Book Review: Chosen by Ted Dekker

Title: Chosen
Author: Ted Dekker
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Nashville
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 260
ISBN: 978-1-59554-359-2
Genre: Christian fantasy

The desert-dwelling Horde detest the Forest Dwellers. Recent losses require the Forest Guard to lower the recruiting age. Sixteen-year-old Johnis, sore over the recent death of his mother at the hands of the Horde, eagerly attempts to join the Forest Guard. The Guard rejects him.

Thomas Hunter, the supreme commander of the Forest Guard, organizes a contest to determine the four leaders of his new recruits. A rejected Johnis watches the contest from the stands. But through a strange turn of events, Johnis falls into the contest. Soon he learns that Elyon has chosen him for a purpose he never could have imagined, a purpose more important than joining the Forest Guard.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Horde plots an ambush. He plans to deploy his largest division for a large slaughter. To make matters worse, he has the help of a Forest traitor.

This first novel in Dekker's "The Lost Books" series resumes the story Dekker shared in his novels Black, Red, and White, also known as the "Circle Trilogy." This new series is officially marked as juvenile fiction, but adult readers captured by the original Circle novels will not be able to resist the allure of this new series. Dekker's audience is largely a young audience. He claims that two thirds of his readers are younger than 35. However, Dekker says, "All of my books are written for the whole spread . . . ." ¹

Admittedly, some parents may delight in Dekker's themes but have some reservations about their children reading some of Dekker's novels which contain more graphic scenes. For such parents, Chosen presents a happy compromise.

Good, evil, and love flow solidly through the pages of this novel. Elyon has chosen Johnis to play a special role in the fight between good and evil. At cursory glance, Johnis doesn't seem the most logical choice for the commission. Although not exactly an underdog, Johnis doesn't possess the brawn and fighting skills of the new recruits to the Forest Guard. Yet Johnis learns to use the abilities Elyon has given him. He realizes that his commitment to Elyon's mission could very well cost him his life.

The commitment to Christian faith is no less binding, yet we often lose our sense of urgency as daily life envelops us. Regardless of age, we all face this problem. In the world of Chosen, Elyon seems disappointingly absent. Gone are the days when Elyon's people saw the forces of good and evil before their eyes. Some have even begun to doubt that the legends about Elyon are even true.

Dekker's fiction world isn't so different from ours. Even the most passionate Christians sometimes feel that God is absent, or at least distant, from their world. Even the most vigilant Christians can't see the spiritual battle that rages. And so, our urgency sleeps until God arouses it again.

Chosen can remind readers, adults and teens alike, that there is a war greater than the ones we see around us. And God's chosen have a very important role to play.

¹ Josh Skaggs. "Read the Latest Interview with Ted." Ted Dekker.