I sort of finished another book. That pretty much tells you how this review is going to go. However, bear with me in this because I may be the unpopular opinion here. This author is well known in many circles and is highly loved by many, including people I know personally. So, with that being said, let me share my review on Black.
Summary of Black
Black is the first book in the Circle Trilogy written by Ted Dekker. It follows a guy named Tom who is having a bad day as he realises that there are people trying to kill him. During this he gets hit in the head and passes out, only to wake up in a creepy dark forest. Confused and disoriented he tries to figure out where he is and finds out he’s not alone. Just before he passes out there he sees a bunch of black bats. He then wakes up and he’s back in Denver, where he had been before the forest. Confused, Tom heads to the apartment he shares with his sister. When he goes back to sleep he wakes up back in the black forest. Following a white bat he is able to escape, but nearly dies in the process. The White Bat brings him to the colourful forest, the forest of good.
And it Continues
The rest of the book involves Tom going back and forth between the two worlds, trying to figure out which one is real. The colourful forest feels familiar and he grows to love it and believes this is real and Denver is not. Until he goes to Denver and gets confused all over again. Even though his sister is completely confused by it all, she tries to help him figure it out. When they learn that this world is about to end, Tom and Kara work together to try and stop the end of the world.
What I Liked
Honestly, this will be a short section. The first few chapters had me hooked. Just like Tom, I wanted to know what was going on. Which world was real and which was a dream? Why was this happening? However, the idea of the book was intriguing, but after the first few chapters the intrigue was lost. The descriptions of the second world was vivid and I could picture everything in the forest. The detail was incredible. Ted Dekker certainly was able to create a beautiful place and one could picture it while reading.
Now the Dislikes
Oh boy. I disliked every character in this book. They were annoying, or stupid. And when I say stupid I mean they made terrible decisions. Mainly, our guy Tom. Honestly, he annoyed me the most. Now, I get that the situations and circumstances of it all were very different, but still. I was not rooting for the guy. I spent a good portion of the book wishing it was over. And the thing that annoyed me about the colourful forest was that I think I know what the goal was. It was supposed to be heaven-like. Maybe it was just my mindset, but the people that lived there annoyed me, the interactions with Elyon (the creator) made me think everyone was on drugs.
Black Rating
I gave Black a 1 star review and stopped reading with 9 chapters left. After skipping to the last chapter, which was just a paragraph, I skimmed a bit of the remaining chapters. All I saw was more dumb decisions by the characters that made me shake my head. I have no desire to continue this series, so I won’t. I’ll admit that I was very confused. Many people I know said that they love Ted Dekker books, so why did I loathe this one so much? I did some research. His books are for younger people. That’s when it clicked and made sense. So, if you’re in middle school, maybe even high school, you might love this book.
Still Counting This One
I’m still counting Black as a book finished for my challenge. Sure, technically I didn’t finish it, but with so few chapters left, and the fact that my skimming told me basically what was in store for those chapters, I think I finished it. It was enough, in my opinion. And this is my challenge, so I can make up my own rules. With 27 out of 50 books read, I still have a lot of reading. Thankfully, the book I’m currently reading is intriguing. Sure, I’m only two chapters in, but this book is right up my alley. A thriller mystery. I don’t want to put the book down and I might see if I can finish it by tomorrow. That’s how much I am enjoying it so far. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. Until next time remember, anything can happen if you try.
