Green (2009)

When I logged into Library Thing, the screen stated "You have 666 recommendations" and I knew it was time to review Green, the Armageddon parable by Ted Dekker. Or maybe I decided to review it because I just finished the book and my memory is as poor as his characters after they've been whisked about the past and future. The idea of a book being the first and the last in a series made me cynical for any meaningful ending to the book, though Dekker did a better job than I expected. Despite the confusion of his nonlinear format, this book was no more complex than Black, Red, or White. This may be only because he's grown as an author and learned not to befuddle his readers as much as he used too. I'm not sure that the readers will enjoy the plot connections with Dekker's book Immanuel's Veins, but I think that it's a brilliant idea to start connecting the themes from all of your books once you've written as many as Dekker has. I'd explain all the possible symbolism of his book, but it's subtle enough to teach truth without comparing Eramites to non-Messianic Jews. Read the other reviews to find out what the book's plot is, but the message is further explained in the last book of the Bible.

With the Circle Series, Dekker has created a different twist on a post-apocalypse tale. In the Terminator films, robots come back from the future to prevent certain events from taking place. Thomas Hunter falls asleep in our world only to awaken in the future after Elyon has created a new world. He struggles to deal with this shift in reality as he move back and forth in time to overcome challenges in both worlds. Though it is touted as "Book 0: The Beginning and the End", I do not recommend reading it before the others in the series (Black, Red, & White). While En Media Res is an effective literary tool, I think too much is missing to jump in at this point in the series; it certainly fits better as a #4 and, through its unique nature, a #0 simultaneously, as the subtitle implies. The plot moves quickly keeping the reader engaged. This installment in the series has some unique elements that may intrigue readers of other genres. ( )

I was really disappointed in this book. Dekker has taken the story lines of Black, Red, and White and messed them all up, in my opinion. We're once again plunged into the world of Thomas Hunter and company, but this time some new, diabolical characters have been introduced, much to the detriment of the story, and the same back and forth between "past" and "future" caused the same frustration. In addition to all this, Dekker has added a lot of evil elements that I found rather graphic and over the top: animal sacrifice, vampires, bloodletting and drinking, evil scheming, etc. Afterward I did see that he was showing the difference between the two worlds: in one evil is easily identifiable while not so much in the other, but still, I found myself completely grossed out more often than I would have liked. The book is described as "Book Zero," meaning you can read it before the rest or after, but I think fans should just leave this one alone. ( )

Wow. What a great series of books. Well good! ( )

This was the final selection for the INSPYs for speculative fiction and is the novel that eventually won. The brilliance of Green lies in its premise. It begins and ends the series, making it either the first or last novel to read in the Circle series. While it may seem initially confusing, it actually works quite well, as it either sets the stage for future stories or sums up previous stories very well.

That which made it brilliant also gave it a rather interesting message. In fact, from this idea of a circle, one could conclude that mankind is doomed to repeat its same mistakes over and over again. When talking about faith, this is not necessarily the most hopeful message, but it does reiterate the importance of free will.

Even more important, the idea of faith elements being physical becomes a key point in the story. Ironically, even with being able to physically see, hear, touch, and taste certain aspects of Elyon, Hunter's group still struggles to believe wholeheartedly in His goodness. If they struggle, even after physical manifestations of Elyon's love and benevolence, what does that mean for modern-day humanity? If seeing and believing is not enough, then how does one truly believe?

As is to be expected in any novel that is the beginning of a series, there are many unanswered questions. Because Green is also the end of the series, the reader only catches glimpses of those answers, which can be frustrating at times. Also, because it is setting up the rest of the series, much of the novel is spent in the future, creating this new world and introducing us to characters that play key roles in the events to come. This makes it more difficult to understand at times than a typical science fiction novel. Still, there is plenty of food for thought about the possibilities behind those questions and hinted-at answers, allowing the reader to contemplate the ideas behind Mr. Dekker's novel.

While not my favorite novel of the five, Green did make me curious how the story circles around as it does. I remain unconvinced that this idea of life as one big never-ending circle is the most positive message one could hope to learn. It was a welcome change from the more technology-based novels in the speculative fiction category, and the fact that Mr. Dekker was able to make the idea of a circle in a literary series work so well makes it a stand-out novel for the category.