Saturday, October 10, 2009

Green

By Ted Dekker

Thomas Nelson Publishing


This book brings the story of the Circle to completion.
It's been ten years since Thomas of Hunter has dreamed of the Histories, and in that ten years Elyon has been silent. The love within the Circle is growing cold and betrayal is in the air. Thomas must find a way to prevent the Circle from crumbling, and keep his son from leaving the Circle and joining the Eramites -- the enemies of Horde and Albinos alike.

As a fan of Ted Dekker's novels, I was very excited to hear about this book touted as the sequel to White and the prequel to Black. Dekker delivers with this powerful story of betrayal, intruigue, suspense, and ultimately love beyond imagination. This story is very well written, and as is consistent with Ted Dekker's writing style, I found that I was unable to put this book down. From the Books of the Histories straight to the future, I was completely drawn in. But I must warn you: this is not book four completing the Circle Series. This book finishes the story from Black, Red, White, Showdown, Saint, and Sinner. This is book seven, and is a must have for any Dekker fan.


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Since I review for Thomas Nelson Publishers, I tried to keep it at just 200 words just like they asked me to. Do you realize how difficult it is to review something and keep your word count to just 200 words? For someone as loquacious as I, it is nigh impossible.

So, here is the rest of the review:
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When I got this book, I was expecting to read about the world of Thomas of Hunter, Leader of the Forest Guard, the chosen one of Elyon. It never occurred to me that Ted Dekker would wrap the entirety of the two series' (Circle Series and Paradise Series) together in one complete package. Dekker absolutely surpassed my greatest expectations with this novel.

Personally, I don't think that this book should be the first Dekker book that one is exposed to. The writing style is classic Ted Dekker, but it's a bit intense for the first-timers.
That and Ted quickly introduces the reader to the world of the future, and in so doing, reveals almost too much of the previous novels thereby removing some of the surprises that are inherent in the previous books. I would have preferred Ted to have written this one with the same format of Black, Red, White, Showdown, Saint, and Sinner. In each of the previous books, Ted treats them as though they are stand-alone stories, independent of each other. This one leaves you hanging unless you have read the rest of them.

The only other thing that bothers me about this book is that it almost seems like Ted rushed to get it completed, and didn't really delve into the meat behind the characters and story. He developed depth for some of the characters that we already knew, but there are new characters that seem almost thrown in so that they could fulfill their purpose in the story.

HOWEVER, the story as a whole was absolutely brilliant! If you are already a fan of Dekker's work, and have read through the Circle Series and the Paradise series, I HIGHLY recommend adding this novel to your library.
Ted takes us deep into the life of the Albinos ten years after Elyon last appeared, and the love within the Circle seems to be growing cold. It is a very timely story relating to the condition of the Church today, as the followers of Elyon are wondering where Elyon is, if He really exists, and if he is going to return to save his Bride. The similarities between where the Albinos are with Elyon, and the state of the Church today, are staggering. In a society where the news has reported that Protestant Christians have declined by 15% across the nation, it seems that more and more people are crying out like the Albinos: "God! Where are You!"

Dekker mines the depths of emotions and reveals the inner conflict between the leader of the Horde and his daughter, who has turned her back on everything her father believes, yet she loves him more than life. She, who used to be Horde, tries everything she can think of to show her father the truth about Elyon and the Drowning in Elyon's Pools, but his mind is lost to the Shataiki, and the great lies of Teeleh. Can Quorong, the Supreme Commander of the Horde, ever love his daughter again? The answer may surprise you.





Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."