Book Review: Smoke

I've been attempting to entice Sean to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Its premise is intriguing. What if you lived in a world where every man's thoughts presented aloud, unbidden? In Smoke, by Dan Vyleta, the reader gets a similarly captivating premise. What if you lived in a world where every evil thought and action caused your body to produce smoke? Sin is visible and undeniable. Who needs a polygraph test? Every lie told causes the body to dispense smoke into the air. Individuals smolder with their anger, lust, and greed. As I said, a very captivating premise.

The author (no doubt attempting to increase stakes and build suspense) creates quite the chasm between the rich and the poor. In his microcosm, the aristocracy does not smoke (albeit through illegal intervention). They appear virtuous, while the riff-raff exude smoke and soot, because sin obviously overwhelms them. Two wealthy boarding school boys set out, with a girl they both desire, to discover the truth behind smoke. The back cover copy offers endless drama:

"A desperate chase. Revolutionaries and secret police. Religious fanatics and coldhearted scientists. Murder. A London filled with danger and wonder... Unexpected villains and unexpected heroes. Cool reason versus passion. Rich versus poor. Right versus wrong, though which is which isn't clear. This is the world of Smoke, a narrative tour de force, a tale of Dickensian intricacy and ferocious imaginative power, richly atmospheric and intensely suspenseful."

From the outset, this idea allured. Unfortunately, although intriguing, I cannot endorse this author's worldview. I believe we are all sinners in need of a Savior. We all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) This author doesn't even allow God into the picture. What's worse, he ridicules righteousness (or any attempt to choose holiness over sin) and presents it as the problem. Discipline, or virtuous living, is a trap. Characters who seek the unsullied or aspire to holiness end up going mad. At one point, the book actually states, "Our problem is not smoke, but what we think it means."

This author presents a whole novel to young people in defense of sin. Right living stunts the senses, deprives the individual. No, in his mind, one should embrace sin. This is just what we need for our young people today: another license for sin and vice. Indeed, I'm done with modern YA literature. Thick with agenda. Denying the existence or necessity of God. Presenting worlds where right is wrong and wrong is right, where good is bad and bad is good. Isaiah 5:20 says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." What a timely Scripture verse! I'm all for a Dickensian tale. Sadly, this one doesn't stand up to (or for) the light.