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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Obsessed, January 27, 2005
This review is from: Obsessed (Hardcover)
How far would someone go to satisfy their all-consuming obsession for the ultimate treasure? In Ted Dekker's novel 'Obsessed' we meet Stephen Friedman and Roth Braun who are about to find out. Stephen is a wealthy Jewish immigrant who came to America from an orphanage in Russia. Having searched to years with no success, he has come to believe the mother he never knew is lost forever. Roth, the son of a Nazi Commandant, is determined to finish what his father started decades ago in a Nazi labor camp, no matter what the cost. The adventure begins when an article in a newspaper convinces Stephen that he is the son of Rachel Spritzer, who had recently died, leaving behind one of the very valuable Stones of David, believed to be one of the five Stones chosen by David to kill the giant Goliath. Obsessed with finding the rest of the Stones, Stephen will go to any lengths to secure the treasure and discover his past. To complicate matters, Roth has also learned of the Stones and is able to buy Rachel Spritzer's house before Stephen is able to. Convinced that clues to what they seek are hidden in her house, both men are working feverishly to find them before the other can. I would highly recommend Obsessed as a great read. As those who have read his books before would already know, Ted Dekker writes a novel that keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole time. The pages are filled with twists as unexpected as always, action, adventure, mystery, and a bit of romance. If you enjoy this is book, I'd also suggest Blink, Thr3e, and his Circle Trilogy.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A well-told story, June 2, 2005
This review is from: Obsessed (Hardcover)
I'm a big fan of Ted Dekker's books, with "Three" remaining one of my top five all time favorites for the payoff alone. With "Obsessed", we have an uneven but well-told story. The elevating tension felt in Three is not here, settling instead for a slow-burn rise the first few chapters that settles into simmering for the remaining portion of the book. The focus of the book is on the obsession of two characters for the same thing. Halfway through the book, the obsession of one changes, then the other does too, effectively destroying the need of the first half of the story. In all honesty, this isn't Ted's best book. The characters here make truly strange decisions that make no sense given the way they are portrayed to us. Their obsessions become fanatical far too quickly to be believed. The ending of the story doesn't really have a payoff like his previous books, ending with a sigh rather than a bang. Still a good read, but not on par with his previous thrillers.
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28 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
As a Christian, I can not recommend this book, July 25, 2006
This review is from: Obsessed (Hardcover)
I just finished Dekker's Obsession this morning, and then finished reading the reviews on Amazon for the book. I am shocked that there is only one other person out of now 84 reviews that sees what I see in this book. Dekker's portrayal of the evil of the Braun's is in itself evil. I have read most of Dekker's books, but this one is over-the-top. To a person that enjoys modern horror movies or to a person that has not had any hardcore experience with spiritual warfare, his tales of the bloodletting and hangings are just sick/gross/gorey. To someone who has been in the trenches, his delivery of the satanic mindset/philosophy is what is truly scary. This is done with no mention of salvation beyond talk about an old messianc Jew. To my way of thinking, if I am going to read a supposedly Christian book that goes to that detailed level of truly satanic thought (which I hope I do not do again), I surely want to read about the only weapon that we have against such forces and that is our salvation in Jesus Christ. Don't get me wrong, I have read Peretti's great Darkness books as well as several other's that deal with spiritual warfare, and as such am not shy with the topic. I really wonder what is going on with Ted to write this book. Your typical secular writer I believe would not go to that level of evil in his writing. I would like to think that your typical Christian writer would not go there either because it is spiritually unhealthy to go down that road. To the non-Christian or weak Christain, this book can plant some really sick stuff in their heads. The following is a clip from the only other Amazon review that feels the ways that I do: "Of greater concern was the darkness of the evil in this story. It is one thing to portray an evil person, but when these characters are involved in satanic rituals, draining blood from their victims and drinking it, it seems that a line has been crossed, even if the deeds are portrayed with a minimum of detail. At some point should we not need to heed the apostle's warning to "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret" (Ephesians 5:11,12)? At what point do we cease to even speak of the deeds done in darkness? I cannot say, but I do know that the sheer depravity of the deeds in this book made me uncomfortable, and I'm no prude. I thought back to when I used to read thrillers of this type and realized that many good authors have been able to develop "bad guys" without resorting to such evil deeds." My $.02 for what it is worth. As always, Dekker's writing style is great, but he surely was in a bad place when he wrote this one. I'll pray for him. Incidentally, I finished that book about 3 hour ago, so my thoughts are obviously quite fresh.
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