Book Review: Green by Ted Dekker

In his latest, highly anticipated work, Green (The Circle, Book 0: The Beginning and the End), Ted Dekker brings his Circle full circle. What began as a trilogy has quickly evolved into over a dozen volumes in this epic saga of the Circle.

* * SPOILER ALERT * *

Imagine waiting your whole life for the return of a Savior -- the Creator of the world, Himself. Watching, waiting, and fighting for your very life against a horde of unbelievers. Watching as many of the faithful begin to doubt, eventually turning against all that you have believed for so long. Imagine, even, that your very son is one of those doubters who has turned, deceived by the evil into believing that there is a better way.

And then your Messiah comes to take the faithful home with him. All that you have waited for all of your life has finally come to fruition, and you have finally made it to the Promised Land -- only to discover that your son is not there.

What would you do? Would you -- could you possibly -- be happy in a paradise that your own son was not a part of? Or would you beg your Savior for a second chance to save your son, knowing that the Creator of the universe can do anything that He wants? If there was a way to come back and save those who missed out on Salvation, would you take it?

* * * END OF SPOLIERS * * *

It's very difficult to describe just what Green is about without giving some part of the story away. What Ted Dekker began several years ago in Black truly comes full circle. Dekker explains that Green can be the beginning or the end to this epic journey, I suggest this volume be saved for last. You may find yourself wondering how this book can both begin and end this saga, but the shocker ending will make it all excitingly clear.

Dekker has outdone himself with Green


Direct video link.

More by Ted Dekker.

Your comments?

Joe

Maddy's Cancer Battle

AJA Press

Book Review: Lunatic and Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill

Ted Dekker continues his epic saga of The Circle with the Chronicles of History Lost Books numbers five and six, co-authored by Kaci Hill. This saga is not one for the casual reader, as it requires an extensive time commitment to read through the books tied to the Circle.

While the story is best enjoyed by reading each installment (and not necessarily in the order of their publishing date), every previous book about the Circle can be enjoyed by itself without ever picking up another episode. Such is not the case with Lunatic and Elyon. These latest two installments must be read as one, in my opinion, and should probably have been published as one -- though they would then have been much longer and thicker than the first four episodes of The Lost Books.

No review of these books can be considered complete without at least a brief glimpse of their predecessors. Dekker's famous Circle story began with Black, Red, and White, originally marketed with the tag line "Three books, two worlds, one story." Followed by five books that dip their toes into the world of the Circle, and the six (so far) Lost Books, the length of this story rivals that of War and Peace or even The Bible. And it isn't over yet, as Green (The Circle, Book 0: The Beginning and the End) is due out September 1.

So what is this all about? While reading through the final pages of Elyon, which I found to be very compelling (the final pages, I mean, not the entire book), it struck me that the story of the Circle is the story of the Church. From the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the promise of salvation that comes with it -- all that Dekker has left out so far is the Second Coming.

While I am a huge fan of Dekker's and of his Circle saga, I found both Lunatic and Elyon to be a bit tedious to read. The story doesn't flow as smoothly as it does in each of the prior installments in the story. I don't know if that's a result of Kaci Hill's involvement in the books, as it's impossible to determine just how much involvement she had in the books. None of that is to say that I didn't enjoy these latest two episodes, but rather that I found them not to progress the story in a manner similar to the others. In fact, at times I wondered just where the authors were taking me.

If you've invested the time in each of the prior books, then you will likely find it necessary to continue with Lunatic and Elyon, and you won't be disappointed with them. But if you haven't read any of Dekker's books yet, don't start here. Start anywhere else you choose -- within the Circle saga or without -- but don't start with Lunatic or Elyon. They are not among Dekker's best works.

Your comments?

Joe

AJA Press | #TCOT
podsafe music network | ioda promonet | magnatune | airplay direct
ariel publicity | kennedy resource development | populuxe records | indie heaven
miles high productions | iris distribution | chavis records | after hours music

Book Review: Sinner by Ted Dekker

Imagine an America, much like today's America. An America where not only can a child refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school because of the phrase One Nation Under God, but where that child can also force the Pledge completely out of school because it forces someone else's religious belief upon him.

An America where it's more of a crime to protest outside of an abortion clinic than it is to stop the birth of a baby just before the head is delivered only to administer murder under the label of "partial birth abortion."

An American where religious tolerance is more important than religious freedom -- where it is considered a hate crime to speak of one's religion as the only way to God and to speak of one's Savior as "The Way, The Truth and The Life," while civil libertarians are more concerned with protecting the rights of religious fundamentalists who attacked our nation on 9/11 because their god supposedly demands it.

In Sinner, Ted Dekker has done just that: painted an all too real picture of America in the very near future, where religious tolerance becomes the law of the land, and loving God becomes a hate crime.

Sinner Trailer


Direct video link.

Continuing the epic saga of The Books of History Chronicles that began with the trilogy Black, Red, and White, Dekker spins his greatest tale yet, as we revisit the town of Paradise, Colorado, where evil once reigned in the person of Marsuvees Black, a western-style gunslinger whose mere existence was the product of a child's imagination, a pen, and one of the lost Books of History.

Sinner comes as much from today's headlines as from the mind of one of the best-selling Christian authors of all time. The Chavez administration, that of the first Hispanic-American ever elected to the White House. Muslim-Americans outnumbering whites. School systems where it is forbidden for students to discuss things like racial differences or religious beliefs. This is an America that could be just around the corner.

Ted Dekker Explains Sinner


Direct video link.

Imagine an America where a very liberal legislature, supported by a president of historic ethnicity, makes it a federal offense to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who came to earth and died for our sins so that we might spend eternity with Him. Imagine an America where house churches become the norm and must go underground because it is a crime to preach a sermon that teaches salvation through Jesus Christ.

In our world today, as we struggle in a war against religious extremists who think the only way to Heaven is to martyr themselves trying to kill the infidels, where more people seem to be concerned with treating those extremists fairly than with protecting our freedom, our borders, our very lives, it is not unimaginable that such a world as Ted Dekker depicts in Sinner could become our world today.

Ted Dekker Talks About His Research for Sinner


Direct video link.

At this time of national politics, with two Presidential candidates duking it out in their battle for the White House, it is prudent to remember that the very world we know could be turned upside down in very short measure. If you read only one book this year -- and you should read it right away -- make that book Ted Dekker's Sinner. It is above and beyond all others the absolute best Ted Dekker book I have ever read (and I've read them all), and the best book I have read this year. You owe it to yourself to read this book, and to do so with an open mind and an open heart.

It could happen. It could happen in America. Unless we stand together against the biggest threat yet -- tolerance.

Your comments?

Joe

podsafe music network | ioda promonet | magnatune | airplay direct
ariel publicity | kennedy resource development | populuxe records | indie heaven
miles high productions | iris distribution | chavis records | after hours music

Book Review: Chaos by Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker wraps up his Lost Books of History series -- and continues his epic saga of The Circle -- with Chaos.

CAUTION: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

As the chosen four -- Johnis, Billos, Silvie, and Darsal, and the Horde child they rescued, Karas -- defy the rules of the Roush and not only open the Books of History but touch the pages of the books with their blood, they find themselves no longer on Other Earth, but instead in the dry desert of a strange place called Las Vegas. Separated on their journey from Other Earth by a few mere moments, they find themselves arriving in the Earth of the Histories as much as ten years apart.

The first to arrive in the Histories, Karas and Darsal, both find themselves lost and alone in a world totally unlike Other Earth. With ten long years to struggle in the cruel world of the Histories, both Karas and Darsal follow their own paths to success, individually, all the while keeping watch for their compatriots while trying to make themselves easier to be found by the others.

We learn early on of a suspected threat to the chosen, as we witness what eventually turns out to be the Shataiki Alucard (interestingly enough, read "Dracula" in reverse) in a lair somewhere in the Histories, plotting the downfall of the chosen with as yet unknown Miranda Card.

Dekker takes us on a wild ride with Johnis and Silvie as they have their first experience with the Histories technology behind the wheel of a cherry Chevy, only to be rescued later by the very successful, now twenty-year-old Kara Longford, a.k.a. Karas.

I won't spoil the whole story for you. I won't tell you the name of the traitor that the chosen come face to face with in the closing chapters of the book. I won't tell you the fate of each of the four. I won't tell you how the Histories are affected by the invasion of the Shataiki in the form of Alucard.

What I will tell you is that this volume in The Circle epic is full of plot twists, turns, and surprises. It is nothing as I expected it would be when I first picked up Book One of the Lost Books of History. As I read it -- and I read it quite quickly -- I couldn't help but feel that Dekker was trying to quickly tie up several loose ends in the story. Like maybe the story had been heading off into other directions, and the author corralled the characters and got them back in line with where he wanted to take the story.

There's nothing wrong with that, really, but it just shouldn't feel like that's what happens when you're reading a novel. I'm an avid Ted Dekker fan, and an avid reader of Christian fiction. I'm also very drawn in to The Circle epic and would probably read another hundred offerings in the saga, if Dekker penned them out. But I must say, of the several books in this series, Chaos ranks very low on my list from best to worst.

Luckily for Dekker fans, September 2008 promises yet another offering in the saga, in the form of the long-awaited Sinner.

I promised in my review of Renegade to give you my own recommended order of reading for The Circle saga. Though the author and publisher invite you to "Enter Anywhere," and what follows is not the order in which they were published, I have read most of the books several times and, while I'm by no means an expert, I feel that they can be best followed and enjoyed by reading them in the following order.

Black
Red
Chosen
Infidel
Showdown
Renegade
White
House
Skin
Saint
Chaos
Sinner (Coming September 2008)

Just my two cents worth. I hope to work my way through the series in this order between now and the release of Sinner in September.

Joe

Book Review: Renegade by Ted Dekker

The Circle is never ending. A fully enclosed line -- no beginning, no end. The Circle goes ever onward. Such could be said of Ted Dekker's epic saga of The Circle.

An epic saga that began with the releases of Black, Red, and White, and now encompasses eight other volumes, with volume twelve, Sinner, slated for release in September of this year.

This saga, as well, crosses several subgenres of the Christian fiction world. While the original three offerings are clearly fantasy, Showdown, House (with Frank Peretti), and Skin could just as easily be labeled as tales of horror, while Saint is more thriller than fantasy. The latest four volumes, subtitled The Books of History Chronicles, are marketed as fantasy and youth fiction, but the most likely link I can find to youth fiction is the age of the main characters in the books. Chosen, Infidel, Renegade and Chaos should appeal to every fan of Ted Dekker fiction as much as any of Dekker's other works.

I should maybe have considered writing one single review for all four of The Lost Books, as they could just as easily have been published in one volume as four. You can find my thoughts on Chosen and Infidel, as well as every other book review I've written, in the review archives at AverageJoeAmerican.us.

For now I want to talk about The Lost Books Volume 3, Renegade.

In Renegade, Dekker returns to his story-telling prowess, after what I felt was much groundwork being laid in the prior installment. In addition, in Renegade, we are sent back to the town of Paradise, Colorado, where we first met Marsuvees Black in Showdown. Paradise, Colorado, is a town that receives much similar treatment as that of Stephen King's Castle Rock, Maine, in Needful Things. That's a very fitting comparison, despite the polar opposites of the genre, as Ted Dekker is very much the skilled and visionary author that Stephen King once was (unfortunately, I fear the King exhausted his resources around the time that Desperation and The Regulators were published).

We learn so much more about Marsuvees Black and Paradise, Colorado, in Renegade that, if you haven't read at least Showdown prior to reading The Lost Books series, you, yourself, might be lost in the story. As Dekker, in the past, has woven the several Circle books together quite nicely, Renegade made me feel that the author was stretching prior story lines just a bit to bring all of the characters together once again. Fortunately, that's what the business of writing fiction is about, and Ted Dekker does it quite nicely.

As an avid Ted Dekker fan, and someone who has read the saga that surrounds The Circle several times over, I found Renegade to be the best so far of The Lost Books offerings. It can be quite difficult, at times, for fans of fiction when they reach the end of a book. I cannot count the number of times that I have found myself so engrossed in a book -- so in tune with the setting and the characters -- that I was nearly devastated when the story finally ended because the characters had become such an important part of my life. Ted Dekker has done an exceptional job keeping Other Earth alive and well for fans of The Circle.

Though the publisher promotes the series as:

TWO REALITIES
ONE EPIC EXPERIENCE
ENTER ANYWHERE

it isn't quite that easy. I don't believe you can just dive in anywhere and receive the most benefit from the worlds this author has created. I will, in my next review in this series (Chaos) present to you what I feel is the best order in which to read the several works that comprise the world of The Circle. If you haven't started yet, and you want to dive into the world of The Circle before then, might I suggest the most logical starting place: Black -- where it all began.

Joe

Lost Book 4

Just received Ted Dekker's Chaos from Amazon. Awesome!

--
==================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

Lost Books Part 3

Just received Ted Dekker's Renegade from Amazon. Review in near future.

--
==================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

Book Review: Infidel by Ted Dekker

I've just finished reading the second book in Ted Dekker's The Lost Books of History series, which is really an extension of The Circle trilogy, which is really so much more than just a trilogy.

The Circle trilogy consists of the books Black, and Red, and White, and is followed up by Showdown, and House (co-authored by Frank Peretti), and Saint, and Skin. And a new book to be out either later this year or next year, titled Sinner. And the Lost Books consist of Chosen, and Infidel, and (coming out in May Renegade and Chaos.

Yes, Ted Dekker has been quite busy creating his history of Other Earth.

While the Lost Books are marketed in the Youth Fiction genre, it was of course well-known to Dekker and his publisher, Thomas Nelson, that millions of Circle fans of all ages would flock to bookstands to pick up the latest installments. In fact, by marketing the Lost Books as Youth Fiction, Dekker and Nelson stand to pick up even more readers than before, as the appeal of The Circle spreads to younger readers.

I, for one, have been captivated by Dekker's Circle trilogy, as well as many of his other works. A quick browse through my review list will turn up almost every book written by Ted Dekker. But you didn't come here for that, did you? You came here to learn more about Infidel.

I was at first a little confused as to whom the title referred. According to Dictionary.com, the number one definition of the word infidel is "a person who does not accept a particular faith." The several Dekker books surrounding Other Earth are filled with people who don't accept the faith of the Forest Dwellers. It was hard for me, in Infidel, to determine just which character was the infidel. I'm still not altogether sure.

And while I understand that weaving a story takes considerable character development and that several threads of the plot line must be laid in order to get to the culmination, I found Infidel to be a very interesting work, but just not quite up to the standard that other Dekker books have set.

Infidel is, no doubt, critical to understanding the history of Other Earth, and I can't imagine reading the next two books in the chronicles without first reading Infidel, but I just wasn't grabbed by it like I was the original Circle trilogy, or most of Dekker's other works. I found Infidel to be more about laying the foundation for coming installments than furthering the story.

What makes the whole thing even more interesting is the marketing ploy that Dekker and publisher Nelson have developed in order to drive the hype behind the stories. There's a massive online search for the Lost Books of History, with multiple sites and characters created for the sole purpose of guiding readers through the search for the ultimate discovery -- the last Lost Book of History -- and the ultimate prize -- a brand new Chevy Cobalt.

I have, of course, registered for the search, but I haven't been very active in it. I found on the first day that I could easily spend hours of my day just digging and digging through the clues online in search for the Lost Book. As much as the search intrigues me, I just don't have that kind of time on my hands.

But what I do have time for is reading the next Dekker book when it comes out. Adam hits bookstores next month.

In the meantime, Infidel is definitely worth the read, but only if you've read the rest of the epic first.

Joe

The Story of History

Pulling my hair out over the latest marketing scheme from Ted Dekker and his publisher.

The lengths these guys will go to in order to build up the hype for their books. Gotta tell you, though. I love the books, and the hype has me hooked.

Can you find the books?

Joe

Reading "Chosen" by Ted Dekker

I just purchaed the first of two new books by Ted Dekker today -- Chosen. It, along with Infidel, are the latest two volumes in the saga of The Circle.

I've read the entire Circle Trilogy several times, and tonight will begin this newest edition. It's sure to be a pleaser, based on past works I've read by Ted Dekker, and I'll be doing a review on it here as soon as I've completed it.





Joe

Another Ted Dekker MUST READ

Chosen & Infidel

Chosen
Reviewed by Jake Chism, Bookshelf Review

It’s been thirteen years since the evil Teeleh has laid waste to the beauty of Elyon’s creation. The Horde roams the desert-filled earth seeking to destroy the followers of Elyon that remain. Thomas Hunter is the commander of the Forest Guard, warriors who have given their lives in service to Elyon and fellow believers. The Horde greatly outnumbers the Forest Guard, and Thomas is reluctantly forced to encourage sixteen and seventeen year olds to fight. Out of this group four have been chosen by Thomas himself as special leaders: Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Billos.


These new recruits are sent on one last training mission to prove their worth to Thomas and the Guard. They soon discover there is an even greater mission in store for them, and the survival of Elyon’s followers depends on their success. They must seek out and collect the legendary Books of History before they fall into evil hands. Along the way Johnis discovers that not only was he born to lead, but his destiny is greater than he could have ever imagined.

Ted Dekker is one of the most prolific and successful CBA authors to date, and with the beginning of this great new series he only continues to elevate his status. Chosen is an extraordinary tale that builds upon the unforgettable world Dekker created in Black, Red, and White. Adventure, action, and suspense abound, and the world and characters of Elyon are rich and skillfully fashioned. The subtle connections to Dekker’s previous works are a clever and fun addition to the enjoyment.

Chosen is being marketed as Young Adult Fiction, but young and old alike will enjoy this latest offering. Dekker fans will love this new story from the Circle universe and new readers will undoubtedly be sucked in to the greatness that is Ted Dekker. This is a superb beginning to what is sure to be a fantastic series.

Stretched to their limits and celebrated as heroes, the chosen will wish they'd never been given the thankless task of finding the seven lost Books of History before the Dark One can.

Continuing against all odds their journey will now take them into the Horde City itself, to face an adversary that not even Thomas Hunter has faced. But there in the most desperate straights, new hope is found and love takes root.

And for the first time it becomes clear that their journey will take our heroes into the books themselves. Nothing will ever be the same, not for these four.

Joe

Book Review: Skin by Ted Dekker

***SPOILER ALERT***
Proceed With Caution
The following may contain SPOILERS

For a special Skin episode of Average Joe Radio, CLICK HERE.

The master of suspense in the Christian fiction genre is back, and he's brought the Horde with him.

You met them first in The Circle trilogy (Black, Red, and White) and learned of the evil that literally hangs from their bodies. The effects of their evil ways followed you to Project Showdown, then through House, Saint, and now into your very Skin.

As all Ted Dekker fans have come to expect, he has woven another suspenseful tale in Skin. And, once again, he takes us back into the world of The Circle, where the Forest Guard and the Horde wage the epic battle of Good versus Evil.

In Skin, we meet five very troubled souls, thrown together unsuspectingly when they cross paths with a trio of tornadoes in the small town of Summerville. As the deadly destructive forces of Mother Nature bury the town in desert sand, the quintuple comes face to face with the very incarnation of Evil -- Sterling Red.

But all may not be quite as it seems. As tragedy strikes the Summerville police force, former FBI Agent Mark Clifton -- the small town Detective from Walton with the movie-star reputation -- takes over the case. He's a no-nonsense sleuth with a knack for getting to the bottom of things, very slow to trust others, and a deadly aim with a weapon. He's a criminal's worst nightmare. Or is he?

And what of Jerry Pinkus -- the gaming expert -- or brother/sister duo Carey and Nicole Swartz (whose last name, by the way, is a derivative of the German word Schwarz, or Black). When they find themselves trapped with Wendy Davidson and Colt Jackson (he of the Summerville Police Department) trying to wait out the stormy tornadic trio, they soon learn that a trifecta of tornadoes is the least of their worries.

Dekker masterfully takes us into the world of Skin -- and the mind of Sterling Red -- weaving a tale of suspense that will keep you turning pages long into the night. And, if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself flipping back through the pages in search of the easter eggs that reveal the hidden links between Skin and The Circle trilogy. (If you want some help finding those links, click the DOWNLOAD button above for my special Skin podcast.)

But you better pay close attention, because in the town of Summerville, things are not always what they seem. Don't trust your eyes.

Joe

Want to know what inspired Ted Dekker to write The Circle trilogy? Find out here.

Dive Deep!

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 6

The final episode of "It's Just A Book" is out today. But first, need to catch up on the first five?

Episode One

Episode Two

Episode Three

Episode Four

Episode Five

Episode Six



Skin, by Ted Dekker, in bookstores April 3. Preorder Now

Joe

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 5

Coming from Ted Dekker, April 2007: Skin.

Preorder Now



Joe

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 4

Coming from Ted Dekker, April 2007: Skin.



Joe

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 3

Coming from Ted Dekker, April 2007: Skin.



Joe

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 2

Coming from Ted Dekker, April 2007: Skin.


Joe

Skin: It's Just A Book - Episode 1

Coming from Ted Dekker, April 2007: Skin.



Joe

Book Review: Saint by Ted Dekker

* * *
CAUTION: CONTAINS SPOILERS
* * *

How do I write about Saint -- what do I say -- without slipping a spoiler in by mistake? I've only just begun reading the book, and already the first big surprise strikes on page 41 with the mention of Project Showdown. Remember the last book released by Ted Dekker: Showdown? If you read the book, or at the very least my review of it, you'll remember that Showdown was linked to Dekker's epic trilogy, The Circle. It comes as a shock when that first becomes apparent in Showdown, just as it is shocking to discover on page 41 of Saint that it, too, is linked to The Circle through the mention of Project Showdown, which just happens to refer to Dekker's book, Showdown. There's the first spoiler for you. I'll try to keep them to a minimum.

* * *

Dekker weaves such a fast-paced story that you'll likely forget all about Project Showdown, as you tear through page after page until, on page 166, the link pops up again: "Project Showdown was breathing still."

I don't normally write my so-called reviews while in the midst of reading the book, but this isn't the first time I've done just that. When the author finds a way to really get me, I just can't wait until the end to start sharing the experience. But I'll have to wait a little longer, because the book is calling to me, and I can't deny it.

* * *

The intrigue continues in chapter twenty-six as the main character -- Carl, who has just learned that he is someone else entirely (trust me, you need to read the book -- all five books -- to follow this one), returns to his hometown of Paradise, Colorado, the setting of Dekker's book Showdown. There really is no way to explain the parallels between these books without making it sound confusing. You just have to start at the beginning and start reading: Black, Red, and White, Showdown, and Saint. I promise, you won't be confused. You'll be mystified.

* * *

Long before chapter thirty-eight, if you've read most of Ted Dekker's other works, you'll be fully aware that Saint is intricately linked to Showdown, which is just as tightly woven with Black, Red, and White -- the Circle trilogy. Dekker seamlessly ties the five tomes together into one seemingly never-ending story. But on pages 303 and 304, everything changes. Not only do we hear more about Marsuvees Black from Showdown, we learn something that I had not before even considered: Barsidious White -- the wicked villain from House, Dekker's joint venture with Frank Peretti, is also a product of the Books of History from the Circle trilogy. And having learned such a thing, I realize that it was so obvious I should have figured it out long ago.

Wow.

* * *

I wanted to lay out a storyline here that takes you through the world of The Circle. I failed. I simply can't do justice to Ted Dekker's intricately woven world of The Circle. It's a world that -- though it has never been publicized as such -- spans six novels: Black, Red, White, Showdown, House (co-authored by Frank Peretti), and Saint. Read them all!

Joe
Comment