Immanuel's Veins [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Ted Dekker (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 7, 2010

This story is for everyone--but not everyone is for this story.

It is a dangerous tale of times past. A love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.

Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.

With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.

Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.

Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.

But remember, not everyone is for this story.

"A heart-wrenching journey of redemption and hope that left me sobbing, laughing, and clinging to every word."--Donna McChristian, 44, Environmental Chemist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dekker jumps on the vampire bloodwagon with an 18th century novel set in the Carpathian Mountains. When two warriors are charged by Catherine the Great of Russia to guard two young women at risk of harm, Toma, the narrator and protagonist, must choose between his duty and honor and the passion he feels for one of the two, the beautiful Lucine. When she falls into the hands of a group of descendants of Nephilim—offspring of the angels who bred with humans, as mentioned in Genesis—Toma must rescue her by means of blood and a love he's never known but must come to understand first himself: the blood of Immanuel's veins. Dekker takes Christian fiction to the edge of darkness in a way that makes redemption and the ancient practices of the church—holy communion, confession of belief in Christ, baptism—bright and believable by contrast. This is classic Dekker clothed in Eastern European garb, passionate and shocking. Pacing is fast as a hummingbird, villains induce cardiac arrhythmias, and the novel must be read with blood pressure pills. (Sept.)
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Review

Dekker takes Christian fiction to the edge of darkness in a way that makes redemption and the ancient practices of the church--holy communion, confession of belief in Christ, baptism--bright and believable by contrast. This is classic Dekker...passionate and shocking. -- Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; First Edition edition (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595540091
• ISBN-13: 978-1595540096
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (309 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 88 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars May the Circle be Unbroken August 25, 2010

By T.E. George VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Toma Nicolescu and his companion Alec Cardei have seen more battles and faced more fierce enemies than either can remember in their service to their Empress, Catherine the Great. And now they have been sent on a special assignment to protect a Moldavian countess and her two daughters, Lucine and Natasha. The countess is a free spirit who has raised her daughters to live for the moment and whatever love (or lust) they care to explore. Such instantly appeals to Alec who both acknowledges being the lover of the pair. But not Toma. He is a warrior, bound by duty and honor to the will of his empress.

It doesn't take but the first night's banquet to make Toma realize he and his companion in arms have walked into something neither anticipated. A group of Russians have been invited and while strangely alluring, Toma senses they are also equally dangerous. It doesn't take long for him to realize he should have paid more heed to the strange old man he and Alec met before arriving. When Toma called him a devil the shriveled character had replied, "I am not the devil ... he is more beautiful than I." But Toma does not believe in the devil or God so he did not listen. That will all change in the few days to come.

Immanuel's Veins is in some ways a radical departure for Dekker as he tackles what appears to be a historical romance. But at its foundation, this is a return for the author to themes he so profoundly explored in The Circle series. That leads me to wonder if Toma is too closely similar to Thomas Hunter to be coincidence. And I wonder if Dekker will admit to it since he swears this isn't a vampire novel. Yes, a vampire novel. And a testament to the power of this story is my aversion to all things vampire. It's not that I have anything against the good vs. evil story of the legends that continue to swirl around old Vlad the Impaler of Transylvania. But this reviewer avoids band wagons and has grown tired of the modern interpretation of the legend that has turned the blood suckers into sympathetic cases driven more by 20 something angst than evil.

In a way only Dekker can, he puts the bad back into Vlad (forgive the pun). What Toma encounters in Vlad van Valerik, a Russian aristocrat, challenges everything the soldier has always been sure of. And though duty and honor are the driving force of his life it is his love for one of the daughters, Lucine, that becomes his north star. The greatest lesson Toma has to learn is that he can no longer trust in his sword and strength of will to fight every battle. Evil runs in the veins of Vlad van Valerik and only something more powerful can overcome him - the blood of Immanuel's veins.

A warning - this is not a book for the faint of heart. Nothing is held back in drawing a picture both of the blackness of sin and evil or the effect they have on the human soul. Just as in Black, Red, White, and Green, Dekker turns the heart inside-out and shows us what wickedness looks like when it breaks beyond the veil of the hidden spiritual and shows itself in the flesh. You will never forget what Toma feels as he looks into the black pools of temptation that rest in the eyes of Valerik's daughter. Nor will you be able to set aside how quickly the suave exterior and sweet words of Valerik transform into something akin to the very breath of hell.

Immanuel's Veins is a story of power, lust, love, evil ... and redemption. And it reminds us that redemption did not come without the greatest of costs. It is most appropriate that Toma comes to understand this in the darkest of places in the most hopeless of moments. After all, isn't that where we come to really comprehend what redemption is?

73 of 87 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me September 10, 2010

By S. Theis

Format:Hardcover

I received a copy of Immanuel's Veins, by Tedd Dekker, with great anticipation and curiosity. First of all, the book information came with no real synopsis, only a sketch. I knew it was a fantasy-adventure type novel with a great love story. I couldn't wait to dig in! The book includes pages of short reviews, people who wrote of being enraptured by the story, so I waited until a weekend when I had plenty of time so it would be ok if I got all caught up in reading.
My review contains many spoilers. If you don't want the story spoiled, skip this middle part!
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Right away in Chapter 1 we are introduced to the hero of the story. Something very bad happened for me. I didn't fall in love with him. In fact, I was put off by the dialogue that was so casual and sensual between he and his best friend. In Chapter 2 I had the rousing suspicion that I was reading a vampire story. Ugh. Yes, dear friends, that's what it is. I know our culture is crazed with Twilight and other related stories, but I am just not into the whole vampire thing. In fact, I find it repulsive. So, not loving the characters, and now completely turned off by the entire plot of the book, I found the rest of the book cumbersome and detached...I had to make myself get through it. :(

In this book, the vampires are the bad guys and our warrior hero is the good guy. He and his best friend are sent from Russia to protect a royal mother and her twin daughters living at a summer castle in Moldavia, nestled at the base of the Carpathian mountains. They are regretting having to leave the glory of the Russo-Turkish War to "babysit" these girls, however they are bidden to do the will of Her Majesty. The hero, Toma, is desperately loyal to the empress of Russia, Catherine the Great. The empress has admonished Toma not to fall in love with either of the twins while he is there. What does he do right away? He falls in love with Lucine. So much for loyalty and service. The thought here is that true love supersedes duty and service. However he spends most of the rest of his story painfully hiding his love, never telling Lucine of his love, until it is too late, in order to uphold his oath to the Empress. Someone else loves Lucine, and wishes to marry her. You can guess it is a vampire, and not just any vampire but the leader. He takes her and makes her his vampire bride, and the book culminates with Toma's quest to redeem Lucine and rescue her from the living dead.

The hook in this story is supposed to be Toma's sacrifice of his own life for the redemption of Lucine. It is a reflection of what Christ has done for us. Because Dekker purposefully aims to present the Gospel through his story, I feel that I must address that subject in my review. Toma is not a Christian, it is clear from the first chapter. In desperation to save Lucine, he rushes to the local priest to ask for help. The priest asks Toma if he is a Christian, to which Toma replies "Yes." The priest then reveals that Toma cannot possibly be a Christian because he is not a member of the church. This is good and bad--good, because MANY people wrongly believe as Toma that they are Christians (likewise that they are "good people"). It is bad because the priest says Toma is not a Christian because Toma is not a member of the church (neither am I a member of the Catholic church, however I AM a Christian)...a flawed logic. Toma desperately asks how he is to become a Christian. The priest replies with a long list of things that Toma needs to do to earn salvation (living a good life, giving alms to the poor, etc). Toma has no time to earn salvation based on works--he needs salvation instantly (which is what we have when we repent--turn from our sins--and trust in the saving work of Jesus on the cross). Toma is given a "blood book" by a strange character we met in the first chapter named Thomas, presumably an angel. Upon reading this book, Toma realizes that salvation is found through the cross alone--in the blood of Jesus poured out for us. (Strong references here to the practice of communion--and the Gospel of John chapter 6 is a great place to start reading). Armed with this new information, Toma sets out to vanquish the vampires and redeem Lucine. Thomas pleads with Toma to "be his twin"...implying that Toma should be as Jesus. While that is the call of all Christians, I wonder if this calling isn't just a little defiled by the whole "vampire" theme? Perhaps I'm just too picky.
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If you enjoy vampire thrillers, then you will probably enjoy this book, and that's a good thing. It's just a story, after all. I didn't love the characters, but that is just my personality. I think when I picked up this book I was hoping for something a little more like Frank Peretti. Unfortunately, it was a little too worldly and sensual for my tastes.

One more closing thought. The publisher asked me to answer this question: What is true sacrificial love? True sacrificial love is what Jesus did on the cross. It wasn't just the painful death of crucifixion--it was bearing the full cup of God's wrath. A cup that was meant for me. A cup that I cannot even begin to imagine. Far worse than a beating and death. He took that cup from me, and He bore it to the cross. And He rose again!! He conquered sin and death. He endured the wrath of Hell so that I could live in glory. To Him be the glory! Any "good" that I do in my life is a reflection of what Christ has done on the cross. It is by His grace that I am able to do *anything* good. That is sacrificial love.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars One of Dekker's weakest December 28, 2010

By Jonathon D. Burns

Format:Hardcover

Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker

The first book by Ted Dekker that I read was Thr3e and within pages I was drawn completely into the story. Shortly after that the Circle trilogy was released and I delved further into Ted Dekker's words, and loving them.

Ted Dekker's latest novel is Immanuel's Veins. It is set in Russia during the 1700's. Though it is supposed to occur in our world, it fits loosely into the Books of History Chronicles that Ted Dekker has been working on ever since the release of Black.

Toma, the main character and occasional narrator, along with his friend Alek are charged with protecting two beautiful young women (Lucine and Natasha) from danger. Toma grows nervous when a strange group of Russians seem to appeal for the affection of these women. Toma, operating under the direction of the Empress of Russia, has reason to believe this strange group has villainous plans. However, he too has fallen for one of the daughters. Now he is at odds with the leader of this strange group - Vlad - for her heart.

Sadly I would have to say that Immanuel's Veins ranks as one of my least favorite books by Dekker (with Skin joining it on the bottom of the list).

First of all, this book is highly repetitive. For easily half of the book we have to read over and over again Toma think of his love for Lucine and then berate himself for not declaring his love. I get it. I don't need to be constantly reminded of this after a couple of times. Toma also spends much time warning the girls' mother about Vlad and his crooney's, yet she doesn't listen to him. So he tells her this again and again.

Second, for much of the first fourth/third of the book I never really feel that the women are in danger. Sure Vlad and his men are weird and creepy. But the stakes are never fully shown. There's something about Vlad becoming king. But what would happen if he did? What does the empress think of Vlad? All she does is tell Toma to be careful of enemies. But she never mentions (that the reader can tell) who the enemies are. So these women are in danger from someone, but we don't know who. And Toma really loves Lucine, but Vlad wants to court her. And Alek becomes infatuated with the other sister, but ends up falling for a lady who's in Vlad's group.

Aside from a few events at the beginning of the novel, it isn't until past halfway through that anything mildly exciting happens. For over half the book they pretty much stay at Castle Castile while Toma unsuccessfully tries to order everyone around, falls in love with Lucine but can't say it, and gets mad at Vlad. And this all happens in about every chapter.

There's also some strange moments that really drew me out of the story. One person calls another a `party pooper.' Maybe there's a time travel thread I missed, but that phrase feels extremely modern. The characters were also shallow and didn't hold my attention. There was also very little growth in the character, except when it supported the theme of the story. And then it didn't feel natural.

The foreshadowing was also extremely forced. I don't know if the twists were supposed to be surprising, but they weren't...

I really wanted to like this book. It had the promise of being a good fantasy tinged novel with the promise of keeping me glued to my seat. However the only thing that kept me turning the page was hoping that it got better. I could tell what Dekker was trying to accomplish, it is a theme he's tackled before.

However, as an aspiring writer, this reminds me of something. No matter how powerful your theme is supposed to be, you must have a good story with strong characters to engage the reader. Without them there will be nothing to make your theme stick.

1.5 / 5 stars

I received no compensation for this review.