Review of “The Shriving Place”

A novella by Brian Patrick Edwards

Mr. Brian Patrck Edwards has written an extraordinary novella that broaches a slightly taboo topic: the everyday, unspoken, and generally unfulfilled fantasy of good men to rid the world of evil by their own hands.

This idea, not immoral in and of itself, exists within most men who have the wherewithal to simply look around and witness the blatantly obvious downward spiraling of the world around them. The danger is that some of us, often rightly so, personify this evil in human form rather than come to the more “correct” conclusion that Satan and his various filthy minions are really the ones at fault.

“Someone should just go out and kill these motherf—s,” says one character in a brilliant, semi-recent, semi-low-budget film, and Brian does just that. Albeit in fiction.

He magnificently conveys the holy desire for Christ-based judgment through a fictional character (and that character’s family) while simultaneously recognizing and combating the conflicting thoughts that might naturally afflict those willing to go a step further into this fantasy.

The Shriving Place is a unique piece of fiction dealing with the eternal question of whether there is such a thing as righteous vengeance when this is permissible and, at the risk of sounding horrendously cheesy, the importance of trusting God to guide our hands and direct our steps. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

I highly recommend this book, and I am excited to see what else Brian writes in the future. He has a bright career ahead of him. Judging by his already near-flawless emotional evocation, the next work to spout from his sanctified pen will undoubtedly be on my reading list.


To read more from Shazam Watkins or to contact him directly, please visit www.shazamwatkins.com.

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