The Rage Against The Light

The Rage Against The Light is a good book, however I believe it has a few slight stylistic inconsistencies. Readers coming from a more popular perspective may find the dissertation-esque formatting, particularly the introduction in which the final component is a layout of the forthcoming chapters, and in some cases the slightly more technical writing style, off putting. However, readers from a more academic perspective may find that when scriptures are used, commentaries are insufficiently referenced to protect against potential proof texting. In light of this however, the depth of reference to primary sources as well as the wealth of footnotes providing evidence is quite substantial. The writing style rides a medium between academic and conversational which removes the chance of reading it being considered a chore.
The outline of the book progresses quite well with the main chapters developing well individually such that they can be read in isolation in addition to the standard reading of the book in order. As a new reader to apologetics material, reference was made, when issues technically outside the scope of interest were raised, which is helpful for others new to the conversation as well as those interested who may not be aware of these sources. There is some specialist language used that doesn’t get defined for those new to the conversation. However, for those interested in an introduction to Hitchens’ thought and a response to some of his atheistic thought from a thorough academic perspective, Harris’s work is a great place to start.

I was provided a copy of the book by the author, but all thoughts included are my own.