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Black: The Birth of Evil
Black: The Birth of Evil
Black: The Birth of Evil
Audiobook12 hours

Black: The Birth of Evil

Written by Ted Dekker

Narrated by Rob Lamont

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Book 1: The Birth of Evil. Fleeing assailants through alleyways in Denver late one night, Thomas Hunter narrowly escapes to the roof of an industrial building. Then a silent bullet from the night clips his head and his world goes black. When he awakes, he finds himself in an entirely different reality… a green forest that seems more real than where he was. Every time he tries to sleep, he wakes up in the other world, and soon he truly no longer knows which reality is real. Slowly he realizes that each reality dramatically impacts the other. In each world unspeakable evil is unleashed and millions of lives hang in the balance. The fate of two worlds depends on the actions of one man: Thomas Hunter.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherOasis Audio
Release dateAug 1, 2004
ISBN9781608140848
Black: The Birth of Evil

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Reviews for Black

Rating: 4.220588235294118 out of 5 stars
4/5

136 ratings35 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So I decided to Reread this series as audiobooks 7/28/16
    I really enjoyed this book. It's fast paced and starts fast so it was a little hard to get into the habit of the flipping back and forth. But I did enjoy it
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Quite a mash-up of mystery story, science fiction, and fantasy !!! Not my cup-of-tea. I couldn't get through it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the illustrated graphic novel of the first book in the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker. It introduces us to Thomas Hunter, a man who becomes trapped between two realities that keep switching on him. Every time he falls asleep, he wakes up in the other. One world is modern day America while the other is a fantasy reality.

    I read this to fulfill a graphic novel challenge and to be honest, it's not really my cup of tea. I see that the trilogy has gotten great reviews so I recommend anyone who has an interest read them for themselves. I'm sure they are really good but I'm giving it the most generous score I can, given I am not a fan of the genre.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I did not enjoy this book by Dekker near as much as I did his paradise series. I found this series much more difficult to get into than some series, and as a result, did not read the other books in this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful balance between science and faith in this Christian sci-fi novel. My only complaints were the somewhat cliche (and racist?) use of a Muslim terrorist antagonist and a very sensual depiction of heaven and God's love for mankind. But I'm not bothered that Dekker's imagined world doesn't perfectly match my ideas of God. Things I very much enjoyed were the fast pace, the multiple goings-on, the suspense, and the wonderfully unexpected retelling of the Adam and Eve story. After all, writing a story where your audience already knows the ending (or perhaps the beginning) is no small feat indeed!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The concept is actually rather fascinating. I just wish the writer was better. There are 2 "realities" in the story - the modern day "realistic" one is actually well-done and quite interesting. The fantasy world is a bit too... err... poetically Christian? In the "realistic" world, Thomas Hunter is being shot at, but then when he sleeps and pops into the "fantasy" world, there is page after page after page of "The Great Romance".This is the part that bothered me the most. Of course, it is Christian fiction so there is lots of God and feel-good-ness abounding throughout the story, but.... the whole "Great Romance" part of the story feels like the author was trying to pretend he was writing as a (bad) female romance novelist - "oh woo her Thomas!" "Oh, fight imaginary monsters to protect her Thomas!" GAG!!! This foray into a bad imitation of chick lit romance ruined what was otherwise a very decent and interesting story. I won't read the rest in the series - it's just not good enough to waste time on.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I did not like this book. It was really hard to get into no matter how hard i tried. The plot is ridiculous, the charachters very stale, no development for them whatsoever. I might try some of his thrillers, but as for this trilogy, wont be reading them.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Freaky and good. Great way to overlap the two stories!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    i couldn't put this book down! It was an extremely good read, especially if you enjoy adventure.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good book! Dekker definitely leaves you turning the pages and wanting more. I'm anxious to read the rest of the trilogy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wow...what a book! I was kind of wary of it at first...I don't usually go in for modern-day...but this did not disappoint, and went high above my expectations!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Awesome book. The image that he paints of Heaven just blows your mind.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book! Completely captivating from beginning to cliffhanger ending... So glad I don't have to wait to read Red! Original and yet familiar story. Highly recommend it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of my favorite books Ted Dekker has written. I think its best to start here. Green is optional, and not my favorite.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very well written book. I enjoyed this great book. Ted Dekker is a talented writer and he makes it easy to listen to this amazing book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a really good book ?. Definitely recommend it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was an exceptionally good and I really enjoyed listening to it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lots of fantasy and suspense which I am. Fan of. From beginning to end there was always a question of what would happen next. This book takes you on a magnificent journey with Thomas between the two words. I can not wait to see what happens next
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The feels this gives me. I read the book 8 years ago and I discovered Scribd and decided I wanna listen to it. It's a lot better as an audio book
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Better than Green, but not much. The writing at times is quite terrible, and sometimes unintentionally funny. Thanks Mr. Dekker and to quote the last line of the book, Goodbye Mr. Dekker.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A good idea but very poor execution. Where was the editor. Needs a lot of editing to polish it up.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Such poor writing that I couldn't even finish this book. The symbolism was as nuanced as a semi truck running over a squirrel. It would have been less painful if the author had just beat me over the head with a very heavy Bible. Predictable and silly. If I could rate it as a zero, I would.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
     I've been meaning to pick this book up for several years now and finally got to when our teacher handed out a book review assignment. Unlike usual book reviews, we could pick our own book from wherever we wanted. It didn't have to be a classic, and it didn't have to be on the list. Whoope!!Tomas Hunter is well trained in martial art combatting and maaay have accidentally got mixed up in some not so nice people who maaay want him dead if he doesn't have money that he promised them. But that's the least of his worries when the dreams begin. Each time Tom falls asleep, he wakes up in another world. One moment in the 21st century, the next in a strange colored forest with fuzzy bats. Which one is real? And why do they seem connected? Tom soon realizes a threat to the world in a form of a airborne virus in the hands of an evil and very powerful man. Doom lurks in both worlds.There are two sides to this story: The one in the "real" world, and then the one in the colored forest, which is representative of Eden. Personally, I much rather have the "real" world over the Eden world, as I'll explain. Dekker does a great job describing every feel and emotion experienced in the book. Emotions of sorrow, pain, fear, jubilance, pleasure, anger, etc. He also does a pretty good job explaining the looks of his story world, the architectures, the culture, and other factors. His concept is also very unique and intriguing.However, there are things I feel that need to be addressed.In the colored forest, the "angels" of the world are flying, talking, fluffy white bat things called Roush. The "demons" are the same thing, only black called something I still can't pronounce, something like Shakakiti. "Satan" is represented by a great big black bat called Teeleh. In different parts of the story, Dekker would describe some of these characters doing things that I can't imagine fluffy bats being able to do. Like holding certain things, making hand signals, or different body movements that humans can do, but bats? I find it hard to picture. There are also times where Teeleh holds a fruit in his hand, bites into it, and puts it away behind him. It's like in an old cartoon or video game where things just disappear behind a character's back. That's just not possible, and bothered me and my picture thinking.Another thing to point out in Dekker's descriptions is that there's sometimes too much description. When Tom jumps into the lake that is the Essence of God basically, Dekker takes about three to four pages describing the immense pleasure Tom feels, then the sorrow and pain for having doubted God, then intense pleasure again, whooping and screaming and laughing all the way. A bit much.This flows into his fruit descriptions. The green fruit. The red fruit. The purple fruit. The white fruit. Can we just come up with some names and use those? An Apple. Or something. Come up with a name, but I grew tired of reading "fruit." Also, whenever anyone ate a fruit, it was the same thing, every time: Juice dribbled down his chin. Warmth flowed to his gut, filling him with immense pleasure. Yawn. Yes, we get it. The stuff is messy. But I think he overdid it on the fruit thing.As for characters. Tom took a long time growing on me. Maybe it'll just happen more over time, but I didn't really feel connected to him. Maybe because I'm a sixteen year old girl and he's like a twenty-five year old man who's trained in hand to hand combat and has wild dreams. I dunno. But like I said, he did grow on me by the end of the book.Then there's Rachelle. *insert eye roll here* Rachelle is the girl from the colored forest (Eden) where everything is perfect. Love is perfect. Men are perfect. And there's this Great Romance thing going on. She chooses Tomas Hunter, of course. What I don't like is that Dekker spends chapters on the two of them chasing each other through the woods and saving each other from imaginary black bats. I'm thinking, "Really? You have a world on the brink of extinction in your dreams and you're chasing a girl in the forest who's moodier than a seventh grade girl? Every time Tom would dream about Monique, the woman who was kidnapped by the villains in the "real" world, she'd get jealous and order him never to dream of her again. Yeah. Right. Sure. I know jealousy is an attribute of God, but the way it was presented here in this woman of Eden, turned me off to the character.Bad guys. Love. I liked Carlos, I liked Svenson, I liked Teeleh. Yes, they're bad, but Dekker did a masterpiece in describing them. They were wicked, twisted, smooth, and slippery.The two story worlds: Loved the "real" world. Made it feel like a crime/suspense novel. Great action, high risks, demands, a villain on the loose. All good things. All good things. Then we had the fluffy furbies and laughing old men and watery women that seemed very much like a drug-induced dream. *Shudder* Later, I got used to it, and things came up that didn't revolve around the Great Romance, but for awhile it was hard going.I must say, though, I liked guessing the allegory. Teeleh was an obvious Satan. Roush were easy to guess as angels. Elyon was a given for God. Tanis was guessible, but not overtly obvious, and then there was Jesus. Er... Maybe it's because I'm still a teenager, but I don't EVER imagine Jesus as a little boy with a loincloth that giggles. Never. Maybe Dekker used this picture because He's the Son of God, but I like looking up to Jesus, trusting He knows more than I do, He's the Father of Christians, He's strong and capable. Not a little kid, no matter how advanced that little kid is.All in all, the book was not bad. It was a bit weird at times, and slow in others, but then there were the fast paced and the guessing moments that I read for, satisfying me, and had me finish with two days to spare for my book review. Well written, Dekker.Things to watch out for:Romance: The Great Romance, which is holy and sanctified, not wrong in any way. However, it may be a little much flirting for some of us to handle. Kissing several times.Language: "For Elyon's sake", referring to God, but in the context, it was more passionate than flippant. God's name used several times is fervor prayer and stress.Violence: black bats attack and kill many characters with gruesome details, lots of blood. Man is shot several times in the chest. Man is shot through the head. Villain kills a man by shooting him through the forehead. Threat of world-wide epidemic destroying the world. Two men are hung on crosses but not crucified. Character's skins scab and flake until bleeding. Kidnapping and threats to shoot woman's toes off.Drugs: virus epidemic.Nudity: shirtless man several times.Other: several themes more appropriate for older teens and adults.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    It's always hit or miss with Ted Dekker novels. And, this one was definitely a miss. Seems like he was trying too hard for allegory. It was just lame. Fantasy mixed with real life. Talking bats and attacking flies. Couldn't get into it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Awesome! Great idea for a book! Pulled me in & I was along for the ride thru the whole series!!
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I painfully read this book, hoping something would happen to resolve the problem in the book, however, I read in vain. If I could stop myself from finishing books I read, I would have stopped myself in this one. It was extremely boring and I will not read the next two books in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ted Dekker's forray into the arena of Fantasy themed fiction can be considered a successful initial attempt. The story moves along at great rate and true to Dekker's style, the reader is left with questions that sets up great for the subsequent books in this trilogy. Christian themes, and symbology is both evident and blatant. In the crudest sense, it's about trying to find the "Jesus" in the narrative and figuring out how he or she will save humanity, although the story goes far more indepth than your above mentioned plot line.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I didn't realize that this was a Christian book before I started reading. But it becomes so unnecessarily obvious that most of the time that Tom spends in "Elyon's world" had me rolling my eyes. Dekker drags the story along throughout the middle. The villagers obsession with the "Great Romance" is just silly. In the end, I feel like I just didn't "buy" it. None of the feelings of any of the characters felt genuine, maybe because we never really get to know who they are. I finished this book, but I don't plan on finishing the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This review is being written four years after the fact (in 2010.) My father recommended this series, otherwise I would never have picked it up. I enjoyed it at the time, though a lot of stuff bugged me; namely, that the "real world" plot was pretty unbelievable, and the "alternate world" plot got fairly heavy-handed with Christian allegory.That said, four years later, a lot of the imagery from this series has stuck with me. If I thought it a bit hokey back then, now I'd say it's more enjoyable in hindsight, and maybe more powerful. I have a feeling that if I reread it today, it would disappoint; but I can see myself recommending it to my kids when they reach their teens.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    To say I loved this book is a huge understatement. I devoured the whole series! The suspense and intrigue flow flawlessly throughout the entire book and continue in each book of the series (Red, White, and Green). the story begins with Thomas falling asleep in our world and waking in another. Thomas begins to switch between worlds. In his dream world, Thomas must fight against the growing darkness that wants to devour him. In our world, Thomas use the knowledge he gained from his other world to stop the release of a deadly virus. The lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur and Thomas must decide which world is true. Dekker's style of writing is amazing and unlike any other author I've read. In addition to this series, I loved how Dekker intertwined the Paradise series and the Lost Books of History series, as well as minor relations in Skin and House, with this Circle series. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick-paced, keep-you-up-all-night-reading, suspenseful book.