Frank E. Peretti

This Present Darkness

Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness is a landmark work of Christian fiction that pulls back the veil on the unseen spiritual realm operating all around us. Set in the small college town of Ashton, the novel weaves together two parallel storylines: one follows reporter Bernice Kreuger and newspaper editor Marshall Hogan as they investigate a mysterious conspiracy reaching into the highest levels of the town's institutions, and the other follows beleaguered pastor Hank Busch as he fights to keep his small congregation alive. Beneath both storylines, Peretti dramatizes the apostle Paul's declaration in Ephesians 6:12 — that our true struggle is not against people and politics, but against "the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness." The novel's central thesis is that prayer is not a passive spiritual exercise but an act of cosmic warfare: every intercession strengthens the angels, every compromise weakens them, and the fate of an entire community hangs in the balance.