Green by Ted Dekker

Thomas, the Circle, Monique, Kara, the Horde, and the Raison Strain are back at it again in Green, the fourth and final installment of Ted Dekker’s The Circle Trilogy. Green revolves around some of the conflicts that are beginning to pop up within the Circle on their stances the existence of Elyon, their views on their non-violence stances, and whether they have truly been called to love the Horde. Without getting into specifics, there are once again visitors from the histories who cause trouble and help bring about the fulfillment that Elyon has been preparing for his bride.

The story in Green is well thought out and definitely does help us to get an understanding of some of the things unexplained elements of the original Trilogy. It is full of action and is fast paced enough to keep you wanting more. Dekker hits on a wide variety of theological concepts, from non-violence, nature of sin/evil, the love of God, as well as some interesting views on Revelation. He takes what can be abstract theological discussions and helps us to understand the real life complexities of the issue.

My main concerns with Green are not so much in the story but rather in the marketing. Although the book suggests it could be either a sequel or a prequel – I would highly recommend to all that they read Black, Red and White first. There are just too many storylines that you won’t understand unless you do. And although Green is supposedly the fourth novel in the set – even having an understanding of the story left me at times confused because I haven’t read The Lost Books. Although I enjoyed the story and there is definitely a “full circle” that comes in the end, I think to get an adequate understanding of what’s happening then you have to read the other books first.