I recently read the book Green by Ted Dekker. Green is the last installment in the Circle series of books. The Circle series consisted of Black, Red, and White. Green can either serve as a prequel to the series, and then read Black, or it can serve as the conclusion after reading White.

Let me preface my review by saying that the Circle series was one of my favorite sets of fiction books ever. In the vein of other Christian-written allegory, the Circle takes the truth of the Bible and puts it into beautiful fictional imagery. The books tell the story of Thomas Hunter, a young man who travels through time to another reality. My favorite parts took place in the secondary “world.” In this secondary world, everything that we see as spiritual concepts is visible.
                -The world before sin was a beautiful place with wonderful fruit.
                -Temptation to explore the black forest across the river existed even before sin.
                -Evil is seen as horrible black bat-type creatures.
                -Sin is seen as scales on your skin.
                -Accepting the sacrifice of Christ for our sins is seen as drowning in the lake that the “Christ”
                      character drowned  and bled in.
                -Those who have drowned in the lake, have the scales removed and have clean skin again.
                -Those who have not drowned think that they are the healthy ones, even though they are
                      weakened and scaly from the disease.

Throughout the first three books, the reader is taken on an incredible journey through the character of Thomas. He sees mankind descend into evil through the sin of one man. Thomas leads his people through a period similar to the time of the Israelites in the Old Testament, seeking their promised land. Then he sees the rise of a “Christ” character, who is rejected by his people and ultimately sacrifices his life. It is a beautiful picture of the sacrifice of Christ.

With all that being said, I was disappointed by Green. After my great admiration for Dekker’s work, and my love for the first three books of the Circle series, Green was not what I expected. It does accomplish the work of completing the circle, but I think the tone of the series changed dramatically. It seemed to borrow much from the vampire genre of books. Blood was important to the plotline of the first three books, but Green seems to glorify the “biting the neck, sucking the blood” idea. It is dwelt upon at length.

One part of Green that I did appreciate was its take on the encounter between Elijah and the prophets of Ba’al on Mount Carmel. It is done quite close to literally, and has God victorious over the forces of evil.

In closing, I’m glad that Dekker completed the Circle series. I’m also glad that I read the last book. I still believe that Dekker writes engaging fiction that leaves you up late at night, unable to put the book down. Green was still a captivating read, but I just wish it maintained the tone of the rest of the Circle.

Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. Check out more about Green at http://teddekker.com/green