Genre: Fantasy, Thriller
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: September 1st, 2009
Reviewed by Jake Chism
Elyon’s people are struggling. It seems the Horde have the upper hand and doubt plagues the very people whose belief was once so strong. To make matters worse, Thomas Hunter is facing resistance from his own family. His son, Samuel, has decided to take matters into his own hands instead of waiting for Elyon to take action. War is on the horizon and never has Thomas felt more vulnerable.
Green is easily Ted Dekker’s most anticipated novel to date. The journey began in 2004, when we were introduced to the captivating world of Black, Red, and White. Since then Dekker has churned out eleven more novels (aka The Books of History Chronicles) all revolving around the bestselling trilogy that firmly established his career. If that wasn’t enough fuel for hype, Dekker announced early on that Green would serve as both the beginning and end of the Circle Series. That’s right folks. A bona fide prequel/sequel.
As a fan of this series, I enjoyed this last hurrah into the world Dekker has wondrously crafted. Green is full of the action, suspense, and wonder that were trademarks of Black, Red, and White. It was fun to see all the connections to the Books of History Chronicles, and I was surprised at just how many there actually are. These elements all worked together well from the perspective of someone who is well versed in all things Dekker.
On the other hand, I’m afraid the things that worked for me as a fan, might potentially work against a newcomer to this series. Since Green is being marketed as a prequel and a sequel, I was surprised to find that there is far more sequel then prequel here. In fact, so much of this story hinges on everything that has come before that I think Dekker and company might have been better off just labeling Green as the fourth book in the series. I’ve been such a big fan of this monumental series and I sincerely hope I am proven wrong by countless new readers who are able to pick up Green and smoothly dive headfirst into this saga.
Prequel/sequel business aside, I know Dekker’s hardcore fans will love what he has in store for them here. In the end we are left with breathtaking imagery as redemption is brought full circle in true Dekker fashion.
Click here to read Ted Dekker’s thoughts on writing such a unique novel.
4 Responses
I agree Jake. I think people who pick up Green to start there will be somewhat confused at times. At the very least, they’ll miss out on the experience of seeing Dekker pull in so many things from so many others books so well. Works much better as a finale than a starting point in my opinion.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Hey Matthew. I enjoyed your review as well. I really would have liked to see a “4″ instead of a “0″ under the title on this book. Sadly, I think this is a case where the marketing works against the story, for new readers especially. But hey..what do I know. It’s not like Ted won’t sell a million copies of this thing. And I sincerely hope he does.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 at 9:57 am
It’s hard for me really to imagine starting with Green and then experiencing what you see in the other 3 books. I’m sure that will provide some moments we didn’t get the way we read them, and I’m sure Ted seriously thought through how he wanted to present it. Oh well, either way, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for compliment, and keep the great reviews coming over here.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I agree, I don’t think it was the best idea to have it be #0. It certainly functions that way, but no one will understand if they’re actually starting with Green. But I think even worse than the confusingness with the Circle books is the confusingness with Billy’s story and Marsuvees Black. People probably won’t even catch that reference if they start with Green and then read Showdown. But as a long-time Dekkerite, I’m 100% impressed and satisfied with the way Green turned out.
Posted on August 26th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
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