Review: The Circle Series

I am a huge fan of Lost. One of the show’s strongest, and unfortunately most unfulfilled, elements is its mythology. There is a ton of mystery and mystique in the show, which is what got me hooked. Prior to reading The Circle Series, I had never heard of Ted Dekker. After completing this series and doing research on his other novels, I can say that I am, and am motivated to take my reading to a level I never would have imagined.

The Circle Series originally started as The Circle Trilogy, containing the books Black, Red and White. Dekker later wrote Green as a prequel to Black, or if the reader chooses, as the sequel to White. When I first read about that, I could only think of one general scenario in which this could have worked out. My theory was later proved correct when I completed Green, and it was a ploy that I did not like.

The series revolves around a man named Thomas Hunter, who, when he is knocked out in Denver, wakes up in a world completely different from our own, but is only 2,000 years in the future. When he becomes unconscious in the future, he wakes up in the present. There is no correlation in time between the two timelines, as at one point Thomas lives for 15 years in one before going back to the other. The execution of these two worked really well, especially when Thomas realized he could use the knowledge and skills learned in either world and carry it over into the other. Another part of the reading that I enjoyed was the literal and metaphorical interpretations of the Bible between the worlds. A quick example is of dying as God’s son died, not figuratively taking up your cross, but in the future world, dying exactly as he died (in this case, drowning). Also, sin was not something that corrupted the unseen, but instead it affected the body and mind, requiring daily sacrifices to remove it (in this case, daily bathes in the lake). I think Dekker did a great job creating a fictional story fitting many biblical aspects into a great story.

There are not that many things I can complain about when talking about The Circle Series. One part that I did not care for was the amount of romance that was involved. I am into watching romance movies or stories, and while this book had a decent amount of that, it was not heavy. In Black, a lot of emphasis was given on the beauty of the future world Thomas was experiencing for the first time. I do not think giving readers the impression of this true paradise would have served it justice by simply describing the beauty in brief details, so I can understand the need to expound. This is also the case for the love parts, but in White, Thomas falls in love with the daughter of his greatest enemy in a matter of days after spending just a few hours with her. He was able to see her as Elyon (God) saw her, even though she was physically diseased and reeked, he fell head over heels for her in record time. I guess when it comes to being mushy, time is not your enemy.

Of the things that bugged me in the book, which I admit were pretty minor, none compare to my disappointment in how the story ended. Green starts 10 years after the events of White and 99% of the book continues this story until the very end, when the second coming of Christ ala Justin has occurred and his bride is taken up into Heaven. At this moment, the story’s main character, Thomas, cries to Elyon and pleads that he be sent back in time to save his recently wayward son. Elyon affords Thomas this opportunity, warning him that every decision he makes will have good or bad results, that he would have no memory of having lived through the last 25 years in either world and that instead, he would wake up in Denver living a normal life that then is turned upside down as told at the beginning of Black. The great Thomas Hunter will never enter Heaven because he is caught in a time loop. The proper ending should have had Elyon explain to Thomas that all this was done before and the outcome never changed, that no matter how hard he tried, the result would always be the same. It was a tragic loss and probably the most emotionally climactic moment in the entire series, but it should not have ended by restarting itself. To cap it off, Dekker made one character a vampire when they gave their life over to the devil. Probably the second biggest sore spot of the entire series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, so much so that I started reading the next book immediately after finishing the previous, unrelenting until I was able to close the story. While I correctly predicted a few surprises the book had in store, overall the story kept me guessing and did not go in the direction I thought it would have gone. The suspense was high and I loved every bit of it. The books are not flawless, but they were minor portions that did not consume a large amount of reading, excluding the ending in Green. As I finished one book and started another, I felt that the richness of the story was increasing, providing a better experience than the last book gave. Green‘s story did not deliver the bar raising element until several chapters into the book, but ended up being an emotional read, despite the problematic ending.

After having finished the series, I can say, again, that I am a fan of Ted Dekker. I picked up another book he wrote, Adam, from the library over the weekend and cannot wait to get started. I intend to slow my reading pace and let my brain veg out on some video games, side work, or something else. If you decide to give the series a try, start with Black, end with Green. It is a better story that way. I give the series a 9 out of 10.