼs kidnapping by a sadistic witch, the unraveling of his familyʼs dark past becomes all too clear. Like a lamb to the slaughter, Dalton bravely wages war on the forces of evil that have plagued his family for generations and ultimately confronts his own destiny while his brotherʼs soul hangs in the balance. Fighting a war in the hellscape of his fatherʼs church, Dalton must challenge the sinister witch, a legion of demonic creatures, and the ghosts of his familyʼs past before Hell lays claim to its latest victim.

Ensnared in the confrontation of truth and the veil of a hidden past, Dalton learns that ultimately he is the key to abolishing the darkness inside the church.

©2021 Andrew Franks (P)2022 Andrew Franks

Fun

What a fun and quick read. The author pushes some taboo buttons, but in a way that doesn’t feel like malice, more like exploration of the dark imagination within a deeply religious context. I think this book would have been even better stretched out another 200-300 pages, to give its characters more depth together. Given how well it’s written, I’m sure the extra length would be worth the read. Also, the narrator nailed it with that thick southern draw and their ability to heighten the dramatic segments. Well done!

Powerful And Relatable

Wow! Prey Without Ceasing by Andrew Franks is an intense Southern Horror! Well written, powerfully told, this story reached out of the pages and grabbed my heart with how much I identified with the horrors the young protagonist faced from my own childhood experiences! The horror built into the religious experience is shown so powerfully and effectively, but what also shows is the honest struggle a child faces in trying to makes sense of the world as one progresses into the world of adults. And without spoiling anything I have to say this book has one of the BEST closing lines in a book! Really relatable and an excellent read, ALSO an excellent listen if you enjoy audiobooks! Highly recommend and hope you give this book a read!

Excellent

This fantastic indie horror novella is now available on audiobook!! Excellent narration by a new name in the audiobook world: Kellen Boyle. Keep your eyes out for this author and narrator. They’re going places!!

Book review:
Fire and brimstone. This subject may be the most horror-inducing out there. Especially when eternal damnation is hung over a child’s head as a form of behavior modification. Prey Without Ceasing is a 100-page novella with themes related to spiritual abuse. The story combines horror elements to serve as a giant metaphor for the anxiety and responsibility related to the impossible standards set for young minds. It’s a lazy kind of teaching to use shame and guilt as a guiding light, but there are religious leaders highly skilled in the art. I know this on an intimate level. I swear this book feels like it was written for me, like Andrew Franks and I grew up together in the same Bible-belt Pentecostal church back in the day. This is exactly why books like this are so important… the reader is reminded that they are not alone.

Please note, based on my reading perspective this novella does not condone bitterness towards the church or the reverse expectation of perfection. It simply showcases how destructive it can be when one is placed under the religious leadership of the wrong person. In a community that is hypervigilant about what is being taught in schools, I pray they use the same energy to monitor their own house of worship. In this book, the reader sees the bad but there is also good. There is a perfect scene featuring our young main character and the children’s pastor which gives the reader hope that safety exists. Thank you, Andrew, for writing this story and being brave enough to share it with the world. Excellent book!

Left me emotional from the painful truth.

I’m still filled with so much emotion after reading (listening) to this extremely well written book. The details and imagery felt so real. This book left me wanting to cry with pain from the realism and also angry. Growing up in similar circles and knowing how people are, and how they can make you feel so discouraged and even confused. I don’t want to sit back and question everyone and everything that has happened.
Once I let my emotions settle I felt peace in those last words that Dalton said to God as he drove away.
Thank you for making the time to write such a heart wrenching book.

Eerie and Truthful

I felt anxious and claustrophobic for most of this book. I believe that was the author's intent and therefore, well done! I was raised in a Christian-principles home but we were not avid church goers. I went to a small, Christian high school like the one in the book. I also went to the corresponding church while I was in high school. There were times I felt the struggle like Dalton. I'm certain my struggle was nowhere NEAR the pressure he felt, yet I could empathize with him. It's that pinned-down, cornered feeling. It's wanting to do the 'right' thing but feeling a discord in what I was learning and observing in the church around me with my own deep intuition. The book brought back so many memories and emotions. Well written a f thank you for the journey!