I was overly impressed by "The Circle Trilogy." Black, Red and White are the books contained respectively. Each book is fresh and beaming with a vast range of emotions; to which Dekker does exceptionally well. So much vivid imagery, well versed characters that you learn to love or hate. Down to earth, yet very insightful and in depth. These books opened Dekker's realm to me and I'll never turn back. The only downside to this venture was the thought finding other books that complimented my personality and principalities as much as The Circle.

Fortunately that was as easy as reading Dekker's other books. The Circle Trilogy still remain my favorites, as they portray Dekker's expertise in painting out brilliant yet believable fantasy elements. To which I was surprised in discovering, as I'd previously read Adam. In "Adam" themes enthralled on scientific, spiritual and page-turning suspense. Ted did a breathtaking job there too. This guy is amazing and unbelievably talented.

Ted Dekker at his best. Once you start you won't stop until you are disappointed that it's over.

This is one of the best series I have ever read. The author pulls you in and confuses you as if you were Thomas Hunter himself. After a while you start to receive clarity and understanding. This series really helped me to view God's love for us in a different light. It is an eye opening, tear provoking tale that relates God's love for us in a ver literal and touching way.

So glad that the three books are put into one as it is so riveting you can't put it down. Fast moving and well written. The author puts you right in the middle as a spectator to it all and can almost feel yourself right there with the characters. Amazing concept!!!

I'm a huge fan of Ted Dekker. When i began to refer him to friends and family, i quickly realized that not everyone enjoyed reading as much as I. So i began to look for the Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker on Audio cd. Amazon. com had the best price and with the FREE Super savings shipping, it was a no brainer! I received my item quickly and in mint condition just as descibed by Amazon.com. For all the online shoppers out there, new or veteran, Amazon has definitely proven the quality of their business and have always delivered awesome products in a timely manner.

I preread this book for my son. It is a great adventure. Poopoo to all the nitpickers. I got behind the characters and enjoyed the adventures.

Creative, Inspiring and a lot of fun! I whole heartedly recommend the Circle Trilogy!

The Circle Trilogy tells the story of Thomas Hunter, a man who enters an alternate reality when he dreams. When he falls asleep in the other world, he awakens back in ours. Both worlds are in danger; in our world a madman releases a deadly virus called the Raison Strain (only he has the antidote), and the world in Hunter's dreams is threatened by the Shataiki, a bizarre race of evil bat-like creatures.

While the ingredients of a good story are here, Dekker doesn't assemble them into a compelling yarn. He keeps the action flowing briskly, and his style is descriptive without being a distraction, but the fantasy world of Hunter's dreams is flat and dull compared with Middle Earth, Narnia, or EarthSea. Only two cultures live there, and they both speak the same language. The land itself is just generic forest and desert, with few interesting creatures or plants that you can't find in our world. It never feels like a real place.

Plot inconsistencies and weaknesses also undermine the story. For example, the "other world" (which is never named) is portrayed as a future Earth (our world is referred to as "Ancient Earth"), but as the trilogy begins it seems to be in a pre-Fall state like the Garden of Eden. The part of the story that takes place in our world has some irritating holes, too. The entire conflict hinges on Thomas accidentally revealing to the bad guys how they can mutate the Raison vaccine to create a deadly airborne virus. He also tells them how to make the antidote. So why doesn't Tom simply tell the good guys how to make the antidote, too? HE FORGETS! Building an entire plot around such a contrived scenario is just lazy writing.

In fact, Dekker can't make up his mind whether Thomas Hunter is a clueless dolt or a super genius. Although Tom can't remember that splicing the fifth and ninety-third genes in the Raison Strain makes an antidote to the virus, he later memorizes the recipe for gunpowder (including how to find, mine, and process the necessary ingredients), so he can make a batch big enough to blow up a cliff -- all in one night, with no previous experience! Later in the story, Thomas gains possession of an ancient artifact that gives him the power to have any wish fulfilled. Does he use it to incapacitate the bad guys or to discover the antidote to the Raison Strain? No, for some reason those options don't occur to him. My vote: clueless dolt.

To make matters worse, plot elements come and go at the author's whim. For example, Dekker hints at a connection between a villain in the other world and one in ours (he describes both as walking with a leg-dragging limp). I kept waiting for some kind of payoff or revelation, but nothing ever comes of it. It's as if the author simply forgot what he had written earlier. When one of the ancient artifacts mentioned above - almost unlimited power - falls into the hands of the bad guys, does Thomas mount a desperate and daring attempt to retrieve it? Do the bad guys gloat over the perfect weapon and try to use it for evil? Nope. Nothing happens. Literally, NOTHING happens. Dekker even seems to lose interest in the villains; they either disappear from the tale with no explanation or are quickly dispatched without any final battle or confrontation.

On a deeper level, the Circle Trilogy is an allegory retelling the story of God's redeeming love for sinful people, but despite some powerfully-written passages, the book fails on the spiritual front, too. I found Dekker's analogies fairly creative, and I applaud him for trying to write a fantasy that is distinctly Christian, but his version of salvation focuses solely on God's love with no sorrow or repentance for sin. In fact, Thomas comes to know, love, and worship Elyon in the "other" world, but this never seems to translate into a real-world faith in Christ. Portraying God's love without His holiness is unbalanced at best and idolatry at worst. Yes, God's love is deep and amazing, but painting Him as "desperate" to win the love of sinners is borderline heresy. Since God has absolute foreknowledge of the future, He isn't desperate about anything. Sure, it's fine for Dekker to remind us that God is an emotional Being, but His emotions do not control Him the way the author presents.

Initially, the cool premise of the Circle Trilogy pulled me in, but alas, the tale unraveled as it went. Lacking a satisfying climax, and filled with plot holes and poor theology, the Circle Trilogy rates a meager two stars.

This was my first experience with Ted Dekker....and how great it was! I could not put this book down. I finished all three (quite an accomplishment) in about a week.

This trilogy is fantastic.....a great read! I recommend!

This was an amazing journey - I couldn't put it down! This was my first Ted Dekker book, and I am so glad to have discovered such a wonderful author. His characters are well-rounded and their behavior and choices are realistic. I enjoyed the many twists and turns in the intwined plots, and I loved how he wove into the story our understanding of who God is, and how He might be in another reality, without compromising His character. This is a grown-ups Narnia. I totally loved it and would highly recommend it.

Wow! I have recently discovered Ted Dekker as an author and this is the best thing he's done. It is very difficult to take biblical themes and translate them into different settings without either offending or watering down the truth. If you've never read Ted's work and, especially if you like SciFi/Fantasy, this would be a great place to start. This started out as three different books (Black, Red, White), you could buy Black to get started but I guarantee you'll be buying the next two.

I've read other Ted Dekker books with mostly a so-so opinion of them, but this trilogy was awesome! There were edge-of-your seat elements and fantasy elements, but most important to me was that the trilogy helped me to see God and His love in a whole new light! "God loves you" had almost become a cliché to me, but this truly did give me a new point of view and new understanding.

This audio set is awsome. Ted Dekker is so descriptive and just has a way of pulling you in to his world. Highly reccomend.