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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Absolutely awesome! I am always in awe of Dekker's writings and this book was no less. The storyline intermingles with so many of his other books, from the Circle, and I feel the need to go back and reread them to find the references and allusions to this story. I can't wait to start book two and I am not sure I can wait until May when the next two come out.
This book was interesting and engaging. There were a couple of components that felt off with the chosen children, but considering the setting I went along with it. I will eagerly pick up the other books in this series. The whole idea between a disease that can only be combated by a particular type of water was interesting. Although it seemed as if the disease came upon those who did not use the water too quickly, this was a little unsettling but gave the book a bit of a suspenseful timeline to follow.
This was another book that I picked up at the library the other day just because the cover was so intriguing and also the tagline, "think with your heart and prepare to die for you have been chosen" really drew me in. Chosen is the first in the Lost Book series, so the first of four.
"The chosen four are sent on a quest to prove their character, but their mission takes a drawmatic turn when they are intercepted, sworn to secrecy, and redirected to a different endgame. Now they must find the seven lost Books of History. Books that have power over the past, present and future. Books whose words are alive. Books sought by the Dark One that control not only the destiny of their world.....but that of ours as well".
This just sounded great from the get-go so I was really excited to read it.
The characters in this book were amongst some of the best that I have read about recently. The main protagonist, Johnis, was an interesting character which is always good since he is the main focus of the novel. Without giving too much away about the story, I found Johnis a likeable character that grew on me as the other characters seemed to warm to him. The other three main characters were also very relatable in some ways and even when they were being horrible to Johnis, you as the reader could understand why this was happening. My favourite character ended up being Gabil who was one of the Roush. I just thought that he was a very funny character that lightened up the novel and added a bit of humour.
The plot was also really good! It drew me in from the start and developed at a good pace, not too quickly and not to slow either. However, this was obviously going to be the beginning of a series because of the way it ended, but on reflection, I think that even if you weren't interested or able to read the rest of the series, this would still be a great read with a really interesting and multifaceted plot with great characters.
The writing made this novel really easy and quick to read. With only 260 words in the hardback addition that I read, this isn't a long novel, but the way it reads made it very quick and it flowed well. I read it only in one day! I think that this book has the right amount of description that shows you enough about this world to make it believable and easy to imagine, without taking over from the narrative.
Overall I would definitely give this book 5 out of 5 stars as I think that it would be a great read for people of any age, female or male. I really do love all of the characters and the world that Ted Dekker has created and having not heard about this book before, I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed this. Chosen has the right balance of humour, suspense, action and romance to keep you hooked from the beginning and ends leaving you wanting more.
"The chosen four are sent on a quest to prove their character, but their mission takes a drawmatic turn when they are intercepted, sworn to secrecy, and redirected to a different endgame. Now they must find the seven lost Books of History. Books that have power over the past, present and future. Books whose words are alive. Books sought by the Dark One that control not only the destiny of their world.....but that of ours as well".
This just sounded great from the get-go so I was really excited to read it.
The characters in this book were amongst some of the best that I have read about recently. The main protagonist, Johnis, was an interesting character which is always good since he is the main focus of the novel. Without giving too much away about the story, I found Johnis a likeable character that grew on me as the other characters seemed to warm to him. The other three main characters were also very relatable in some ways and even when they were being horrible to Johnis, you as the reader could understand why this was happening. My favourite character ended up being Gabil who was one of the Roush. I just thought that he was a very funny character that lightened up the novel and added a bit of humour.
The plot was also really good! It drew me in from the start and developed at a good pace, not too quickly and not to slow either. However, this was obviously going to be the beginning of a series because of the way it ended, but on reflection, I think that even if you weren't interested or able to read the rest of the series, this would still be a great read with a really interesting and multifaceted plot with great characters.
The writing made this novel really easy and quick to read. With only 260 words in the hardback addition that I read, this isn't a long novel, but the way it reads made it very quick and it flowed well. I read it only in one day! I think that this book has the right amount of description that shows you enough about this world to make it believable and easy to imagine, without taking over from the narrative.
Overall I would definitely give this book 5 out of 5 stars as I think that it would be a great read for people of any age, female or male. I really do love all of the characters and the world that Ted Dekker has created and having not heard about this book before, I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed this. Chosen has the right balance of humour, suspense, action and romance to keep you hooked from the beginning and ends leaving you wanting more.
Johnis' world has been all but destroyed by a terrible plague that turned the land to desert and most of the people into the disease-ravaged Horde. Only the seven forests surrounding the seven lakes protect the Forest Dwellers from the same fate. Because of the Horde's constant attacks on the forests, the leader of the Forest Dwellers, Thomas Hunter, has been forced to lower the recruitment age for the Forest Guard to 16.
Johnis wasn't chosen to be one of the thousand new recruits to the Forest Guard — too small for his age — but by a twist of fate, he is chosen to lead them. When he and three other leaders set out on their final test to prove their characters, their mission takes an unexpected, but preordained turn, and Johnis discovers that his fate may already have been decided.
Parts of this book were very intriguing. I liked the world and its rules about the lake water being necessary to stave off infection from the terrible skin disease. I liked a lot of the foreshadowing. I particularly loved the little glimpses Dekker gives that this world is somehow tied to our own world, as in the following passage of a dream Johnis has:
The story insinuates that the leader of the Forest Dwellers, Thomas Hunter, is also from our world, but much to my disappointment, that story line never goes anywhere. Turns out, this is part of a much larger series, which I didn't realize until I got to the very end and saw the advertisements. The ads in the back of the book claim that you can read this series without reading the other, but it explained a lot about my biggest problems with the book: the way Dekker glosses over some of the finer details about his world (probably because he's already explained them dozens of times in his other books), the somewhat thin characterization of his protagonists.
In fact, the thing I felt while reading it was that it felt a little like fan fiction: someone was adding a new story to an already established canon, but if you weren't already part of the fandom, you would be a little lost.
I also found out after reading Chosen
that the companion series is considered Christian fiction, but I can say right up front that other than some pretty blatant good/evil black/white imagery, I didn't see much allegory in this one in particular.
I wouldn't say you have to read the other series before picking up Chosen, because I haven't read them myself, but I would venture it might make the book a little more nuanced. On it's own, it's a tad flat; a fun adventure quest story without much meat.
Fans of fantasy and quest novels will enjoy this.
Johnis wasn't chosen to be one of the thousand new recruits to the Forest Guard — too small for his age — but by a twist of fate, he is chosen to lead them. When he and three other leaders set out on their final test to prove their characters, their mission takes an unexpected, but preordained turn, and Johnis discovers that his fate may already have been decided.
Parts of this book were very intriguing. I liked the world and its rules about the lake water being necessary to stave off infection from the terrible skin disease. I liked a lot of the foreshadowing. I particularly loved the little glimpses Dekker gives that this world is somehow tied to our own world, as in the following passage of a dream Johnis has:
This wasn't the threatening man-beast, nor Horde, but Johnis couldn't breathe anyway. Something was very wrong. The man wore a shirt made from thin fabric with writing across the breast, and fitted blue pants. Leather boots — but not the dress of a warrior.
More than his dress, the man's demeanor was out of place. Rather than walking like a skeleton in the desert, this man looked healthy. As if he'd had all the water he needed.
[...:]
The man motioned to the dune behind him to the right. "There's a killer forcing us to play a game. I need you to help me find the cops. Tell them to get to the library. It's all about the library, tell them."
"Cop?" Johnis had never heard the word.
The story insinuates that the leader of the Forest Dwellers, Thomas Hunter, is also from our world, but much to my disappointment, that story line never goes anywhere. Turns out, this is part of a much larger series, which I didn't realize until I got to the very end and saw the advertisements. The ads in the back of the book claim that you can read this series without reading the other, but it explained a lot about my biggest problems with the book: the way Dekker glosses over some of the finer details about his world (probably because he's already explained them dozens of times in his other books), the somewhat thin characterization of his protagonists.
In fact, the thing I felt while reading it was that it felt a little like fan fiction: someone was adding a new story to an already established canon, but if you weren't already part of the fandom, you would be a little lost.
I also found out after reading Chosen
that the companion series is considered Christian fiction, but I can say right up front that other than some pretty blatant good/evil black/white imagery, I didn't see much allegory in this one in particular.I wouldn't say you have to read the other series before picking up Chosen
, because I haven't read them myself, but I would venture it might make the book a little more nuanced. On it's own, it's a tad flat; a fun adventure quest story without much meat.Fans of fantasy and quest novels will enjoy this.
I really enjoyed the way the characters and plot were introduce to at the beginning, definitely a different approach than what I'm used to reading. The writing seemed a bit dry in some places, but tended to pick up pretty quickly afterward. Can't wait to read the next one!
Good first book in the series. I plan to read the rest, though it seems I have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of his books.
The world Dekker has built is interesting for a world designed to be mostly barren desert, and he populates it with likable, but not cringingly "perfect," characters.
The world Dekker has built is interesting for a world designed to be mostly barren desert, and he populates it with likable, but not cringingly "perfect," characters.
Ted DeKker uses Chosen to wield a tale of heros with many flaws and many talents- Heros who do most discover many things about their world before they can find themselves. DeKker uses the themes of love and following your heart over and over again. The heros find themselves in many challenging situations wrought by their quick thinking- and it's their hearts that get them out. I believe DeKker knows his characters in real life. In fact I believe one of the characters he has created is actually himself(although I don't know Ted DeKker personally). When I write I pick out a personality from someone I know and I believe DeKker does the same- his characters are very believable. I can relate to one especially and I'm sure other people feel the same way about other characters. Fortunately his style brings you through each main characters minds about an equal time. At one point in the story DeKker is brave enough to have one of the main characters become the antagonist. This is difficult- many of us readers have fallen in love with this strong female character throughout the stories and now she's evil? DeKker makes you realize that everyone can be bad- is bad- but is also good. A difficult concept but we come through to the light in the end with Darcy, the momentary antagonist, who ultimately discovers this disturbing revelation. I love this book and all that follow in the series- This review is for all four of the books. I do not reccomend reading the last two as they are written by a different author and lose all of the original style and character development much to my dissapointment. :( The first four are a must read- incredible character development keeps you very fascinated with the characters and each and every decision that they make.
Read through this one in a single sitting. Quick read, I'll stay with the series and see if it picks up.
I think these books are good for teen (boys) I kind of got confused in areas. It is definitely thought provoking.
If I could give under 1 star I would, stay away.
The premise it self seems interesting if not slightly generic - Chosen one seeks objects to save their fantasy world - I was actually looking forward to it, but the execution is terrible.
Events happen almost as a stream of conscious. I had to go back here and there because there'd be a big deal about a character having left only to have the show up again a few pages later. I'd eventually find the three words that said they had returned but you'd think it'd have been better marked. The heroes confront "The Dark One" abruptly in the last few chapters and win/escape just a quickly. There are these good white bat things to counter the evil black bat things and one is clearly meant to provide comedic relief via it's knowledge of karate and its not funny or cute or fits.
Apparently this series is a sort of spin off of a different one so perhaps stuff would have a better flow with knowledge from the other books but still... I won't be continuing this series or looking at the other one.
The premise it self seems interesting if not slightly generic - Chosen one seeks objects to save their fantasy world - I was actually looking forward to it, but the execution is terrible.
Events happen almost as a stream of conscious. I had to go back here and there because there'd be a big deal about a character having left only to have the show up again a few pages later. I'd eventually find the three words that said they had returned but you'd think it'd have been better marked. The heroes confront "The Dark One" abruptly in the last few chapters and win/escape just a quickly. There are these good white bat things to counter the evil black bat things and one is clearly meant to provide comedic relief via it's knowledge of karate and its not funny or cute or fits.
Apparently this series is a sort of spin off of a different one so perhaps stuff would have a better flow with knowledge from the other books but still... I won't be continuing this series or looking at the other one.