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Reviewer Calls Black a 'Must-Read'
By Jelani Greenidge
CHICAGO, IL (March 25, 2004) - If you ever find yourself thrust into trying
circumstances, torn between realities, or if you never quite feel like
you get enough sleep, Thomas Hunter may be your kind of hero.
Following in the footsteps of characters like Bilbo Baggins (Lord of
the Rings) and Thomas "Neo" Anderson (The Matrix), Hunter is
the hero of Black, the first installment of an epic trilogy of
novels by author Ted Dekker. In Black, we first encounter Thomas
Hunter as he tries to make sense of the two realms he seems to
simultaneously inhabit. It's an insomniac nightmare - every time he goes
to sleep in one world, he wakes up in the other.
The first is present-day Earth, both in the United States and abroad. In
this realm, Hunter (along with his sister, Kara) is pitted against a
global conspiracy to unleash a deadly virus, a virulent strain of a
highly touted vaccine from a leading pharmaceutical company. The other
is a mythical, storybook land filled with articulate bats, amiable
people and animated environs. Here, Hunter must attempt to keep the
forces of evil at bay in order to preserve a land of innocence that sits
poised on the brink of annihilation . . . and, oh yeah, woo a beautiful
woman in the process.
Like most good thrillers, Black begins with a bang and never lets
up. Throughout the book, Dekker combines a palpable attention to detail
with a sense of desperate urgency. The result is a gripping read, a
page-turning ride with twists and turns aplenty. Because the fantasy
segments are somewhat allegorical, they allude to broader philosophical
and theological truths. However, the taut action of the present-day
Earth delivers a gritty sense of realism that complements the
abstraction of the other world. Dekker's dual setting of alternate
worlds is an innovative storytelling device, one that will appeal just
as strongly to readers of crime thrillers as it will to readers of fantasy.
In many ways, this is a story about identity. Hunter's efforts to stop
both impending calamities have just as much to do with discovering
himself as they do with finding a solution. A typical Gen-X protagonist,
he battles not only his foes, but the frustrations of feeling powerless
and misunderstood. As Black races toward its stunning conclusion,
we begin to discover (along with Hunter) the strange correlations
between the two worlds. More importantly, we witness Thomas Hunter's
compelling transformation from apprehensive wanderer to confident paladin.
Most beginnings to great trilogies leave you with more questions than
answers, and Black is no exception. While the ending is less than
satisfying on its own merit, it fulfills its purpose, which is to set
the stage for the next installment of the story. As readers everywhere -
myself included - anticipate the next two books of the trilogy
(Red and White, to be released later this year), we're all
a bit like Thomas Hunter, still trying to get our bearings on the truth.
After reading Black, one is left with an aftertaste so grand and
so real, you wonder whether the story is something that could happen, or
if it's something that actually is happening.
I guess that's the point.
Jelani Greenidge is a writer, speaker and musician originally from
Irvington Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon. He currently works for
The Covenant Bookstore in Chicago.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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