The winner of Calm, Cool, & Adjusted is Heather Tipton! Yay Heather!
Now about a book...
I recently finished Saint by Ted Dekker. I have to say, I was chomping at the bit to read this book after I read chatper one at the end of Showdown. That first chapter is a grabber, a real hook you and make you want to know the rest kind of read. Unfortunately, I've now finished the book, and I'm wondering what happened.The punch and intensity of the beginning seemed to get muddled in ambiguity and haziness. I love the premise of the book—a mind-manipulated assassin—but I'm wondering if the strength of the story got watered down by Dekker's attempt to tie it to the Showdown Project, which connects to his books Black, Red, and White.
Aside from a one-line POV shift in once scene, a character placement error in another, and a few missing words, the writing was strong, Ted Dekker style. I guess I just didn't feel like the ending held together well enough to be satisfying.
The characters were basically strong, although the antagonist was a bit two-dimensional. The hero seemed a bit whimpy at times emotionally, and the heroine didn't seem well defined. I had a hard time figuring out what made her tick.
Thing is, I love Dekker's books. I'll admit, I did get a little frustrated with the Circle series (Black, Red, White), but his message was stellar. Showdown had a sacrificial message as well, but perhaps he hung too much weight on that to carry through this book.
Don't get me wrong, Saint had some pretty awesome moments though, and you can be sure I'll be gearing up to read his next book, Skin. This one also has a killer first chapter at the end of Saint. I just hope it will follow through and deliver the punch it promises.
5 comments:
yay me! um... send it to Denver.
Glad to hear that Saint has some redeeming qualities. LOL It's kinda interesting--maybe this is part of WestBow's rejection, because both Dekker and I have a mind-wiped "spy." LOL Who knows??
Love ya, girlie!
Thanks so much for an honest review. Glad to know it. I was sent this book and if I hadn't already commited to read/review half dozen others I'd have loved to have review it. I thought Showdown was great. This one doesn't sound as good.
It's hard to be brutally honest when you're a writer hoping to break in but I for one appreciated your insights (no, I don't think you were "brutal" :).
I thought it was just me. I got it on audio and got bored half-way through (Sorry Ted!). Sometimes the reader in the audio is the problem, though. When he read the antags character, it sounded almost comical in his phony English accent.
As long as we're on the subject, I find that women readers really present a problem when doing male dialogue. It always sounds like a real pansy of a man speaking. But then I'm a red state sexist homaphobe, so what do I know?
I so need to read Dekker...thanks for the great post. Warmest Christmas blessings to you!
Post a Comment