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In a world where nothing is as it seems, anything is possible.
DANE AND MANDY, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns, Mandy awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in a strange world, she uses her mysterious powers to eke out a living, performing magic on the streets and in a quaint coffee shop.
Hoping to discover a new talent, Dane ventures into the shop and is transfixed by the illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot explain. But more than anything, he is devastated by this teenager who doesn’t know him, is certainly not in love with him, but is in every respect identical to the young beauty he first met and married some forty years earlier.
They begin a furtive relationship as mentor and protégée, but even as Dane tries to sort out who she really is and she tries to understand why she is drawn to him, they are watched by secretive interests who not only possess the answers to Mandy’s powers and misplacement in time but also the roguish ability to decide what will become of her.
Exceptionally well written, full of twists and mystery, Illusion will soon prove another Peretti classic.
"Frank Peretti kicked open the doors that all of us Christian novelists are passing through today. We owe him a huge debt."
"Frank Peretti may just be the master storyteller of our time—using modern metaphors and fresh images, this remarkable writer helps us visualize the unseen world in ways we never quite pictured before."
"Frank Peretti is a master storyteller. He has a way of using fiction to draw our attention to the very real spiritual world around us. His stories are modern day classics and I can't wait to see the impact Illusion has on readers!"
Frank Peretti is the author of This Present Darkness, Piercing the Darkness, The Oath, and many more. There are more than 12 million copies of his novels in print. He lives with his wife in the western United States.
chapter
1
Mandy was gone. She went quietly, her body still, and Dane was at her bedside to see her go. The ICU physician said it was inevitable, only a matter of minutes once they removed the ventilator, and so it was. Her heart went into premature ventricular contractions, stopped, restarted momentarily, and then the line on the heart monitor went flat.
It happened more quickly than anyone expected.
She was an organ donor, so she had to be removed immediately for procurement. Dane touched her hand to say good-bye, and blood and skin came off on his fingers.
A nurse wheeled him out of the room. She found a secluded corner out on the fourth floor patio, a place with a view of the city and shade from the Nevada sun, and left him to grieve.
Now, try as he might to fathom such feelings, grief and horror were inseparably mixed. When he wiped his tears, her blood smeared his face. When he tried to envision how she gladdened whenever she saw him, how she would tilt her head and shrug one shoulder and her eyes would sparkle as she broke into that smile, he would see her through the blackening glass, crumpled over the steering wheel, the deflated airbag curling at the edges, melting into her face.
A handkerchief made careful passes over his face below and around his eyes. Arnie was trying to clean him up. Dane couldn’t say anything; he just let him do it.
The smell under his robe found his attention: sweat, antiseptics, gauze, bandages. His right shoulder still felt on fire, only, thanks to the painkillers, on fire somewhere else far away. Not a serious burn, they told him, so he kept telling himself. The bruises ate away at him, little monsters sequestered against his bones, festering under all that blued flesh in his side, his right hip, his right shoulder. It hurt to sit in the wheelchair; it hurt more to walk.
He broke again, covering his eyes to ward off the vision of her hair crinkling, vaporizing down to her scalp, steam and smoke rising through her blouse, flames licking through the broken glass, but it remained. Oh, God! Why? How could He change her so instantly from what she was—the woman, the saint, his lover with the laughing eyes, wacky humor, and wisdom of years—to what Dane had just seen perish on a bloodied gurney behind a curtain, sustained by tubes, monitors, machines? The images replayed. He thought he would vomit again.
Arnie brought the pan and a towel close under his chin.
He drew in a long, quaking breath, then another, then centered his mind on every breath that followed, commanding, controlling each one.
Arnie put the pan aside and sat close, silent.
Dane gave his weeping free rein; there could be no stopping it even as his bruises tortured him with every quake of his body. The moment passed, not in minutes but in breaths, thoughts, memories, wrenchings in his soul, until somewhere in his mind, just slightly removed from the visions, the soul pain, the hospital smells, and the painkillers, he took hold of what he already knew.
He could hardly place the breath behind the words. “I am just so much going to miss her.”
Arnie blew his nose on the same handkerchief he’d used to clean Dane’s face. “You may never finish saying good-bye. Maybe that’s okay.” He cleared his throat. “If it were me, I could never give her up.”
Dane noticed the move of the breeze over his face, the warmth of the sun on the patio. Birds flitted and chattered in the arbor. Mandy was about things like that.
“I suppose there were many who loved her,” Dane said. “But it was my arm she took to go to parties; she wrote her love notes for me; she chose to share my future when I didn’t even have one.” His vision blurred with fresh tears. “How did a guy like me rate a woman like her?”
Arnie touched him on the left shoulder, the one that wouldn’t hurt. “That’s the stuff you wanna remember.”
Arnie Harrington, his agent but mostly his friend, a little on the heavy side, still had some hair but not much, and had to be as old as Dane but didn’t look it. How he found out there’d been an accident Dane would have to ask him later. It was only now that Dane fully recognized he was here.
He drew a breath to calm his insides and touched Arnie’s hand. “Thanks for coming.”
“Got a call from Jimmy Bryce over at the Mirage. He thought it was a rumor so he called me. I suppose I can call him back, but it’ll be all over town by now.”
“Guess it’ll be in the papers.”
“Guess they’re already writing it. I’ll handle all of that.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
Dane followed Arnie’s gaze toward the Las Vegas Strip, where every structure, object, entrance, and electric light vied for attention. It was no great revelation, but after all the years he and Mandy worked here, all he could see, all he cared to remember was the woman who remained real in such an unreal place. “I got way better than I deserved.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Forty years.”
“Like I said . . .”
“Forty years . . .” The fact came alive as he lingered on it and salved the horrors from his mind, at least for now. With no effort at all the unfaded image of Mandy first setting foot in his life played before his eyes, the dove girl sitting in the front row who caught and held his eye . . . to the swelling, carnival sound of a gilded merry-go-round.
After an absence on the writing scene after a number of years, Frank Peretti has come back in full force with his new novel Illusion.
A cross seemingly between sci-fi and reality this book has substance that carries you from cover to cover.
The characters are real, believable and magical, which completely fits into the scale of the book.
While written from what I believe is a Christian World View (it's a completely clean and wholesome book), it is not in anyway preachy so if you generally don't read Christian fiction, don't let that stop you from picking it up.
Fans of Peretti and new readers alike should enjoy this latest novel.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 16, 2012
Let me first begin by saying that I love Frank Peretti's books, and I'm proud to own, and have read, all of them.
With that said, I had a hard time with this book. The idea was there, but the execution was not. It was extremely slow, and it took me an entire week to chug my way through this book (and I am a very fast reader...I normally read a book in 2 days max). While I'm glad Peretti's "back", and I'm disappointed in this book. It's definitely one that won't ever be read again.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 6, 2012
I'm a fan of Peretti's stories that blend supernatural plots with a Christian theme, and this one took a different turn with a time travel plot, taking the reader in and out of the past and present lives of Dane and Mandy, a married couple who comprised a magic act in the entertainment industry. When Mandy dies in a car accident, or so everyone thinks, Dane is devastated, but when he discovers a young woman who looks just like Mandy did at that age, and has the same uncanny ability to do magic tricks, he is perplexed, but so is she because she doesn't understand the connection she seems to have to him.
At first the story is hard to follow because so little is explained in the beginning when the young woman wakes up to find herself decades in the future. We know on some level it must be Mandy but it is impossible...or is it? That is the question Peretti brings to the reader as the story takes twists and turns, but stick with it and the questions get answered.
I did enjoy this book but had to concentrate more than usual so as not to miss some important piece of information that explained the strange things going on within the time-space continuum storyline. I think fans of Peretti's books will welcome this newest title. It falls under the Christian fiction genre, but there really wasn't as much of a Christian theme to it compared to some of his other novels.
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solicited, nor was a positive review required.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.You know that feeling you get when you see an old friend that has been so special to you in the past, and you haven’t seen them in ages, but you just fall right back into conversation with them as if no time has passed at all, instant re-bonding. That is my feeling when I picked up Illusion by Frank Peretti. I thought- “Ah, he’s back!” ; and the book is great, filled with all the adventure, intrigue, and suspense of a great Peretti book, take those components and combine them with a story filled with relationship, spiritual allegory, a bit of time travel/sci-fi, and literary and literal magic and you get the gift that is the book Illusion. Forgive the wordiness here, but I found this book to be a very special one.
Two magicians- Mandy and husband Dane have lived a life together filled with relational magic as well as stage magic and seem to find their life together at an end when the book opens with Mandy suffering fatal wounds from a horrific car accident and you the reader surmises that Mandy is gone from Dane forever. But is she? Because it is rather unexplainable when a young 19 year old suddenly surfaces in Idaho ,where Dane has relocated to start a new life, that looks remarkably like his own wife Mandy when she was younger, and guess what? She happens to be an up and coming magician. How can this possibly be happening, and why are their paths crossing as Dane is 60 years old? As this story unravels and shows a fascinating plot outlining a love that will never let go , one of sacrifice, intrigue , and of course plenty of great magic, I was enthralled with it from beginning to end.
I have come to expect a great story from Peretti as I have greatly enjoyed his writing over the years and his amazing attention to detail and imagination have always left me in awe. His praise for being a master storyteller I never find to be an exaggeration. I would say the added element to this story is heart- tenderness, relationship, longing for connection and with that there will always be an element of sacrifice and intense love which shows the strong allegory of God’s love for us, a love that will not let go as you see throughout the thematic elements in Illusion.
I highly recommend this book to those tried and true fans of Peretti as well as to those that have never cracked open one of his books. I think that you can’t help but be moved by this powerful story and you will love the magic that is the book Illusion.
5 stars
I was graciously provided a review e-copy of this book from the publisher through via the Netgalley program. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 21, 2012
He is just the best story teller! I love all of his books.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 12, 2012
Illusion – Frank Peretti
© 2012 Howard Books, New York
I’m not always a fan of Frank Peretti. Some of his early, highly-praised work moved a little slow for me. But I do get excited when acclaimed authors who stand on their faith treat us to another story. And so I was excited when I got an invitation to review his latest work of fiction. The short version of the saga toward this review is that my review copy never showed up before the early March deadline. Consequently, I got an e-copy in mid-April and finally got a chance to read it.
The story follows the life of Dane Collins following the tragic auto accident that took his beloved Mandy’s life. After forty years of marriage, the two well-respected magicians were preparing to open a new chapter off-stage, and move into semi-retirement in Mandy’s beloved Idaho. Suddenly Mandy is whisked back to the fairgrounds where she first met Dane before they met and the whirlwind begins.
Any more of the story line would be filled with spoilers, so I’ll stop there and give you the review. The book starts slow, with some jumps and starts. But as with Peretti’s The Oath, you are soon so involved in the lives of the characters that you want to keep reading until page 500 rolls around. This is a well-crafted story that requires more than a modicum of suspended belief. That’s okay though, because of the genre.
Genre issues bring up some other questions though—what kind of book do we have? Which audience will love this tale best? The author himself has the same questions in a short afterword. Of course, most bookstores will place this in the Christian or Inspirational Fiction sections simply because of the author. I would have no trouble shelving it with the romance novels (because it’s a love story), in the suspense section (because it’s filled with mystery), or even with the Sci-Fi/Fantasy works (because of the need to suspend belief to get into the story). Does the author achieve his goal of painting a picture of the love that Creator-God has for His church? I think so, although one would not necessarily read that into the story unless they had a tendency to do it.
If you’re a Peretti fan, you’ve probably already read this book—and if not you’ll want to. It isn’t classic Peretti, but it does expand his horizons without departing from his original foundation. The book addresses Christianity without being preach-y (which I really like). If you haven’t read one of this author’s books, Illusion is a great introduction to him and his writing. Readers of romance, mystery/suspense, or fantasy books will all be happy with this book. I give him five reading glasses for this new novel.
—Benjamin Potter, July 12, 2012
[This book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of review. No compensation has been given for this review. The opinions expressed are those of the reviewer. This is a review of the electronic version of the book.]
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 6, 2012
Fantastic story. Could not set it down. Frank Peretti is the best in Christian Fiction!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 21, 2012
I love Frank Peretti's writing. I found Illusion to be riveting. It held my attention from page 1. I didn't want to put it down until I finished, but of course there are things like meals,sleep, etc. I did however finish it in a very short time.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.COULD IT BE MAGIC?
With a sleight of his talented hand, Frank Peretti has spun a magical tale of suspense, mystery and love. In his latest release, Illusion, Peretti combines a love story that surpasses time with a disappearing act unlike no other. There is something for everyone in this tale.
Mandy Whitaker is pronounced dead following a tragic car accident while her husband Dane is left to grieve the dual loss of wife and magic act partner. As he struggles to live without her, Mandy awakens as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970, but in the year 2010. Attired in a hospital gown and greatly confused, Mandy is soon placed in a mental ward. There she discovers a new skill she’s been given—time travel.
This reviewer loved Illusion for many reasons. Mandy’s memories of the 70’s reminded me of a less frantic and simpler time. The fight of good versus evil and the longing for a love that surpasses time are themes with universal appeal. Dane and Mandy’s battle to play the cards they’d been given became my battle too. You can’t help but root for this couple to beat the odds.
This book is indeed magic. I suggest you read it—before all the copies disappear.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 28, 2012
Had my total attention from start to end. I have yet been disappointed in any of Mr. Perrettis work. The inside view of master illusionists was very insiteful.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 26, 2012
Great book all the way to the last page! I love all of Peretti's books!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In Illusion, Mandy is the perfect character. I couldn't imagine who would be more perfect for this role than a magician. The author Peretti worked his own magic, weaving this tale. I felt Illusion started out a little slow but picked up momentum as the chapters moved forward. What I was totally not expecting were the twists and turns I encountered throughout the story. The story felt as if it was gliding along the lines of a past life experience yet the story did not go that way at all.
As Mandy sits against a tree at County Fair, she suddenly has a strange feeling that leaves as soon as it arrives, yet it has left her different. It dosen't take Mandy long to realize her reality has changed and now, as she runs around the fair in barefoot and in a hospital gown, she can't find anything that looks familiar or anyone she knows, not her friends not her father, who she knew was at the livestock building with his llamas. Soon Mandy finds herself in a hospital psyche ward trying to convince the staff she is not crazy and from there things only get stranger and stranger.
Illusion has a little bit of everything in it; love, joy, faith, suspense, mystery and a nice touch of science fiction which I found to be the most interesting and my favorite touch. This book is not lightweight as it has 512 pages yet I found myself reading it rather quickly once I got started. The writers prose is easy on the eyes which makes for comfortable reading.
Filled with mystery and intrigue this love story will leave you in awe as Dane and Mandy reconnect after Mandy has moved back in time and is now 40 years younger. It leaves the reader with full awareness of what it may feel like to meet ones soulmate from a different generation, yet not be able to connect due to an age difference.
Toward the end of the book one comes across some real anticipation as the story peaks to a crescendo leaving one wondering what may happen during the great illusion Mandy is getting ready to perfom. At this point Mandy has now learned the truth about her life and is left with only one option, an option that may end her life instantly. What will happen to Mandy? Will she and Dane lose each other for good or will they be reunited and continue to live the rest of their life together?
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 18, 2012
I Also Recommend:
An outstanding blend of sci-fi and spirituality. Well written characters that the reader will honestly care about, well concieved plot with plenty of twists. Definitely worth adding to your Frank Peretti library.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 17, 2012
When I first read the book I thought it was confusing...caught on loved the ending. But, when I read his summary of what he was trying to convey. I wrote 4 pages in my journal. I pray to have the yearning for the bridegroom that she had for her husband.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 11, 2012
Peretti's Illusion is thought provoking and tells a wonderful story of the many layers of life. We often move from time frame to time frame of our lives in our minds, in this story the time travel is real. It's also a truism that though we may grow old we never lose the feeling that we're still young at the cusp of life's secrets.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.One minute magician Dane Collins is tooling down the road with his beautiful wife of forty years, Mandy, the next he stands beside her badly charred body as the doctor takes her off life support. A tragic car accident separates him forever from his one and only love. One minute a 19- year-old Mandy is traipsing through the county fair with her best friends, the next finds her at the fair – 40 years later, a teenager dressed only in a hospital gown – trying to convince everyone around her she isn’t crazy. I am happy to be the bearer of good news. Peretti is back. It’s been six years since his last book where he matched metaphors with Ted Dekker (House) – an experiment in “You write then I’ll write” which left me feeling embarrassed for two of my favorite authors. Before that was Monster (2005), which was so weak I couldn’t get beyond page 50. So when I say “Peretti is back” I mean the Peretti of novels I can’t put down. Illusion is the story of married magicians Dane and Mandy Collins who have decided to retire from Vegas to start a new chapter in their lives. But when Mandy is killed, Dane struggles to continue living life with out her. So when a teenage Mandy doppelganger appears on the streets of his small town, he thinks he’s one rabbit short of a magic trick. Mandy is no less perplexed when she’s snatched out of the 1970s and thrust into the present. Peretti’s newest book is a sort of a Siegfried and Roy Meet Quantum Physics. He skillfully blends the worlds of platform magic and stage illusions with an inter-dimensional, time travel slight of hand – “now you see it; now you don’t”, sci-fi style. But the real magic of Illusion comes from the time-altered romance between Dane and Mandy. A calling of kindred souls across a temporal divide, their relationship is seemingly both forbidden and familiar. There is a sweet strength about their commitment to each other – even when their world is a swirling mass of confusion. I did love Illusion, however, the dominant spiritual aspects so apparent in his earlier novels (This Present Darkness, The Visitation) are sadly missing. The main characters mention God, pray, and go to church, but it’s almost as an aside. I have always been inspired by his deeply Christian plot lines. Illusion doesn’t go there. It is a thriller without the theology. Still, it’s a good read. Suspenseful, swift-paced, and sentimental, Illusion immediately drew me in with engaging characters, mystery, and Peretti’s wry sense of humor. If you have been anticipating Peretti’s newest book – you won’t be disillusioned.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 29, 2013
I love Frank Peretti books. Truly a magnificant book, especially for those who are interested in how the mind works, mental health and magic. It will keep you reading until you have finished. The beginning is as good as the ending.
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Posted February 8, 2013
I enjoyed this book,but the first half did drag by. For the first 200 pages, Ifelt like I just wanted to get to the end to figure out what was going on, but the second half went quickly and was eventually pretty satisfying. It is a sci-fi type story, so do not expect reality. It kind of reminds me of issues in the movie "The Lakehouse", good characters and story, not realistic at all. Overall, good book!
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Posted January 13, 2013
This was a difficult read for me. I actually love Frank Peretti's works, but the technical, futuristic descriptions were more work than enjoyment. That being said, it was still a very good story and well told.
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Posted January 2, 2013
This book was very good with twists and turns in the plot will keep your interest.
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Overview
In a world where nothing is as it seems, anything is possible.
DANE AND MANDY, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life—or so everyone thinks. Even as Dane mourns, Mandy awakes in the present as the nineteen-year-old she was in 1970. Distraught and disoriented in what to her is the future, she is confined to a mental ward until she discovers a magical ability to pass invisibly through time and space to escape. Alone in...