Black (Black, Red and White)

Rating:
Summary: Haven't had this pleasure since... The last Ted Dekker Novel
Review: Every time I pick up one of Mr. Dekker's novels, I wonder if it can live up to the last. I have not yet been dissapointed. His books can fill you with angst at the evils of this world while painting a vision of beauty and hope that surpasses all evil and leaves you longing to become part of that vision.

There are few authors I have read who can so well portray the narrow gap between heros and villains of humanity, while at the same time drawing a clear line between the two.

Having a penchant for Fantasy/ Science fiction novels, I was pleased to discover Mr. Dekker was trying his hand at this genre with BLACK. Would he be able to bring his unique style to this type of story? All I can say is Wow!

Start to finish was a pleasure to read. If you have enjoyed the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R Donaldson, you will find a similar sense of mystery about which reality is the real reality. If you've read the swashbuckling style of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Men of Mars novels, you will find that heroic pace and imaginative landscape.

I have read a few novels since finishing BLACK, and when I turn the last page, instead of contemplating what I've just read, find myself asking, "I wonder if RED is out yet?"

Rating:
Summary: Adventure at it's Finest
Review: How great is it to be able to read two stories at one time? That is exactly what you get when you dive into the adventure that is BLACK.

Imagine running from the mob who wants the money you owe them. You are exhausted from fear and adrenaline-pumping action when you are finally able to fall asleep. But sleep doesn't come, because the moment your mind drifts toward that heaven, you wake up in another world. A strange world of joyous perfection...but there is evil there, too...and once again, they are after you.

Ted Dekker's book is non-stop imagination. The first book in a trilogy - all to be released in 2004 - BLACK is an excellent start to what I believe will be a life altering story. He weaves real life in and amongst an almost Garden-of-Eden-like world to create his view of heaven. His ability to subtly point out the world's flaws creates a story leaving you wishing it hand't ended yet...and it hasn't! The continuation - Book two - comes out in May!

His writing is flawless and easy to follow. I read the book in almost one sitting! This book is for anyone who loves adventure. I recommend it to everyone. My copy will be read by many!

Rating:
Summary: The best book I have read in years
Review: I read at least one book per week and have never used the term "mind-blowing" before to describe one. Let me just tell you: Black is mind-blowing.

Ted Dekker has officially established himself as the true replacement in fiction for C.S. Lewis. Not since Lewis and Tolkien has a writer used fiction to invade a person's reality the way that Dekker does. You are left "chewing your cud" for weeks after reading this book.

Black illustrates plainly the unseen battle between good and evil in an intimate way. If you didn't believe before that there is another dimension to this life, Black convinces you beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The character Tanis destroyed the colored forest with a simple decision to taste the fruit and water offered to him by Teeleh. Dekker shows well how the simple decisions that we make daily can and do have far reaching consequences.

If you have never read a book by Ted Dekker, you will want to read them all after reading this one. Get it. You won't be disappointed.

And... it is only the first of a trilogy. The second, Red, will be released in May and White will be released in September.

Dekker fans, like myself, are having a hard time reading other books as we wait rather impatiently for Red. Some of us are left to reread Black numerous times. It gets even better each time I read it.

Good job, Ted. Be blessed.

Rating:
Summary: A New Era for fiction
Review: The first thought on your mind when you read my heading is that I'm overstating the case, as so many reviews tend to do. But this new novel by Ted Dekker honestly does signal a new era in fiction. Never have I read a novel so riviting and so meaningful, which spanned so many ideas and crossed so many genres as Black.

And it worked. Right down to the last page it absolutely worked.

Thomas Hunter is a struggling novelist who is thrown into a dream world that he mistakes for the real world. Unless of course, his dream world IS the real world and the one he assumed was real is really the dream world. Using this device, Black takes the reader on a roller coaster ride in parallel realities in which Hunter is faced with the potential destruction of both worlds due to his own unwitting choices. The twists and turns work into a beautiful symphony of meaning which climaxes with a cliff hanger.

The story is complex and engaging. This is my second Dekker novel, the first being "Three." I don't ordinarily post reviews, but this one demands it. Fantastic book! Very different from Three, but ultimately far more satisfying.

Thank God the next installment, RED, is due out May rather than the typical year wait.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, strange, and totally compelling allegory
Review: What an incredible story. Ted Dekker has yet again delivered with a story that simply won't let you go. The book starts out a bit slow, and is often hard to follow as we are taken along with the lead character, Thomas Hunter, between modern day Denver and a strange world that at first appears to be a dream.
Slowly the two worlds become more entwined and harder to determine what is real and what is a dream.

The pacing and structure of the story reminds me of some of Terry Brooks books, namely the "Magic Kingdom: For Sale" series. Consider this trilogy a tribute to the late, great, CS Lewis as it is a wonderful allegory of the Christian story, but with a nod to modern day authors like Brook's or even Stephen King. Like the CS Lewis classic Narnia series, time does not correlate between the two worlds, allowing for the storylines to intersect in some really fascinating ways.

One warning, do not buy this book unless you are prepared to buy all three. So tantalizing is this cliffhanger that I had to run out that day and purchase the second book, and start that one. Now I have to wait for the third.

A well done and well written book. If you are not a fan of science-fiction or thrillers then this book may not appeal to you, but if you are it is an impossible to put down page turner.