Home :: Books :: Christianity  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity

Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Heaven's Wager

Heaven's Wager

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $10.19
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Ted grabs your attention with this one. I remember the first Dekker book I got was Thunder of Heaven because I thought this one would be too slow. I was dead wrong! This book takes you outside of your comfort zone, you wonder what you might do if you were Kent. And of course, Helen is in comparison with The Energizer Bunny: She keeps going and going and going...

Ted Dekker is one of the most gifted authors out there. If I were to make a challenge out there to someone who feels that things aren't going just the way they feel they should, read this book! You'll feel a lot better.

Thank you Ted for putting ordinary people into extraordinary situations.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: New Age God but but theme stupid
Review: The majority of this "Christian" novel could have almost been written as a New Age one, with the people feeling in contact with the Universe or whatever.

It's the theme that stinks: someone "up there" really cares and does terrible things to you to make you love Him.

What really made this theme all the more stupid was, just after I finished the book, a TV program came on where a grandfather had beat his children and grandchildren & had incest with them for years until they killed him.

Are we supposed to believe these terrible things are to make you love Him, too? With a "God" like this one, I don't need Satan!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A New Day for Christian Fiction
Review: The release of Heaven's Wager marks a new day for Christian fiction. This may be the most important book released by a Christian publisher since This Present Darkness took the religious publishing world by storm. Too long the step-child of general market fiction, it appears that Christian fiction has finally broken out of that mold and begun to forge a path uniquely its own.

What makes Heaven's Wager different? It combines three elements that set it above the run-of-the-mill Christian novel and actually make it superior to the vast majority of general market fiction. These are the three elements: Superior storytelling, real-world grounding, and spiritual impact.

As regards the first point, right off the bat, from the opening sections, readers can tell they've encountered a real storyteller. At the heart of this incredible novel is a veritable jet-assisted turbine powering the narrative. And it never quits. Yeah, there's a respite here and there, but the narrative drive never lets up.

As for the second point, this is where the author really shines. Seldom if ever have I encountered a story that has such believable surfaces. Too often, authors in the religious market seem to think it's enough merely to evoke settings and backgrounds, without taking the time to properly flesh things out. Not here. One of the really intriguing things about Heaven's Wager is the care that the author takes in setting up his story. I came away completely believing everything that happens--and some pretty incredible things happen.

Which leads me to my third point: spiritual impact. After all he's already accomplished, it's almost too much to expect the author to deliver in this last area, but that's really what the point is for Christian fiction--to make as powerful an impression on readers as possible. And, incredibly, that's where Dekker comes through strongest. I would venture to guess that almost everyone who reads this book will come away changed--it's that powerful. But don't just take my word for it. Buy this book now and find out for yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I was hooked on Ted Dekker's books from this point on.
Review: This book is amazing. It brings you into a whole new dimension of the spiritual side of life and the power of prayer. This is a must read, but beware, you will want to delve right into all the Ted Dekker books you can find.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Heaven's Wager
Review: This book is one of the best books I have read in years.
Hair raising, Spine tingling suspense. I loved it!
Once you start, it's hard to put it down. A must read for all.
Heide

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Riveting
Review: This book was fantastic. Everyone of Ted Dekker's books are wonderful. They all have so much to say and it is done in such an awesome way.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A rare gem - great theology and a good story
Review: This inspired book does a wonderful job of pulling the veil from the face of the universe to reveal that all the events and interactions of "real" everyday life are just ripples on the surface of a far more profound spiritual reality. At the core of this reality is God, Who passionately loves His creatures, and fights desperately to win them.

Heady stuff. But Mr. Dekker has succeeding in communicating deep spiritual truth by means of a compelling story. I particularly like the character of Helen - and the "agony and ecstasy" God calls her to in participating in His work. I also like how none of the characters are overly "saintly" - they are just humans.

Finally, I love the hints about the linking of this story into a "chain of martyrs" - it illustrates the organic unity of the invisible church that spans the generations.

On a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 represents Christian classics such as Quo Vadis or various C.S. Lewis stories, this one rates a 3.5.

You will come away with a deeper sense of how God uses people in His redemptive work, and with a desire to be more in tune with His purposes in the world. Dynamite - you will be blessed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible Read
Review: This is a definite 5-star read! Mr. Dekker has an awesome way of writing that creates striking visuals within the mind. His story line is clear and succinct and his characters can easily be grasped, empathized with, and related to.

"The neighborhood was a prison of sorts. Not one with bars and inmates, of course. But one to which you were sentenced with the drudgery of plowing through each day, burdened with the dogged knowledge that, even though you weren't running around stealing and killing, you were about as useful to society as those who did. Your worthless state of existence meant you would have to park your rear end here on Stupid Street and hook up to the government's mighty feeding tube. And everyone knew that those on the dole were a worthless lot."

This is a sample of his fantastic writing. Trust me, you will love these books.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A modern day twist on the Job story
Review: This is a different kind of book altogether. The key to fiction is to draw the reader into the story and the author does this masterfully. The life of the lead character undergoes such drastic and sudden change in the first few chapters that it is often painful to read. Another reviewer mentioned similarities to Grisham, and while there are some in style, unlike Grisham who weaves the reader slowly into an unfolding story, Dekker hits you in the head with it! Just when you think you have an understanding of the life of Kent, the lead character, out of nowhere comes a dramatic and unexpected turn. The whole book is like a roller coaster, a steady thrill punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

The best aspect of the book was the emotion captured in the lead character. His reaction to being unfairly cheated out of an employment financial bonus, his outrage at the betrayal and his feelings of helplessness when it is discovered that the decision to do so goes all the way to the top of the organization, sets off a journey of revenge. All through the story the conflicting emotion is captured powerfully. Also excellent were the realities of how empty life really is when wealth is substituted for relationship. The spiritual battle was always kept just out of reach and therefore never really comes together as smoothly as intended. However, the reader never really understands the larger picture until the last chapter.

Overall, a very powerful depiction and fascinating story. I doubt one could read this book without being impacted along the way.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Gripping spiritual suspense thriller, though a bit forced
Review: This is a likeable book with great moral undercurrents. The protaganist goes from much earned riches, to losing his wife, child and fortune. He faces a series of choices between right and wrong--encouraged to revenge his misfortunes by grasping at "well-deserved but ill-gotten gains."

The book generally moves along well. There is suspense on many different levels.

My one complaint is that events occur a little too smoothly. First, the protaganist (Kent) experiences a series of tragedies that come at him rather quickly. The author does this intentionally, in that the deaths and losses are spiritually orchestrated. Yet, if we are to believe that there are spiritual forces at work constantly, then their activities should seem a little more coincidental--rather than piling so forcifully on one another.

When Kent attempts to regain his losses, he again experiences a series outcomes that, on the natural level, prove too easy to believe. Dekker could have tweeked his plot in a few places--created some "bumps in the road"--and made this a more believable and intriguing tale.

An overall suspenseful story with sharp moral and spiritual insights. A few complications in the plot would have risen this to a top-scorer!


<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates