Rating: 
Summary: Heaven's Wager--original story??
Review: I am wondering if anyone else has noticed the similarity in story line between Heaven's Wager and The Partner by John Grishom. I am just amazed at how alike they are. Though I don't know the legal fine points it seems very close to plagarism to me. I doubt that I am the first to notice this so I am surprised that no one has already mentioned it here.
Rating: 
Summary: Bringing Theology to Life!
Review: I first discovered Ted Dekker's writing through a compilation of reviews in CBA Marketplace. Well known leaders like Jack Hayford and James Kennedy and Max Lucado and Tim Lahaye, were commenting on another of his novels, Blessed Child. "More sound theology than most theological textbooks" said one. "Towering truth... a cutting edge call..." said another, and still another, "Superbly written..." How could a novel, a work of fiction, garner such praise from such respected leaders, I wondered. So I read it. And then I bought every book written by this author. His theology is not only right down the middle, it comes to life in ways I've never experienced. Whenever you take theology out of an ancient book and place it in a contemporary story, amazing things happen. Some who perhaps don't think it through, find it too real and bothering -- they might prefer to keep thier religion seperated from thier real lives. But most,like myself, find it refreshing and challenging. This book speaks volumes about the passion of God for every person he created. It is a stunning portrayal of God's love. It is thoroughly captivating. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: I have been looking for a christian fiction writer who has the ability to tackle the questions that a lot of us have about the spiritual realm. This author does it. As christians, alot of us think about this kind of thing but don't always persue learning about it because, frankly, it can be kind of scary. It's the unknown. I like the way his writing really entertains, but at the same time challenges. I read this book many months ago yet I still find myself thinking about it frequently. I am looking forward to more and more of this kind of writing from him. Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect depiction of Job
Review: I have rarely read a book that brought to life an age old story (in this case the Book of Job) as Heaven's Wager did. Astonishingly, some, such as the previous reviewer, either miss the point entirely or have not read Job. Yes, Heaven's Wager is gritty in some respects, but then so was Job. In fact, according to the Bible, Job's entire family was killed by Satan in his wager with God. And yes, God expressly permitted it. So why the shock when a contemporary story does the same? Perhaps modern day folk simply don't like the God of the Bible. I found the story wonderfully redemptive. It mocks the power of death and offers hope beyond. Nothing New Age about the book in any respect. A must read for any who want to dig past the plastic most coat thier religion with.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I was drawn in and could hardly put it down! First book of Dekker's that I read and I was _not_ disappointed. I've read 3 others since and I am still hungry for more. Dekker truely has insights that many do not have and relays it very well through his writing.
Rating:
Summary: Stands above mere fiction
Review: If you understand what the author is doing (I got there about mid point on this novel) you cannot help but to find inspiration in Dekker's mastery of fiction. Heaven's Wager is a great story the gains steam as it goes along and ends with a bang, but its the truth behind the story that lingers and that, to me, is its real beauty. You can hardly compare this with a Grisham novel because it reaches far beyond simple entertainment to a treatment that which is beyond. In fact, if you have no sensitivity to that which is beyond, you probably won't find this novel as gripping as I did. The fiction out on the street tends to blur together at times -- everyone retelling the same old stories with new characters. It's so refreshing to read something that engages on a different level. I'm halfway through Dekker's newest novel which he co-authored with Bill Bright. It's even better. Thank God for new writers.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing and Thrilling Read
Review: Kent Anthony has everything and when his dreams are on the edge of being fulfilled, it all comes crashing down. What would you do if you were cheated out of millions of dollars within weeks of losing your wife and son in horrible ways. Would you seek revenge or would you accept the circumstances and try to carry on? These are the questions that Kent Anthony faces, while his mother-in-law unceasingly prays for his soul. She has been given a very special gift and knows that all heaven is watching what Kent will do. This book keeps you on edge wondering what will happen next. Definitely an all-nighter, you won't be able to put it down until the final page is turned.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll wager you can't put this down.
Review: Kent Anthony has hit the big-time with his brainchild software that will revolutionize banking, and is about to receive a $20 million payout. Along with his wife Gloria and son Spencer, his life is about to change drastically. And it does. But not in the way that Kent expects. To say anything more would give away too much of the plot, and ruin the story-line for those who haven't read the book. That in itself says a great deal about the power of the story. Alongside Kent and his family is a larger cast of characters, including his old love Lacy, his banking colleagues, and his religious mother in-law Helen and her pastor Bill.
Strengths:
1. Theology: The gripping and suspenseful plot unravels within an important theological framework. Unlike his mother-in-law, Kent is not a Christian, and it is around this that the novel's action is chiefly concerned. Those familiar with the story of Job will not have difficulty in figuring out the significance of the title about Heaven's Wager. But contrary to what some readers think, this is not quite a modern day Job story, as Dekker himself makes clear: In Kent's case Satan's challenge was not that he could make a righteous man curse God, but "that he could keep an unrighteous man from responding to God's love." (p363) The story is essentially a "game", a "war", and the prize is "a man's soul" (p158). Dekker wants the reader to end with self reflection: "The same challenge has been cast over your soul. ... We are all Jobs in one way or another." (p369) "Over every man there is cast a challenge." (p364)
2. Plot: This theology is the framework and basis for the novel, but it does not intrude on the plot, which concerns Kent's struggle with grief, greed and revenge. Kent's story is a sparkling one, and Ted Dekker is an excellent story-teller. The plot began as interesting, quickly moved to exciting, and in the last stages is a fast-moving pageturner that you won't be able to put down easily.
3. Character: Not only does Dekker know how to spin a story, he also develops a sympathetic character. He brings the reader into Kent's mind, allowing us to feel his raw emotions and identify closely with his struggles, joys and pains. These changing emotions are portrayed with vivid colour and conviction.
4. Theme: Kent's experience clearly shows that money and power does not satisfy, and that true peace can only be found with God.
Although the bulk of the novel concerns Kent's story, the underlying spiritual battle never comes to the foreground until the final chapter. However the theological premise behind the events that transpire is evident in the character of Helen, who is assigned the task of God's intermediary and even has visions. She is effectively a "seer" to whom God speaks (p85-86) and for whom the curtain of heaven is occasionally drawn aside: "God was making her see things more clearly these days, just as he'd done with Elisha's servant. Drawing her into this huge drama unfolding behind the eyes of mortals. She played the intercessor - the one mortal allowed to glimpse both worlds so that she could pray." (p105). At times Helen's role becomes somewhat absurd, as God apparently commands her to walk eight hours a day and pray for Kent (p129), which she does in the ridiculous outfit of knee high socks and running shoes. Dekker is careful not to suggest that the outcome is dependent on human prayer, referring to C.S. Lewis' explanation "for why God insists on us having to do things like pray when he already knows the outcome. It is for the expeirence of the thing. The interaction." (p180). Elsewhere Dekker writes: "God certainly did not need an old lady's walking to move his hand. Then again, neither had ne needed old Joshua and his cohorts traipsing around Jericho to tumple the wall, now, did he? And yet he had demanded that. This was not so different." (p145) Further it might be conceded Dekker is not suggesting that direct revelations and visions are normative for today, and this concept can be accepted as a literary device, similar to the men with green eyes who appear to be supernatural beings. Overall the theological framework is fairly sound, although the way Dekker works it out is not always entirely convincing.
Some problematic areas and questions:
1. One does have to wonder if Dekker's theology does result in a man-centered story. He suggests that heaven is holding its breath, to see what Kent will decide. "The heavens have been lined with a million creatures, intent on that man's every move for months." (p363) In heaven, apparently, are "A million beings peering over the railing at the choices of one man. You would find the real game." (p229) But the Bible emphasizes that the real choice is the one God makes before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3-5), and that the choices of men are the work of His Spirit as an outworking of God's prior choice (John 15:16; Acts 13:48). This appears to be the result of Dekker's Arminian theology.
2. Conversion is presented as the result of God's direct self-revelation (p359-61). While this is conceivably possible (as in the case of the apostle Paul), this is the exception, and the norm is that conversion and faith are worked by the Holy Spirit through the gospel and its preaching. By presenting conversion as occurring in this extraordinary way, Dekker misses an opportunity to display the power of the gospel (Rom 1:16; 10:9-10). God and his angels are not spectators to conversion as a pure decision on man's part, but God Himself is an agent of conversion and sovereignly works that decision by the Word and Spirit.
3. There is the suggestion that experience is to be relied instead of doctrine (p83). When it is suggested to Helen that "You can't just throw out all doctrine for some experience," she replies: "And what if that experience is God, the creator? What is more important to you, an encounter with God or your doctrine?" (p256) This is, however, a false dilemma, because the true experience of God will never contradict his revelation in the Bible or the doctrines of Scripture. The Bible tells us that experience is unreliable because Satan can appear disguised as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), that he deceives people by wonderous signs and experiences (Matt 24:24; Rev 13:14), and that we are to hold to the doctrines of Scripture even if an angel tells us otherwise (Gal 1:8).
4. Dekker subscribes to the "God loves you" theology of Arminianism (p54.,96,110).
5. The concept of God suffering (p53-4) is questionable.
6. I find it hard to believe that even someone whose appearance has been altered by plastic surgery wouldn't be recognized through conversation by his voice and vocabulary. But this is a minor quibble.
On the whole it's a gripping story, and the theological questions the novel raised were not sufficient to prevent me from enjoying the story because the theological framework was more in the background, and the focus was on a fast-moving roller-coaster plot, much in the style of John Grisham's "The Partner", although with a more repentant protagonist. Dekker makes mention of tragic events behind Helen's life in connection with a tragic episode during the war that involved the murdering of a priest (p251-3). This is the story of Book 2 in the series, and the quality of Book 1 has certainly convinced me that I won't want to miss any more of Dekker's books! -GODLY GADFLY
Rating:
Summary: So true...
Review: Kent Anthony has the perfect life until tragedy turns his world upside down and drives him on his quest for revenge... something, or Someone, is missing, but will Kent realize it before it's too late?
Heaven's Wager depicts perfectly what happens when we search for meaning and satisfaction apart from God. But also how God is always ready and waiting for us to come home, orchastrating events to lead us to Him. The reader can see traces of the stories of Job and the prodigal son throughout the book.
Heaven's Wager ties in perfectly with When Heaven Weeps and Thunder of Heaven, but is an entirely seperate story at the same time.
Personally I found reading When Heaven Weeps before Heaven's Wager to be more helpful. (Chronologically that is the way the story flows.) I connected with the characters on different levels, and when I finished the book I felt I had learned a valuable lesson as well as been entertained.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Life was going well for Kent Anthony. He was happy married with a great son, and he had just finished the project of his career at work, which should earn him a multi-million dollar bonus. Out of the blue, his perfect world is slowly stripped away. While he goes about plotting his revenge, his mother-in-law Helen starts praying for his soul. But will her prayers be enough to reach Heaven? This book starts out very strong with some great writing, and I was quickly drawn into the story. However, part way through, it lost its way. After page 150, I had the basic plot figured out. Any surprises I figured out pages before they happened. And the climax was incredibly weak; it left me shaking my head instead of emotionally drawn in like I should have been. This book rates two stars because of it's great beginning. It's unfortunate that the rest of the book couldn't live up to the promise contained in those first pages.
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