The Circle Series

It's good, but it does take to long to get to the point. haven't read the last book yet, it seems it shouldn't even be a part. a trilogy would have been better i can already tell. Don't read if you don't want parallels to the bible or to read something with a clear conservative/ non gay/ "hate the sinner not the sin" agenda.

eh. I am a big fan of fantasy, Christian fantasy included. While this story keeps you turning pages, it left me with an unsatisfied feeling. The plot gets confusing in Green, even with the new ending. I chose to read it based on the strong positive reviews and it was OK. But I would not read any more Dekker. Maybe what bothered me is that evil pretty much wins in the end. The ending in Green was a definite downer.

I was unsure how the presentation of this book was going to go. And after reading the first chapter I almost cried. I had to stop reading collect composure for a few minutes then continue. The presentation is so gentle, warm, loving and embracing, with the scriptures. I purchased another one just for my children and I have decided to continue my career in finance as well, all inspired by listening to and reading In The Black!! totally exceptional and supercalafragalisticXpealadocious!!!

I love this series and the author.
It's a great buy for someone who likes the books.
My only complaint is they are all in one book.
It makes it far too large and bulky to read in the bath tub, If you're a read a book and relax in the bath type.

Purchased this set for my teenage son and it was a huge hit. I bought the hardcover set for him to be able to share with his future family. I had never read all of the books myself and they are excellent. Great read, great value.

This series is Ted Decker at his best. The first book is high paced and draws you in and you keep going without slowing down until you are done with all four. Amazing, Inspiring, Suspenseful......... Just read them!

For a guy who is a special op's expert this book falls far short of expectations. It also has several glaring inconsistencies. A woman leaves her lovers apartment with only cash and no purse and then goes to the bad guys office, copies a disk and then puts it into her, well, purse. Where did she get the disk to copy on or the purse to put it in? Well we just don't know.This book is full of stuff like that. Save your money and buy Flashman instead.

As always, these books are Christian thriller, fantasy and while they follow Biblical truths and imagery, they also cause people to consider their own lives a little more closely in tuned to God's word in our daily living.

Really enjoyed the biblical symbolism and allegory of the story. It all really made me think both about the history of the Bible and christianity as well as my life as a christian. I loved reading Black, it got me hooked for the rest of the series. But as the stories progressed the events started to repeat...

Read all the reviews of "The Circle," downloaded, but not convinced it was worth $14.99. I struggled through several alternative realities with Thomas Hunt and don't yet understand the "changed my life" reviews which influenced me to purchase the set. I do read all your reviews and appreciate the sincerity and the time and effort to share thoughts. So far all I can say is the first book, anyway, seems to meander in a fog of confusion, all the joy and love, kindness is not human-kind and a bit grating. I enjoy Dekker's writing so I will get back to this in the winter and perhaps the light will dawn for me too. Currently I am riveted to a CD of "Priest's Graveyard."

This is a life-changing story, because it's an allegory of the real story. We are reminded throughout these pages of the love that Jesus poured out for us, and that makes for a great read. The first three books in the series are fantastic: not classic literature by any means, but very, very good.

"Green", the fourth book, I felt was of significantly poorer quality. It was meant to be a mind-twisting circular story tie, but it seemed like it just wasn't thought out enough. I think Dekker wrote it half a decade after the first three, so it seemed like he just wasn't able to capture that fantasy universe the way he did when he wrote the originals. As a whole, though, I had a lot of fun reading these four books.

I absolutely loved this series! I have it both in hard copy and on my the store Kindle! I am glad that there is an alternate ending in Green though, as I didn't like the original ending - it was not something that God would have done, so I didn't like how it ended. I highly recommend this series!

I have nearly every Ted Dekker book and love them all. They teach you a lesson in life while also teaching you a fabulous story. Great for finding yourself since there are so many characters you can see your life in one of them. Ted Dekker is just a pure genius with words.

I did like the style and flow of the story. I found the idea of the circular concept intriguing, but at some point, I think many readers would feel as I did...what's the point? I felt cheated once I finished the series, realizing that the characters have no hope, and are doomed to repeat a cycle of tragic misjudgment. If Karma or 2nd chances truly come into play, even in fiction, then nothing can truly be circular, can it? I was very disappointed in the feelings this story left me with, and while I did satisfy my curiosity, I will not be keeping this set, as I do most books. I will never read it again, nor would I recommend it to others - unless you are a glutton for punishment.
I feel it worthwhile to note that I would read more by this author, however. His style and imagination are captivating.

Well...This is actually one of my very favorite series, but this was very misleading. This is NOT the "Complete Circle Series" as they claim. I've read this entire series a couple of times & this book is missing alot. So beware!

I hesitated purchasing this set. I'm not fond of hard back books because paperbacks are easier for me to read. I also wasn't sure if I wanted the set of 4 all in one big book, or 4 seperate books like this set. Well, I'm happy with my purchase. I absolutely love this series, and having them seperate has allowed me to loan them out to different people. I think everyone should read these books, so I am glad I went with this set. I honestly did not like 'Green', but others might like it, and now I have it for everyone to read and decide for themselves. The price was great also, and way more inexpensive than elsewhere.

This Series is, probably, the best series of books I have ever read. Not only is the writing (particularly with the use of pathos) brilliant, but the narrative gave me a fresh perspective of the Gospel - a life changing perspective might I add. Honestly, this story is perfectly crafted. Furthermore, though I thought my knowledge of the Gospel and Scripture would "spoil" the unfolding of the plot, I was consistently surprised by the story's development. These books are truly fantastic!

NOTE FOR KINDLE EDITION - This is especially a great purchase because it includes PAGE NUMBERS and BOTH Green endings (unlike the "Complete Circle Series: Box Set (Books of History Chronicles: Circle) [Kindle Edition]")

I returned the series. I hated the writing style and the plot was a mire of unrelatable nonsense. The kindle format starts you off on Green which contrary to the authors claims is not an equally good place to start off as Black. You will only be more confounded.
The peaceful people of Elyon are a crazy, bloodthirsty, not terribly intelligent lot. Which kind of made me root for them to fall. If all humanity has waiting is that future sign me off now.

I bougth this book with a great expectative because the reviews, everyone wrote that the book changes their lives.
The plot's idea is interesting, but the personages are so much good or so much evil . Thomas Hunter is ok, but cry a lot for my taste. The author extendend the story and this turn the book boring.
I don't intend to buy another book from this author
Cida

I am really irritated with myself that I did not read the reviews. This was recommended by a friend of a friend, someone I don't know. The premise seemed intriguing, and it has a lot of good reviews. It's only now, looking at the reviews, that I see this is an allegorical presentation of Biblical stories. I read part of the first book (Black) and was puzzled as to how a book that is so superficial, so stereotypical, so flat, so lacking in character and plot development, so lacking in any kind of sophisticated writing style got so many good reviews. The only thing I can gather is that there are a lot of people who like a simple story that parallels their religious or philosophical leanings, and the elements that make a great novel are optional. Honestly, I can't explain the high reviews any other way. I kept thinking, "This is so lacking in nuance that there must be some kind of plot twist coming." I realize now it's not coming, and as I don't have a lot of time to read, I won't be wasting any more time with this series. I only wish I had realized it before the 7-day Kindle return window had expired. I didn't see a lot of overly religious tones in the several chapters I read (Black), but it was very dichotomous - black and white, evil and good, nothing in between. Boring. The plot, the characters, the underlying themes... just heinously boring.

The books are fantastic. I had read them before I purchased this set, but I really enjoy having nice-looking books, so I bought these. The books came in good condition, but the cover for them had a large dent and a tear in it. I'm sure the store would have exchanged it for me, but I didn't want to mess with it.

I got this book for someone who reads a lot of mystery novels, and is a Christian. He thought the book was really weird, and didn't honestly feel he was better off by reading it. It goes way deep into good and evil in a very different and serious way. I wouldn't even call it fiction, and not an entertaining read.

I have had, and treasured this great little book for decades. If you can get your hands on a copy it is still a very appropriate read for what is happening now in the U.S. with regard to race relations. The illustrations are also great. It was a response to the Peanuts book, "Happiness Is." Other books like it are "Black Misery" by Langston Hughes, and "White Is" by Preston Wilcox, editor, which is kind of the flip side of the same coin.

A very powerful sample of what's within: "Black is when folks say you've got to earn rights the Constitution guaranteed you already had.
And another: Black is getting the same treatment by the police whether you're violent or non-violent.
One more: Black is when you're in court to be judged by a jury of your peers and all your peers look like they'd been bleached.

Plus ça change....

So far my thoughts on black is that it is fine but doesn't draw me in, any Russia bio weapon dudes in black big pharma stuff is not in the realm of my interests. Regardless of how I feel the book audience seems to like it.

The problem I am having with this book is that it changes pace of scenery too often, too much transition means I have to use my brain to follow along and build more to fill in the writing's holes. Too much at any amount of time and I begin to have anxiety attacks. This is not the case for many readers so please bear with me. My review score is not permenamt and hopefully this book series will grow on me.

The first half of this book was intriguing (so 2 stars instead of 1), but eventually I found myself just wishing to get it read and over with - and it's many, many pages. Some very interesting concepts, but basically too far beyond the realm of any common sense at all. If you like a bit of logic in your worlds, this is not the book for you. If you believe that religion will supply you with everything and constantly test you with absurdity, then go for it. I had enough of stench, giant bats, a giggling god, and spitting. I wish I could regain the many hours I spent reading this and use them for just about anything else!!! Read "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells instead.

I am so happy that I didn't realize this was a series when I purchased Black by itself. I usually don't like sereies and would have passed on it. But I bought Black and placed it on the bookshelf for a year. Then I read it and was super pleased. At first it grew on me slowly. Before I was half way through, I was hooked. Then I was thrilled to death to discover that Ted Dekker wrote many more novels. Now I'm on a quest to collect them all.

I liked Black a hundred percent. Red is even better. Now I'm almost at the end of White. The Novel White is as good as Black, but Red is better. But really, it's hard to even judge them that way because it's the same continuing story.

One thing is for certain, Ted Dekker is not predictable in these novels. You never know where the story is going to go, and when you think you do, Ted makes a quick right turn or goes off into left field. Sometimes he spins into a 180. He is an expert with the unexpected.

This is probably worth 2.5 stars. The HRT parts are really exciting even though a bit far-fetched. There was far too many pages of terminally boring trivia. It seems as though an entire chapter was devoted to Waller's kids playing in a Little League ball game. Why?

The parts about Senator Beechum were also drawn out for ever and I ended up paging right through all of them as they kept popping up. Her character was ridiculous as was her adversary Senator Parsons.

All of the good guys were supermen and with one exception all over six feet tall. Even Sirad was a six-footer and really I don't understand what part she played in this story other than to have a lurid sex scene.

The seemingly evil rich guy and his minions were all supermen and on and on and on it went.

The ending was totally absurd and left me feeling as though the author just got sick of the whole thing and wanted to quit as soon as possible.

Despite all the inconsistencies and far-fetched plot lines it was a guilty pleasure. It was exciting enough in places to keep me reading until the disappointing end. An editor should have tightened it up by cutting out about a third of the text. It would then be silly but a fun read.

A friend recommended this novel to me... Black by Christopher Whitcomb. Since he knows I like espionage novels, he had a pretty good idea I'd like this one. And for the most part, he was right. Whitcomb brings his background as a member of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team into play to write a novel that has a number of threads that all attempt to come together at the end. I say "attempt" as I wasn't overly enthused about the way it wrapped up, but up to that point it was good...

The story revolves around Jeremy Waller, a rookie member of the Hostage Rescue Team. He has an instinct to do things that most agents wouldn't think of in tight situations, and as such he's relatively unpredictable to both his enemies and his fellow agents. He gets sucked into a black ops trip into the Middle East to assassinate a high-ranking Al-Queda leader. But things go bad as a large number of innocents get gunned down as collaterial damage. He's having a very hard time dealing with that, and his questions are being covered up at every level above him. At the same time, Senator Elizabeth Beechum, a staunch defender of the intelligence community, is going head to head with a billionaire, Jordan Mitchell, who has developed a cell phone encryption technique that has rendered government evesdropping obsolete. And what's worse, he's going to sell it to the Saudis. The Senator is set up on a murder charge and is systematically stripped of her Senate posts bit by bit. Mitchell is set to make billions more with his cell phones, which may have a secondary feature built in that no one knows about. And on top of it all, a newly minted executive at his company, Sirad Malneaux, is not all she appears to be. Mitchell knows that her background is false, but wants to follow her to see where it leads. She has no objection to using her charms to get what she wants, and what she wants are the plans for what Mitchell is up to. All these threads start interweaving to a final confrontation where no one seems to be who they appeared to be after all...

Leading up to the end, I liked the story. Waller's striving to make the cut to become a member of the HRT... Malneaux's mysterious background... Mitchell's view that making money should trump government intelligence needs. Watching Waller work through various training missions and actual hostage situations was engrossing, as you didn't know quite how things were going to turn out in either case. As the book progressed, I started to wonder exactly how all these threads were going to come together in the end, as they remained distinct for the longest time. And unfortunately, I wasn't rewarded with the best payoff in my opinion. The ending felt contrived and hollow, and seemed to be nothing more than a setup for a follow-on novel (which is probably his next book White).

I'll probably end up reading the next novel in the series in hopes that Whitcomb builds out the characters in their new roles and does a better job in wrapping up a story. And I'm not sorry I read this one, either. It's just that I would have liked a better ending than I got...

Disclosure:
Obtained From: Library
Payment: Borrowed

Black is one of those thrillers that intentionally misleads the reader, with the final twist meant to be a real shocker. I have to say, that with all of the unlikely complexities of this story, nothing would have surprised me by the end. Nor did I care very much. By the time all the threads of this tale involving a terrorist plot and numerous characters who are either good, bad or somewhere in between were tied up, the final explanation seemed almost arbitrary. Whitcomb, a former FBI agent, clearly knows a great deal about the nuts and bolts of intelligence operations. At times, he reveals more details about these than I care to know; for example, he constantly runs off tiresome acronyms (which are common to all bureaucracies, not only spy agencies) for every conceivable string of words. The very complex story involves several people whose intentions are unclear. Jeremy Waller is the closest thing to a hero, and the most straightforward character. He is an idealistic young FBI agent, recently recruited into a special team that specializes in secret operations, including assassinations. Elizabeth Beechum is a Senator with presidential aspirations who has apparently been framed for murder. Jordan Mitchell, a kind of Donald Trump type, is an egotistical corporate head who is developing a new kind of cell phone that it will be impossible for government agencies to spy on. Mitchell is an amoral character driven completely by profit and not exactly sympathetic. Sirad Malneaux is the mandatory mysterious, exotic beauty hired by Mitchell; her true allegiance is not known until well into the book. Like her employer Mitchell, Malneaux is a rather ruthless character. She uses her charm and sexuality to manipulate men (very unusual for a woman in a spy novel). Beechum is actually annoying in the opposite way; she seems to be in a perpetual state of righteous indignation. While the story justifies this much of the time, I still found her role as the last true idealist in Washington act a little hard to take. As the story unfolds, it becomes almost impossible to guess who the real bad guys are (except, of course, for the Arab terrorists who are forever lurking). When the final twist occurs, you realize that you've been deliberately misled. I would not want to read this book a second time, but I'm sure if I did many things would not make sense. Like many books and movies that rely on twists, you are expected to forget about the false clues that lead up to the final revelations.

More troublesome than the contrived twists is the underlying message, whether intended or not, that when you are dealing with bad guys, the end justifies the means. Why I found this especially troubling is that the novel does not simply ignore moral questions (which is fairly common, and even forgivable, in action thrillers). Instead, he instills a real conscience in Jeremy Waller, who, despite having been trained to become an efficient killing machine, has serious reservations about killing, especially children and civilians. To me, when an author takes up such a serious issue, he is taking on certain responsibilities, more than, say, the author of a James Bond-type hero, where we are meant to simply take the blood and gore for granted. Yet this issue is simply swept under the rug as the plot becomes more complex. I don't know if this means Whitcomb simply forgot about it, or that the high concept of the story is supposed to render such questions irrelevant. Nor is Waller the only character where moral issues become murky, but I cannot elaborate without giving away key plot points. Black is a book whose fast pace and action keeps you turning the pages, but leaves you less than satisfied for its unlikely twists and moral ambiguity.

Christopher Whitcomb, a fifteen-year veteran of the FBI and a former member of the elite Hostage Rescue Team, has written an electrifying novel about the shadowy world of spies, snipers, intelligence gathering, and terrorism. "Black" refers to the world of black ops, missions that are so classified that few details are known to anyone outside of the immediate chain of command.
Jeremy Waller is an FBI agent selected to be a member of the highly trained Hostage Rescue Team, and he couldn't be more excited. He enjoys the camaraderie with his fellow team members, and he loves the weaponry and the gadgetry that go along with the job. Waller is an expert marksman, and he thinks creatively and clearly under pressure. What Waller does not know is that he will soon be tested in ways that he could never have imagined when he signed up for membership in the HRT.
Another major character in "Black" is an embattled senator, Elizabeth Beechum, who is framed for a crime that she did not commit, and whose reputation and freedom are in grave jeopardy. Who is out to destroy this powerful Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee? Could her adversary be Jordan Mitchell, CEO of Borders Atlantic? His gigantic telecommunications company is about to introduce a new cellular phone that will enable terrorists to plan their attacks with no danger of electronic interception. Also in the equation is the beautiful Sirad Malneaux, a woman who uses her obvious physical attractions to pry secrets out of rich and powerful men.
Whitcomb shifts frequently from one principal player to another, until the plot resembles an intricate jigsaw puzzle whose pieces are scattered all over the floor. The author reveals only those pieces that he wants you to have. In "Black," Whitcomb includes some of the usual elements that writers of spy thrillers dearly love, including the aforementioned gorgeous and seductive female with a hidden agenda, hired mercenaries, and oodles of high-tech gizmos. However, Whitcomb succeeds in making the old formula seem fresh. He includes timely references to the war on Iraq and Al-Qaeda, and he shows a deep understanding of the high-stakes jockeying for power and influence that is going on both in our nation's capital and in corporate America. "Black" is thoroughly entertaining, with enough excitement, action, and surprises to please even the most jaded of readers. I can't wait for the sequel.

The news media does not report "news." It reports the bizarre, the unusual, the unlikely. But it does not report what is happening. You will never see a headline that reads, "Three Million Auto Trips Completed Thursday Without Mishap" or "No Fights at Wal-Mart Today." Let there be one plane crash or the equivalent of a locker room towel-snap hazing in an Iraqi prison camp on the U.S. watch, and the suits are all over it. An al-Qaeda beheading? They do it all the time. So that, by the modern definition, is not news. News, in fact, is what you don't hear about. And there is a lot of interesting news in BLACK.

BLACK is Christopher Whitcomb's first novel. He has a previous book, COLD ZERO, a nonfiction work about his fifteen years with the FBI. While BLACK is ostensibly a work of fiction, it has such a ring of truth to it that it is difficult to escape the feeling that Whitcomb is writing a memoir rather than a fictional thriller. In either event, BLACK is a winner.

Jeremy Waller is the primary focus of BLACK. The story picks up with him completing his training for a place on the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team. Waller attracts the notice of his instructors almost from Day One due to his almost uncanny ability to think outside the box when confronted with a problem. After demonstrating this trait on numerous occasions during training, Waller shows during a hostage extrication mission in Puerto Rico that he is capable of performing in the field and under fire as well. However, when Waller is tapped by his supervisor to perform a secret, clandestine mission overseas --- a mission of which his own agency does not even seem to be aware --- Waller's career and personal life begin to unravel for reasons he does not understand.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Beechum, a United States Senator who appears to be on the fast track for a presidential nomination, is suddenly attacked in her home. Following the attack, she finds that her nomination and Senatorial career are inexplicably in jeopardy.

The source of Beechum's and Waller's problems emanates from Jordan Mitchell, a driven, focused business tycoon whose company is on the verge of rolling out a cellular phone that will revolutionize communications and that will also render conversational eavesdropping impossible. Mitchell's intent to roll out the telephones in the Mideast has resulted in his becoming the most hated man in America, as these cellular phones, in the hands of terrorists, will significantly compromise the ability of the United States to gather intelligence. al-Qaeda operatives, meanwhile, are on the verge of carrying out a terrorist act that will bring the United States down and affect an unsuspecting world --- all within the space of a few seconds. Waller finds himself in a race against time to stop the terrorists, and Mitchell. Not even Waller, however, can ascertain Mitchell's true agenda until the very end of the story, when all is revealed.

BLACK is quite a romp from its beginning to its very end. I thought I had it all figured out about halfway through and, appropriately enough, I was only half right. As I neared the end of BLACK, I wondered how Whitcomb was going to wrap things up in the few remaining pages. The answer to that question was, and is, very nicely, thank you. Whitcomb's pacing and plotting is the equal of a seasoned craftsman, as opposed to someone diving into the waters of a first novel. Hopefully, there will be many, many more.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

FBI Agent Jeremy Waller is living his dreams. Promoted into the elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), he gets to play with the big boys. But war on terror is a different kind of law enforcement and Jeremy finds himself in a situation where he doesn't know the rules and where he can't tell who are his allies or enemies. Senator Elizabeth Beechum is set to be the next Presidential nominee when she's attacked in her home--and then accused of murder. Those who were once her friends pull away from her, her nomination vanishes into thin air, and even loyal constituents back in South Carolina start to question their votes. CIA agent Sirad Malneax has infiltrated one of the largest, most secretive, and dangerous companies in the world. Now, though, her cover is compromised. Because the owners of Borders Atlantic will stop at nothing, certainly not murder, to keep their secrets and push their own agenda.

In a suspenseful thriller, author Christopher Whitcomb brings the war on terror to life. Morals, laws, and decency are sacrificed in the bloody war to prevent a financial catastrophy--but there are always some who are willing to sell themselves, their secrets, and their country's security to the highest bidder. When Borders Atlantic launches a super-secure phone system--one that even NSA computers cannot crack, the terrorists prepare to have a field day against a prostrate U.S.

Whitcomb weaves elements of his story together letting the reader scurry to catch up. Senator Beechum, in particular, is an interesting and well dimensioned character (Malneaux and Waller are perhaps a bit perfect). The exciting conclusion has a bit of a John Le Carre feel--which is definitely a compliment. I do wonder about Beechum's reaction at the end. Surely more heads would roll.

If you enjoy the black helicopter, conspiracy theory, paranoid thrillers, then Christopher Whitcomb's "Black" is right up your alley.

Mr. Whitcomb writes what he knows. He spent fifteen years in the FBI...as a sniper on Hostage Rescue, an interrogation instructor and director of intelligence for the Critical Incident Response Group.

The plot centers upon telecom billionaire Jordan Mitchell whose latest high-tech cell phone has a new encryption model so advanced it will take the NSA at least a year to map it.

Mitchell's game plan to roll out the phones in the Mideast prompts many in the U.S. government to accuse him of putting profits ahead of patriotism. This phone will compromise the U.S. ability to gather intel on the terrorists.

There are three additional main players.

The HRT connection is Jeremy Waller, a rookie, always at the top of his class.

Senator Elizabeth Beecham who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee has Mitchell squarely in her sights.

The sexy Sirad Malneaux who works for Mitchell in his Atlanta office is a spy...who controls her, and is she perhaps a double or even a triple agent?

These four swirl in an intense eddy, eventually converging in this high stakes game.

To give away more plot points would sabotage your personal theories and predictions.

If you find yourself bewildered, perplexed or disoriented as the plot unfolds...at the resolution you will realize you were meant to feel that way.

So---read, hypothesize and enjoy a genuine electrifying ride.

On the edge of my seat the Entire time.! The whole series! I cried! I felt like screaming at the sheer stupidity of the people in this book. I was so mad at the fact that I had to put this book down at all. I had read this whole series long ago and I am so very glad I decided to read it again. It was worth every minute. Every hour and second I spent late into the night even though I had to get up just a few hours later.
So awesome. I could probably go on forever singing praises to Ted Dekker for his genius. Thank you Ted!

The Circle Series is the story of Thomas Hunter. Thomas lives a fairly normal life until he takes a pretty big blow to his head. Then all of a sudden he wakes up immersed in a completely different world. What Thomas doesn't realize is how integral he will be to both worlds. The worlds will be either saved or destroyed by his choices.

What proceeds is an intense science fiction to make any man or woman look at life a little differently. What I appreciated about this book is the way Mr. Dekker creatively wrote a different world. It was life like to me as I read it, the characters were not foreign, or disengaged. I loved how he made each one real and could actually exist in a parallel world. This book is really only appropriate for adults, it's intense, violent, and graphic. Luckily, he wrote a circle series for children too :) So dear readers if you're looking for a great science-fiction please read Ted Dekker's Circle Series.

Christopher Whitcomb a former sniper with the prestigious FBI based Hostage Rescue Team has ample experience and resouces to fabricate the slick, crackling politcal thriller "Black". Whitcomb weaved together a series of plots involving the main characters in his novel that move toward a well conceived, albeit somewhat predictable conclusion.
Jeremy Waller, a recently recruited member of the Hostage Rescue Team is just getting his feet wet in their clandestine operations. Meanwhile multibillionaire telecommunications magnate, CEO of Borders Atlantic, Jordan Mitchell has just developed revolutionary cell phone encryption technology which prevents surveillance. A ruthless businessman, Mitchell intends to sell the technology to the Saudis prior to it's release in the U.S.. Senator Elizabeth Beechum, chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee and possible Democratic presidential nominee fears that this will tip the balance of power towards terrorism and vows to block Mitchell. Mitchell promotes Sirad Malneaux a gorgeous raven haired Borders Atlantic executive of Lebanese extract to broker the deal with the Saudis.
Whitcomb plunges these characters into a suspenseful plot which reveals some of the inner workings of government based anti terrorism policy. While the character development is a tad shallow, this enhances the clandestine nature of this nicely done tale.

Christopher Whitcomb's debut fiction novel is...simply put - fantastic!

Whitcomb writes with aplomb, like he has been doing this for many years. He quickly has established himself here as a tour de force when it comes to this genre. Having been there in real life helps, I suppose. And it shows here in every single page.

Now, I usually don't read alot of this type of gnere. I've tried out the Ludlum and Clancy novels, full of military high-tech and political jargon. They were good reads, but Whitcomb's is better in my estimation. Perhaps it is the realism he breathes into each and every page.

But what is most important is the fact that Whitcomb writes with a blistering pace. Even if you are like me, and don't really like political mystery, mixed with enough military jargon to make your head spin - still BLACK never lets up in page-turning thrill reading. I was never, ever bored. And that is saying something. This book was not anything of what i expected. Good surprise.

This author just got another fan. I already ordered his next two books. If you love fast-paced thrillers, full of interesting, intersecting plotlines, along with interesting characters of both sides of the law, then this is definately up your alley.

The first three books, Black, Red and White, are beautiful. What an amazing way to portray God's love for us. The story is artfully written, the intertwining of both of Thomas's (the protagonist of the story) realities is fascinating, and Mr. Dekker's writing impacts the depths of your soul as you compare Elyon's love for his people to God's love for us.

Green was disappointing. While I thought the biblical allegory in Black, Red and White was well done, Green was not. One character who has drunk of the red waters of Justin (symbolic to us asking the Holy Spirit to reside in us, thus ensuring our salvation) loses his salvation. There are multiple verses giving us the assurance of salvation (John 5:24, Romans 10:13, 1 John 5: 11-13, Acts 2:21, etc.) so this portion of the story saddened me, and may cause some to believe that, in the end times, Satan will be able to rob us of our salvation. Jesus makes a promise to us that, in times of persecution, the Holy Spirit will speak for us, and we will be given the strength to stand. (Luke 12:12).

The other troubling, scriptural inconsistency for me was that one of the Horde, who had received the mark of the beast, was saved in the end. The bible is also clear on this, as stated in Revelation 14: 9 - 11: ...“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation.And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Overall, the books are a wonderful read, one of my more favorite by Mr. Dekker. While Green, for me, was disappointing, it was not disappointing enough for me not to read at least the first three, again. Additionally, the second ending to Green, which actually closes the story instead of starting it again, was much better.

This book series was suggested to me, a lover of the C. S. Lewis Narnia series. This is a great series of books that flows with spiritual themes of good and evil. A little more SciFi than I usual like, but then again is it? Wonderfully written with every chapter ending in a way that just won't let you stop reading. Seemed quite ironic that as I read this book We had a world wide Ebola epidemic similar to the Raisin Strain that just about ended the world in this book. It was a great series and I'm kind of sad I'm done with it but looks like this author has lots of other great epics so on to the next one

Due to the author's real-life experience with the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT,) he has an insider's view of life on HRT. The parts of the book that deal with the HRT are excellent. The problem is they only make up around 20% of the book. The author is trying to branch off into writing actions/political thrillers. The problem is that the other 80% of the book is just not very good. The characters are flat and the role of the HRT, while critical in national security. is vastly overblown. The political scenes seem more like a bad Hollywood script than real life. The intelligence sections contain many errors, and the plot of having a giant evil corporation more powerful than the U.S. government is getting tired.

If you want to read everything you can about HRT, than the book is worth it, since the HRT parts of the work hit the mark. The rest of the book is average at best. The author should stick to what he does best. Non-fiction books about the HRT. He should leave the fictional political/spy novels to the pros.

This story sort of drug out but was still interesting.The role of the hero is played by Jeremy Waller.He is an F.B.I. agent who has been accepted in the H.R.T.(Hostage Response Team).This is an elite commando unit of the F.B.I.Waller has some rescue missions in Puerto Rico and Yemen.Another personality in this story is billionaire Jordan Mitchell the

CEO of Border's Atlantic.He has come up with a new mobile phone that cannot be tapped.Another lead character,Senator Beechum

considers this phone to be a dangerous weapon that can be used

by forces of terrorism.Because of this opposition Senator Beechum becomes a target of Jordan Mitchell.Waller enters the frey to stop the forces of evil(Jordan Mitchell).Waller does battle with Jordan's army of hired guns.It makes for an interesting read.All of the above named characters combine to

make this a readable book.Be sure to read it.

the first three books were really good, but, then I got to green. Green started out pretty good plot wise with a few twists and turns, but, then dekker describes a very strange scene in a bedroom between a bat and two people (This scene lasts 4-5 chapters btw). The book green really disapointed me because this is a Christian book, it is supposed to be "safe" for teenagers to read. I would not recommend this book for people 20 or younger.

Literary license is ok, as long as it does not stretch the readers sense of logic. In this novel, the "gizmo" is a science fiction weapon which does not violate logic. Who knows what they will invent next year. However, there are too many conflicts with logic that turns off a serious reader. Unless this book was intended to be similar to pulp fiction, despite being written by an former FBI agent, there are too many faults that violate my understanding of logic, which reduces the credibility of the plot.

One of the central figures is a Democratic Senator who is the committee chairman of the intelligence committee. The author tells us that she is a Democrat in a Republican Congress. The majority party has the chair. That makes the plot thin. Also, the author's central plot revolves around that Senator being the favorite candidate for the Democratic nomination. Nearly anyone who has a TV set knows that in addition to the mob of media, by law, any major candidate for President has Secret Service Protection.

The author makes obvious atttempts to tell us how familiar he is with the FBI, HRT, ect. However, he seems to forget how unlikely it would be for the alledged victim to get into the house. Although it is credibile that politically, this would not be a good thing. Secret Service would NOT let anyone into the Senators home without approval, and there would have been a log kept.Is this literary license? Or a lack of knowledge. This novel was sold as being written by an FBI agent, who we readers would probably assume that he would know some basic facts of how how the rest of government works.

In the real world, no Senator would be alone three weeks before the National Convention, if she was the leading candidate.

The attack on the Senator, in the real world would have been followed by a call to her political operatives, her staff, her lawyer, and maybe then a call to the police.

In the real world, getting an indictment is relatively easy, however, with the real world scrunity, such an attack on her person is just too incredible as is her arrest and indictment.

The author's lack of knowledge of major investigatgions such as when he blames the Washington Metropolitan Police for failing to convict the Mayor, Marion Barry. The failure was due to the FBI prosecution and the prosecutor. Although HRT has done some good things, and saved lives, the author never tells the reader of its major screw ups, like Waco and Ruby Ridge. Regardless of what thinks of the FBI. There is no doubt that they were major screw ups, which resulted in FBI firings, bad publicity, and tax payer settlements to the victims of the HRT.

I bought this for the trilogy I already read (Black Red and White) and am thrilled to find that a fourth book (Green) has been added since I read those and it's as good as I remember the others being. These fantasy books not only are action- packed but also really bring the message of the Bible to life but in an alternate reality which really has gotten me thinking more about some deep theological issues while thoroughly entertaining me at the same time. I look forward to handing this to my son to read once he's old enough.

A cellular plan to die for

BLACK is a conspiracy thriller in which the perps, and even the Machiavellian intent, aren't immediately obvious. As a matter of fact, the reader doesn't have a glimmer of understanding until page 327 of 362. Until then, four subplots proceed on more or less separate paths. One must have faith that they eventually coalesce.

Jordan Mitchell is CEO of Borders Atlantic, a communications company on the verge of marketing a system for cellular phone message encryption that will stymie even the electronic eavesdroppers at the National Security Agency.

Senator Elizabeth Beechum chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Fearing Mitchell's new technology will give terrorists the upper hand, she's determined to stop it cold. Beechum is also likely to be the nominee for president to come out of the Democratic National Convention being held in a couple weeks. Unfortunately, she gets derailed when she's attacked by an unknown assailant and rendered unconscious in her Georgetown home. When she comes to, the room is awash in blood - not hers. Though there's no body, circumstantial evidence leads her to be charged with murder.

Jeremy Waller is the FNG on the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, assigned as a sniper. After a successful first mission in Puerto Rico to free the kidnapped daughter of the island's governor, Waller finds himself seconded to a mysterious two-man operation in Yemen so hush-hush that even his HRT bosses don't know about it. What's the FBI doing in an overseas gig, anyway?

Sirad Malneaux, a fast-rising executive in Borders Atlantic, finds herself hand-picked by Mitchell, apparently on the basis of her ability to convincingly lie, for an important assignment. Does he know she really works for the CIA?

Then, to make things interesting, an obscure American techno-firm has devised a new way to kill - with concentrated sounds waves that blow out the victim's skull. (In the movie version, wouldn't that make a great special effect?)

The twist to the story, revealed in the last thirty-five pages, should be clever enough to lift BLACK above standard fare. But that's counter-balanced by two-dimensional main characters, none of whom I particularly cared about. To be fair, author Christopher Whitcomb faced a dilemma in the evolution of his plot. By the story's end, the reader realizes why he couldn't demonize any one of his players. Yet, in order to keep the reader guessing, he couldn't make any one of them too sympathetic. After all, there has to be both a Protagonist and Antagonist in any story, right? Perhaps only Beechum is blameless from the start. (But is any politician truly innocent in the mind of the Body Politic?)

Since BLACK was a birthday gift, I wanted to like it more than I do, and I feel guilty that I don't.

Technology is a double edged sword; whatever has the potential for great good can destroy just as thoroughly. Such is the case in Black, a thriller that takes readers into the world within the world where only one man knows everything that is going on; that man is Jordan Mitchell, who holds the key to totally safe communication. On the surface that seems good, but in the hands of killers, it's deadly. The trio of his costars must navigate his traps within traps to save not only their lives, but perhaps the world.

*** For fans of Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy, this will be a thrill ride they could easily get hooked on. Multi layed stories parallel each other until they intertwine to bring the journey to an end. Like an Escher painting, you will find nothing is as it seems. ***

Amanda Killgore

I really wanted to like this book. I read a lot. When I find a new author with multiple releases, I look forward to reading them all. My favorites are Patrick O'Brian, Bernard Cornwell, Jeffrey Deaver, John Sandford, John D. McDonald, etc. So when I found Black, I thought this might be a new set of novels that would keep me entertained on multiple airline trips. Unfortunately, it just doesn't measure up.

Black follows four major characters through a series of thriller/mystery/action scenarios. As with many good novels, you don't know for some time who the good guys and the bad guys are. Unfortunately, in this book, you don't know until the last page when the author essentially pulls a "Voila!" and lets you in on the gag. It is almost as if he got tired of writing and just ended it. A big part of the let-down is that you have been brought into the emotional life of each character, but in the end, Whitcomb throws emotion and motivation out the window to fit his finale.

One challenge for writers in this genre is keeping all sorts of arcane facts straight. You lose credibility when you use specific info to paint a character, but you get it all wrong. For example, one character is supposed to be a senior USAF officer. He is described as being a veteran pilot who flew F-14's and then F-18's. Most people who read this type of novel would know those aircraft are flown only by the Navy and the Marines.

I have one other complaint which I am reticent to bring up. Most books of this genre have at the core, "we are the good guys and they are the bad guys." While politics is a part of any international thriller, it is usually left in the background. Unfortunately in this book, there are several passages when the author just decides to put a rant worthy of the Democratic Underground into the mouth of one of the main characters. While I expect that there are some readers out there who believe that the country is being led by self-serving liars, this unneccessary and uncharacteristic diatribe only served to distract from the narrative of the story.

I wanted to like this novel, but it let me down on multiple levels. Hope you enjoy it more...

As much as I enjoyed the books while I read them, I would not recommend them because the series is truly a circle. There is no ending. So, if you like definite endings to stories, as I do, I think you'll be frustrated as at conclusion, you end up again at the beginning.

I kept reading because the details felt authentic and I wondered how the many themes would all come together. Well, they don't. Even if one embraces the neoconservative Ayn Rand fantasy that underlies the plot--it is better to hand over control of our destiny to a few well-meaning rich individuals than to stumble along with a democracy--never mind that absolute power corrupts absolutely--one is still left with such details as to why the "good guys" tortured the good-looking broad when they knew she was a double agent for their own side and why they had a hired assassin work over a middle-aged lady while she was in the nude instead of framing her a million other obvious ways. No I won't be reading his other books.

I am praising God right now. I love big books, and when it was recommended to me, and I saw it was over 1000 pages, I wanted to read it out of the gate. Some say that the Shataki are way too scary and exaggerated, but I don't think that the devil is any less scary.
My list of "good" book series is limited to Harry Potter and a couple others. But Ted found a way to draw me in and engage my imagination and encourage my faith. Many complain that it is too slow in the beginning and I do not disagree. But it is worth sticking with it to get all that is packed in. He keeps it moving with twists and unpredictability. LOVE THE CIRCLE SERIES!!!!!!!!

Three and a half stars, really, because his insider's view of the mindset of his military and FBI characters, especially in the context of current events, raises this book above the level of pure cotton candy potboiler.
He gives decent dialogue and motivation to characters he's obviously at home with, but his other characters come out flat. And he drops so many names of high-priced luxury items worn or admired by his non-FBI-related characters that it looks like that's how he's tried to develop their characters.
I guess it's the nature of the beast that the author sacrifices character development for the sake of the plot.
A good beach or hammock read.

This novel was a natural for the talents of Christopher Whitcomb. He took the inside knowledge of being a veteran of the F.B.I's Hostage Rescue Team, and spun it into a riveting tale of the "unknowns" and "unsung heroes" that protect our nation with no recognition and, sometimes no knowledge they are even players in the scheme.

If you're waiting for the 'read of the summer', read Black. It's loaded with twists and turns that take you through the labyrinth of the Black Ops, and culminates in an exciting ending that leaves you wondering: "what, if any of this is actually true?" Truly a great read!

This is a very fast moving, thrilling novel that adds a chilling twist to the way America fights terrorism. The reader is quickly immersed into the lives of the three patriotic americans from different walks of life, who are caught up in a grand scheme to defeat a deadly terrorist plot. This is a hard book to put down. I put everything on hold until I finished it. The reader is never really sure who the good guys and bad guys are, and never does know until the startling ending. The plot will keep you guessing right to the last page. I highly recommend this book and hope to see more novels from Mr. Whitcomb.

I LOVED this series. It was magical, adventurous, intriguing, thought provoking and provided a wonderful main character you could really follow. These have become some of my favorite books of all time. I am becoming a HUGE Ted Dekker fan based on these novels.

One CAUTION: read the first 3 books: black, red and white. Hold off on green.
When I read the series I was very excited and looked forward to "book zero" Green being released. However Green did not make a lot of sense until I understood the WHOLE story.
Now read: the Paradise Novels and the Lost Books all by awesome Ted Dekker.

Now go back and read Green. TRUST ME. Green makes so many reference to all three series of books that you don't understand the truly awesome complexity that is the Circle books. It is well worth your time, I guarantee it!

I loved Whitcomb's biography, "Cold Zero" but was skeptical that his entry into fiction would take a predictable route: too much emphasis on tradecraft and hardware and little attempt to tell a good story. Surprisingly, the book kept me engrossed. Like other reviewers, I felt the characters were one-dimensional and I had trouble figuring out where the various plots were going to end up as I got nearer and nearer to the endng. But the book all came together in a surprise ending which was a bit much -- at least that's what I thought at the time. But the more I think about it, it was devilishly clever. I'm glad I read the book. I'll read his next offering with no small amount of anticipation.

I absolutely loved this story! However, if you want the full story, read Black, Red, and White. Then read The Paradise Trilogy and The Lost Books, and if you feel the urge to go even deeper, pick up Skin, House, and Immanuel's Veins. They're all good, and all connected! But whatever you do, save Green for the last. This story really opened up my eyes to a lot of things. It shows how we should love our enemies. It shows how much God loves us and them. And it shows the depth of his sacrifice. It's taken me six months to read all 16 books in this amazing series, and every bit of it was worth it. I plan to read the rest of Ted Dekker's books, but once I'm done I will definitely come back to this series and read it again. It has changed me. Dive deep fellow readers!

I started the series with Black. I thought it was a great mix of modern thriller (the side with the virus about to kill everyone) and fantasy (the side with the colorful trees and giant, talking bats). There were a bit too many parallels to Creationism/Old Testement for my taste, but it didn't really bother me. Yes, I know Ted Dekker is a Christian Fiction writer, but I was told going in that he focused more on Good vs Evil than actual Christian preachiness. Anyway, the end was thrilling and the fast pace kept me up all night. Then I read Red. The fast pace continued but the writing faltered. It wasn't as clean and concise and there were numerous cliches present. But I still enjoyed it. Next I read White, which I disliked. The modern thriller side was pretty much non-existent. [SPOILER] The main character's love obsession with the daughter of his enemy's general was annoying, especially given his wife had just died. Also, the allegorical comparisons to the Old & New Testements have been becoming more obvious and by the time I got to White, they were just bothering me. Finally, I read Green, which I hated. [SPOILER] New characters are introduced and one of them ends up being the biblical equivalent of a vampire, which is fine, had there been vampires in the other three freaking books or even a hint that [SPOILER] the Shataki bats would produce vampires in the distant future. Green left me exasperated and it generally felt like it didn't belong, no matter which ending you read, no matter what order you read the books in. I will read more Ted Dekker in the future, but I regret reading this particular series.

This is one of the worst things I've read in a long, long time. The characters are one dimensional (if that), the plot contrived, the writing style amateurish (Whitcomb's idea of describing a person, for example, is to simply 'name drop' a string of designer labels - and he does this over and over).

The conclusion, which because the book ended is what I must call it, felt like the end of a really bad comic book, and does nothing more than set the stage for what I must suppose is a whole series of 'superhero spy' books.

I'll pass, thanks. Fool me once ...

I loved the first three books. The first one totally captured my imagination. I even cried at the end of the first book. My complaint is with the book Green. It was written some time after the first three books and is dark and has needless disgusting imagery. So I try to never re read the last book or The Circle series for young adults.

Of the three novels I've recently read (Da Vinci, Bark of of the Dogwood, and Black) this one is by far the best. Like another reviewer, I too caught a few errors in the novel (the Lincoln Center vs Kennedy Center), but not enough to be put off. The most disturbing aspect of this work of "fiction" is its sense of reality. We all know the results of "politics" and non-information-sharing organizations, but the setting that Whitcomb provides us, along with his observations, are more than a little unsettling.

Below is an excerpt of my full review of the Circle Series:

There are not that many things I can complain about when talking about The Circle Series. One part that I did not care for was the amount of romance that was involved. I am not into watching romance movies or stories, and while this book had a decent amount of that, it was not heavy. In Black, a lot of emphasis was given on the beauty of the future world Thomas was experiencing for the first time. I do not think giving readers the impression of this true paradise would have served it justice by simply describing the beauty in brief details, so I can understand the need to expound. This is also the case for the love parts, but in White, Thomas falls in love with the daughter of his greatest enemy in a matter of days after spending just a few hours with her. He was able to see her as Elyon (God) saw her, even though she was physically diseased and reeked, he fell head over heels for her in record time. I guess when it comes to being mushy, time is not your enemy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, so much so that I started reading the next book immediately after finishing the previous, unrelenting until I was able to close the story. While I correctly predicted a few surprises the book had in store, overall the story kept me guessing and did not go in the direction I thought it would have gone. The suspense was high and I loved every bit of it. The books are not flawless, but they were minor portions that did not consume a large amount of reading, excluding the ending in Green. As I finished one book and started another, I felt that the richness of the story was increasing, providing a better experience than the last book gave. Green`s story did not deliver the bar raising element until several chapters into the book, but ended up being an emotional read, despite the problematic ending.

One final note. Green starts 10 years after White, and 99% of the book continues this story until the very end. So do not start this series with Green. It flows much better starting with Black.

I really loved the Circle Series. I tend to like christian thriller authors like Frank Peretti, and of course, Ted Dekker. However, this book is a bit intense, so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of 15. That said, I think it is a great read!!!

A new recruit to the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team thought he understood what he was joining. Instead, he finds himself plunged deep into an Alice in Wonderland World of lack operations.
In Black, Christopher Whitcomb, a fifteen-year veteran of the FBI and a Hostage Rescue Team member, has written a troubling novel about the shadowy world in which this recruit unexpectedly finds himself. It is a world dominated by black-box technology, gorgeous females with hidden agendas and mercenaries with shifting loyalties.
Whitcomb infuses current sense of reality into the genre. It is obvious he has experienced the interplay between intelligence organizations and international corporations. He also includes timely references to the war on Iraq and Al-Qaeda.
The novel is an easy read. Were it not for several instances of poor editing (he confuses Lincoln Center in New York with the Kennedy Center in Washington) it novel would rate five stars.

Great series, I loved each book and as with any other Ted Dekker book I was captivated. I read 2 of the books and I listened to the othe 2 on audio book. I wish I would have bought then and had the entire collection. 4 books for one series seems like a lot but they are so well written that once you finish one, you can't wait to get to the next one. If you are a Ted Dekker fan, GET THEM. If you haven't read anything by Ted Dekker, get these books and you will be hooked to his writing and his captivating and creative mind!

This is a WONDERFUL series of books - I got the set for Christmas and started with Green, Book Zero. If I had the chance to read them for the first time again, I'd start with Black, Book One. I wasn't surprised enough about what was going to happen next by starting with the "last" book. Love the religion in this book and it makes me appreciate my own faith in a new way.

This was one of the first things I ever read of Ted Dekker's, and I was absolutely blown away by it! I loved the whole thing and couldn't put it down....I've since read many of his books, and I've never been disappointed. (although the Circle Trilogy will always be my favorite) Just have to say I love Ted Dekker!!!

This is the worst paramilitary pulp-fiction I've ever read. For starters, the author seems to have no clue about any of the technical details he's writing about. The book is littered with references to "AK-74's", the "Macintosh D: drive", "Zip disk tapes", and so on... And these are just complaints about the things I know. I can only imagine how badly the author has butchered the inner workings of paramilitary teams, which I know nothing about. But here's one to consider: two men are in a small room. One fires two rounds from an SMG, which clip the hero's hair on both sides of his head and embed themselves in the forhead of a third guy, who is not moving. Do the geometry... And then there's the all-important cell-phone, which --despite being the size of a credit card-- can somehow make a sound capable of melting a person's head! Or maybe it's the secondary black box that does the melting, but sometimes that black box isn't needed. The author doesn't seem to know either.

Of course, technical absurdity is forgivable if the plot makes up for it, but this plot is so bad that the only reason I know how the book ends is that I just kept stubbornly ploughing through the book, knowing that the ending HAD to be better than the bulk of the book. I was wrong. The ending is utterly contrived and twisted and --quite frankly-- stupid. It's possible to have a good ending that turns your expectations on their heads, but such an ending would allow the reader to go back through the book and realize that all the clues were there, hidden. THIS ending completely contradicts the rest of the book, and isn't even entertaining.

Most of it was pretty good- did not think much of the last book- thought it got a little weird, and left a lot of holes with the characters. One of the endings was interesting- the other just dropped off- really expected more.

this is a well written spy thriller until you absorb the fact. that it's all impossible.then you get to the end and find out that the author crapped out on ideas in order to close the story. Very disappointing.

I cannot state how much I loved this book (along w/ White). Excellent read for anybody interested in counter-terrorism, law enforcement and espionage. I cannot wait until Chris comes out with another series or better yet a movie. The author really puts his experience as a FBI agent into the story and this brings a great sense of realism to the book. The only problem I experienced was the ending...it was clear but than again it could've been much clearer.

There's no real reason to read this book. There are far better books in this genre. On the other hand it's not a bad book. My major complaint it that it's just boring in a lot of places. There are better choices available.

These are the books that inspired me to be a writer, I've started two novels while only at the age of twelve.
Besides that, I don't cry much, I sat through `August Rush` and Forest Gump without tears, but White made me weep. Like I said, this book is life changing and I encourage everyone who reads this review to devour these wonderful works of Dekker`s imagination and ponder them and use them for the rest of your days
GOD BLESS YOU ALL, especially you Ted

At some point you realize that all the threads of the story will never be tied up as the books remaining pages disappear. Then when the end arrives, so does anger. I can accept that this is the first of, how many? But the complex absurdity of the ending is insulting in this world, where a fanatic with a backpack cannot be stopped.

This book by Aaron Smith, RFC, contains great suggestions that can be used by persons of varying background to improve their financial posture. It is easy reading and well organized. Quite obviously Mr. Smith delivers excellent advice and service to his clients - and this book will help consumers and also other financial service advisors.

Below is an excerpt of my full review of the Circle Series:

There are not that many things I can complain about when talking about The Circle Series. One part that I did not care for was the amount of romance that was involved. I am not into watching romance movies or stories, and while this book had a decent amount of that, it was not heavy. In Black, a lot of emphasis was given on the beauty of the future world Thomas was experiencing for the first time. I do not think giving readers the impression of this true paradise would have served it justice by simply describing the beauty in brief details, so I can understand the need to expound. This is also the case for the love parts, but in White, Thomas falls in love with the daughter of his greatest enemy in a matter of days after spending just a few hours with her. He was able to see her as Elyon (God) saw her, even though she was physically diseased and reeked, he fell head over heels for her in record time. I guess when it comes to being mushy, time is not your enemy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, so much so that I started reading the next book immediately after finishing the previous, unrelenting until I was able to close the story. While I correctly predicted a few surprises the book had in store, overall the story kept me guessing and did not go in the direction I thought it would have gone. The suspense was high and I loved every bit of it. The books are not flawless, but they were minor portions that did not consume a large amount of reading, excluding the ending in Green. As I finished one book and started another, I felt that the richness of the story was increasing, providing a better experience than the last book gave. Green`s story did not deliver the bar raising element until several chapters into the book, but ended up being an emotional read, despite the problematic ending.

This book is massive! Very difficult to hold it long term and sit comfortably. The alternate ending that completes the series left much to be desired. It didn't feel like Dekker really put much effort into it, and instead simply appeased those of us that didn't like the fact that he tried to make it circular.

This novel has the advantage of being written by an expert in FBI ops. The characterization of the training and life as an agent was interesting. But the whole plot revolved around the "mastermind" predicting each and every step of his operatives, including how they would respond to torture, and at what exact moment they would end up in his office suite. And to what end? Probably one of the most ridiculous conclusions you'll read in a long time.

I don't know or understand Ted Dekker's mind, but it must be incredible. The way that this series fits together and forms a giant circle astonishes me every time. The story is an epic tale that transcends the actual story and paints a picture of God's love for us in a whole new way. The series is filled with action, adventure, romance, tragedy, and overall a great redeeming love. I could not stop reading these books, and I still read them often. I highly recommend this series.

See storyline above.
This newcomer to the spy-thriller is a welcome addition.
Having the the background in this field, Whitcomb has written a knowledgable and fast-paced novel. It's sure to please even fans of early Ludlum. I look forward to reading the next 'Jeremy Walker' novel.
Highly Recommended.

I really enjoyed the series and being able to read all the volumes at once. It did drag in a few places but only a few. The theme of the river and the cleansing were enthralling and related to so many of the old church hymns as well many of the Bible themes.
It was a great read. I had a hard time putting the book down.

Ted Dekker has brought me an imagination and a faith that I acknowledge daily through his writings. His books are a reminder of what is real, despite the fact that he uses fiction to remind us of that Truth. Amazing books, an amazing author, and a life changing lesson. Read if you dare, it's addictive too. :)

Chris Whitcomb's talent for writing fiction is amazing. The reader is drawn into the story and the characters, as though both are actually happening. Black gives the reader a new appreciation for the complexity and bravery of undercover operatives who work tirelessly to protect freedom. At the same time, Black brings to light some new concerns about technology, and having that technology in the wrong hands. Black was a gripping, page-turning novel with all of the twists you would expect in a novel of international intrigue, and a few more.

I picked up this book without any expectations and was thrust into an exciting thriller reminiscent of ludlum and DeMille.
Christopher Whitcomb has crafted fine plot twists and characters that keeps the pages turning. Using his personal experience and current events Whitcomb is successful in launching his series. His writing is succint and his plot twist professional. Don't fault the auther for the drawbacks of the editor. I can't wait for his next installment.

I finished the book, but it was a struggle. I agree with other reviewers that the ending was a stretch. The constant juggling of viewpoints and storylines from character to character has been done by others, and for them, it worked. Here, it was annoying and distacting. Do not waste your money or your time on this book.

This series takes you through two worlds through the eyes of one character. Is he dreaming or is it real? Every time he is asleep in one world he wakes in the other world. Which is real? You won't want to put it down.

I'm only on chapter 18 in Black, but I'm not sure if I will even finish this first book. The quality of Dekker's writing is so sophomoric that it's annoying. The plot, however, is creative and engaging. I would recommend this series for middle to high school age--or adults who don't care about the quality of prose. Although I know some high school kids who can write better than this.

Ted Dekker has re-released his fantasy series in one book. This thing is huge when you consider, you're reading 4 full length novels in one hardback book (Black, Red, White, Green).

With this edition, you will find a few alterations to Black in which Ted adds some clues from Green as well as a new alternate ending to Green. This new ending provides closure to the series instead of the mind-altering original ending.

Thomas Hunter is heading home when someone begins firing a gun at him. As a bullet grazes his head, he wakes up in another place. It feels like a dream until his dreams and reality blur causing him to question which is a dream and which is the real place.

A great evil is threatening both realities and it seems as if it's up to Hunter, alone, who can provide the answers.

This saga is the beginning of a mind-bending thrill ride.

At the end of this edition, there is a Q & A with the author about the creation of this series, the possibility to more books dealing with The Circle/Books of History Chronicles and what else he has in store.

If you enjoyed these books the first go around, this collection is well worth the read as you get a new ending to the entire saga. While some may not justify spending the money on books you've already read, Ted Dekker books are well worth the duplication!

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Thomas Nelson Publishing

A friend recommended this series to me and it was gripping from start to finish. Apparently, Decker and I have differences of opinion on eschatology and how free will works, and it was cool to see someone else's thoughts fleshed out like this. Fiction can be better than nonfiction in that way!

I thought this series was going to be a great alternative to reading The Dresden Files series, being more appropriate now that I am a Christian. I must say "Black" was alright, but I found the main story line boring, and the gospel parallels almost annoyingly predictable. I love Jesus. I thought it was weird reading a book that took such literal themes.. I read about half of Red as well, but found myself predicting the next chapters, which made the series lose anything exciting for me. I will be selling the box set I got, the reviews made me expect something spectacular. Really not the case.

I bought this book because I had read Cold Zero and after watching Christopher Whitcomb on CNBC's nightly program Checkpoint for a year I really listened to what he had to say. The characters all have there own adgenda and everything comes together at the end. This book gives insight to how our country really works and a lot of information about terrorists and how they work. Very timely in the world we live in. It is great to read a book that you do not want to put down. I did for a day since I did not want it to end. Can't wait until New White hits the bookstores.

I have have found it a rare thing to find an author who writes good action scenes and also develops a believable plot and characters. This author offers action. As others have noted the Deus Ex Machina ending seems to have been driven by the author's desire to stop writing.

Amazing series! There are parallels to the Bible throughout each of the books. I'm glad I bought and read the entire series in order because the author gives an alternate ending to the last book, Green :)

Aside from the outlandish plot of 462 pages that all gets resolved in the following two pages, Whitcomb really isn't that good of a writer. That's where the book falls off. I ended up skipping large chunks of meaningless paragraphs as he explained, in minutia at times, what exactly was on a persons desk.

Thrilling, I know.

Please don't buy this. I honestly feel I wasted money on the paperback, and it is difficult to ever feel $8 is wasted.

From the first page, the the very last, I found myself consumed by this book. The main characters were spun together in a huge, complex plot that keeps you guessing until the last few paragraphs of the novel. I think this is one of the best books based on real world situations in a long time. I look forward to the next thrill ride from Chris Whitcomb. A superbly written book.

There is a new talent out there - and his name is Christopher Whitcomb.

This novel, a first of a series, is a fun and adrenaline fueled action/adventure filled with covert ops and intriguing characters. I look forward to his newest and latest follow-up novel.

The Circle trilogy was hard to put down. Loved them all. Highly recommend this series. You get so involved in the lives of the people and the main character, Thomas Hunter, is well developed and is someone you really want to know.

Aaron Smith has to be one kept secret out there. Having listened to the audio version of this book, I am convinced that he not only want to educate, but most importantly, he wants to help people with his very rich knowledge and understanding of finance, accounting, taxation and more. Even though he focuses on the African American, the book is a must read for all.

Ted is a masterful storyteller who truly embraces the heart of our creator in this series. I could not help but laugh and weep throughout the whole series. And at the end, I was faced with a single question, "When, Jesus, will you come for your bride?"

These books are so much better than lord of the rings and just as epic. So much easier to read you just want to keep going late into the night. Ever page has a different twist, everything is tied together, almost all his books have a thread that courses through them tying them together. SO GOOD. You will not be disappointed.

Cold Zero, Whitcombs autobiography showed signs of real writing talent. "Black" shows none of that talent. The characters are one dimensional and un-interesting. The plot is hopelessly confused. At just 360 pages, is a short book, but he seems to have had to work hard to stretch it that far. If it had been published as a short story it might have been better. As it is, it lacks reality, creativity and gravitas. Unlike Whitcomb, Andy Mcnabb was a REAL soldier in the war on terror, and knows how to write a taught, interesting book.

I finished the book, so it can't be a 1-star review.

But the ending was so unbelievable & contrived as to leave me laughing at the end. In hindsight, 2 of the 4 plotline threads seemed totally unnecessary. (Why exactly was Siran Malveaux key to the plot ... other than to provide one requisite sex scene?)

This is the first book, or series, I have read by Ted Dekker, and I enjoyed them so much I'm intrigued to read more of his books. What I liked most was the biblical underlay, which was really thought provoking and eye opening. I left a star out as I felt like the ending was rushed, and there were a few ends left untied...though I will say I like the original ending!!

One of the worst books I've read in a long time. Without giving it away, I'd say the ending was the equivalent of using the old tactic of a character waking up and finding out it was all a dream. An implausible and ridiculous plot that doesn't make sense even when it was all tied together in the end. Don't waste the money on this one.

Too long and too far fetched in parts, with plenty of illogical omissions! The author is trying too hard to piece together the many strands he has thrown out to the reading and is not always successful at achieving his aim.

Jeremy Waller is my all-time favorite action hero! You should've seen the time he busted those zany Nazis! He cracked Auschwitz wide OPEN! Jeremy Waller doesn't sleep; he only waits... If I had to be stranded on a desert island with only one person, it would be Jeremy Waller. In a fight between Jeremy Waller and a ninja, Jeremy would win through a combination of his rugged good looks and martial arts prowess. In short, he is my one and only hero. Boo-ya!

I checked out the audiobook from my local library and I was hooked! I must purchase this book to actually read and use for reference. He touches on the wealthy to lower/lower level income people. If you are like me and seeking financial advice Aaron W. Smith is an excellent way to start.

Major disappointment. Despite all the potential, the book finishes all the open questions in the final two pages - unrealistic and unimaginative. Even the high points of the book lacked detail and interest.

Black - This was the book that made me fall in love with Story and how magnificently it portrayed redemptive history in fresh and exciting ways. Dekker's premise and execution is absolutely flawless, setting a standard that is equaled in Red and White.

Red - We discussed the beauty of redemption as Dekker portrayed it. Red is the heartbeat of redemption, and because of that at points this book is simply overwhelming. We think we know the story of Redemption; we think we understand the horror of the Cross. But Dekker slaps us across the face and tells us we know nothing, or that we have romanticized what we know so that the grittiness of the meaning of Redemption has been lost on us.

White - We discussed this denouement from the climax of Redemption, and how it began a new Story. The romance of Thomas and Chelise is absolutely scandalous, and we shocked by it, but how much more scandalous is that love of God for a wretch such as I? But pulsing from the denouement comes the final resounding climax of the Circle being accepted by Elyon as a Groom accepts his Bride--this is the Great Romance, the reason for which we were created.

Green - We discussed whether it worked better as Book Zero or Book Four and how it fits into the Circle Series. My own personal opinion is that, as Green furthers the story of characters first mentioned outside the Circle, it is best seen as a standalone novel that intricately ties in the various elements, characters, and themes created by Dekker.

Before I move on to other books and other reviews, I thought we deserved a comprehensive look at the series. The line of thinking is not just because the series--or at very least, the Trilogy--functions as a whole, but also because Thomas Nelson has published a wonderful edition that collects all four of these Stories into one magnificent volume.

First of all, let it be said that this volume is a masterpiece, not just for its individual stories but for the way it is presented. As a beautifully bound hardcover, it recalls reader's minds to the Books of History and gives the collection a look that is absolutely authentic to the nature of the novels. Almost as if Dekker is a Historian rather than a Storyteller--and perhaps that is not too far off the mark.

This edition also contains an alternate ending for Green, rectifying an issue that many readers saw as keeping the book from an ultimate conclusion. This new ending gives the series a definitive climax (or does it?) and establishes Green as the conclusion of the series. The alternate ending changes the last few chapters of the book, with the original ending being included afterwards for comparison. In Dekker's own words, he found the original intellectually fascinating and mind-bending, but without the emotional payoff that the new ending gives. Dekker also gives an exclusive interview for the book's last pages, and answers some very interesting questions--and as always, raises some of his own.

Whether you're new to Dekker, or want to actually own the Circle Series, or are a hardcore Dekker fan, this is an edition you're going to want to get hold of. Dekkies, this is the collector's edition you've always wanted. It'll look great on your shelf next to the Circle pendant, I promise. (And of course you're not going to miss out on the alternate ending of Green, are you?) And if don't already own the series, what better way to rectify that grievous oversight than by getting this all-inclusive edition?

Let me move from a discussion of this actual volume to exactly what the Circle Series has meant to me. I made mention of this in my review of Black, but I'd like to elaborate on that more here and now. It is no hyperbole when I say that the Circle Trilogy changed my life. I can't claim, as some, that it brought me to faith, but it certainly served to deepen my commitment to and freshen my perspective on Christianity. The Trilogy made redemptive history--the epic saga of man's fall and salvation--come to life. It tore the veil of Christianity off of Christ and left me staring into the very heart of God. In a spiritual sense, it helped me understand that the Church isn't as much dead as it is lethargic and tired of the same old platitudes and two-dimensional spirituality it has been fed. It served as the catalyst for me--a young teen when I first read the Trilogy--to seek out ways to revitalize the people of God to a living faith, an active faith, a transformational faith that really understands and gets the mind-blowing implications of our salvation.

The Circle Trilogy was also what made me fall heels over head in love with Story. Without it, there is no way that I would be a Storyteller or a book reviewer today. In fact, it was Dekker's novel Kiss, coauthored with Erin Healy, that served as my very first book review. From there I hit the ground running and have been stumbling forward ever since.

It was also through the Trilogy that I learned the power of Story. Way more than just entertainment and fun, Story could be meaningful, insightful, and challenging while still being entertaining. Didactic teaching may fill one's head with facts, but Story gives them context, flavor, purpose, and power. Tell me God loves me and I will agree, show me His love through Story and I will be weeping with the sheer joy of it all. Story provides the best way for ideas to be considered and for learning to be accomplished. After all, did not Christ often speak and teach through Story?

And I still find this absolutely wild to believe, but the Circle has also left me changed socially. My best friends come not from a common geographical location, but from a common perspective on faith and the teachings of Jesus--and we were all brought together through the Circle Series and Ted Dekker. What began in 2008 as a message board in a contest and role-playing game that promoted Dekker's young adult spinoff of The Circle, The Lost Books¸ has now developed into several deep and intimate friendships that by all statistical and logical accounts should never have been possible. For me, they represent my true Church--the people I go to discuss faith and unmask my own brokenness while still engaging in fellowship and fun. When we manage to actually get together in person, it is very much like the Gathering celebration portrayed in the Circle Series.

I'll just conclude here by saying that there have been two collections of books that have served to radically transform my life. The most predominant of these is a collection of ancient texts, inspired by God, known as the Holy Scriptures. The second is a collection of more modern texts, inspired by God but not in the same way, called the Circle Series. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so much, they hold very similar--well, identical--themes. One is the old, old Story of God's love for me; the other is fresh, new Story that, using metaphor and imagery from the first Story, tells me the very same thing.

The Circle Series is the redemptive mythos of this generation. Like Lewis and Tolkien, Dekker combines spiritual symbolism with engaging Story. Fiction simply does not get better than this.

Thank you, Ted, for showing the world the heart of God through your Story. And thank you for the effect that has had on me. It means more than you'll ever know.

*as posted on the website [...]

I was very pleased with my purchase. The books were in the conditioned that they were described. The price was great...they are a lot more other places. I received my books about 4 days earlier than what was estimated.

I was looking forward to something amazing based on all the 5 star reviews. I couldn't even make it through the first 100 pages. Echoes lots of other fantasy books I've read; the writing style and use of words isn't very sophisticated. I just don't see what other readers see in this book.

I enjoyed reading the sample and would have bought it but I don't understand how the store or the publishing company can justify charging more than the hardcover copy. It's one thing that they've started to change the cost of ebooks to match paper backs, that was ridiculous enough, but now to be more expensive than the hard copy? Extremely frustrating and a good way to get this consumer to not buy any version of your product.

Seriously, who reads this and finds something nice to say? It's just bad writing. Really. I could write a book describing just how bad this stuff is, but why bother. This Ted dekker fellow much be really popular at his local megachurch to have gotten this many favorable reviews.