I have to admit I've been putting off reviewing this series for more than a week, because it I hardly know what to say about this - except that I couldn't put it down. Ted Dekker has created a fantasy thriller series that could be considered a combination of the TV series "24" & The Lord Of the Rings. I can't put Dekker on par with Tolkien - this doesn't match the depth and beauty of Tolkien's writing, by any stretch. But the fantasy flavor is there.
As "Black" begins, Thomas Hunter is running from the mob on the streets of Denver. A bullet knocks him out. When he wakes up, he is in a dark forest filled with huge, black bats that are chasing him. A white bat leads him out of the dark forest, across a river, and into to a beautiful colored forest. In this dream land, Thomas enters a world where the people are living safely in Elyon's (God's) land, and good and evil are clearly visible. All that is good is bright and colorful, and all that is evil is black. When he goes back to sleep, he wakes up in Denver again. At first, he believes Elyon's land was just a dream. But, each time he goes to sleep in Denver, he wakes in Elyon's land, and he begins to wonder which is reality and which is a dream. And then he finally begins to suspect that both are real...
So beings the saga of Thomas Hunter, who eventually discovers the powerful books of history referenced in the Paradise Trilogy. I read Black/Red/White - the first three novels in one book, and it's hard for me to imagine stopping at the end of "Black" or "Red" without running out immediately to pick up the next one. The events in the book "Green" take place 10 years after the end of "White", and technically, it is both the beginning and the end of the series. So, you could read Green first, but personally, I found it very satisfying to read Green last. It was putting together all the pieces of the puzzle and answering many of the questions that had come up in the first three books.
I'm going to have to take a little breather from Dekker for a while, but I'm now a fan and I still have a couple more of his books on my list.
Sojourner
I'm glad you liked them - they are fantastic (and fantastical) books!
ReplyDeleteI liked those books too! He has another series - the Lost series of 6 books that are young adult books that go with the circle series. They are good too.
ReplyDeleteI'm always glad to hear people say they enjoyed a Dekker novel. The Circle Series is some of his best work! As herdingcats points out, the Lost Books series goes hand-in-hand with the Circle series. And, as you mentioned, the Paradise Trilogy is also linked to The Circle series. Dekker also has a new series coming out, written with Tosca Lee called The Books of Mortals, that is meant to be on par with the Circle series, but only related in a very small way.
ReplyDeleteBut Dekker does more than fantasy. If you like supernatural thrillers, I'd like to suggest "Thr3e," Adam," "House." Those are my favorite Dekker novels.
I agree in not comparing Dekker to Tolkien, but I would say that the Circle series comes close to Lewis' Narnia. The allegorical touches are quite beautiful, and they are everywhere in the Circle series.
@ herdingcats - thanks. I'd wondered about those Lost books. I'll have to check them out.
ReplyDelete@jmusings - wow - I went to read about the Books of Mortals series and now I'm excited! I hope it turns out to be as good as the Circle series. You are right about Narnia - I thought of that, too, as I was writing this review. Lewis wrote another set of fantasy novels called "Space Trilogy" that I have never read. I'm curious to read them now. "Thr3e" is next on my Dekker list - I will add "House" and "Adam", too. Thanks!
Sojourner