I stink at this...



Prose: 1
Dekker did a great job on Black, Red, and White. There were a few spots here and there that could have been better, but throughout the three books the problems were minimal.

Character: 2
The main character changes from the 25-year-old who has resorted to borrowing from a loan shark and has to run for his life, to the person in the other world who leads the Forest People against the Horde and teaches them about Elyon’s love. The other characters do not seem flat either, but play a role in the story.

Theme: 1
This was actually my second time reading this story, but I found myself seeing past the allegory and seeing how much God loves us. Thomas’s time in the forest is a very good reminder of God’s love, and the price He paid for us.
I only gave the theme a 1, however, because the other half of the story was a bit vague. It’s not that it wasn’t well done, it’s just that it’s harder to see what that part of the story may be trying to teach. Or maybe the main point is the one I already pointed out.

Plot: 2
These three books are about two different worlds, and by extension almost two different stories. But, the stories are weaved together nicely, and you can see how the main character plays a part in both worlds, and feels the need to do what he’s called to do in both realities. Each reality relies on the other, and I think that was dealt with well.

Content: 2
Although the Great Romance (Elyon’s love for the Forest People, and their love for each other which reflects that) is emphasized in the forest, I don’t think it went overboard. You get the idea without it being overly graphic (unless you have a problem with kissing).

Setting: 2
I was never confused as to which world Thomas was currently in. The “Histories” is our world, and the other reality that Thomas discovers was entirely different. Not only was the geography different, but the forces of good and evil were visible (such as how the disease the Horde is covered in represents sin).
The setting also helps with Thomas’s growth. In our world, he has to find a way to stop a virus that could wipe out the earth’s population. In the other world, he learns how to lead the Forest People (and because of differences in time flow, he ages several years in that world, while in our world only a few months have passed). Both contribute to his new maturity at the end.

Total: 10

I read Green and found it to be the most disturbing book I had ever read. Are they all as dark as Green?

Nope, I think Green was the worst.

And look at that, the only one I have access to right now is Green.... XD Oh well. So far it's been dark but interesting. (Wouldn't let Amanda read it though. It's more violent than what she'd be comfortable with.)

I never read Green. For some reason or other I wasn't able to finish the series. Really dark, huh?

Yeah, it's pretty dark if you consider 200 people cutting themselves and bleeding to death over a guy on an altar dark that yeah.
I don't think I'll read the rest of the books, it's too much for me.

*nods * Sounds like they got Darker. Thanks for letting me know.

That's actually not the worst scene, it gets darker...

But it had a point. The scene Joe mentioned was pretty much directly inspired by the story of Elijah versus the prophets of Ba'al. (The characters reference this vaguely in fact) Except there's a twist to it that makes it work in the story. I liked that scene after they were done bleeding...

I finished it. Dekker is violent; he usually has a point, but he needs to exercise a little more restraint. Amanda is not reading this book for a while, and I forced my imagination to stay out of a couple scenes.

It also is quite dark, I hear it's the darkest of the series. Two characters basically give themselves to the devil, and it's a very horrible thing to watch. (Thankfully we never sympathize with the characters but we're in horror as they go to their doom) But it's important to the story, to understand what they are doing and why. People just aren't evil like Sauron or Jadis typically: this is how they get to be like that. It needs to be dark. I don't agree with all the details that he used - too graphic at times - but the net effect, very necessary.

But at the same time, it's shot through with hope. The ending... yes. I need to hunt down the other books. Especially Red and White, I think. I want to read more about Elyon and the red water Thomas drowned in.

(Plus, the other cool thing about Green is that there is a double ending. The second ending sets up a stable time loop ala Doctor Who, which is brilliant. XD)

Dekker is not always overly violent. Blink was awesome.

It's hit and miss. What I've read has been mostly on the violent side but some of it was non-violent too... I want to read Blink, it sounds good and everyone's recomending it to me.

Blink was... all right.

I hated Green. And stable time loop or not, the ending was forced. It wasn't a natural loop (Like Doctor Who), it was "I want to make this series a circle, how can I get the ending to match up with the beginning so it looks brilliant?"

And it was dark. I loved Black, Red, and White and I'd hate to see anyone not want to read them because of what they read in Green. I think there was some time between the writing of White and Green; I know he probably wrote the Paradise books in there and I suspect that influenced his writing style. There are three series set in the same world, and Green is what locks them all together, so that's probably why it was written that way and... I don't like it.

Okay, end of rant, I'm glad you enjoyed it though, Melody. Now you can get the rest of the series and see the real awesomeness.

If you want to go with less dark but still in the circle then go with the "Chosen" series. They are pretty good, they tie in the books with the Saint, Sinner and Showdown books.( I haven't read them but I know bit about them.) "Chaos" especially ties it in well, therefore being very dark but very important.

I liked Black, Red, and White.

The first three, Black, Red and White were good, and after Showdown, Dekker took a darker turn in his writing and Green is a product of that. He started drifting into the vampire craze and that leaked into Green, before his terrible book Immanuel's Veins, which was awful. But I did enjoy the first three Circle books, Black remains my favorite. His earlier stuff is way better, his newer books don't even try to be Christian anymore.

But, don't judge the writing by Green, it's better if you just skip that one altogether, actually.

I read the graphic novel adaptions because I tried reading White and couldn't get past the first chapter.

White is only interesting if you read the other ones, otherwise, it's really boring. Actually, after reading the others it's still kinda boring, but at that point you have to know what happens so at least he has you interested at that point.

Okay, thanks.

Yeah, I've pretty much been told not to read green. I read the original trilogy and love them, though.

I liked Black, Red, and White. Green, not so much... I didn't notice a huge difference in writing style, because so much time had passed since I read the trilogy, but I didn't like the ending. The book was okay up until the ending. The ending seemed forced, and it stunk. It didn't really seem that dark, to me, but it wasn't very well-written.
But, it's really not essential to the trilogy anyway, so it's pretty easy to just ignore Green. =P

I also read, Saint, Sinner, and Showdown. Don't bother. -_-
I really don't remember my reasons for not liking them (either theological, or because they were dark... *shrugs*).

Other than that, I still need to read some more Dekker books.
Oh, and House was flippin' amazing. I'm going to have to read some Peretti books and figure out whose fault it was that it's so good.