Beware of the Big Black Bats!

My oldest daughter,Kendra, recommended Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy to me. She said that they were really good books and she thought I would enjoy them. When she gave me a $15 Barnes and Noble gift card for my birthday, I decided to use it to buy the Circle Trilogy 3 in 1 NOOKbook for $14.99.

The first book in the trilogy is Black. I read the first few chapters and then called Kendra and said, "You didn't tell me about the bats!" She had told me that it was Christian fiction with lots of political intrigue, a real thriller. What she didn't tell me was that it was Christian fantasy. Now, I like fantasy, but I would have preferred to have been prepared before reading about the giant, man-sized, black bats called Shataiki. Then came the giant white bats called Roush. I was expecting a political thriller, and I got BATS!

After I got past the shock of the bats, I realized that this was an amazing analogy of the Biblical fall of man. The book follows the main character, Thomas Hunter, back and forth between two realities: Earth in the present (also referred to as the Histories in the other reality) and a new Earth after the tribulation where the inhabitants live in a colored forest, practice the Great Romance, and regularly commune with Elyon. When Tanis, the First Born, becomes consumed with defeating the Shataiki and is deceived into crossing the bridge that separates the colored forest from the black forest, evil is released into and destroys the colored forest. Meanwhile, in the Histories, a new airborne virus is threatening to destroy the human race. Thomas learns from the Roush and Tanis when he is in that reality that this virus is what precedes the Great Tribulation. Now Thomas feels that he is being called upon to change history and save both worlds.

Dekker masterfully creates worlds and characters that the reader cares deeply for. I found myself completely  engulfed in the stories, sometimes wanting to quit reading because I didn't want what I thought may be about to happen to actually happen, but unable to stop reading just to see what did happen. If I had only purchased Black I would have been extremely upset when I got to the end, and would have probably had to drive to the nearest bookstore to purchase the next one (so glad my NOOK lets me purchase automatically though) because you cannot believe the cliffhanger at the end of Black. I HAD to immediately start the sequel, White. When I got to the end of White, there was no way to pause before going into Red. Dekker is most assuredly a master of the cliffhanger! There is no way to delve into all the details of the stories, but you can read more about the books and the author at http://www.teddekker.com/.

These books are about Thomas' battle to save both worlds, but they are also about a battle for the soul and the love and sacrifice of Elyon (God). The new world is a reality where sin is portrayed as a physical manifestation (especially in the last two books), but so is redemption and acceptance of Elyon's love. What first freaked me out with giant, evil bats, soon tugged at my heart and made me question the strength of my devotion to my Lord and Savior. I now look forward to Green the prequel to the trilogy and then move into the Lost Books series.