“White” is a novel that proves Ted Dekker is master author. After setting the bar so high with “Black” and “Red”, I found myself wondering how he could possibly write a better novel. “White” is epic in scope, emotionally pitch perfect, and shocking in its many plot lines.
After the climactic events of “Red”, Thomas Hunter is now facing the greatest challenges of his li. The battle between the Horde and the Circle is at its apex. Recently widowed, Thomas now struggles to hold his tribe and his family together. Dekker manages to brilliantly weave together themes of loyalty, loss, faith and revenge together.
Faith is rendered even more explicit in “White”. By now readers will have surely noticed Dekker’s subtle message in his titles alone. Black for our sin, Red for the blood of Christ and White representing redemption.
The stakes are raised to a near fever pitch in “White”. Thomas is at his most vulnerably in this novel as he deals with the loss of his wife and temptations towards revenge. He also struggles to balance his duties as father, and chief of his tribe. To say nothing of the impending doom brought on by the Raison Strain. As if things couldn’t have gotten harder, Thomas is dealing with a mysterious man who comes preaching a message of hope and redemption that stands in stark contrast to what Thomas has advocated for years. Furthermore, Thomas finds himself falling for a princess, a Horde princess no less.
The complex layers Dekker adds to this epic tale is nothing short impressive. “White” is not afraid to delve into complex issues. The most amazing thing about “White” is how Dekker manages to apply powerful Christian themes, against an other wordy backdrop, yet it still feels relevant to our modern world. The depth of its emotional complexity is amazing as well. Dekker manages to highlight the more difficult aspects of the Great romance isn stark detail in “White”. Thomas is forced to ask himself whether he is called to love when it is easy to do so, or it it means embracing the harder aspects of loving his enemies. We’ve all heard the injection by Jesus to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us”, yet “White” is the most powerful representation of this that I have ever read.
There is still plenty of action, epic battles and thrilling scenes to enjoy as well. “White”is the sort of novel that is impossible to put down. I had repeated moments where I thought, ‘I’ll just get past this one scene’ only to find myself reading yet another chapter. The suspense that Dekker manages to build up is thrilling and addictive.
“White is everything the fans of the “Circle” series could have hoped for. An astonishing tour de force, a smooth blend of fantasy, thriller and epic rolled into one. Rendered all the more amazing when you realize Ted Dekker wrote all of this in a single year. A well earned 10/10 in my book.
