News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Tom Horn and his wife Nita wrote "Th
Sisters residents Thomas and Nita Horn have penned their first novel, a thriller titled “The Ahriman Gate.” The book is garnering strong reviews in the Christian press and beyond for its blend of science fiction, genetically modified creatures, alien forces, a clandestine government research project, and a sinister kidnapping, all within the states of Oregon and Washington.
Tom Horn is credentialed with Assemblies of God and calls himself “a maverick but in good standing” with that evangelical organization. He and his wife have written for magazines and newspapers and Horn is the senior reporter for his Raidersnewsupdate.com Web site, which specializes in “edgy” pieces on the occult, UFOs and advancing genetic science.
Tackling these subjects has earned Horn his maverick standing — and also led him into his first foray into fiction. Genetic modification and the moral and ethical questions it poses captured his interest.
“I thought there were some real issues that ought to be discussed — by people of no faith and by people of faith,” Horn said. “A few years ago, I thought, ‘I really want to talk about the ethics of this.’”
But Horn wanted to reach a broader audience than he could strictly through devotional writing — particularly since he wanted to spark conversation beyond the faith community. He and his wife decided to raise the questions that fascinated him in the context of a thriller.
The couple sat down and began, quite literally, to plot. And develop characters. The one thing they wanted to do was to avoid writing something preachy or didactic.
“Actually, we just wanted to write a good novel,” Horn said.
The novel opens when Joe Ryback, a 26-year-old marine whose Lieutenant Colonel father was murdered under mysterious circumstances, stumbles upon a cover-up that reaches to the highest levels of the U.S. government and military agencies.
Suddenly too deep to turn back, he struggles to contain the nightmarish forces closing around him and his family. Soon a mind-boggling phantasm brings him face to face with genetically modified creatures and supernatural-alien forces as a sinister plan unfolds at Montero — a government funded research laboratory – which could usher in the end of the world.
While Horn takes his beliefs seriously, he and his wife have written a yarn that can be enjoyed simply for its thrills as well as for its exploration of deeper issues. The characters deliberately reflect a broad sampling of faiths — or lack of faith — in contemporary America. The protagonist, though raised a Christian, is unsure of his own beliefs.
Raised in a conservative, Pentecostal family in Arizona, Horn was “a real rebel” in his youth. He got into serious trouble with the law and moved to Oregon to sort himself out. There he met Nita and went back to his faith.
“At some point I realized, ‘Man, I’m really on the road to destruction and I’d better stop while I still can,’” he said.
Tempered by experience and what he hopes is the maturity of years, Horn said he is interested in overcoming differences, not accentuating them. He counts many friends who disagree with his beliefs — and he with theirs.
“What drives me today is that I care about people beyond our differences,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’ve changed anything I believe.”
“The Ahriman Gate” is available in bookstores, through Amazon.com and through Horn’s Web site at http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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