Green

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 show 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. show less

Well, admittedly, for me it wasn't as thrilling as ride as the the previous ones - "Black", "Red", White", but the ending just blew me away: I did not expect it at all. Maybe I should have by the title but it was totally wierd for me. I said to myself, "That Dekker is s punk!" (with utmost respect for Dekker). I couldn't believe the ending and I'm not gonna give it away. If anyone is planning to read the "Circle" series, I cannot more strongly recommend that he read "Green" last (the others can be read in any order). Dekker continues to faithfully mess with my head.

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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. show less

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, show more 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. show less

Thomas Hunter fell asleep in our world in our time, and woke up 2000 years into the future, well after the Apocalypse had destroyed Earth. Thomas' group, the Circle, as well as his son, are no longer completely faithful to their god, Elyon. Thomas is heartbroken and discovers he must find a way to save the world from another Apocalypse. He must trust Elyon and allow his son to follow his own heart, while Thomas makes the difficult decision to leave the Circle to save them all.

This was my first Ted Dekker novel, and will certainly not be my last. I was a little apprehensive that I could pick up the last book in the series, and read it as the first. I had no idea how Mr. Dekker would accomplish this, but he had done it brilliantly! I show more easily became familiar with the characters and what roles were played and by whom. The storyline was easy to follow, and like most series, enough was given so that you wouldn't know everything, but wouldn't be lost.

A classic good verses evil tale that kept me totally engrossed and made it difficult to put the book down. I thoroughly enjoyed "Green" and really look forward to reading the others in the series...."Black", "Red" and "White". show less

The plot is okay, but the writing at times is terrible to laughable sometimes. At times I was making fun of some of the things the characters say. They seemed either ridiculous or over the top. Perhaps the author should go for more comedy.