Boy, I am excited to start another year of WoW Connect! I have spent some time this summer getting familiar with a new library system and collecting book ideas to share with you. So, grab a cup of coffee (though, if I can get my hands on some cider, I think I would warm myself a cup), settle in and enjoy a book with me!
Okay, have you read any of Ted Dekker's books? I have just finished reading Dekker's The Bride Collector. I picked it up off the "recently returned books" shelf at my new local library. The "recently returned books" shelf is one of my favorite places to start a random book search. I also recognized the book as one a friend had once recommended, so I thought I'd give it shot.
After reading The Bride Collector, again, I am surprised by the world of "religious fiction" as I travel along this 'coffee and a book' path. I've been reading and writing this blog for a while now and I know I keep being surprised. At some point it has to stop, doesn't it? In this case though, I'm not sure just how "religious" this book would be considered. God and faith definitely are an important part of the plot and the characters, but not in a role that I would expect (though I guess we have already established that I may not know what I am talking about). The killer has a tainted view of God and God's love that drives him to do what he does, and what he does is quite horrible. The book does speak to the incredible deep love that God has for His children. The message is there, but the delivery is a little . . . umm, frightening? Eerie? Twisted?
A serial killer, dubbed the "Bride Collector" because he covers beautiful young women with a veil after brutally murdering them, has killed again. The killer believes he is serving God by bringing Him those he believes God loves most. Trying to stop this gruesome serial killer is FBI agent Brad Raines. Looking for help, the FBI turns to a hodge-podge group of mentally ill and incredibly intelligent residents at the Center of Wellness and Intelligence. Raines is particularly drawn to one resident who just may be able to help him see into the murderer's mind and catch the murderer before he strikes again.
By the time I got to the end of this thriller, there are parts I liked about it. I liked how Dekker presents a well written, provoking, and clear picture of the confrontation between good and evil. I like the incredible suspense, the many twists and turns and surprises. This is definitely a psychological thriller. And of course, I prefer books with an ending I didn't see coming!
What bothered me about this book was that there are parts of the story that are, well, maybe not for everyone. It gets quite macabre, and there are some disturbing images and actions (some of which may be considered inappropriate) that would lead me to hesitate to recommend the book to just anyone. I may read other Ted Dekker books in the future, but I think for the next WoW Connect, I am going to try to find a sweet story!
I love Ted Dekker's style and I have been following his work for a long time.If a sweet story is what someone is looking for, his latest work especially will not be the ticket. But his early work is a more relatable bridge into the mind of Ted Dekker, and that's how I first got hooked. His work is meant to separate light from dark in a way we normally don't.
ReplyDeleteDekker writes as a call to complacent Christians and unbelievers to realize their sins and the depravity of human nature, as we'll as our need for a savior. Sometimes such a message is missing, our downplayed, in other more "acceptable" forms of Christian fiction. Also one should note Ted's background, as he grew up in a missionary family to a very violent tribal group in the philippines; his "line" of morbid is not the same as ours typically.
I find Dekker's style refreshing and convicting, and will always be grateful to the way he helped God call me from darkness back to His kingdom. If it weren't for these books, I wouldn't be here today, seeking to serve God to any extent He calls me.