Have you ever read anything by him? Brouwer is a Christian novelist whose work rises above the genre. You know how so many Christian novels are formulaic? And most of them inject the obligatory "Christian shares the gospel" scene, where the conversation is more of an artificial sermon than anything that contributes to the story? Brouwer is far better. While you might categorize his work as "thrillers" or "mysteries", they are well-done works of fiction that are worth your time.
As I read his books, I have watched him grow as a novelist and as a Christian. Some of his early works are Christian westerns that can be safely ignored. I discovered Brouwer when I read Double Helix, a decent but mediocre thriller about cloning. Then he got a whole lot better with "Blood Ties", a serial killer story. (You will not figure it out. The ending is a definite surprise.) With that novel, I realized his tremendous potential. Then he wrote some young adult stuff.
After a trip to Israel and some Historical Jesus research, he wrote "The Weeping Chamber", a work of historical fiction about Jesus from the perspective of a relatively minor Gospel character. It's very well done and worth the read. At this point he was in a "Jesus" phase, so he did some coffee table books on Jesus that were OK.
Then he graduated. He switched from Word to Tyndale, and began a new series, following a character named Nick Barrett. The first book was called "Out of the Shadows" and is a character study/mystery and is a definite literary work. Second, he wrote "Crown of Thorns" which continues with the same setting (Charleston) and character. These two books should not be missed. This post just made me check Amazon. There's a third in the series entitled The Lies of the Saints. I'm off to buy it right now. I can't wait... I also just found out that he co-wrote a book with Hank Hanegraaf entitled The Last Disciple. It seems to be a novel about Biblical Prophecy/Revelation from -GASP- a preterist perspective. How cool is that? From Amazon-
What if the Antichrist has already been revealed? The first book in a gripping new series by best-selling authors Sigmund Brouwer and Hank Hanegraaff explores the lives of Christians who struggle to survive and spread the Gospel during the climactic turbulence of "the last days." With the enemy seeking to decipher the code of John's letter, Revelation, and destroy the church, believers must cling to the hope Revelation provides as they face the greatest of all persecutions. A spellbinding story of faith and fulfillment of prophecy. Discover the "code" of Revelation as you begin to see it through the eyes of the persecuted believers to whom it was written.Update: Here is Sigmund Brouwer's Biography and Bibliography. Another mission of his is to encourage children to read. This is why he has written so many young adult fiction books. The sports series are intentionally aimed at non-readers. You got to admire a guy who tries so hard to turn non-readers into readers. He goes to schools and speaks on the subject. Check out hiswebsite - www.coolreading.com.
Sigmund's faith is also an integral part of his creative goals. Although an overt Christian agenda doesn't appear in his novels, an underpinning of morality and redemption make his books more than tools of escape. Not surprisingly, on of his greatest writing influences is C.S. Lewis. "C.S. Lewis is definitely one of the writers I admire most," Sigmund says, "He wrote as well as possible, knowing that the Truth would speak for itself. He always tried to be logical, and true, and never tried to inject things for the sake of putting them in there. He's the one who said, "There's no Christian way to write, just as there is no Christian way to boil an egg. Writers, whether they are Christian or Agnostic, have to follow good rules of writing and he did. And because of that, the Truth spoke for itself."Read Brouwer and tell me what you think.
You're going to buy it "right now"?
Hmmm. You must not be shopping at LifeWay. ;-)