GREEN: The Circle, Book Zero: The Beginning and the End
Ted Dekker
Thomas Nelson
Fantasy/Suspense
ISBN: 9781595542885
432 pages
Ted Dekker fans have been waiting more than four years for this fitting conclusion to his Circle Trilogy --- the BLACK, RED and WHITE books. Well, conclusion may not be the right word, since this is Book Zero in the trilogy. It’s actually the beginning and the end, and brings the series full circle. If that sounds confusing, it isn’t, because master storyteller Dekker makes it work, as he always does.
The story opens with Thomas Hunter, the hero of the series, living deep in the desert and leading a small band of people known as Forest Dwellers who have remained faithful to Elyon. Their sworn enemies, the Horde, continue to wreak havoc on their lives. But Hunter is determined to follow Elyon’s wishes by attempting to maintain peace with the Horde.
Hunter’s son Samuel, however, is not so inclined. He is equally determined to avenge the deaths of the Forest Dwellers and sets out to attack the Horde. He finds the allies he needs among the faithful who are frustrated by Elyon’s silence. Samuel and his followers intend to kill Qurong, the leader of the Horde and father of Chelise, Thomas’s wife.
All of this action takes place in the year 4036, by the way. At this point, the storyline shifts to the 21st century, where Billy Rediger has become obsessed with joining Thomas in his future reality. The way to do that, he presumes, is to inject himself with Thomas’s blood, which reportedly has been kept in storage since Thomas left the 21st century and entered the alternate, future reality. But the blood is in possession of Raison Pharmaceutical, and it’s in the company’s best interest to protect the blood and prevent Billy from entering the future dimension.
As you can imagine, the two storylines make for a wild, suspenseful ride, with the action, and some of the characters, switching between the two realities. And the emphasis is on the word “action”; as longtime Dekker fans know, reading any of his books is like watching a movie unfold in your head. He’s big on fast-paced, action-packed scenes, with snappy dialogue and the barest minimum of description. You won’t find long blocks of boring text in a Dekker book; he’ll keep you reading and turning the pages with the fervor of a true believer.
And true believers will find plenty to like in GREEN. Dekker skillfully tells the story of redemption so subtly but clearly that believers will recognize it and nonbelievers won’t be turned off by it. His allegorical approach to the gospel and the book’s apocalyptic conclusion are both brilliantly presented.
On his website and elsewhere, Dekker recommends reading GREEN first and then proceeding on to the rest of the Circle Trilogy. That’s questionable advice, though. Yes, GREEN serves as a prequel to BLACK, the first book in the series. But it’s also a sequel to WHITE, book three in the original series, and to the trilogy as a whole. And given the apocalyptic ending, it’s hard to imagine reading GREEN first. In true Dekker style, the conclusion is of course followed by a new beginning --- sort of. Oh, forget it. It’s a complex, convoluted ending --- or beginning --- and one you have to experience for yourself to appreciate. Or love, which is more likely if you’re a true Ted Dekker fan.
--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford (misfit@marciaford.com)
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