Customer Reviews

Chaos (The Lost Books)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've followed Dekkers new series "The Lost Books" more out of an obligation and desire to learn more details about the world he created in the original Circle trilogy then out of a desire to be entertained. Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, although they were somewhat enjoyable for the most part the series has been one giant disappointment after another, showing off Dekkers more childish side of writing instead of his serious, deep, and thoughtful style. Although I loved his new novel, Adam, my expectations for Chaos were low. I was not expecting the incredible thrill ride that awaited me within the pages of this book. Where did this come from? Why couldn't the whole series be as amazing as this one entry? It's so mind boggling how Dekker turns a series which was destined to remain a low point in his carrier and make it into something worth remembering.

We pick up immediately where we left off after Renegade. Silvie and Johnis have crossed from their reality in which good and evil exist physically in the form of furry bats, white for the good guys black for the bad guys (duh). They are thrown into an environment they are unfamiliar with, sin city itself, Las Vegas in the year 2033. But where are Karas, Darsal? Did they make it through to this reality? And what about Alucard? Where did that stinking old bat get off to?

Renegade is by far the hardest book in the series to write a review for. Where the other three books were pretty standard and had few, if any, real shockers, Chaos is nothing BUT one shock after another. Revelation after revelation page after page after page, so many it will make your head spin. One hundred pages into the book I was already pulling my hair out in shock! No, none of these shockers are as good as the ending for Thr3e, but they are on par with any other in a Ted Dekker book. Chaos most resembles Showdown, with an ending which hearkens back to the days of Obsessed. Yes, this isn't a brake from the norm, it's a lot of the same old, but I love the same old and this book was no disappointment.

Chaos is a wonderful book which fits perfectly with the Circle Trilogy which made Dekker great in the first place. The wonder and allegory of that brilliant series in brought back in full force, and the tie ins to all the other Paradise books is great. How did I not realize sooner that the villains from Showdown, House, and Skin, are named Black, Red, and White, the names of his original series? WOW! How long has Dekker been planning this? And this might not be the end. The series continues with Sinner in September, and later, if my sources are correct (I read it on Dekkers web sight so I'm pretty sure), Green, another chapter to go along with the original Circle series (but we'll have to wait on that one). Until then enjoy Sinner and Kiss, coming out n September and January of next year.

Re read value; High.

Chaos is a fun, thrilling and emotionally challenging end to a great 4 story set.
The book is filled with much of Ted's humor as you see characters from the history trying to quickly adapt and master many things we take for granted in our own world.
It seems that the heroes keep going back and forth from being ahead, to falling behind and so you are left wondering often how in the world will everything resolve.
This book in my opinion was filled with the most surprises and as other reviews stated, the most answers, but Im thankful you are left with still more questions which will beg more stories to answer them.

In the end, the greatest thing about this book are the many truths explored about the true nature of darkness and sin in our lives, the love of elyon(Christ) which can overcome it, and the choice that we are left free but forced to eventually make.

I still won't give Ted 5-stars because I think a little more detail and development could add a new level of depth and enjoyment to all of his works, but nonetheless, I love everything he has written so far and always find myself racing to the end, right alongside the heroes. Keep them coming!

Faced with certain death in Alucarde's lair, the only escape for the young recruits is to open a book and touch it with blood. So one by one, they each touch a book and with the exception of one are transported to outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Oddly, though, when they cross over, there is a definitive time change. They left within moments of each other, but arrived years apart. Once in the histories, they're faced with many challenges, one of which is locating each other. However, Alucarde crossed over as well and he's diligently trying to unite the books as well. Will the chosen ones be able to unite the books before the Dark One can?

Chaos starts out a bit chaotic. It's quite funny to watch Johnis and Silvie attempt to adjust to `modern' society. It reminded me quite a bit of the humorous side Ted showed in Obsessed and was very effective in setting up the story before the serious part hit. It also kept the first part of the book from being slow and full of redundant arguing. In my opinion, the best start of all the YA books.

In Chaos, many questions are answered, but there are still more lingering. While we finally learn the answers to questions like, what happens when the seven books are united? What are the worms? Who is the Dark One? At the end, we know more, but we still don't know all.

The heart of Chaos is in the revelation of the Dark One, which I'll leave for you to discover. As usual, Ted hits us with a dose of pure truth. The chaos inside of each person. God's choosing of us and his overwhelming love for us. The heart of the Great Romance. Powerful truth that hopefully sets into the heart of every reader. Another great book and a nice 'fix' until the next installment.

If you've been following along with my reviews for this particular series you've probably noticed a distinctive feature about them. I've been pretty harsh on all of them. That's because they were pretty bad. Thankfully, Chaos allows me to give a mostly positive review.
One thing Dekker sets himself apart is in his realism. Everything comes to life. It's because he treats every word in his stories as if it was real. This shows in Chaos. It starts out with Johnis and Silvie, two of the series main characters finding themselves on the fringe of Las Vegas. While many other authors may play the whole people-from-another-world idea up too far, Ted does just enough. Sure, he makes us understand their uncomfortable and how different it is, but he keeps it as a side note.
I also liked the way he wrote this book in contrast to the others. The plot was short compared to the other ones, but it kept the same page length. How is that possible? I've pointed out how the other books felt like the writing was rushed and it felt minimal. This book on the other hand, wasn't rushed. Dekker took his time writing this book for what it was. A short book part of a large series. But a book that wasn't rushed. Much better then the others.
I really don't have much to say on character development and plot. Dekker always has always had those nailed down, and he did just as great in this book.

Below is an excerpt of my full review of The Lost Books Series:

I read all six books in just over a week's time as it continued to suck me in just as The Circle Series had. There were times that it was a challenge to put the book down. I even lost sleep reading this books late into the night. Much like The Circle Series, these book built off the previous one and the story become more engrossing as it progressed further. The connections between Green and this series are finally made clear. Where Ba'al (Billos) came from, how he knew so much about the Books of History, what he was talking about when he described going into another world, what became of the book Thomas Hunter brought with him in White, and how Billy could have gotten his hands on one of the Books of History that gave him telepathic powers. I am sure that there were other connections as well, but I do not recall all of them. In the end, only one chosen youth did not finish the quest while the other three were able to gather all seven books in the past (our not so distant future of 2033). Very enjoyable and satisfactory.

If you enjoyed the Circle Series, this series is a great addition to a fantasy world that delivered a great story. Unless you really feel inclined, I strongly suggest skipping books five and six. The quality is sub-par and you can almost see where Ted Dekker's influence stops and Kaci Hill's begins. The series, as a whole, suffers because of Lunatic and Elyon. Separate, however, the first four books are superb. The last two books They were close to awful and should be purged from Ted Dekker fantasy lore.

Well, Dekker really finished strong with the story in the first 4 books. While there are still two more books in the series (thus completing the "L" and "E" in circle), this was the end of the major arc told throughout the first four books and it ended up being quite enjoyable. Where the first two books suffered a bit from being a bit too "YA" centric and were a bit too simplistic, the last two evolved quite nicely into quality story-telling with all the action, twists and turns that Ted is famous for.

The story picks up where book 3 left off and places all of the remaining "Chosen" in the old earth where Thomas Hunter is from. Billos has apparently just lost his life to the Shaitaki and sent Darsal to the wherever the books would take her along with Johnis, Silvie and Kara. Johnis and Silvie's story is a lot of fun as they acclimate to this new reality, especially with Johnis learning to drive and their adventures in the Vegas. Eventually Kara joins the duo, and they set out to track down the remaining books of history while facing a couple of unknown adversaries, one of which turns out to be one of the big twists in the book and quite interesting.

While the plot was a bit schizophrenic in places and the resolutions to issues a bit thin in places, if you're able to just accept the story that's unfolding without questioning too much, it makes for a very enjoyable ride and fills in a few gaps connecting the Circle series, Paradise series and other Dekker books and how they tie together in much the same way the Stephen King's Dark Tower series ties into many of King's novels. All in all, while it won't stretch your critical thinking skills, it's a great story laced with all the elements that makes Ted such a great writer and ends on a very nice note revolving around who is chosen, who the "dark one" is and what we can learn from that. Highly recommended to Dekker fans, don't be nervous about the "YA" label applied to them, it's only really a small issue in the first two books and isn't a problem afterwards.

Considering I originally found this book in the Teen section at the library, I must say I am quite impressed and entertained by the story line. The entanglement between the Circle series, Paradise series, and the other Lost Books series is great even for adults. He's made me a fan for life.

Beginning with the conclusion of Renegade, The Lost Books jump worlds through the Books of History to carry on the quest to find the three original Books of History hidden in this reality. Johnis and Silvie find themselves catapulted into an utterly foreign world--namely Las Vegas, Nevada, in the year 2033. The duo quickly get into trouble beginning with a hilarious scene where they figure out automobiles--known to them as Cherry Chevys--and it all goes downhill from there.

Johnis escapes death, but finds himself in jail, while Silvie takes just as drastic measures to save him. Luckily, they find that they are not without friends in this new world. Karas, known to this world as Kara Longford, made the crossing just minutes before Silvie and Johnis but has been on Earth for ten whole years. She has managed to work herself into a position of considerable influence and wealth, and has been using that power to help track down the books.

But Karas wasn't the only one who crossed before Silvie and Johnis. The black bat called Alucard has brooded for over 2000 years in his lair in Romania, giving rise to awful myths and legend of creatures of the night. He too has been seeking the Books--for when all Seven are together--the rules that define reality can be broken and allow evil to triumph ultimately. It's a race to the final Book, trickery and deception abound, and stakes are raised even greater as Alucard's master plan to destroy the Earth is unveiled.

While only book four in a six book series, Chaos serves as a natural conclusion to the primary storyline in The Lost Books. Originally conceived as a six-book series, it was initially shortened to a four book series, with the first two installments released in January 2008 and the latter two in May 2008. The series was eventually re-expanded to six, but for all practical purposes the single story that the first four Lost Books seeks to tell is finished in Chaos. Dekker handles the conclusion well, again diving into deep themes and thought-provoking plot twists. For fans of the Books of History Chronicles he offers even more tie-ins and fleshes out the mythos even more.

Chaos is a bit too fast-paced--a lot happens without a lot of explanation--but such is the nature of YA fiction. As in Renegade, Dekker employs humor well, yet gives a stark and dark portrayal of what the future--our future--might be like. The portrayal of redemption and the infestation of evil are again done masterfully. Dekker even manages to lay the foundations for a standalone story called Immanuel's Veins. All in all, Chaos--and the first four Lost Books in general--are quite entertaining and a must-read for the Dekker fan. But it's not quite the end, for when Johnis returns to his own world, he will discover just how much things have changed.

Johnis and Silvie end up in the Histories, and meet a few unexpected people as they learn the ways of the world two thousand years into the past. I personally loved Chaos and the development of Johnis and Silvie's love. As you read this story, remember that things are not always as they seem!

It's by Ted Dekker, what can I say.
I bought the whole series, and donated it to my church library.
I did read books 1 and 2 and will read the rest of the series soon.
So far so good!!