Faith by Nick Nielsen: A promising beginning for an interesting trilogy

Prepare to embark on a gripping journey through the mystical and chaotic streets of London in “Faith” by Nick Nielsen. This captivating fantasy novel delves deep into themes of spirituality and belief, following the intense struggles of a disillusioned young thief thrust into a world of supernatural forces. As Jake navigates through a web of conspiracy and danger, readers will find themselves drawn into an enthralling exploration of faith, resilience, and the unyielding human spirit.

Spoiler-free Plot

London. Jake is short on trust. After surviving for seven years in a gang, the twenty-three-year-old thief plans to buy his freedom with one last job at a ribbon-cutting for the mega rich. But he can hardly believe his own eyes when a supernatural force crashes the prototype super-train into the station, killing everyone but Jake.

Tracked to the hospital by the terrible powers seeking to finish him off, the savvy conman flees with a young nurse determined to understand what he’s up against. And Jake is certain he’s the one being played when a doddering priest lays out a preternatural conspiracy as old as the universe. Can this reluctant hero shed his all-consuming cynicism and undertake a journey to save humankind?

My take on Faith

Religion and spirituality in general are always going to be a controversial topic to address in fiction because of how divisive they can be to a lot of people. This has been shown time and time again across several works of fiction, with people failing to give a story a chance simply because of its religious or spiritual context. Heck, even in music genres, such as heavy metal, a band like Stryper, whose lyrics were about Christianity, are oftentimes ignored simply because of what they sing about.

It is a shame because there are a lot of interesting works of art that explore and analyze these concepts, with the first book of Nick Nielsen’s Faith trilogy being a very good example of this. Considering the topic it was handling and the fact that this is the first release of a trilogy, it makes a lot of sense that the author was going to have an uphill battle of sorts, although he does stick the landing quite well.

Jake’s conflict is arguably the strongest aspect of the book and is much appreciated. Main characters have to go through a journey and this one is quite good as it explains what drives Jake and what his motivations are. He is not in a good place in his life at the moment and is presented with a lot of supernatural elements that only make things a lot worse, which adds to the tension within the story.

The element of faith in this story, from my perspective, is done in a very tasteful and respectful manner. It doesn’t try to offend believers nor undermine people with other beliefs, making it a much more organic and fascinating exploration of what makes a person believe in a higher power. This is shown through Jake, who is having a crisis of faith (well, he is having all sorts of crises at the moment), and has to question himself a lot of different things, making the story feel a lot more compelling.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, though. While the book is very enjoyable and there is much to like about it, the pacing can be a bit off. It flows way too fast and it can feel that some moments in the story are rushed, which is a shame considering that Nielsen did a very solid job with a lot of different aspects of the book.

The issue of pacing is very important to me because I feel that a story, no matter the style, needs a couple of moments to breathe and see how our characters are dealing with different issues that are taking place. However, it is also understandable if other readers don’t have this problem and appreciate the book’s fast-paced approach to storytelling.

All in all, Faith is a very good opener for a book trilogy and a very interesting take on religion and spirituality. The supernatural elements are introduced in a somewhat natural manner and Jake as a protagonist works really well. As mentioned earlier, the pacing might be a problem to some, but the book is still worth a reader’s time.

---