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Ted Dekker |
I first became aware of Ted Dekker in on Christmas Day, 2006. My daughter gave me the audiobook version of Black, Red, White (The Circle Trilogy) on CD. She told me that she'd mentioned the books to me when she was reading them, and that I thought they sounded like something I'd find interesting.
The next day, my wife and I headed off to D.C. for a very quick vacation...and I threw disk one of book 1 in the CD player. We tried listening thru the first disc, but found that the uneven audio levels common to many audiobooks and a complete lack of expectations regarding the book caused us to set it aside for the rest of the trip.
A few days after we returned, I started transferring the CDs to MP3 format and dropped them onto my Nano so I could listen in the car and other places more conveniently. I started Book 1 all over again, this time with more control over my environment.
A bit about my background as a reader of fiction: While I love good stories and have a real appreciation for the power of words, I rarely set aside the time to read. I've enjoyed some audio books in the past (they were all on cassette, actually....which says just how long ago that was!). I love the work of Stephen King, what I had read of Dean Koontz, Robert Ludlum and others (including the first couple novels by Frank Peretti when they came out, and of course, C.S. Lewis' Narnia tales). I spend more of my time reading non-fiction, often of a spiritual orientation. But, back to the story at hand...
It didn't take long until I felt completely in love with the writing of Ted Dekker. As I read the amazing story of Thomas Hunter and his travels between two worlds, I struggled to figure out where Dekker rated as a writer. It didn't take long 'til I decided that he was right there among the best I'd ever read. The novels took nearly 40 hours of listening in audio form...and I found myself listening as I dropped off to sleep at night, and picking up again the next day.
I like to share about things that really float my boat...thus, this page. So I need to find a way to articulate what I think makes Ted's writing so special. First of all, I love the fact that I can recommend it to anyone in their teens or above. The themes of his books are somewhat adult, but only because of their emotional complexity. There's no gratuitous sex and no real vulgarity...which is a breath of fresh air after King's writing. And I'm not interested in beating up King here, because I do really enjoy his writing...but Dekker has an amazing ability to express the feminine perspective...something I've found very unusual among male authors. He has a real appreciation for romance, and the heart of women. King's women are fully human, but not quite as feminine (in my view).
After polishing off The Circle Trilogy (which, along with King's The Stand, is as good as anything I've ever read), I moved on to Showdown. It's another "dual world" story...but, whereas the worlds in the Trilogy are separated by dreams, the two worlds of Showdown are just miles apart. It's the story of an experiment gone awry...and the misery that results. But, as with the Trilogy, there are themes of sacrifice and redemption. It would make for a fascinating movie.
It was at about this time that I heard that a movie of one of Ted's books was being released. I caught Thr3e the first weekend of its release. It was a big disappointment. I would rate it at the level of a mediocre made-for-TV movie. It was released by FoxFaith, a divison of Fox trying to reach out to Christians. It had a small budget, and it just didn't work. As of this writing, I am trying to stall on listening to the audiobook, just to put some distance between myself and the movie.
Next came Obsessed, yet ANOTHER dual-world story...this time, the world of a World War II concentration camp, and early Seventies' Los Angeles and its free love and hippies. An amazing story of cruelty, sacrifice, resourcefulness, heroism, romance and... yes, obsession. Again, this would make for a powerful film.
After that, I went with House...which has nothing to do with the TV medical drama. It's the story of a haunted house in the backwoods of Louisiana...and it's co-authored by Ted and Frank Peretti. It's definitely "King-ish" horror fiction, and from what I hear, it's being released as a film in the late summer of '07. It will definitely be worth seeing. My only beef with this book is that it gets a little "churchy" in terms of its language toward the end of the book. I'm hoping that gets smoothed out a bit by the time the film is released.
Next, I went with The Martyr's Song....a story about true beauty, and those familiar themes of sacrifice and redemption. Really good stuff. Should be required reading for young girls.
And most recently, Skin was released in April of 2007. I finally got the audiobook in May. Loved it. Technology, loss of identity, discovery of love, etc.
I've read a little about Dekker himself. He was raised in Indonesia as the son of missionaries. He brings a bit of attitude to his work. He's a revolutionary, of sorts. A lot of spunk.
A common accusation against authors is that their work is derivative. I'm not well-enough read to know whether there are other writers who are this good, or whether his work is heavily derivative. But I really like this guy's stuff, and I'd definitely recommend that you check it out! |