Customer Reviews

Chosen (The Lost Books, Book 1) (The Books of History Chronicles)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's been thirteen years since the evil Teeleh has laid waste to the beauty of Elyon's creation. The Horde roams the desert-filled earth seeking to destroy the followers of Elyon that remain. Thomas Hunter is the commander of the Forest Guard, warriors who have given their lives in service to Elyon and fellow believers. The Horde greatly outnumbers the Forest Guard, and Thomas is reluctantly forced to encourage sixteen and seventeen year olds to fight. Out of this group four have been chosen by Thomas himself as special leaders: Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Billos.

These new recruits are sent on one last training mission to prove their worth to Thomas and the Guard. They soon discover there is an even greater mission in store for them, and the survival of Elyon's followers depends on their success. They must seek out and collect the legendary Books of History before they fall into evil hands. Along the way Johnis discovers that not only was he born to lead, but his destiny is greater than he could have ever imagined.

Ted Dekker is one of the most prolific and successful CBA authors to date, and with the beginning of this great new series he only continues to elevate his status. Chosen is an extraordinary tale that builds upon the unforgettable world Dekker created in Black, Red, and White. Adventure, action, and suspense abound, and the world and characters of Elyon are rich and skillfully fashioned. The subtle connections to Dekker's previous works are a clever and fun addition to the enjoyment.

Chosen is being marketed as Young Adult Fiction, but young and old alike will enjoy this latest offering. Dekker fans will love this new story from the Circle universe and new readers will undoubtedly be sucked in to the greatness that is Ted Dekker. This is a superb beginning to what is sure to be a fantastic series.

Just when we thought we knew where Ted was headed in his career, just when we were ready to pigeonhole him, he breaks out with another fantastic series. This is not a cheap spin-off of the Circle Trilogy, or another way to cash in on that series' success. This is great storytelling.

The story introduces us to Johnis, a young man who is still trying to understand his place in the Forest Guard. He knows his community is threatened by the nearby Horde, but he and the others have lost their deeper understanding of the good and evil forces that encircle them. They've become lackadaisical in the thirteen years since the Circle Trilogy ended, and they follow their leader Thomas based mostly upon the old stories.

Soon, Johnis and three partners are thrust into a battle for their very lives, racing to fulfill an assignment from Thomas, while also fighting off the bat-winged Shataiki. Johnis is given his own specific quest, and he is forced to either rise above his own limitations or fall prey to his youth and inexperience.

I discovered Ted's writing at the beginning of his relatively short, but prolific, career. I still think "When Heaven Weeps" is one of the best Christian novels out there, and "Thr3e" broke barriers in the market. When he wrote the Circle Trilogy, we had only hints at the larger mythos he was creating, one which ties together his last ten books or so. While I loved the allegory and depth of "Showdown," I found "Saint" and "Skin" to be more movie-script oriented--not bad, just different.

"Chosen" is a return to the deeper exploration that I've come to expect from Ted's stories. Despite being immensely readable and aimed at the YA audience, this is a story older readers can also enjoy for its fantasy elements and for the spiritual ideas that ring throughout. I'm anxious now to read "Infidel." And if these are any indication, "Adam," his next full-length novel should rank among his best.

I've been a Ted Dekker fan since reading his Circle Trilogy a couple of years ago and have read every book he's written since then. His writing is some of the best I've seen from anyone, books like Thr3e and Showdown captured my imagination and kept me hungry for more. But something has happened to my favorite modern writer that I can not explain. His slide from great fiction began with Saint and continued with Skin. Since then he hasn't been able to write a novel that is up to par with some of his past works.

Chosen is no different. Ted Dekker returns to the series that made him great in the first place in his new series, the Lost Books. He returns Thomas Hunter of the Forest Guard as a secondary character who serves as a mentor of sorts to the four main characters, Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Billos. The Forest Guard are struggling to fight off the powerful Horde army which seeks to destroy the seven green forests of Elyon that are home to the forest dwellers. In response to this great threat Thomas Hunter lowers the age of his fighters from 18 to 16. When our four heroes are sent into the desert to prove their worth by completing a task Thomas gives them, they are approached by the Roush who inform them that they are destined to search out and find the seven lost Books of History.

No book Ted Dekker has written has conflicted me more then this one. At certain parts I wanted to throw the book at the wall in frustration as I could not stand the horrendous dialog and cheesy "character development" that plagued the entire middle part of the book. Other parts glued me to my seat as the action picked up and Dekker showed off his ability as a suspense and action writer. The book, like almost all Dekker books, ended magnificently, but like Saint and Skin, the middle was horrible.

The minuses for this book are easy to see for anyone with an eye for literature. First off, and I can not stress this enough, the dialog was simply horrible. There were many parts where I almost put it down for good because the way the characters spoke to each other was nothing like how real teenagers would talk. Shut your yapper scrapper? I can understand the need to keep the book "clean" (even if I think it takes away from the overall realism of the story) but this is ridiculous. Here is a conversation from the book to let you know just what I mean when I say the dialog is bad;
pg 109-111, bottom paragraph; (don't worry; I'll try to keep out spoilers).
Johnis; "you will follow me Darsal. You will follow me to hell itself if that's where I lead you" (note here that Johnis isn't the leader of the group yet, Darsal is).
Silvie; "she may have a point, Johnis. You know we could still cut back and make it to the forest in the darkness."
Johnis; "But we won't. We can't. Our destiny is out here in the desert of death where the Horde lies in wait, desperate to feed on our flesh."

What teenager talks like this? Have you ever in your life met a sixteen year old who would, or could in that matter, speak this way? Another obvious flaw for anyone willing enough to see it are the horrible cliché's and stereotypes Dekker shamelessly uses to move his story forward. The prophecy foretelling of a "chosen One" whose going to save the world has been done so many times that it should be illegal for anyone to use it ever again. For anyone to use this tired plot device again shows a lack of originality and effort on the part of the writer. What happened to the originality we saw in his earlier books? On another note, each and every one of these characters falls into a terrible stereotype.
Johnis; The smart weak guy that must overcome his physical weakness to save the world and get the girl.
Billos; The stupid tough guy.
Silvie; The strong girl with a soft spot.
Darsal; The insecure teenager.
I've seen every single one of these characters before, by different names and from different stories but their basic personality's remain the same. They do the same things, they act the same way, and they always find a way to beat the bad guys in the end. Hurray.

So why doesn't this book get a one or two star rating? Well, when Dekker is in his element I have to say he can still be great. The book starts out pretty well, but then slowly fades into mediocre during the middle part of the story, followed by a killer ending (read my review for Skin and you'll see I said almost the exact same thing). It took him about 200 pages to get back in his element, but once he got in his rhythm there was no going back. His tie ins with Showdown near the end of the book were incredible and kept me glued to my seat into the small hours of early morning. Dekker is a great action and suspense writer, and proves in the ending of this book he still has what it takes to create great fiction; too bad he doesn't stay in his element though.

The single greatest piece of advice Thomas Hunter gave to the characters in this book was to "think with your heart." Now, the single best piece of advice this humble fan can give to my favorite writer is to write from the heart. The Circle, Thr3e, and Showdown were all great books because Dekker didn't just go by the numbers and try to write best selling fiction, he wrote what God put into his heart and came out with some great stories. Other then that, I honestly think he should give the Circle a break. Ever since he wrote the original series almost every book since has been a tie in of one kind or another. Showdown was a great tie in, but then it just got weird as he forced the Horde into Skin and Saint. Chosen has the potential to explain a lot of unanswered questions from the Trilogy, like how Thomas was able to move between our two worlds and what he was doing in the Black Forest, but Dekker doesn't take advantage of this fact. Let's hope that in future entries in this series Dekker will take this opportunity to expand the story. Well, I hope my rambling was helpful to you.

Re-read value; low.

Ted Dekker is a machine. He's been pumping out book after book, and doesn't show any sign of slowing down for the 2008 book-selling year. Released simultaneously with the second book in the series, "CHOSEN" jumps in where Dekker left off with his Circle Trilogy.

The story centers around Johnis, a just-barely sixteen year old who wants to be part of the Forest Guard, the fighters that protect the forests from the desert-dwelling Horde army, but can't because he's been elimanted from qualifying. Through quite the sequence of events (albeit a football game of sorts), Johnis ends up in the Forest Guard, and is immediately thrown into a crazy adventure that will take him into the heart of darkness itself. Creepy monsters, visions, and the search for seven mysterious books makes this one of Dekker's most fantastical stories yet.

The writing here is good. Very good. And things move along very quickly. The only interesting thing to note is that while this has been marketed for youth, readers who have not read the Circle Trilogy (marketed for adults) will most likely be a little confused on some story points. (Maybe that's why Dekker put out those graphic novels of the trilogy in the fall...?) There are even some very interesting tie-ins to the rest of the Dekker universe which will be very intriguing for long-time fans, but will likely not shed much light on things.

All in all, this is very likely to please the young fantasy crowd it's been aimed at. And while at times some readers may too obviously see the message Dekker is dishing out here, it will still entertain and inspire. Definitely worth your day to read.

Did you know this is a young adult book? I didn't, until I read it. I kept thinking it was written for a younger audience, lacking the maturity of the original Trilogy, and then I saw on the back cover that I was right. For a young adult series, it's not at all bad. However, one can not even begin to understand this series without having first read the original Circle Trilogy and its sequel, Showdown, which are definitely not young adult fiction. I can't quite grasp why an author would try to change his audience in the middle of a storyline.

Don't get me wrong; for young adult fiction it's a good read. It's just not cut from the same block as the other relevant works.

Some have said that this is not a spin-off of the original Circle Trilogy. They don't know what they're saying. This series is solidly based in the original trilogy and can not be fully understood apart from it.

Good story, Dekker rights well. Not what I call a 'page burner', but close to it. I enjoyed it, over all. At times I was frustrated with the characters because they didn't do what I considered to be logical things, but maybe Dekker meant it to be that way. I found myself drawn into the story and interested in what happened next. The book reads as if it is for late teens. It may be advertised as such, but I'm older and enjoyed it just the same. I would recommend the book. I read the Black, Red, White series and there a tie ins. I like that series more, but not a by a large margin. If you read the B-R-W series you would proabably enjoy The Lost Books series.

This story begins in the middle! Actually in the middle of the trilogy, during a period when Thomas Hunter eats the fruit so that he doesn't dream. This series introduces a brand new cast of characters to Ted Dekker's trilogy with Darsal, Billos, Johnis and Silvie, four teenagers assigned the task of finding the lost books of history by the Roush.

Love, the great romance, and loyalty underscore the startling, twisting developments of the plot. Its quick pace and incredible intricacies make this a page turner. Completely riveted, I read them all in rapid fire succession!

I have never read anything by Ted Dekker before. When I stumbled across this book, I didn't expect much other than a quick story. What I got in the end was quite an adventure! This book begins with energy and adventure and it follows through all the way to the end.

"Chosen," written by Ted Dekker, is the first installment in the Lost Book series. Commander Thomas Hunter recruits Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Billos as the new leaders of the Forest Guard. Their final mission is to collect four catalina cacti; however, they are attacked and Johnis is divided from the team. While looking for an escape, Johnis encounters the legendary Roush. In speaking with the Roush, Johnis and the other members are then recruited to fulfill a new task. They must find the missing Books of History. The Roush explain that Johnis is the chosen one to lead the expedition to find the books. Throughout the story, Johnis knows two things for certain: (1) he will die, and (2) when his time comes to die, he will not care. With that said, Johnis leads the others with his heart throughout the entire story.

This story is courageous, adventurous, lively, and stupendous. I didn't believe I would be so awed by this 288 page book, but here I am writing about how wonderful it is! I highly recommend this book to teens and adults! Ted Dekker brings a whole new meaning to following and leading "with your heart."

Yesterday, Chosen was given to me, and I started reading it today. Five chapters in, and I realized that real life around me needed my attention. Chosen, as part one of the Lost Books quartet set in the midst of The Books of History Chronicles, is very easy to get into, and the characters are fresh and interesting, their dilemmas compelling, and the world they live in very rich with history and conflict.

As a YA novel, I am recommending it to my fifth grade daughter for some fun reading,and I hope to be able to discuss some of the Biblical themes present in the story. For starters, there is the theme of being "chosen" for a specific task and destiny, shaped uniquely to fulfill that destiny, and choosing to embrace that destiny. I believe we are all uniquely fitted by God for his glorious work, right where we are, with the skills he's given us, and the path that he sets in front of us. The path, and the tasks, may not seem glorious to us, but God has a plan for each of us.

If you are looking for a fun, and yet meaningful read, I highly recommend Chosen.

Johnis' world has been all but destroyed by a terrible plague that turned the land to desert and most of the people into the disease-ravaged Horde. Only the seven forests surrounding the seven lakes protect the Forest Dwellers from the same fate. Because of the Horde's constant attacks on the forests, the leader of the Forest Dwellers, Thomas Hunter, has been forced to lower the recruitment age for the Forest Guard to 16.

Johnis wasn't chosen to be one of the thousand new recruits to the Forest Guard -- too small for his age -- but by a twist of fate, he is chosen to lead them. When he and three other leaders set out on their final test to prove their characters, their mission takes an unexpected, but preordained turn, and Johnis discovers that his fate may already have been decided.

Parts of this book were very intriguing. I liked the world and its rules about the lake water being necessary to stave off infection from the terrible skin disease. I liked a lot of the foreshadowing. I particularly loved the little glimpses Dekker gives that this world is somehow tied to our own world, as in the following passage of a dream Johnis has:

'This wasn't the threatening man-beast, nor Horde, but Johnis couldn't breathe anyway. Something was very wrong. The man wore a shirt made from thin fabric with writing across the [...], and fitted blue pants. Leather boots -- but not the dress of a warrior.

More than his dress, the man's demeanor was out of place. Rather than walking like a skeleton in the desert, this man looked healthy. As if he'd had all the water he needed.

[...]

The man motioned to the dune behind him to the right. "There's a killer forcing us to play a game. I need you to help me find the cops. Tell them to get to the library. It's all about the library, tell them."

"Cop?" Johnis had never heard the word.'

The story insinuates that the leader of the Forest Dwellers, Thomas Hunter, is also from our world, but much to my disappointment, that story line never goes anywhere. Turns out, this is part of a much larger series, which I didn't realize until I got to the very end and saw the advertisements. The ads in the back of the book claim that you can read this series without reading the other, but it explained a lot about my biggest problems with the book: the way Dekker glosses over some of the finer details about his world (probably because he's already explained them dozens of times in his other books), the somewhat thin characterization of his protagonists.

In fact, the thing I felt while reading it was that it felt a little like fan fiction: someone was adding a new story to an already established canon, but if you weren't already part of the fandom, you would be a little lost.

I also found out after reading "Chosen" that the companion series is considered Christian fiction, but I can say right up front that other than some pretty blatant good/evil black/white imagery, I didn't see much allegory in this one in particular.

I wouldn't say you have to read the other series before picking up "Chosen," because I haven't read them myself, but I would venture it might make the book a little more nuanced. On it's own, it's a tad flat; a fun adventure quest story without much meat.

Fans of fantasy and quest novels age 12+ will enjoy this. (Some violence, but nothing very graphic or objectionable.)


Read all my reviews at thespiralnotebook.com