Ending

The end is kinda predictable, it leaves you in suspense, a cliffhanger here. It shows that tom is getting more and more tired and you don't know what will happen with the virus.

I enjoyed this bok and look forward to reading the following one

The End is Near

Just by looking at the pages i can tell that this novel isn't going to end any time soon. There's 50 pages left and alot of story still to be told. So, there's a trilogy. I'll just focus on the end coming for this particular novel though.

Black started out with utter confusion and chaos and developped more and more into understanding and direct action by Tom. He's understanding that, as i predicted, he is the one who initiated this. He led the evil guy to know what would create the virus, with Teeleh putting that weird spell on him it made him tell him how to create the virus as well.

This story is unfolding just like i thought it would. Kinda predictable.

Deer in the Headlights

Tom has now held a conference with representatives from many major countries of the world. They mostly believe his story now, and are taking him seriously. He has grown into a manic shell of a man who only seems to exist for one purpose, one goal. He doesn't sleep really because whenever he tries to sleep he wakes up immediately in the other world. It is taking a great tole on his body.

Tom is nearly reaching rock bottom, so to speak.

Soon though, Tom will realize that everything he's been doing, could have been the one thing wrong to do.

He visited Teeleh, the evil character in the other world. This creature sent him on this mission, told him the secret, ect ect..

This creature also made tom tell the enemies in the real world the way to create the virus.

This creature seems to be controling Tom in some way, not directly but with what he tells him, Tom is tempted to do certain things.

This creature mimics the devil, and Tom is doing exactly what he wants.

Caverns

As Tom races towards Bangkok in order to stop this coming threat, he is going deeper and deeper into this twisted world. He's using the information given to him from the other world to tell the world leaders what will occur. At first they are skeptical but his persistence wins him their "trust" somewhat.

Now, he's saved his sister more than once and is basically blind firing at an enemy, while he doesn't know how big the enemy is or when it will strike. Turns out he is caught and thought to have been killed twice.

Tom has no clue whats going on, but he's changing. He's developping into a more mature person with a greater goal.

Insatiable Appetite

Tom seems to really enjoy this other worldly fruit, it's like a narcotic. You kind of wonder if he wants to spend all of his time in this other world eating this wonderful fruit that has no side effect besides the loss of hunger and the immense pleasure it gives. It's as if this world is perfect, and Tom would rather live here if only he felt at peace there, he just feels like an outsider. Not by the way they treat him, they treat him like he is a long lost friend but he never knows what to do in any particular situation that arises. He can never be certain of his actions, and you wonder if that is the only hell he can face in paradise.

Accustomed Dreaming

Thomas is becoming more and more accustomed to his odd way of life. He now lives two lives in two worlds with two similar sets of laws that guide both worlds. The first, his world that he is used to living in, you breath air, drink water, eat meat and love is more of an embarassing thing at the start for most people. While, in this more enhanced, almost more alert world he wakes up to he is able to sometimes breath water, and the fruit of the land is the only thing he needs to eat, also love is more envigorating and easier to engage in. A woman simply chose him and off he went on The Great Romance.

Thomas is still confused about why this is suddenly happening to him and what he should do under these circumstances. He has no clue how to proceed, so he is just trying to get information about this new world and find out why he was put there. Now Thomas is becoming a deeper, richer character. You are finding out what makes him nervous, what he finds adventurous and what he just doesn't ever think he can or wants to do.

THR3E - The Trailer

This is a movie based off of another novel written by Ted Dekker. It seems that my earlier conclusion about the underlying correlation between Christianity and this book is true. Dekker seems to be a secular author who practices the Christian faith and incorperates it in small ways into his novels. So, you can be sure that although this is a horror film it is a clean one. I may go see it. Enjoy,

A Necessary Ally

Thomas is staying at his sister's house when all this happens to be going on. He came home after being shot at and a bullet grazing his head slightly, and slept into this new "Dream-World". When his sister eventually came home from her job as a Nurse at Major Hospital in Denver, she noticed his large laceration on his head and immediately delivered first aid to her brother. Thomas then got around to letting her know about his money problems and his unpaid $100,000 loan from a loan-shark. Now they are in the midst of figuring out what is going on inside Thomas' head. He seems to be the only person who can figure out how to stop this epidemic from spreading, or maybe he can even stop it from even being produced. What I'm thinking now though, is that perhaps since he doesn't understand what he is doing really he will do something worse that what his intentions are. I'll have to read on to figure out this plotline, hopefully i can do it before i get to the end.

An Unknowing Hero

Thomas is confused, very confused. He has no clue whats going on really, and this fantasy world he lives in with man-eating black bats and wise, kind white bats just doesn't make sense to him. For a second it felt like the book might be a tad bit too far over the weird line for me but i pushed forward and have found it isn't as odd as it first sounds like. He lives on an "alternate earth". With a distinct distinguished divide between Good and Evil. Elyon represents the God in this story, and is pure Good. He wants everyone to be happy, and just as a human is hurt when he is betrayed, Elyon is hurt whenever someone betrays him. There is also an evil represented in this book, and it is very odd in the way that this story line corresponds with that which you see in the Bible. One of God's Angels defects and is sent to rule over Hell, in the same way, one of Elyon's "Roush" (these are basically mystical creatures there to guide and protect the humans) betrays him and leads the Black (evil) Bats in the Black Forest. I still think it is fascinating how subtle this is but how obvious it can be to find when you actually think about it. Just like C.S. Lewis has so many things that relate with the Bible or Christianity, it seems that perhaps Dekker might do some similar things. But I will have to find out later in the story line to confirm this.

Exodus

The story begins with the preface, though, this particular preface is actually quite important in my opinion. It is entitled simply Switzerland and it lays out the relationship between the two main antagonists in the novel. This preface is basically giving you more information than you can understand. It is telling you what you will find out half way through the book, but because you don't understand what these facts mean, you forget them until later.

Chapter 1 then begins with Thomas Hunter, I like the way that Dekker starts off the trilogy with action. Immediately upon entering this plot-line you find Thomas wrapped up in an intense fight which he did not expect. Walking down a dark alleyway of all places he is shot at, and throughout the course of this chase and after a hand-to-hand combat scene, you learn of Thomas' new "ability". To me, this ability is the strangest part and most unique part of this book because it hasn't been done, or at least not done well before. He lives now in two alternate realities, and must presume both are as real as the other. When I read how Thomas finds himself in a densely wooded forest of black trees with a man named Bill, I make a mental note that the fact that bill drank out of this water which Thomas decided was not good to drink out of, and the fact that he just went bolting in to the woods, meant that I would, or rather Thomas would, encounter him later on during the story.

It's all these tie-ins that make you feel good about remembering all the intricate details he lays out for you, you don't necessarily need to remember them to enjoy the book, but if you really pay attention it is more rewarding.

So far, I'm enjoying this book very much. I was told not to simply give a synopsis of the contents of each chapter for every post I make so I'll just be giving you scattered details which hopefully won't entirely ruin your experience when you read this book, but will enrich your thoughts about it after you do.

- Alex

Introduction

Ted Dekker was born and raised in Indonesia, and now lives in the Mountains of Colorado. His first novel, THR3E was an Award-Winning Best-Seller; Dekker's subtlety and masterful weaving of his story continues to keep readers glued to the page in his new novel, Black.Black is a complicated book, it is fantasy but it is believable. It goes from the main protaganist, Thomas Hunter, to multiple antagonists, ranging from a scientist bent on world domination to his trained assassin. These characters all interact indirectly at first, until eventually they meet together in somewhat of a "Grand Battle" of sorts. As if going between these two sections of plotline wasn't enough, there is another plotline added to this story which really makes it unique, not just a "Thomas will beat the scientist and save the world" just like every other hero book. When Thomas falls asleep he wakes up in a different world, an alternate reality, a seperate universe. His life in each world is serperate but still connected, learning a new skill such as hand-to-hand combat in this fantasy world will carry over to the world he is used to. Thomas must find himself and learn how to stop this dangerous scientist before he unleashes a worldwide epidemic which would wipeout the entire population without 2-3 weeks.