I read this book a few years ago, and I love it so much! This book is about the ultimate struggle between good and evil. I have always been fascinated with motives, and this book is a wonderful outlet for my fascination. Ted Dekker writes in such an engaging way. Even with additions to my workload at home this week, I still managed to finish the book pretty quickly.
The Book
- Author: Ted Dekker
- Genre: Christian Thriller
- Number of Pages: 423
- Purchase Here.
The Author
Ted Dekker was born to missionaries in Indonesia, before moving to the US as an adult, and working in the corporate world. That world, however, wasn’t for him.
In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.
He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel was published. He has been exploring Truth through story ever since.
I love the statement that Ted Dekker explores truth through story. This a perfect description of his books.
Excerpt
“…does man simply choose evil, or does he create it?” Kevin asked, already many thoughts beyond his initial question. “Is evil a force that swims in human blood, struggling to find its way into the heart, or is it an external possibility wanting to be formed?”
“I would say man chooses evil rather than creates it. Human nature’s saturated with evil as a result of the Fall. We are all evil.”
“And we are all good,” Kevin said, tapping his foot. “The good, the bad, and the beautiful.”
Synopsis
This excerpt is the perfect basis for this book. Kevin is a seminary student, studying the good in man, the evil in man, and the person in between. As he leaves Dr. Francis’s office, he receives a phone call from a man named Slater. He tells Kevin that unless he confesses his sin, Slater will blow up his car. He has 3 minutes. Kevin manages to get his car away from people before the bomb blows, but he has no idea what sin he is supposed to confess.
This first bomb sets the stage for a story rife with intrigue, with Kevin crammed in the middle of a struggle that could claim his life. With the help of an FBI agent who believes in his innocence, Kevin must find his true self in the middle of “the Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful.”
My Thoughts
I have loved Ted Dekker’s books for a long time. The first ones I read were the 4 books in The Circle series, and I fell in love with Mr. Dekker’s writing. He’s a Christian author, but writes what I can only describe as parables. Fiction stories that display perfectly Christian faith, in ways that are understandable, and can make a person think, “Wow, I never thought of it like that!”
This book is easily digestible; it’s easy to read, even while covering what could be considered a heavy subject: The evil in all of us.
I can’t really say anything I didn’t like about this book. The only thing I could say is that the book can be predictable. It’s not so predictable, however, that it ruins enjoyment of the story.
The Kevin character is completely believable. He lived a very unusual life as a child, with only one friend: Samantha. Kevin would sneak out of his house at night to go spend time with her. As close as they were, they never moved beyond platonic friendship.
Samantha is the only person that Slater approves Kevin to bring into his diabolical game of cat-and-mouse. This approval seems odd at first, but as the story goes on, it also seems the only way for Kevin to survive.
This book is only 423 pages, but it seems like less. Probably because the book is so easy to read, and is suspenseful enough to make it hard to put down.
Anyone who likes suspenseful thrillers would love this book. Anyone who has ever read another Ted Dekker book would love this book. Each of his books is different from the others, but the way he writes is steady across the board. All his books are awesome!
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a really good, easy read. The pace of the story is kept up by the character development. No character is truly one-dimensional. Even the supporting characters are relatable. We all have a Slater in our lives. Sometimes Slater is as discreet as that time we talked about our friend behind her back, and sometimes Slater shows up as a terrorist. Slater is in all of us. Samantha is in all of us. Sometimes we are Kevin, desperately trying to make sense of our world, in between Slater and Samantha.
Conclusion
Have you read this book? Do you want to read this book? What did you think? Leave me a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Until Next Time, Friends!
