THE AUTHORS OF THIS BOOK WANT TO CONTROL YOUNG ADULTS THROUGH LIES AND MINPULATION. IF YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN TO HAVE FAITH IN THE DIVINE AND IN THEMSELVES -DO NOT LET THEM READ THIS BOOK. IT IS FULL OF LIES AND HALF-TRUTHS! DON’T BE SCARED OF THE DEMONS IN THIS BOOK, BE SCARED OF THE AUTHORS
Rating: 1 / 5

If you care about your children you will not let them read this book-it is full of sexual references and references to drugs and alcohol.

Amazon requires at least one star for rating- I would consider this book to be a NEGATIVE 5 Stars

You have to ask your self WHAT EVIL influence the authors were under when they wrote this book-
Rating: 1 / 5

I found this book while volunteering in an orphanage in Tijuana. The only book in English, so why not give it a try? This book certainly opened my eyes, though not in the way that the authors likely intended.

The Ishbane Conspiracy is Christian fundamentalist propaganda thinly veiled as literature, a ham-fisted attempt at literature at that. The dialogue between the main characters is often awkward and unrealistic, no doubt due to the authors’ not-so-thinly-veiled attempts to insert their fundamentalist ideas into the characters’ speech.

At first I found the book, especially the demon letters, hilariously heavy-handed– and then I read all these reviews. Suddenly the book is not so funny anymore. I wonder how blissful it must be to assume anyone with a differing opinion on certain matters is under the influence of the devil and his minions. I suppose it means one never has to think critically about one’s righteous and Godly views, or even try to understand the other side. You don’t pray that you’re on God’s side, you know He’s on your side. How… easy.

It is likely most readers will immediately dismiss my review as the work of the Satan himself. Nevertheless, I would like to point out that I agree with several points of this book– more discipline, less materialism, more communication, less TV, more quality family time, less exploitation of women etc. Most people, Christian, Atheists, Hindus, Muslims would agree with these things. However, several things in this book which I found offensive at best, malicious at worst. The book makes the point that the truth is not relative, which I agree with. But then why must the authors distort the truth? The truth is that evolution is NOT being “abandoned by leading-edge scientists”. If anything the evidence for evolution grows by the day, while the marginal support Intelligent Design has in the scientific and educational communities continues to shrink (Dover anyone?). The truth is that homosexuality is found in nearly every animal species, humans included, yet this book suggests there are no homosexuals, just straight people who have been manipulated by demons (are we to assume that demons also work to influence homosexual penguins?). The truth is NO ONE is a Biblical literalist, and no one takes the Christian God “at His word” as the characters Jillian, Lisa and Rob fancy they do. That is unless the Alcorn’s failed to mention that these characters think that slavery is acceptable (Exodus 21:7, Lev. 25:44), contact with women during menstruation should be forbidden (Lev 15:19-24), those who choose to work the Sabbath should be put to death (Exodus 35:2), or that anyone wearing polyester should be stoned (Lev 24:10-16). We all pick and choose what to believe and what to follow. According to this book, that means God always loses the battle for our souls.

As an atheist I’ve always been flabbergasted as to why so many Christians find the word “faith” so offensive. If we knew God existed faith would not be required. If we knew God existed we would be forced to follow God for our own self-preservation rather than have the choice to follow God; faith necessarily must be the central tenet of every religion. Yet on pg. 195 the characters insist there is substantial evidence for their belief in God– they refuse to take the existence of God purely on the strength of their own faith. They are offended that anyone would think they are not being reasonable. Faith IS by its very nature, highly unreasonable. The faithful would do best to accept that and move on, rather than making sorry attempts at proving God exists through pseudo-science like Intelligent Design. Insisting on the veracity of intelligent design is a signal of weak faith; strong faith does not require evidence.

Lastly, this book and many others couch Christianity in terms of war. “Spiritual battles” and “warriors for Christ” are terms I see and hear more and more often. What does this violent side of Christianity signal? It sounds dangerously close to Islamic fundamentalism and jihad. I would warn Christian fundamentalists to be careful. As soon as you are willing to die for your faith, it’s not such a far jump to be willing to kill for it too.
Rating: 1 / 5

This book is, contrary to popular belief, not good reading for people of all ages. In fact I thought it would be more suiting for a teenager that barely reads and is looking for something to support Christianity. It’s so formulaic, simplistic, and in several cases just dumb. Every single chapter is the exact same length and each ends with some lame letter written by a demon to which they describe how tight their pants are getting as these kids sin. It’s quite predictable as well, which doesn’t make it overly exciting to read. After a few chapters I began to question the reason for living, it was so boring. I hate it. I hate this book so very much for taking as many brain cells as it did.
Rating: 1 / 5

To begin with, I have to say I am dumbfounded that so many people gave this book such a high rating. As far as Christian fiction is concerned, this is certainly NOT 4 1/2 star material!

I came across “The Ishbane Conspiracy” several years ago in an outlet bookstore near my home. Although I was unfamiliar with Randy Alcorn’s work, the description on the book jacket caught my interest. Okay, I thought, I’ll bite. Well, about a week later I went back to the store and returned my purchase. (To put this in perspective, I have purchased dozens of books every year for most of my life, and only ever returned three–and that was because they were duplicate copies of books I already owned.)

As an unofficial update of C.S. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters,” “The Ishbane Conspiracy” looks and sounds promising: the characters are believable, the issues they face are beyond timely, and the demonic the narrative, sandwiched between chapters, is an entertaining page-turner. So, why the low rating? Primarily, because of the utterly unflattering portrait that Alcorn paints of the average Christian.

The Christians in “The Ishbane Conspiracy” take the Bible literally–to consider it anything else would be the devil’s trap. They fear secular Halloween and think “The Exorcist” is based on an actual case of demonic possession. They shun Harry Potter and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” (One gets the distinct impression that they don’t go to secular movies or listen to non-Christian music, either.) Televangelists shouldn’t be ridiculed–they’re doing the Lord’s work. There’s no room for Punks, Goths, Alternatives, or anyone else to “come as they are” to Christ; they have to have adopt a plain-vanilla, khaki-clad persona first.

Good readers, this is NOT the kind of image that I want non-believers to associate with followers of Christ. I doubt that *I* could befriend anyone this conservative–I certainly wouldn’t expect it of a non-Christian.

Save for the requisite scene of a murdered Christian being welcomed into Christ’s arms in Heaven, there is little here of Christ’s love here, and very little of the mind-blowing sacrifice that he made on our behalf. In short, there is very little here–as far as I can see–that would bring a non-believer to Christ. And in this respect, the book fails.

Not all goths listen to Marilyn Manson.

The movie “Pleasantville” does not contain a black magic scene.

Old Testament literalizations aside, tatoos and body piercings are not “mutilating God’s temple.”

I have yet to hear of a legitimate case of a child turning to witchcraft from reading the “Harry Potter” books. Sorry, Randy.

There are far, far better books out there. Save your money on this one.


Rating: 2 / 5