Just not "Christian"

I just finished reading The River by Michael Neale.  I was really excited to read this book, but in truth, it kind of let me down a bit.  If I was just reviewing this book as fiction, and not "Christian fiction," it would most likely get a better review.  As for the story line itself, it was pretty good.  I enjoyed it for the most part. The only real hole I found was a conflict resolved at the end much too quickly, but unfortunately, I'm not reviewing this book merely as a piece of fiction.  This book is marketed as "Christian fiction."  The premise of the book is that The River is calling to the main character throughout his life.  He lives in fear of that very river because as a young child, he witnessed the tragic death of his father.  Throughout the book, "The River" is always capitalized, ascribing to it some weight of deity.  There are some good parallels to draw between God and The River, but there are also parallels to other deities of other religions.  The book is vague about it.  There is a higher power.  I'm not the type who thinks every "Christian fiction" book should have the gospel of every page, but this book could honestly be successfully tied to any "higher power."  I liked this book...as fiction, maybe even as "spiritual fiction", but I can't like it as "Christian fiction"

I received a copy of this book as part of the Book Sneeze program.  I was not required to write a positive review.