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Summary
Summary
Welcome to Paradise.
Epic battles of good and evil are happening all around us.
Today that battle comes to town with the sound of lone footsteps clacking down the blacktop on a hot, lazy summer afternoon. The black-cloaked man arrives in the sleepy town of Paradise and manages to become the talk of the town within the hour. Bearing the power to grant any unfulfilled dream, he is irresistible.
Seems like bliss . . . but is it?
Or is hell about to break loose in Paradise?
Author Notes
The son of missionaries, Ted Dekker grew up in the jungles of Indonesia. He returned to the United States to attend Evangel College, graduating with a religion and philosophy major. After several years in corporate marketing, he began writing books like Heaven's Wager. Ted and his wife live in the mountains of Colorado with their four children.
(Publisher Provided)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Dekker's readers will recognize many of his mainstays: mysterious forces causing havoc, characters who may or may not be what they seem and open, faith-based questions about the very nature of reality. In this page-turner, the residents of Paradise, Colo. (a one-saloon town in the mountains), encounter Marsuvees Black, a purported preacher who claims God sent him to bring "grace and hope" to their town. Meanwhile, at a nearby nondenominational Christian monastery, monks fret over a rebellion among the gifted children in their care. Dekker (Thr3e; Blink) impressively paces the novel, maximizing suspense and intrigue by solving the novel's myriad mysteries at the exact point readers will likely be guessing at them. For example, it will dawn on readers by the middle of the story that a certain type of connection must exist between the monastery and the town. Dekker rewards that discovery by explaining the connection, but still leaves enough questions open to keep readers sleuthing to the end. While there are gory scenes and small problems with the story (especially the implausible, unethical circumstances under which the students at the monastery have been procured and studied), Dekker delivers his signature exploration of good and evil in the context of a genuine thriller that could further enlarge his already sizable audience. (Feb. 10) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Library Journal Review
When a mysterious preacher named Marsuvees Black arrives in the remote Colorado town of Paradise, he announces that God has called him to bring grace and hope to the town. But his effect on the townspeople seems strangely perverse to one boy, Johnny, the only Paradise resident unaffected by Black's influence. Meanwhile, in a monastery boarding school nearby, 37 children are unwittingly participating in Project Showdown, an experiment designed to test the extent to which growing up isolated from the evils in society can lead to greater faith. While Dekker (The Circle Trilogy, Thr3e, Blink) is adept at unraveling stories of good and evil at a nail-biting pace that keeps his fans coming back for more, here the chaotic lives of the Paradise residents are not as well developed or as imaginative as the secretive happenings of the children at the boarding school. However, there are enough plot twists and suspense to please readers who enjoy supernatural thrillers along with fans of Stephen King or James Byron Huggins's Nightbringer. Some graphic violence may be disturbing to sensitive readers. Recommended for public libraries. Dekker lives in Colorado. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Prologue "HOW MANY children?" Marsuvees Black asked, examining his fingernails. Strange behavior for a man interviewing for such a lofty position. "Thirty-seven," David said. "And they may be only thirteen or fourteen years old, but I wouldn't call them children. They are students, yes, but most of them already have the intelligence of a postgraduate. Believe me, you've never met anyone like them." Black settled back in the tall leather chair and pressed his thumbs and fingers together to form a triangle. He sighed. The monk from the Nevada desert was a strange one, to be sure. But David Abraham, director of the monastery's project, had to admit that genius was often accompanied by eccentric behavior. "Thirty-seven special children who could one day change humanity's understanding of the world," Black said. "I think I could pull myself from my desert solitude for such a noble task. Wouldn't you agree? God knows I've been in solitude for three years now." "You'll have to take that up with God," David said. "With or without you, our project will one day change the world. I can guarantee you that." "Then why do you need me? You're aware of my"--he hesitated--"that I'm not exactly your typical monk." "Naturally. I would say you're hardly a monk at all. You've spent a few years atoning for rather gratuitous sins, and for that I think you possess a unique appreciation for our struggle with evil." "What makes you think I've beaten my demons?" "Have you?" "Do we ever?" "Yes, we do," David said. "If any man has truly beaten his demons, I have. But the struggle isn't over. There are new battles every day. I don't know why you need a conflicted man like me." David thought a moment. "I don't need you. But God might. I think he does." Black raised an eyebrow. "No one knows, you say? No one at all?" "Only the few who must." "And the project is sponsored by Harvard University?" "That is correct." David had spent months narrowing his search for the right teacher to fill the vacant post. Marsuvees Black brought certain risks, but the job was his if he chose to take the vow of secrecy and sequester himself in the Colorado mountains with them for the next four years. The monk stared at his fingernail again. Scratched at it. A soft smile crossed his face. "I'll let you know," he said. Excerpted from Showdown by Ted Dekker All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
