Customer Reviews

Red (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2) (The Books of History Chronicles)

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The wait since I read Black is over. Red is here, and it exceeds the high expecations that Black had established. To my amazement, Red is even better than Black, and that's saying a lot. Red is even more suspenseful, with more hair rising turns and plot twists than you can imagine. Yet, at the same time, everything is coherent, well-written, taut, direct. Dekker does a wondeful job of creating different worlds and situations while maintaining credibility. Red is a page turner that is nearly impossible to put down. The only joy in setting it aside for awhile is the pleasure of picking it back up and getting back in on the adventure. Red is the best fiction book I've read this year.

A word of warning to those who have not read Black and are thinking of starting with Red, don't. This is not one of those books where what happened in the previous book is backfilled in the current book. Red picks up where it left of, all action, suspense, and exciting plot developments. I don't want to give anything away, but I found the way things developed toward the end of Red very satisfying.

Now it's a long four months wait for White to come out!

This is Christian Fiction at it's best!!! I read Red in 6 hours, could not put it down! (Read Black first-equally awesome!)
I think Ted Dekker is setting the pace and leading the way; I'm excited for the entire Christian Fiction Market, because he just blew the doors wide open! I hope he's busy working on something else!!
I was so upset by the thought of having to wait till September for the third book in the trilogy that I went back to the book store and bought his other titles! "Blink" was consumed in 4 hours...totally loved it!
I love the way Ted Dekker weaves deep truths into the story, how he stretches your mind and heart and changes your reality!

"Black" was an appetizer. Pleasing, but not entirely satisfying, it lacked a certain richness. Meant to whet our appetites, it was preparing us for something greater.

"Red" is the meal. Ted Dekker expands upon his concepts and worlds, entertaining us, spinning a great story, and serving up substance with style. The dream-like world of Thomas Hunter takes on weight--it becomes more real. In the "real" world, the spreading virus and its global threat become parallels for the actual battle playing out on another plane. A spiritual plane. A plane with very real consequences.

As in the first book, we don't get much inner character conflict or change. For me, this can lead to disappointment. But Dekker aims for a larger, symbolic conflict--the struggle of the human soul between darkness and light, between death and life. In this, he succeeds wildly.

I've had my appetizer and my entree...Now I'm waiting for dessert!

With 2 down and 1 to go, man, Ted Dekker leaves the reader in suspense! Thomas Hunter continues his quest along with Monique to eliminate the Raison Strain. Dekker writes at a panic driven speed, along with a sense of urgency, and then leaves the reader saying something like, "WHOA!" and it just keeps getting faster!

In this book, you will finally understand the meaning of the circle. In this book, you will understand what The Great Romance really means. And yes, you will know what Red means. The question is, are you ready for it?

Ted Dekker is Red hot right now, and after watching some counter punching a little with Black, I'm ready for the knock out punch that'll floor us all! There was a lot more detail in this, that was what I really liked. Black was awesome, but left you ultimately wanting more. Well, he gives you more with Red, saying, "Oh yeah!!" White indeed will be something to buckle your seatbelt for, because this time he ain't stopping until the ride is over! VVROOM!!!

This was awesome. So, to everyone who's read up to this point, Elyon's strength!

If you enjoyed "Black", you'll definitely find this one rewarding. "Red" picks up right where "Black" left off, but the ride never lets up. The pace literally never stops here, and you'll have a hard time finding a place to put the book down on. Hunter is an interesting character, and I wouldn't mind seeing him again in some other book after this trilogy is done. All in all, Dekker has kept up the plot with this one and I'm looking forward to the last book in the trilogy. Recommended.

Those who enjoyed Dekker's previous work, Black, won't have to miss a beat; Red begins literally from Black's cliffhanger ending, and rushes mercilessly into the next volume of the Circle Trilogy. We find Thomas Hunter again in peril in the present day, but with a new toughness and maturity from his battles in the other world. The danger to our world begins approaching a climactic phase and Hunter maintains a tenuous balance between those demanding his help here and the duties of his innovative military leader persona in the other world.

The vivid tragedy Dekker paints in this part of the trilogy is astonishing. I have never before found myself yelling "No!" or cheering out loud with a book as I did reading Red. Throughout each chapter, the reader feels an ever-intensifying sense of inevitability from observing wrong choices made with right motives. The characters all emanate genuineness and urgency. Consequently, we empathize with most if not all of them, grudgingly even those in the Horde--the scaly, vicious and revolting enemy of Thomas and the Forest People. As we've come to expect, there is no shortage of shocking revelations either.

Ted Dekker's novels have a trademark underlying theme: romance. In Black, Thomas Hunter's romance with Rachelle flowed like a silk curtain in the wind, graceful and sweet. In Red, romance is equally prevalent, if not more so; but Dekker spins us around with it by throwing completely unexpected plot changes in our way. He leads the reader like a master, allowing our preconceived ideas and human emotion to propel us to conclusions which often turn out to miss the mark. Romance, devotion and valiance soak the characters, and we find ourselves aspiring to be so brave, so loving.

Turning the final page, when we finally understand what we've been reading, a touch of shock is unavoidable. In all his novels, Dekker does an outstanding job of drawing the reader in, as if they were one of the characters experiencing all he describes. In Red, he excels so well, you may find yourself on your knees before the last page, heart-broken and grasping the reality of what Jesus Christ has done for you like never before.

"Red" is the second book in Ted Dekker's exhilarating color triology ("Black was the first, and "White" is the third).

In this second installment, we find that Thomas Hunter is still dreaming. Everytime he goes to sleep in one world, he wakes up in the other. Unfortunately for Thomas, both worlds have gone to hell in a handbasket. For each world to survive, Thomas must learn how to apply what he learns in one world to his situation in the other world.

As if that wasn't pressure enough, it now seems that there is a correlation between the people he knows in each world. In fact, from time to time other people Thomas knows are able to dream about the other world.

In this second installment, Ted Dekker continues to grab our attention and hold on to it from start to finish. This is not a book you will want to put down, whether it be to eat, sleep, or go to work. Each chapter only whets your appetite for the next one.

All the books in this series are unapologetically Christian oriented. There are many comparisons between the "other world" and the Bible, including the first man, the fall of man, the crucifixion, the resurrection, etc. I was so engrossed in reading this book, I did not realize that part of the story is a retelling of the Bible until I was over halfway through it. (I knew there was something familiar about the story, I just couldn't place my finger on it until it hit me out of the blue.) Kudos to Ted Dekker for pulling off such a feat.

Thomas Hunter continues his mission to save the world from the deadly Raison Strain virus in RED, the second volume in Ted Dekker's "The Circle" trilogy. This time, though, the countdown is much nearer the eleventh hour, when the virus will begin to annihilate the world's population. Only by discovering the formula for the antivirus will the world be saved, and Hunter --- an unlikely hero with no background in chemistry --- may be the planet's only hope.

But Hunter doesn't need a scientific background. In fact, he needs little more than a good night's sleep to keep moving closer to finding the formula the world so desperately needs. As in BLACK, the first book in the trilogy, each time Hunter falls asleep in this dimension he wakes up in another dimension, a futuristic world that has only a fading memory of the events surrounding the release of the Raison Strain by terrorists willing to die in their pursuit of global power. In that dimension, Hunter seeks a long-lost history book chronicling the earlier events in this dimension. His pursuit of the book there mirrors his quest for the antivirus here.

As he draws nearer to finding what he is seeking, he acquires skills and information --- precious little at a time, it seems --- in the alternate dimension that carry over into this world to give him supernatural abilities and uncanny knowledge. That makes Hunter a very important man, both to the world leaders trying to avoid a global catastrophe and to the terrorists who have brought the world right to the brink of such a catastrophe. But for the first time, it appears as if the relationship between the two dimensions may not be as it originally seemed, setting up some intriguing possibilities for the final volume, WHITE, which releases in the fall.

Fans of Dekker will not be surprised to find that the author carries all this off with considerable skill. Hunter's life flows between the two dimensions so naturally that you don't even think twice about the probability that dream-like travel between two realities could exist. Dekker is equally adept at allowing the suspense to build through the progression of the events in the story; the build-up never feels forced or heavy-handed. And he makes sure that the beautiful Monique de Raison, whose company developed the vaccine that mutated into the deadly virus, needs to be rescued once again. Don't be surprised if you start to hear the theme music to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark in your head as you're reading one section of the book.

There's a third dimension in the trilogy, of course --- the spiritual dimension. In RED, the underlying Christian message is much more subtle than in BLACK, making this one a stronger book. Readers new to the trilogy should read the books in sequence, because RED won't make a lot of sense without the background that BLACK provides. As for those readers who have been eagerly awaiting the second book, rest assured --- you won't be disappointed.

Red: Heroic Rescue takes the epic storyline of Black to the next level. With tight prose and a focused plot Red draws you in from the first chapter and won't let go. Without the worry of having to establish the story Dekker is free to play in the intriguing twin worlds he has created. The strongest part of the book is it's intense story driven focus, that unfortunately doesn't leave much room for character development. Kudos to Mr. Dekker for undertaking the most ambitious series in recent Christian Fiction! Dekker presents the Drama of Redemption in a vibrant and real way that will draw christians and non-christians alike. Take a deep breath and dive deep!

This is a kicker - for those that like fantasy and adventure - this delivers both with a top note allegory and a rich storyline. Can't wait to see how "White" with tie it all together!