Chaos

So the Lost Books come to an end. Or do they?

I will say that this book lives up to its title. Unfortunately, most of that Chaos isn't very well understood, and at the end of the book I still had a lot of questions.
Right now the only book planned that Dekker's site mentions is Sinner, which sounds like it has potential just like all the Paradise books have had. Most of them deliver and do so quickly.
Still, going into reading these books I thought I would get a beginning and an end. I think mostly Thomas Nelson has used them as another way to bring readers in. On one hand that is brilliant, on the other hand some of the loose ends to make a reader curious can also make the reader insane.

With that being said, I will talk in regards to Chaos. At first we find ourselves just outside of Las Vegas with Johnis and Silvie, unsure of their surroundings, but determined as ever to find the books the Chosen have sworn to find. So they steal a car, fly through Las Vegas, and find themselves at Excalibur. The setup works, unfortunately the events therein are confusing. At times you were just as confused as Johnis and Silvie, and although the language is interesting, you are ever wondering how they are going to get out of the mess. Then also I still havent figured out if the arena where Johnis is forced to step into is an actual Gladiator type of arena, or just for show. At one point Dekker makes you think it is, but then later he makes you think that nothing has changed. Since it is set some 30 years in the future, the reader has no way of knowing. Then comes the most frustrating part about Dekker, someone outside of the climatic parts of his books show up to save the day. For the most part the setup works, but at the same time its like a get out of jail free card.
Thus enters Karas, only she is ten years older and time has flown by in only the few moments that separated each of the Forest Dwellers from coming through the books. This time alteration is one of the most interesting aspects of the Books, but yet it is not explained and may never be explained. We knew from The Circle series that time moved faster while in one world over the other, but the time lapses found with the books taking anyone from the Other Earth is so random it is hard to figure out the connection. We find out later that Alucard has gone back to the times of Christ when Dekker loosely connects him to killing Jesus. Some have been there ten years, some only a few weeks.
Kara frees Sylvie and Johnis and helps them understand this knew world. Then, Miranda shows up and takes Johnis captive. Miranda's connection the books and Alucard may be one of the more intrigueing parts of the books, but when we find that Darsal, who Miranda claimed dead, is actually Miranda, it really comes as no surprise. Dekker has been hinting at it through the whole book.
Of course, Evil comes in contact with all the books and creates a connection between the two worlds. But Alucard is not the Dark One, no, Darsal claims that title. Although interesting and a cool connection to us all being sinners and all having the potential of also being chosen, Darsal claiming to be the Dark One is ultimately a disappointment. By this point I wanted a drop your gloves style let everyone kick everyone else's butt and by the end only the most powerful survive. Dekker should have gone this route, having eluded to the fact that the Forest Dwellers are faster and stronger in some sense. The fight could have been as good as Samson pushing over pillars. But no, it came down to mind games. Although formidable for those who are told to act with their heart, the verbal communication ended as an overall disappointment from my angle.

Overall, this book kept me turning the pages after about chapter 4, the first glimpse of Alucard's presence in 2033. I enjoyed the twists and Dekker's writing. I think though, that Sinner needs to deliver above and beyond what these Books of History did. They are necessary easy enjoyable reads and I would recommend them. But they dont answer enough questions.
1. Why doesnt Black show up in our world, and why does Dekker completely leave him behind after Renegade makes a big deal of him?
2. Wasn't Johnis the chosen one with his marking? How is it when Johnis is convincing Darsal that she is the chosen one that it seems like she was him all along? Or is it simply Johnis saying that she is one of the four?
3. What happens to Thomas while the four are in 2033? At the end those Roush leave us with only more questions just like White, and Sinner is labeled a Paradise book, so will it cross over and answer what is going on in the Forests? Dont they have too? Or does this roller coaster just keep going as long as Dekker lives?
4. And what of Billos, did he really die? Or was he really found?


Seems like I am left reeling for the next book. Good for Thomas Nelson and Dekker, but ultimately frustrating for me.
Maybe I should wait till he comes out with all the books for answers.
Or Maybe we are all just Sinners waiting for the Christ.

Renegade(Spoilers)

Welcome back to other Earth. The Horde has been missing you.

So began Chosen which lead into Infidel then we all had to wait a few months to lead into Renegade and what will finally end in Chaos.

But first, a recap. Chosen begins essentially 13 years after Thomas Hunter has last dreamed of our world(Earth, vs the dream world, or the 'Other Earth' of the future) and recruits for the Forest guard are beginning to deplete. So, he lowers the age for the fighters to 16. Out of all the new young recruits four are specifically called and Chosen to be four new generals.
What Thomas Hunter does not know, and the four told not to tell him, is just how 'Chosen' the four are. The four, Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Billos, are called by Elyon through the Roush(white bats much like angels) to find the seven missing books of history.
In Chosen they are lead to a Dark Forest where Shataiki(black bats much like demons) and Teelah(for our purposes, Satan) dwell. Yet, this is where the four will find their books, as well as experience torture and depths of Evil that they hadnt known before. But, they do succeed, and come out with a book.

Infidel begins with the aftermath of a celebration for the altar mission the four had been sent on by Thomas, even though they deserved it also for the unknown to only them mission as well.
But there is something else, Johnis is convinced his mother is still alive. What is more, he
believe he knows where to find her. Through rash decisions and lack of thought Johnis then leads a brigade to their death only barely escaping himself. Further, Johnis is forced to lead Thomas out into the wild almost giving Thomas over to death, or worse in many ways, the Horde. Johnis, though, will stop at nothing to get his mother back. He has succeeded by the end of the book, and has also saved a unusually bright young girl named Karas. He has also come across two more books. But has risked too many in the process, and Thomas is furious.
In the midst of all this, Johnis has found that placing ones blood on the histories is quite the out of body experience. Even though he lets the other three experience this to a lesser extant, he does open the door for them to feel the power. Billos then becomes intent on getting his hands on the books. Obsessed he does so and slits into his hand much further than planned and disappears just as the other three Chosen show up.

Thus begins Renegade. In comparison to the first to books, the writing and development, as well as the thought process of the teens involved is far better. Renegade brings the reader back to Paradise and thus re-enter Marsuvees Black. Black may very well be the greatest idea that Dekker has ever come up with. He is a lunatic with a taste for the theatrics that runs purely on his desire for power. The world that Billos enters though, as we come to find, is neither here nor there, but somewhere between the worlds. An outer layer that only Black seems to control, and a living Hell for anyone who enters into it.
The brilliance of the writing comes when Billos is deceived, and thus believes that Black can help him find the three books that will not be found in the Forest lands or with the Horde, but on the true Earth that we live in. But, the catch is that only the Forest people can see it, or at least, the Chosen.
On the other side of the coin the three remaining Chosen are left to figure out where Billos has gone. But when Thomas gets wind of Billos disappearing, he tells them to find him in the Forests and not to leave out into the desserts. Darsal, though, is obsessed in getting to Billos. In doing so she sells her soul and gets the last of the four books in her realm, but in finally using the books she brings a Horder member as well as Karas. They come into the world where Billos is, and leave Johnis and Silvie to figure out what has happened.
This other world is very odd. Run by a computer that brings them into Paradise, a place where we have been before to see a Showndown, where the books remain. Yet Billos has already come in guns blazing and has the people of the town out for his head. What is more, Billos is power hungry and crossing Darsal, who has just done everything, including risking her life, to get there.

As the scene unfolds we see ourselves in the midst of two stories and Dekker is able to jump back and forth leaving the pages turning incredibly well. My interest was far more provoked in every way more than the previous two the books. Black is able to decieve until Billos is forced into a scene of salvation and then must return to rescue Darsal and Karas. Then Johnis and Silvie are similarly forced to go to the dark forests where Darsal has dealt with the Devil.

They all end up back in that forest, only to once again to be transported back to Earth, or Hell as Silvie puts it. At this point we dont know the fates of Billos, Karas, and Darsal. Only Johnis and Silvie are sent to a similar location, and the rest are left wondering. Billos has taken the death deal on his head, and it is unknown whether the deal is true or not. Darsal is forced to leave him through the books, but Billos may or may not follow. And Karas is simply out there somewhere, unbeknownst to the reader what exactly this girl is all about. Oh, and did I mention Alucard, one of the biggest and most ruthless Shataiki, has crossed over.
Now, the books all lie in our world. And the Dark One is waiting. All that remains now is Chaos.