Renegade, by Ted Dekker

2012 Book 116: Renegade, by Ted Dekker (7/27/2012)

Reason for Reading: I want to finish up this series because it’s related to a set of books that I have been really appreicating

My Review
When Bilos betrays the team and disappears into the Books, Johnis, Silvie, and Darsal must rescue him. This is a really difficult book for me to review. I’m a huge fan of Ted Dekker, and I’m reading these books because they seem to be the glue that holds together his loosely related books: The Circle Trilogy, The Paradise Trilogy, and the stand-alone book Skin. However, I feel that this series of books suffers from two fatal flaws: 1) Dekker’s trying to be too clever and 2) Dekker’s hammering us over the head with a Message. The other series make sense on their own, this series does not. It’s wildly jumping around from unreal concept to unreal concept, without enough explanation or continuity. The ONLY reason I have an inkling of what’s going on is because I’ve read the other books. And that’s not as it should be. Furthermore, Dekker’s Message is much less subtle in this book than it is in his other works (possibly since this one was meant for teenagers), and the story gets lost in its Message at time. I will continue through this series because I want to know what happens for the sake of the other series. But I’m no longer enjoying it.

Infidel, by Ted Dekker

2012 Book 103: Infidel, by Ted Dekker (7/9/2012)

Reason for Reading: Second book in the Lost Books of History series

My Review

May contain spoilers for the first book, Chosen
Johnis has discovered that his mother is still living. He risks his life to follow his heart–which tells him to rescue his mother from the Horde. This second book in the Books of History series follows directly on the footsteps of the first book, Chosen. Since the world is less new to the readers, this second book spends more time developing action and suspense and less time describing the world. Thus, it is a more enjoyable read. It ends, of course, with a cliffhanger, leaving the reader wanting to read the third book.

Chosen, Ted Dekker

2012 Book 94: Chosen, by Ted Dekker (6/26/2012)

Categories: Young Adult, Speculative Fiction, Inspirational

Reason for Reading: Ted Dekker is my FAVORITE Christian Fiction author. He’s very good at getting a message across allegorically (and not with preachy lectures). Plus his stories are awesome. This is the first book in a young adult spin-off series from his most popular books Circle Trilogy: Black / Red / White.

My Review 3/5 stars
Johnis was disappointed, but relieved, when he was deemed “too small” to fight in the Forest Guard against the evil Horde. However, due to a chance encounter, the supreme leader Thomas Hunter chooses Johnis as one of his four new captains of the Forest Guard. He, and the 3 other new teenaged captains, are sent out on a mission to prove themselves. They end up proving a lot more than Hunter bargained for. Chosen is the first book in a young adult spin-off series from Ted Dekker’s popular series Circle Trilogy: Black / Red / White, and is also related to the Paradise series (of which Showdown is the first). This series is meant to work as a stand-alone, but I would highly recommend reading the Circle Trilogy first, since these are the books that build Dekker’s fantasy world and Chosen takes place after the events in Red. However, based on reviews of other readers, it’s clear that people can enjoy this book even without reading the original trilogy. Either way, this book is good wholesome adventure.