Jesse 's Reviews > Black: The Birth of Evil

2.5

I picked this book up mainly because of the hype, considering its one of the most popular Christian Fiction titles in the last 20 years, and also because I wanted to try some more Ted Dekker out.
What I got was....interesting, to say the least.

The good was I enjoyed the plot for the most part. It was fairly interesting and kept me reading.
The ending was pretty good and intense, though the allegory came a bit heavy-handed.

That was really the only thing I liked about this book.

The characters were horrible--and when I say horrible, I mean horrible!
Thomas was so, so, so bland it was actually funny to read. He has the same reaction to everything, no personality, and very unrealistic. So, he can't seem to keep a job, and is apparently a real "bum", yet he is a karate master? Who kicks peoples butts like he is Jet Li? I couldn't do it.
And that was basically the same for every character, except maybe Tanis.
Then you have Rachel. Oh lordy, lordy. Rachel is the most annoying, cringe, cheesy character I think I have ever read about. I don't know what Thomas see's in her, honestly. She is annoying, rude, and always whining. She's all like "No, Thomas, don't dream about other women, even though they are a figment of your imagination. Dream of me". Come on, Thomas. Come on, bro. And he is always like, "all I want to dream about is you," and it's just gross.
And why, pray tell, does she wink at him every time he does something, like she's the hottest chic on the universe! I cringed, physically, every time she winked at him for, I don't know, just living, I guess.
I could count multiple times where she winked, and it really made me groan. Everything every character said was just unrealistic and cringe.
The only good characters were Michal and Gabil, and they weren't even human!

I found that certain things in the plot were repeated way too many times. Like, every time Thomas had to tell someone about his dreams and the Raison Strain, we had to sit through it the whole time, every time, and it just got very boring.
And the whole thing with the Great Romance was just so weird. I get what he is trying to say, that the world was innocent before the devil took over, but it was still super cringe (how many times have I said that in this review?).

Another thing that I found real weird was this whole Elyon situation. Like, why is God a child? I get what Dekker was trying to say, but it still came of kinda...New-Age-y? He's always hugging and kissing people and telling them how much he loves them, which I'm sure God is like that, but it still sat weird with me.
Also, that scene when they all huddle around the water and start diving in it (I'm guessing its the Holy Spirit) was so weird. If you've read it, you know what scene I'm talking about, but the way Dekker described it was so strange. Like I was reading some weird erotic story. I know, weird, right?

I can't deny, though, that I did enjoy some parts of this book, especially the Dark Forest scenes, so it will be receiving a three stars, and I will continue with Red, and see how I feel from there.
If I were to describe this book in one sentence, it would be...A good story, with a unique plot, but with terrible characters and cringe throughout. Will try some other Dekker books along the months, and see how we go.