“Green” is the end and the beginning. A novel that encompasses both the fall of man and redemption with the creator. Both a thrilling epic. It’s hard not to come away without being seriously impressed with not only the sheer force of Dekker’s imagination, but the depth of the themes encompassed.
The book brings to close the story of Thomas Hunter. After having prevented the terrible Raison Strain, from destroying all life, Thoamas Hunter is now facing the ultimate struggle. War between the monstrous Shataiki, and their servants, The Horde has never been more climactic. Thomas is facing deep strains and divides from within his own people.
I will be perfectly honest, “The Circle” is one of my absolute favorite series’ ever written. With this series, Dekker has managed to elevate himself to the greatest writers of all time, right up there with J. R. R. Tolkien, Isaac Asimov, and Robert Jordan. (OK, so maybe that’s just my list) “Green is everything s should be, yet it isn’t perfect.
There was a five year gap between writing “White” and “Green”. During that time, Dekker wrote a separate tie-in series, “The Paradise Trilogy”. I mention this because Dekker wrote in one of the major characters from “The Paradise Trilogy” into “Green”, creating a sort of multi-verse effect way before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off. “The Circle” was my introduction to Ted Dekker, and it was somewhat hard to follow the character of Billy, a man (?) with supernatural abilities, as I had no idea what had taken place before. Thankfully it doesn’t take much to piece together the basics, but still, it does make the story choppy for anyone who hasn’t read the tie in series.
This small wart aside, “Green” is phenomenal in every sense of the word. Ted Dekker manages to weave together an epic tale that shocks and inspires. I found myself sorry to turn the last page. The characters will stay with you long after you put the book dow. The themes will especially stick with you. Dekker makes his faith explicitly clear in so many poignant scenes. But this isn’t a wishy washy portrayal of faith. Believers are at war with monstrous creatures, that are near Lovecraftian. Dekker makes it abundantly clear through his portrayals of individuals that people are intently fallen.
More than merely addressing the moral side, Dekker goes an entire step further and directly takes on the spiritual. Instead of accepting mere human depravity, Dekker raises the issue of spiritual influence. Throughout the novel humanity is influenced by malignant creatures who mean to corrupt humanity. This is another deep concept. Evil does not merely to destroy humanity, rather, their goal is to corrupt humanity. Corrupt their desires to do right corrupt their devotion to the Creator Elyon, and force them to live out their lives in rebellion and misery. To me this is a far more three dimensional take on evil and the way it corrupts humanity.
As I came to the end, I was amazed at the sheer scope of the “Circle” series. Powerful and emotional in ways that so few novels are. A powerful ending to a phenomenal series. Although personally, I give it a detriment for its tie in to “The Paradise Trilogy” without so much as a warning. It made some of the reading a little choppy for me, nevertheless, this is still a masterpiece. A genre defying, wild ride through the deepest questions we all face. Well done. Solid 9/10.
