HAIGHS FLAT

I really loved this story. It turned out better than any preconceived ideas I had about it. For a debut novelist, Williams has a well-constructed and engaging novel. It has a steady pace, one event builds on the next and all the story arcs are well-placed and further the plot, leading to a very satisfying ending.

There is a lot to like in this novel. A minor story arc of romance between the two main characters, Bryan and Sara. A mysterious ancient creature from Aboriginal lore, the town's secret relating to this creature, missing tourists and town's folk, corrupt police, business, politicians, and local council. How are all these tied together? And where did this creature come from? What is the connection between this creature, dinosaurs, and the Bible?

While reading this novel, I wondered if Williams was going to confirm what I was suspecting, that this creature was the banib (or bunyip in English) of Aboriginal lore that I grew up with in school. Turned out, I was correct. But Williams has tied this in with the Bible and dinosaurs. May not sound feasible or plausible to some, but once you study the Bible and its related topics, it does make sense. Williams does a great job of this as well. He seems to have quite the talent in this regard.

Williams shines in explaining Biblical theology of the story arcs and themes. He has depicted the spiritual aspects of this novel very well and it brings the Bible to life and confirms that it supports science and not what secular society wants to hear, that science disproves the Bible. I applaud him for this. I continue this applause with his presenting the Gospel just as it is in the Bible, with no holes barred and even the inclusion of prayer. Now prayer was not just mentioned as being offered by the Christian characters but said in its entirety. So many times, Christian authors get criticised by Christian readers for including the actual prayer as they find it detracting from the story and pace, but I find this a sad indictment of them as all the author is doing is depicting realistically what the Christian life is. For a Christian fiction story such as this, so it should be. Williams shows how Christianity and a relationship with God should be and can be in the life of the Christian.  Williams also discusses why some topics are not discussed in Church and how this then leads to confusion, disillusionment, and a stronghold of disbelief in the Christian or the secular person and how they can develop a distorted view of Christianity and the Bible. No wonder there are so many divisions among Believers alike! I remember being cautioned by an elder of the church I was attending if I continued to discuss a topic relating to Genesis 6: 4 concerning the subject of the Nephilim! If it is in the Bible, why cannot it be discussed? Hasn't stopped me though! 

Some of what I have outlined here can be found in Williams' blog on his website. I add it here to support my impressions of the novel: 

To read more go to https://christianfictionreviewguru.blogspot.com/2023/03/novel-review-and-christian-redemptive.html?m=1

Haighs Flat

A creature from your nightmares, only this is all too real. The horrifying screech and roar are enough to make your blood run cold in fear. Lurking in the Australian bush – something terrifying. Something the myths and legends of the indigenous people of Australia, from stories they told around the campfire at night. A creature they called “Banib” – in our tongue the word means “Devil”.

When Bryan Morgan started investigating his brother’s disappearance, little did he know the can of worms that he would be opening. Town secrets that date back to the 1800’s which still haunt the people today.

Sara Whitney has only lived in Haighs Flat for three months, having moved there to investigate her uncle’s disappearance. Why is it that no-one even remembers him living or working there?

Could these disappearances be connected? Could the ramblings of an old farmer be the only ones that make any sense? Could it even be scientifically plausible?

Haighs Flat is the debut novel of Colin Williams and what a debut it is! This story is about Bryan, a young man determined to find out what happened to his brother, Joshua, who visited, but never returned from Haighs Flat. It is also about Sara, a young lady, who came to Haighs Flat three months ago to find out what happened to her Uncle Roy. As each search for answers, their paths cross and they begin to spend time together and share what they discover.

But this answer dates back to the 1800s and is something more frightening than they could have imagined, and they aren’t sure they can even believe. Haighs Flat is a story filled with secrets, conspiracies, mystery and danger. Men in high places are hiding things and people are disappearing. One man in town may have the answers, but everyone thinks he’s crazy.

Included in the mystery and suspense of Haighs Flat are also Scriptures from the Christian Bible, prayer, mention of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This becomes a second storyline, as several characters involved trying to figure out what happened to the missing people are drawn to believers in Christ and to church. Therefore, there is quite a bit of Christianity and Biblical references, but Mr. Williams did such a good job of weaving it into the story that I did not find it distracting or overdone. It flowed smoothly through the story line and involved several of the characters.

There are some mature themes in this novel, but they do not cross the line between clean and unclean. They simply show how imperfect humans are and how we learn and change as we mature and gain wisdom and, in the story, and as in real lives of some, the characters learn about the Lord.

Colin Williams lives on the mid-north coast of New South Wales and so quite a few of the words and some of the dialogue style may be unfamiliar to Americans, as, especially the characters dialect is written in Australian dialect, as is some of the narrative sentence structure. However, I had no problem understanding the story, having only to seek the definition of one word. Most is fairly easy to figure out according to context.

I thoroughly enjoyed Haighs Flat by Colin Williams and continued turning pages from start to finish as I just had to know what was happening to the people in the bush town of Haighs Flat.