While vacationing, I stopped in a Used Book store, and came across the book “Red”, by Ted Dekker.  My wife pointed it out to me, as I was struggling to find any worthwhile books in the large bookstore.  I’m a Sci-Fi and Romance fan, but want a message that honors God’s values – that really narrows the selection.  Incredibly, this 3-book series met the criteria!

“Red” is the 2nd book in the series – Black comes first, and White comes last (in the original series).  A quick check of my online library (Libby) showed Black and White were reservable, but Red had a waiting list, so I was justified with the purchase!  😉

The Good

Ted does a beautiful job presenting the Trinity and the pursuit of the Bride of Christ in a fresh new way.  You will notice that he steers completely away from sensual love – this really set these books apart, and elevates the love being described.  You would probably be content to end the series with “White”, as I was.  Ted is masterful at creating a whole new world for us to discover.  I feel the book teaches good values, and gives new perspective on the ways of God.

The Bad

A later book, “Green” was added to the series 4-5 years after the original series of 3 books came out.  I started to read it, and felt that it was unnecessary and damaged the message of the original series, so I deleted it from my reading queue after only a few chapters.  Ted had embraced sensual love, and “Green” read more like a Daytime Soap Opera.  I honestly looked online to see what happened to Ted, to cause this change in his writing style, but couldn’t figure it out.

Summary

I rarely add books to my personal collection.  The WingFeather series, by Andrew Peterson, is the only other one I’ve added in years.  I purchased the physical books (Black, White) to complete the series I own, and hope to loan them out someday.  🙂