The Beginning of Darkness| Posted April 02, 2010
Thomas Hunter is reckless and he often finds himself in the stickiest of situations. He starts out running from a couple of gangsters in an alleyway of Denver. Bullets fly by his head and his world goes completely dark. He wakes up in a strange new world inhabited with black bats and a man named Bill. The black bats look menacing as they watch him from their perches high atop the trees. Suddenly, the bats attack Thomas and darkness overtakes him.
Thomas Hunter wakes up from his dream and discovers that he’s in a garbage bin. He finds his way back home, closes the blinds, and turns off the lights. He’s waiting for the gangsters to arrive. In this tense moment, his sister, Kara, walks in. She’s stunned when she sees him holding a machete. Thomas tells her everything that’s happened – how real his dream was, the gangsters, and his head wound.
Kara stares at her brother and thinks he’s gone totally mad. She cleans the head wound for Thomas while he spills out all the details. He had borrowed money from the gangsters to bail his mom out of jail and buy a few other things. Kara is a nurse and so she gives Thomas some pain medicine. He drifts off to sleep and wakes up in an unreal world but somehow he feels like he’s been here before.
Thomas starts to doubt that he’s really dreaming about the black bats. Maybe he’s really dreaming about Kara. Perhaps Kara isn’t real and this is all just a dream. He wakes up and tells Kara that all of this isn’t real. She’s not convinced, and he makes the decision that he can prove it to her. He’ll do it. Thomas Hunter opens the door of his apartment, walks out to the railing and prepares to jump.
My Thoughts on Black:
In the first few chapters, this book literally grabs you, shakes you around, and never lets go. But in the later chapters, it wasn’t as exciting and I did lose some interest. When it came to the plot, I wasn’t surprised like I thought I was going to be. I had read that people mentioned that there were lots of twists and turns but it didn’t seem like that to me. That’s not to say that it didn’t have any but not what I would classify as “lots”.
You have to read this book carefully because it has many allegorical references. Some were easy to distinguish, some were harder, and I probably missed a few as well.
This is my first book that I’ve read of Ted Dekker, and he’s an incredibly gifted author. His writing seems so effortless that it’s never confusing. He can describe almost anything in his book, and I can easily envision it all. That’s a hard thing for an author to do, nonetheless do it so perfectly and in a strange fantasy world.
I highly recommend this book to readers who love fantasy/allegorical themes, supernatural thrillers, and Frank Peretti.
Fantastic| Posted August 23, 2009
This is the first book I have read by Ted Dekker and I thought it was fantastic. The book has action, romance, horror, fantasy... everything. Dekker is such an amazing visual writer, you can see everything that is going on in your head perfectly. My favorite character is Michal. He's so cool! :D I can't wait to read Red, White and Green!
Great Book| Posted March 06, 2008
Wow I really have to agree with the other comments, this is a phenomenal, which is just the beginning of a great trilogy. I'd recommend this book and Thr3e to anyone.
A stunning start to a great trilogy| Posted October 15, 2009
Ted Dekker is an ever-better writer with new things from his vivid imagination coming forth into captivating novels. Black is no exception. It is a superb allegory, written as well as you could ask for and not letting up a bit. It all starts with Thomas Hunter, ending his midnight shift at the Java Hut. Walking down an alleyway, shots are fired…at him! He desperately seeks his sister, Kara’s apartment on the 3rd floor of a complex in the same city of Denver, Colorado. Here launches an overly real dream about a future earth where things unseen are seen. In the defiled Black Forest he wakes. He soon learns of the Shataiki, the Roush, Elyon, the Black and colored forests and the fact that he apparently suffers memory loss. There are captivating cliffhangers at the turn of every page and the battle for good rages on in the captivating 400+ page novel. It is told allegorically, and in a way that the message comes across quite clearly. And in the other world, the Raison Strain presents a major crisis. It’s a dramatic race against time in both confusing worlds, told so eloquently and in such wonder, that the novel should delight readers for centuries to come. It’s not one for the very young, as it contains gruesome violence and harsh cruelty, but Dekker always amazes me. This is a book for the adult Christian and every fantasy reader out there. Black: The Birth of Evil. Excellent!
The Circle Trilogy!| Posted August 25, 2009
This Book and Series are amazing. Ted Dekker really knows how to write a good book. It's a thriller that will keep you entertained for hours on end! I'd recommend reading all three books in this trilogy, then move on to read Chosen, Infidel and the ones that follow in that series. All great books!
Excellent!!| Posted August 08, 2009
This book was the secong book i read from Ted Dekker. It provides an interesting concept that is sure to keep you from putting it down. It is an intense and suspenseful book that leads into a very emotional series perfectly. Any Dekker fan must read this book.
A Good Start To a Really Good Trilogy.| Posted February 26, 2008
Ted Dekker has a lot of time on his hands. He published the Circle Trilogy in the span of a year and the 1st in the trilogy Black, proves that this is going to go places and it is going to rock. This trilogy and Thr3e should be on everybody's reading lists or collection.
Ted's weakest| Posted June 04, 2008
As a Ted Dekker fan, I love the little references to the Circle Trilogy that are tossed into his books on occasion. Paradoxically, I do not like the Circle Trilogy and Black, in my opinion, is the weakest book.
Now, understand that this is only my opinion. I know some people who Love the Circle Trilogy and hate Ted's other books. That said, if you are interested, check the book out from a library. If you like it, buy it. If you don't return it. If you are interested in reading the Circle Trilogy you can not skip this one, it is the foundation of the series.
Nevertheless, I believe the colored forest in the book creates a beautiful picture of what the garden of Eden may have looked like. This is a reason to at least take a peek at the story
epic beginning to an epic trilogy!| Posted March 29, 2010
easily one of the greatest trilogies ever written, the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker is packed with adventure, action, a Tolkien-ish world and even a good bit of romance mixed in all over the place!
reminding me of Frank Peretti at times and Tolkien at others, this book has an amazing plot from start to "finish." since it's only the first part of three, it doesn't really "end" totally, but it is still an amazing ending even if it doesn't close up many loose ends. that's left for White, the final book in the trilogy.
the plot is unlike anything you've ever read! it took a mind as unique as Dekker's to think up a man living in two worlds at the same time with the fate of each in his hands. to not spoil anything, that's about as much as i'll say...
so read this trilogy. it's insanely amazing...
EPIC!!!| Posted June 25, 2012
Black tells the story of a guy who narrowly escpaes death only then to be clipped by a bullet and then everything goes black. He than finds himeself intertwined in two worlds but which one is the right one and which one is false.
Ted Deckker delievers an excellent novel filled with action an interesting storyline and a grabbing writing style. A must read for any fiction fan.
very good book| Posted March 01, 2008
i've enjoyed many of ted dekker's books. the start of this series i think is particularly interesting. i really like black, red and white.
