The Circle is starting to crack as many of the believers are starting to doubt Elyon’s existence. Thomas Hunter’s own son, Samuel, believes that it is time to attack and kill the Horde and its leader, Qurong. Thomas is adamantly opposed to Samuel’s plan but it is Chelise, his wife, who is most affected as Qurong is her father. Meanwhile, in a world very similar but two thousand years in the past, a man named Billy arrives and wants a vial of Thomas’ blood. How will these two worlds intertwine?

GREEN is written to be either the first or the last book in the Circle series. I haven’t read the earlier Circle books so I’m unable to evaluate as to how well the book works within the context of the series as a whole. I suspect that if I hadn’t read the Lost Books series, I would have been confused as to the plethora of characters and their ties between the various worlds. Readers will also note that the story has ties to the Paradise books. The integration of the various worlds is intriguing and reminds me a bit of how we see shades of the Dark Tower in various Stephen King books. It’s a concept that I enjoy but it can be tough to jump right in and comprehend all the nuances of the story upon the first reading. GREEN is the sort of book I will enjoy better after reading the Circle books and seeing how it fits within the overall world Ted Dekker has created.

GREEN is a very dark book. Evil is on the move and even followers of Elyon are falling into its trap. It’s hard not to get swept up in the misery facing some of the characters but Ted Dekker consistently reminds readers of the love of the Great Romance. The parallels between the biblical stories and GREEN are slipped in so smoothly that one can almost miss them. Ted Dekker does a phenomenal job at showing the full emotional impact of love as we see both the joy and the anguish it can bring.

GREEN is a tale that asks more questions than it answers, at least if read in the beginning of the series. A little more background information could have made this book brilliant. However, GREEN certainly whets my appetite for the rest of the series!

Publisher:  Thomas Nelson (September 2009)
Other books in series:   The Circle Series