Book Review: Showdown by Ted Dekker

I'm writing this book review a little differently than others in the past: I'm writing it at the same time that I read the book. The book: Showdown, by Ted Dekker. Word of warning: this post contains SPOILERS. If you plan to read Showdown, you may want to bookmark this page and return later. Read on at your own risk.

The reason I'm approaching this book in this way is because there promises to be certain revelations I'm sure to forget if I wait. Such as the one on page 206, when it becomes obvious that Showdown is linked to Dekker's Circle trilogy, Black, Red, and White, all very much worth reading as well (I've read Black twice and plan to read the entire series again after completing Showdown.

Nowhere that I've seen does Ted Dekker or the publisher promote Showdown as being even remotely related to The Circle trilogy. As a fan of Black, Red, and White, I have to say that it was exciting to see the link pop up.

One most intriguing parallels between the stories is that Billy, a character in Showdown, is writing in a book that the character Thomas Hunter found in The Circle trilogy. Billy writes the following sentence into this book which creates history:

Then the man named Thomas found himself in the Black Forest, where he fell and hit his head and lost his memory.

The Circle trilogy opens with Thomas Hunter having awakened to find himself in the Black Forest having lost his memory. What's more, this takes place before Thomas finds the book which Billy wrote the sentence in. But in Showdown, Billy has found the book after Thomas Hunter found it in The Circle trilogy. A circle (fittingly enough) that reinforces the fact that writing into the book creates history. Which came first, the chicken or the egg -- Billy or Thomas Hunter? It can be hard to follow if you think about it too hard.

Showdown has been surrounded by controversy -- some calling it too dark for the genre; too graphic. Ted Dekker writes of the epic battie of good versus evil. His ability to bring that battle to life is one of his strongest writing traits.

In two words: READ SHOWDOWN.

And now I'm off to read The Circle trilogy again.

Joe