BLINK

"BLINK" is another exciting book by Ted Dekker that I really enjoyed reading. I've come to find Dekker's books so far to be extremely thrilling, and to also get you thinking about other cultures besides just American society. The first book of his that I read, and reviewed on this site, "Obsessed" dealt with Jewish culture and society a lot, both in the present and in the past. This book "BLINK" will get you looking at Islamic culture and religion. Dekker does an excellent job of showing comparisons between Islam and Christianity. It's very interesting to read in that retrospect.

As for the story that is another whole other ball game. The story starts out in Saudi Arabia with a young princess named Miriam. Her father is a Shiek, and for her protection gaver her up for adoption to another very wealthy and powerful man, but with one condition. He could not marry her out until she was 21. Miriam would be 21 in a few months, however her real father, the Shiek has come up with a plan of an arranged marriage for her himself in order to gain advantage in Saui Arabia with another powerful man where she would marry this man's son, and he would become King. This man was very dangerous though, and Miriam found out she was to marry this man, and was forced to flee to America.

Meanwhile, a young man named Seth is attending college in California. His IQ is amazingly higher then that of Einstein. Lately he has been having flashes of a sort of dejavu where he feels he has already seen that particular instance happen or happening. The university, Berkeley, is having a banquet one night in his honor due to his amazing academic achievements. While he is up in front of everyone making his speech, something very strange happens to him, he blinks, and all of a sudden he can see a scene in the woman's bathroom playing out in front of him, a woman who he saw earlier at the banquet, was being held at gun point in the bathroom. He flies from the podium, realizing this was an actual scene in the future unfolding. Seth flies into the ladies restroom, and startles the woman (who we know, and he finds out is Miriam). Obviously mayhem breaks out. I don't want to get into too much detail, but Seth and Miriam escape unharmed, and are now on the run. Men from Saudi Arabia are after them because they are after Miriam, and now U.S. officials are after them.

Seth's clairvoyance powers increase over time, and he can constantly see further and further into the future. This allows them to be able to constantly outmanuever the cops and others that are after them. Seth has one weakness though . . . sleep. When he is sleeping he doesn't see anything. Will this be something that gets them caught in the end, or will they completely escape and elude everyone with Seth's amazing new ability? Read the book and find out. It's awesome, and I highly recommend it.

Blue Like Jazz

I know I just finished reading "Obsessed" by Ted Dekker a couple of days ago, but I also just finished reading "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller. It was a book I started a while ago to read at work during slow days, but then things got busy, and I had to put it down for a while, but I really had been wanting to finish it because it was an awesome book. Well I finished it, and yes, it continued through the end to be an awesome. Now this is a non-fiction book unlike everything else I have been reading lately. Don Miller is an exceptional writer in my opinion. "Blue Like Jazz" is funny, but with a serious side to it. It is very easy to read an understand. He talks a lot about growing up in a Christian home, and what it meant to him being a Christian, and then about Christian Spirituality. His struggles with it. Times when he had doubts, and how he had questions. Also with people he related to that were not Christians, which is why I think the book is sub-titled "non-Christian views on Christians Spirituality". He also spent a lot of time at Reed College or University, which was very much a non-Christian atmosphere, and interacted with the students there, so there is a lot in the book with his experiences there. It was just very interesting to see how he does relate to the struggles and questions that I know we all, as Christians do have, and also how he relates with the every day interactions with his non-Christian friends and peers. It's a great book that I highly recommend to everyone. It's not real long either, and it's very entertaining. I'm very excited about reading some of his other books that he has out. He also has an awesome website as well that I found, and have put a link to it at the left. I have discovered that he is going to be doing some type of presentation or appearance here in Indiana on November 3rd that I am hoping to attend if I can. I think it would be very interesting. So again I encourage everyone to check out "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller.

Obsessed

This week I read a new book entitled "Obsessed" by Ted Dekker. He is another Christian fiction author. It was a very suspenseful book. I would definitely categorize this book, and after researching and reading about his other works I would say he is a suspense/thriller writer. It was an excellent book though. One of those "can't put it down" types.

The story takes place in the 1970's with flash backs to the 1940's and world war II. The main character is Stephen, who is a realtor and grew up as an orphan from a Jewish concentration camp during the war. He was believed his mother and father died in the concentration camp, but finds out his mother in fact survived, only to die just now of heart disease. She had left a letter that she had been searching for him the entire time, and could identify him by a mark she branded on him as a baby in the concentration camp in case they were separated. When Stephen finds this out he is heart broken, and goes to her apartment to discover new secrets about what went on in this concentration camp, and becomes obsessed in searching for things his mother left for him. However there is another twist to the story. It seems Gerhard Braun and his son Roth Braun, the Nazi tormentors of the Jewish concentration camp know of Stephen's mother's death, and of the secrets she left behind as well. They also go in search of these and to finish the job that was not taken care of so many years ago at the camp.

It's an excellent story that will show faith, hope, courage, and love. Of course it has that thrill and suspense to it as well. I definitely encourage you to check it out. It's left me wanting to read more of Ted Dekker's works, and I know it will probably do the same for you. He also has an excellent website, which I have posted a link to at the left, so feel free to browse that.

Happy reading!