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This Present Darkness - a review

I just finished This Present Darkness, and I am still processing it.

Peretti does not just tell a story. He pulls back the curtain on the unseen. He paints a vivid picture of spiritual warfare, reminding readers that our battle is not against flesh and blood. The way he portrays the demonic realm operating behind everyday decisions, politics, media, and influence is sobering. It makes you look twice at what seems normal.

What struck me most is how much the fictional town in the book mirrors small communities like ours. A place where a handful of influential families quietly steer the direction of the city. Where power structures feel untouchable. Where, at times, there seems to be a spiritual heaviness you cannot quite explain. The atmosphere Peretti describes feels uncomfortably familiar.

The book also confronts something many Christians would rather ignore, cultural compromise. There are characters who profess faith yet live in quiet opposition to God through what they consume, tolerate, and promote. That tension feels especially relevant today. We live in a world where darkness is often packaged attractively, where the demonic is not grotesque but intriguing, entertaining, even celebrated. Over time, we have been desensitized. Sin does not shock us the way it should. We tolerate what once would have grieved us.

Peretti’s writing is dramatic at times, but intentionally so. He forces readers to reckon with the reality that spiritual apathy has consequences. Prayer matters. Discernment matters. What we read, watch, and listen to matters.

Whether you agree with every theological nuance or not, this book compels self examination. It made me ask, Have I grown too comfortable. Has my family grown too comfortable.

In a culture increasingly numb to darkness, This Present Darkness is a wake up call.


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