In The Night Cometh, Lorilyn Roberts presents twenty of her stand-alone short stories in a faith-based compilation. Christianity, personal revelation, and salvation are at the heart of each story. They all show the different ways that the main character bears a cross and whose life changes as the result of divine intervention. The first story is The Empty Paper Tray and starts with arguably the most famed verse in scripture, John 3:16. A lawyer who stood before judges for decades now finds himself in the greatest courtroom of all on Judgment Day. He knows that he is hellbound, but Christ's sacrifice intervenes where no other could. The final story is Twinkling, which Roberts describes as a hybrid of fantasy and fact. It combines with all the other tales to provide a complete and thoroughly absorbing collection.

Lorilyn Roberts is clear about the message she wants to convey in her anthology. The use of scripture and the emphasis on the teachings of Christ are not ambiguous. I have read my fair share of faith fiction and many of them operate with an almost covert ambivalence to appeal to a larger readership. Sometimes you just want to pick up a book and not have to find the hidden meaning. The Night Cometh is that book. If I had to choose a standout story it would be No Fear. After years of wondering, a daughter asks her mother about her grandmother and her Nanny and a generational truth comes to light. There is not one story I can fault and I enjoyed them all.

The Night Cometh by Lorilyn Roberts is a collection of original Christian short stories collated into a single volume. Each story begins with a relevant piece of scripture from the New King James Version and either a photograph or graphic media art to preface what is to come. The stories themselves are deeply devotional, with various themes of individuals finding themselves within Christian divinity. They range from Seducing Spirits, wherein a man who is outwardly successful but inwardly empty seeks out a fortune teller, temped by one fate foretold and another he cannot yet see, to Enemy of the Soul, where a woman literally ensconced in darkness and terrified of 'it' is nudged into the light by an unexpected epiphany.

Lorilyn Roberts delivers an exceptionally written compilation of stand-alone stories in The Night Cometh. The prose is engaging and despite the compact size of each story, they pack a massive punch. There is no question that this is Christian fiction, as Roberts skips nuance and undertone for a crystal clear overtone that is both unapologetic and refreshing. My favorite is Door Number 1, where a woman is confronted by a series of choices representing free will and the paths open to her. As the sidewalks move further ahead, the overwhelming crush of debt and consumerism is revealed and the final choice is presented to the woman, with the reader questioning what is the true cost of owning and being owned. Overall, a thought-provoking and engrossing collection. This is a very highly recommended read.

The subtitle of The Night Cometh by Lorilyn Roberts, 20 Fantastical Short Stories, is an understatement and is almost misleading; fantastical means strange or wonderful, but in this instance, it could be more aptly named horror. Agnostics beware, and Christians, question every action in your life to date. The stories all begin with a Bible quote, a monochrome illustration and/or photograph, and each one covers a different character, all of them so alive they step off the page. Some of the more noteworthy include the hard-working, successful, Braylon in Seducing Spirits, Hailey Becker in Have Pink Suitcase, Will Travel, and the frightened elderly lady in Enemy of the Soul, and No Fear, told by Deborah, is set in the future. Lorilyn Roberts’ The Night Cometh is a book to read more than once.

The Empty Paper Tray, the first story in The Night Cometh, shocked me to the core. In an extremely clever allegory of Judgement Day – the point after death where one stands before God – Lorilyn Roberts held me enthralled until the true meaning was revealed. My favorite tale is The Last Dance, and I couldn’t resist seeing how Earl Ludwick’s Christmas romance panned out. The selection is enormous. The Dragon, complete with a complicated sketch, is the devil in disguise. He plans to let humans destroy themselves, gleefully recounting likely scenarios, but giving God credit for one thing only: designing him as a creature of great beauty. The Night Cometh by Lorilyn Roberts is entertaining, but it is a book that demands more of its readers than momentary pleasure.

The Night Cometh by Lorilyn Roberts is a faith-based collection of 20 'Fantastical Short Stories.' Lorilyn Roberts is an intriguing author that will make you think about your life, both now and where you will go when it is over. In The Night Cometh, each story makes you think deeply as you follow the characters. One of my favorite stories was chapter 5: Rarer than the God of Ophir. Jace was a man who felt he could rely on his survival skills during any crisis, including teaching his daughter the importance of living off the land. After the rapture occurred, Jace was left without his family. The truth had been staring at him for years. Five years into the tribulation, Jace meets a man who supplies his physical needs but leaves him with options for his spiritual needs. Will he continue to rely on himself or turn elsewhere for his eternal future?

The author skillfully brings the Bible to life as she uses fictional accounts to supplement its teachings. Many biblical topics are covered that will make you think about your direction in life and the outcome it will have for eternity. Most of the stories are open-ended so you can arrive at a personal opinion about which direction the character finally chooses. You can also correlate decisions you or a loved one have made with the stories. I suggest that instead of critiquing the beliefs, you read the book by looking for ways to draw closer to God and make the right decisions. Open this book to find a blessing and encouragement, and I am sure that you will find it.