Yes, I know this review is long over-due, but before reading Ted Dekker’s “Green” I went book OCD and had to read “Black”, “Red”, and “White”. Yes, I know, craziness.
Anyway I need to start off by saying that I really am a fan of Dekker’s. He’s never written anything that I found myself not enjoying (Although “Thunder of Heaven” came close). The same truth held for “Green” which more than held my attention although I feel quite confused after the ending. Having read most of the other books tied to this one I thought “Wow, I’ll finally get all the answers!” and I did get quite a few. (Just a hint for “Showdown” readers, you’ll love how Billy connects in this new book.) Still I feel like there’s still more to the Circle series. The reader is left either lunging for “Black” if they haven’t read it yet or thoroughly confused. I’m not a fan of spoilers so the only thing I’ll say is that the Circle is on of two things. The futile life of Thomas Hunter, for if the story is left as it is in “Green” then there is no hope, only a cruel joke that feel’s very unlike Elyon or the beginning of an intriguing spiral which I’m eager to dive deep into. The novel definitely had Dekker’s trademark of thrills, deep themes, and jolting truth which made it worth reading regardless of the confusion at the end.
-JD

Rocksteady

The Jam-Tex selector offers a new chapter in the World of Reggae Music Collection entitled Rocksteady. The rocksteady collection contains over 100 of the best Jamaican songs from the Rocksteady Era (1966-1968). Rocksteady music represents the transition from the faster-paced ska music of the late 1950s and 1960s to the easy-grooving reggae music of the 1970s. The sounds of rocksteady are the soul of reggae. An excellent film that depicts this era is Stascha Bader’s Rockteady: The Roots of Reggae, which is narrated by Stranger Cole and provides an excellent historical account of late 1960s Jamaica rocksteady music scene.

As the precursor to reggae, many reggae and ska musicians participated in the Rocksteady Era including legendary Jamaican performers like Alton Ellis, Lee Scratch Perry, Bob Marley & the Wailers, Desmond Dekker, and Ken Boothe. Many well-known vocal groups including The Paragons, The Techniques, the Melodians, the Ethiopians, the Kingstonians, and the Maytals participated in the movement while bands like the Uniques and the Jets laid down the intoxicating rhythms. The great musicians of ska and reggae music played rocksteady tracks, including Tommy McCook, Ernest Ranglin, Jackie Mittoo, and Lynn Taitt.

Here are over 100 essential tracks of Rocksteady music…

1. Alton Ellis – Rock Steady
2. The Jamaicans – Ba Ba Boom
3. Hopeton Lewis – Take It Easy
4. Lee “Scratch” Perry – I Am The Upsetter
5. The Paragons – Wear You To The Ball
6. The Techniques – Queen Majesty (aka Minstrel and Queen)
7. Pat Kelly – How Long Will It Take
8. Slim Smith & the Uniques – People Get Ready, Do Rock Steady
9. The Melodians – Little Nut Tree
10. Derrick Harriot – Dancing the Reggae
11. Phyllis Dylon – A Thing Of The Past
12. The Paragons – Island in the Sun
13. Dawn Penn – Lonely Day Short Night
14. Errol Dunkley – I’m Going Home
15. Glen Miller – Rocksteady Party
16. Derrick Morgan– I Want To Go Home
17. Desmond Dekker – Beautiful And Dangerous
18. Ken Boothe – Can’t See You
19. Derrick Morgan – Hey Them
20. Roy Shirley – Hold Them
21. Desmond Dekker & the Aces – Bongo Gal
22. Delroy Wilson – Once Upon a Time
23. Derrick Harriot - Solomon
24. The Ethiopians – Reggae Hit the Town
25. Justin Hinds & the Dominoes – Carry Go Bring Come (Rocksteady Version)
26. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Hypocrites
27. The Kingstonians – Winey, Winey
28. The Melodians – I Will Get Along Without You
29. Phyllis Dillon – Don’t Touch Me Tomato
30. Honeyboy Martin – Dreader Than Dread
31. Joe White – Rudies All Around
32. Lynn Taitt & the Jets – To Sir With Love
33. The Tennors – Ride Your Donkey
34. Slim Smith – Let Me Go Girl
35. The Tartans - Dance All Night
36. The Paragons – On The Beach
37. The Uniques – My Conversation
38. Tommy McCook – The Shadow of Your Smile
39. Alton Ellis & the Flames – All My Tears
40. The Versatiles – Teardrops Falling
41. Derrick Morgan – Conquering Ruler
42. Errol Dunkley – You’re Gonna Need Me
43. Clancy Eccles – What Will Your Mama Say
44. The Melodians – Swing and Dine
45. Pat Kelly – Somebody’s Baby
46. The Gaylads – A.B.C. Rocksteady
47. The Ethiopians – Engine 54
48. Alton Ellis – Girl I’ve Got A Date
49. The Silvertones – Smile
50. The Techniques – You Don’t Care
51. Ike Bennet and the Crystalites – Illya Kuryakin
52. The Sensations – Right On Time – Original
53. Alton Ellis – Cry Tough
54. Desmond Dekker – Unity
55. Phyllis Dillon – Don’t Stay Away
56. Stranger Cole & Patsy – Down The Train Line
57. Justin Hinds – Save A Bread
58. The Three Tops – Do It Right
59. Derrick Harriot – Walk The Streets
60. Clancy Eccles – The Revenge
61. Alton Ellis – Loving Mood
62. The Gaylads – Over the Rainbows End
63. Errol Dunkley – King and Queen
64. The Techniques – Traveling Man
65. Desmond Dekker – It Mek
66. The Gaylettes – Silent River (Runs Deep)
67. Desmond Dekker – Intensified ’68 (aka Music Like Dirt)
68. Ken Boothe – Lady with the Starlight
69. Rudy Mills – Long Story
70. Stranger Cole – Just Like A River
71. Derrick Harriott – The Loser
72. Lester Sterling – Super Special
73. Johnny & the Attractions – Young Wings Can Fly
74. The Natives – Live It Up
75. The Versatiles – The Time Has Come
76. The Melodians – I Will Get Along Without You
77. Keith and Tex – Tonight
78. The Jamaicans – Things You Say You Love
79. The Gaylads – Hard to Confess
80. The Maytals – Just Tell Me
81. Larry Marshall – Please Stay
82. Beres Hammond – The Wanderer
83. The Tartans – Far Beyond the Sun
84. Alton Ellis – Feeling Inside
85. The Overtakers – Girl You Ruff
86. Lloyd Robinson – Death A Come
87. Dennis Brown – Things in Life
88. Lee “Scratch” Perry – People Funny Boy
89. Glen Adams – Hey There Lonely Girls
90. Phyllis Dillon – It’s Rocking Time (Rocksteady)
91. Dawn Penn – To Sir With Love
92. Errol Dunkley – Please Stop Your Lying
93. The Paragons – Only A Smile
94. The Melodians – You Have Caught Me
95. Owen Gray – Take Me Back
96. Sound Dimension – Mojo Rock Steady
97. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Rocking Steady
98. Eric “Monty” Morris – Cinderella
99. Bob Andy – Too Experienced
100. The Uniques – Gypsy Woman
101. The Sensations – Lonely Lover
102. Peter Tosh – Them Ha Fi Get A Beaten
103. Stranger Cole – Seeing Is Knowing
104. Big Youth – A So We Say
105. Nicky Thomas – God Bless the Children
106. The Dynamics – My Friends
107. The Mellotones – Fat Girl In Red
108. Keith Blake – Musically
109. Jimmy London & the Inspirations – Who You Gonna Run To
110. Alton Rock, Suga Roy, & Conrad Crystal – Rock Steady

[I was planning to write this for quite a while]

Great Lake Swimmers are one of those bands you really have to know. They really do have their own sound. I would describe it as a mix of Fleet Foxes meets Wilco meets I don’t know what. It’s really a unique sound. I wonder what that is. The vocals? The lyrics? The instruments? I guess it’s just a mix of all. The latest and fourth record by Great Lake Swimmers is called Lost Channels. The album was released earlier this year.

Tony Dekker and co. are known for their intimate folk, alt-country and pop songs. Quite songs that bring you to another place, where it’s very peaceful. A place where you hear the wind and see the flowers dance in the sunlight. Or more a walk in a winter forest in the moonshine. Don’t expect too much of that on this record. On this album are more (nearly) upbeat songs and you’ll find more (electric) guitar. It even sounds somewhat louder. I think it’s good that they don’t do the same trick over and over. They may open up to a new audience this way, which is a good thing. They’re a great band.

So on this album more upbeat songs. Good. One of my favourite Great Lake Swimmers songs is ‘Your Rocky Spine’, which was upbeat too. ‘The Chorus In The Underground’ does somewhat reminds me of that song. Maybe it’s because there’s a banjo in it too. It’s a great song, pretty joyful for GLS-standards. Another song that I really like on this album is ‘New Light’. It’s a pretty interesting song. In someway it reminds me of the Dark Ages. I don’t know it’s in the melody line, in the instruments they picked or something else. To me, it would perfectly fit on an Age of Empires soundtrack. I keep listening to it and I really wonder what it is that makes me listen to it. Also ‘River’s Edge’ is a wonderful song. It reminds me of walking through the snow on a sunny winter day.

Anyhow, I don’t really like their change overall. I totally love their intimate, campfire, forest walk songs. That’s what’s attracts me most to the Great Lake Swimmers, their capability to bring you to another place. I just think Tony Dekker doesn’t really have the right sound for the more ‘upbeat’ songs. He got a pretty unique voice that isn’t meant to sing such songs. The ’upbeat’ songs just sound a little bit ‘flat‘ to me. The arrangements are ok, but they don’t sound (pretty) interesting to me (though, I might have high standers (thank you Andrew Bird)). These songs  just lost some of the GLS- magic. I like the second half of the album better, where the songs are more quite, calm and suck you in to Tony’s world. I miss that on the first (upbeat) half of the album.

Overall, it’s not a bad album, it’s actually a good one. Great Lake Swimmers’ sound slightly changed to more upbeat, which I don’t prefer, but I think some people will like it. There are also some little gems on it, such as ‘New Light’, which brings you not only to another place, but also to another age (or at least me). Tony Dekker’s vocals are still unique and capable of sucking you into his world. It’s not the best album this year, but absolutely one I’ll recommend you, simply because you might like their ‘upbeat’ stuff.

[7.5/10]

Desmond Dekker – Israelites

How does one deal with waking up and losing six months of memories? How is one supposed to relate to a person that, to all appearances, wants nothing to do with her. That is what Shauna McAllister has to deal with. She wakes up in the hospital with no recollection how she got there. With help from the person that she considers her boyfriend she begins to get back into life. After a few days, she realizes that she has the ability to take others memories. With this ability beginning to manifest she starts to realize that not all is as it should be. Through many dangers she begins to unravel the plot to keep her quiet about what she had found out concerning her dad’s political career.

Though Erin Healy is the author, this story has a decidedly Dekker flavor. You don’t really know where you are going to end up in typical Ted Dekker fashion. This is due to a close working relationship between the two of them. There could not have been a better match for either of them. For her first time out, she shines as an author. I will be eagerly awaiting to read their next collaboration.

To kick off the hotness, let’s start with Thomas Dekker, star of the cancelled TV series “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”

Here he is on set with the gorgeous Summer Glau, co-star of the show:

And again…

One last time with Summer…

No Summer this time…

My personal favourite…. (I could stare into those eyes for eternity)

Bloedcentrifuge, op Marktplaats.

Le trophée des jeunes va connaître prochainement son dénouement. Mais le suspense demeure. Si les classements jeunes par équipes et par nations semblent être définitivement promis au Team Columbia et à la France, (hé oui), le classement individuel est plus qu’incertain.

Tout devrait se jouer en lombardie, lors de la dernière épreuve du calendrier, enfin plutôt en coulisse… Le tchèque Roman Kreuziger, actuel leader, possède 18 points d’avance sur le tenant du titre néerlandais Robert Gesink. Or, Gesink est incertain pour la Lombardie. Si ce dernier venait à ne pas participer, il offrirait ainsi au tchèque un premier sacre. La 3e place du classement est occupée par le luxembourgeois Andy Schleck, brillant vainqueur de Liège-Bastogne-Liège et dauphin de Contador sur le Tour. Schleck ne devrait pas être privé de sa 3e place car le 4e, le norvégien Edvald Boasson Hagen compte 80 points de retard. Si Gesink venait à participer en Lombardie, il pourrait s’adguger pour la 2e année consécutive le titre. Un tel résultat serait le deuxième du genre après le doublé de Cunego vainqueur officieux du trophée en 2004 et 2005.

Le palmarès du trophée “Piotki” jeunes :

1996 Axel Merckx Belgique; 1997 Jan Ullrich Allemagne; 1998 Franck Vandenbroucke Belgique; 1999 Jorg Jaksche Allemagne; 2000 Oscar Freire Espagne; 2001 Tadej Valjavec Slovénie; 2002 Matthiass Kessler Allemagne; 2003 Patrik Sinkewitz Allemagne; 2004-2005 Damiano Cunego Italie; 2006 Vladimir Gusev Russie; 2007 Thomas Dekker Pays-Bas; 2008 Robert Gesink Pays-Bas.

Après consultation du palmarès, on se rend compte que le chemin qu’il reste à accomplir après un tel titre non-officiel est grand et semé d’embuches. Le dopage pour certains étant passé par là malheuresement.

Albert Dekker (December 20, 1905 – May 5, 1968) was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch.

On May 5, 1968, Dekker was found dead in his Hollywood home by his fiancée Geraldine Saunders after failing to answer numerous phone calls for two days. He was found naked, kneeling in his bathtub with a noose wrapped around his neck that was looped around the shower’s curtain rod.

He was also handcuffed, blindfolded, and had sexually explicit words scrawled on his body in red lipstick. There were no signs of forced entry, but money and camera equipment were missing from Dekker’s home.He was interred at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, New Jersey.

Source: wwww.wikipedia.com

TOP STORY:  This week, the efforts of the Forest Guard were greatly rewarded:

Kevin Kaiser tweeted on Wednesday afternoon

Just got news that Green hit the NYT Bestsellers list (#20). Thx to everyone who helped make that happen!

We did it! Granted, it’s not #1 (some day, folks), but still this means that all of us encouraging our friends to give the Circle a chance has really paid off. The story of our redemption is out there and getting noticed.

FLASH FICTION:  Ted poked his head out of his undisclosed location this week in order to share his shortest piece of fiction to date. I present to you The Gunslinger.  Despite how brief the story is, many of Dekker’s fans are pulling out nuggets of truth embedded within the snapshot of a tale. 

IMMANUEL’S VEINS: This week was a slow news week when it came to new clues as to Ted’s upcoming novel.  Pretty much what we’ve uncovered over the past few months have this novel set in the 1500’s and including “non-Twilight” vampires. 

The online debate continued on Facebook and on The Circle.  Most of Ted’s fans are fine with evil being portrayed in a realistic way as to contrast with the light and make it appear all the more good.  Some seem to question whether vampires are in this novel primarily because their “popular” right now.  Or does the current popularity of vampires make a Dekker novel about them all the more relevant to a world that needs to hear the truth?

FOREST GUARD: This week we were introduced to a BONUS MISSION along with a special audio message from Ted thanking us for all our hard work promoting Green. For this extra mission, members of the guard can earn bonus points for posting reviews of Green on sites like Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Christianbook.com, and other online booksellers.  All we have to do is post our reviews, then submit a report with links.  So what are you waiting for?  Get out there and write a review!

BURN:  Only 121 more days until the release of Ted’s next novel.  As we’ve previously reported, Burn is Dekker’s second collaboration with Erin Healy.  The hundreds of fans who attended this year’s Gathering have already devoured this instant classic.  As one of those fans, I can’t wait for everyone else to get a chance to immerse themselves in this story.  This is one of the best “stand-alone” novels that Ted has ever done.  He and Erin have penned a masterpiece together and in just 4 months, the world will get a taste of what happens when you have to choose between your own wants and sacrificing for another. 

TEA WITH HEZBOLLAH:  January 2010 is a big month for Ted.  Not only will we see the release of Burn but we will also be treated to what I can only assume will be a worldview-rocking non-fiction book:  Tea With Hezbollah.  We’re keeping a close eye for any excerpts or more information on this one.  I am excited for the discussion this book will inspire. 

And now here’s your weekly recap:

Music Monday: “Fire it Up” – Thousand Foot Krutch
Ted-Inspired Tuesday: “Name’s Black… Marsuvees Black”
Wacky Wednesdays: Confessions of an AdDekkt
Thoughtful Thursdays: Through the Looking Glass
First-Look Fridays: Going Green!

Phen and I have another great week of posts planned, so stay tuned. 

Also, please send any suggestions or post ideas to our e-mail:  ScribesofOE@gmail.com

Thunder of Heaven by Ted Dekker, 295 pages, Biblical Fiction

Imagine living a normal life in America for several years and then suddenly moving to a foreign country to live in an uncivilized jungle as a missionary family. Tanya Vandervan, the main character of Thunder of Heaven, finds herself in this predicament. Tanhya has lived in the jungle for a few years peacefully. One day, out of nowhere, helicopters and a few dozen men show up fully armed and ready to kill. The helicopters open fire on her family and her best friend Shannon’s family. Her father saves her life and is killed just after saving her. Tanya hears her mother fall and die. She soon learns she is the only survivor on the missionary compound.

Tanya is tormented for years by dreams of her family and friends’ violent deaths. Almost every time she wakes up, she is covered in sweat and panic stricken. Eight years after this tragic event, Tanya finds herself living in Colorado with a roommate named Marisa. Marisa tries to comfort Tanya when she wakes up after these horrible dreams. Tanya spends her awake time studying at the local university with intentions of becoming a doctor. She also finds comfort in spending time and talking with her grandmother, Helen. Grandmother Helen’s wisdom helps Tanya tackle her haunting past. Tanya boards a plane and returns to the jungle where a new, equally wild, adventure begins.

Upon returning to the jungle, Tanya lives with a priest who knows her grandmother as well as Tanya’s tragic past. Quickly, he reveals his own troubled past. Will his own tragic secret help Tanya to overcome her past? Tanya continually crosses paths with a mysterious man who seems strangely familiar. Will she identify this man? Will unveiling her dreams allow her to understand God’s plan? Will Tanya find peace for her troubled heart? These answers will be revealed while turning the pages of Thunder of Heaven.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to find a suspensful Christian adventure story. The book has an interesting plot revealing man’s struggle with evil and the love of Jesus. The writer asks the reader to examine their relationship with Christ and what Christ’s sacrificial death means to them. The story reveals how a person can be changed by another person’s love for them. Review by Zach Schindler.

Today the Forest Guard Chronicles brings you an exclusive Ted-Inspired work from Justin Buus, also known to some of you as NinjArtist on the Circle. Yes, he is a ninja AND an artist. And now I present to you . . .

Amazing, no? You can click here for a larger version of the image, or you can click here for an alternate version with the poem from Showdown on it.

If you want to see more of Justin’s work, including a sneak preview at his graphic novel-in-progress Holy Darkness, you can visit his Circle page. Here’s another of my favorite pieces of his.

Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment. And if you have anything you want to be featured on this blog, shoot us an email at ScribesofOE@gmail.com.

(Updated with links to the larger/alternate versions now! Sorry about that.)

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past few days, folks. You can totally blame that on Green. I was holed up in my room until I finished it, and now I have dared venture out into the light of day for some measly crumbs of food and a bit of Grace Juice to quench my thirst. To make up for this though, I’ll bring you not one but three updates today! For the first post I bring you a peak at The Bride Collector, Ted’s next novel with mainstream publisher Hatchette coming out in April 2010.

Chapter One

“Thank you, Detective,” muttered Special Agent for the FBI Brad Raines. “We’ll take it from here.”

Raines stood in the small barn’s wide doorway and scanned the dimly lit interior. Dusk fell on an ancient wood floor covered in dust disturbed by numerous footprints. Shafts of light streamed from cracks in a sagging roof.

Long abandoned. A natural choice.

“With all due respect, Agent Raines, my team is here,” the detective replied. “They can work the scene.”

“But they won’t, Detective Lambert.”

Raines turned his head slowly, taking it all in.

One rectangular room roughly fifteen by forty, covered by a tin roof. Interior walls formed by six-inch graying wooden planks. Ten, twenty, thirty, thirty-two on the narrow side. Fifteen feet, as estimated. Two shovels and a pitchfork on the floor to his right. A single window with dirty, tinted panes, crowded by empty cobwebs.

A dust-covered wooden bucket rested in the corner, its rusted handle covered with filth. Several old rusted tin cans—Giant brand peas with the label mostly missing, Heinz canned hotdogs—scattered on floor, left by camper long gone. An old farm plow blade lay against the near wall. An even older work table sat to the left, near the far wall. Anything else of interest had been taken by visitors.

All but what had brought Brad.

The woman’s body was glued to the wall to his left. Like a mannequin: arms wide, wrists limp. Like the other three.

“…Chief Lorenzo for clearance.” The detective’s voice edged in on his thoughts. Lambert was still here.

Brad looked over his left shoulder where Nikki Holden, a leading forensic psychologist, stood staring at the woman’s body with those wide blue eyes of hers. She caught his ‘get-rid-of-the-cop’ glance and turned to face detective Lambert. Brad returned his gaze to the shed’s interior as she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Detective,” she said in her most reasonable tone of voice, “but I’m sure you can appreciate our position here. Give my team a few hours and we’ll know. If this isn’t our guy, you’ll be the first to know. The police department’s been more than helpful.”

Brad looked up to mask his knowing grin. One of the rafters was cracked, its gray husk revealed a lighter, tan core. Freshly broken.

“I don’t like it,” Lambert said. “For the record.”

Brad pulled his eyes from the crime scene and smiled at the detective. “Thank you, Detective. Noted. There’s quite a bit about this job not to like. If your men could secure the perimeter, that would be helpful. Our forensic team will be here any minute. Just give us a couple hours.”

Lambert held his gaze for moment, then turned away and addressed a man behind him. “Okay Larry, cancel the forensics, this is now an FBI investigation. Tell Bill to secure and hold the perimeter.”

Larry muttered a curse and flicked away a bit of straw he’d taken from a pile of old bales. A white unmarked van rolled over the yellow perimeter tape and slowly crunched over the gravel driveway. It had taken the forensics team an hour to reach the scene, just south of West Dillon Road, from the Stout Street field office in downtown Denver. A farm had evidently once occupied this empty field in Louisville, twenty plus miles northwest from Denver up the Denver Boulder Turnpike.

Brad glanced at Nikki. “Tell them to start on the outside,” he said flatly. “Give us a minute. Bring Kim in when she arrives.”

Kim Peterson, the forensic pathologist, would determine what the body could tell them post mortem. Nikki headed for the van without comment.

Brad turned his attention back to the small barn. The shack. The farm shed. The killer’s nest. The rest of the story was here, in the dark corners. The walls had watched the killer as he’d methodically ended a woman’s life. The work table had heard his words as he confessed his passions and fears in a world turned inside out by his compulsions. It had witnessed her pleas for mercy. Her dying moans.

Careful not to step on the exposed markings in the dust, Brad entered the room and approached the wall on which the woman was fixed. He stood still, filtering out the sounds of voices from a dozen law enforcement personnel outside. The hum of rubber on asphalt from the main road two hundred yards down the driveway settled in with the sound of his breathing. Both faded entirely as he brought his senses in line with the scene before him.

Her nearly nude torso rose pale in the glow of a single light shaft. As though by magic, her body seemed perched on the wooden wall behind her, both arms stretched out on either side. Two round dowels that supported much of her weight protruded from the wall under her armpits. Her heels were together, each foot angled from the wall at the same angle to form a V.

A white veil of translucent lace had been carefully placed to cover her face, like a bride.

The outthrust posture sent a collage of art-history remnants cascading through his mind––the Venus de Milo, a thousand renditions of the Crucifixion, the Louvre’s Winged Victory statue, her marble bosom preening forward like the prow of an ancient ship against a Mediterranean surf.

But this was no museum. It was a crime scene, and the mixture of cruelty and ostentation pouring from the garish exhibit filled him with a sudden wave of nausea.

Slowly, his analytical faculties began to reassert themselves.

She was naked except for thin cotton panties and the veil. Blonde. White. Everything about the placement was symmetrical. The position of each hand, limp at the end of each arm with thumb and forefinger touching, set in identical form. Each knee, each shoulder, each hip carefully manipulated into perfect balance. All but her head.

Her head slumped gently to the left so that her long blond hair cascaded over her left shoulder before curling under her armpits. Through the veil he could see that her eyes were closed. No blemish, no sign of pain or suffering, no blood.

Only blessed peace and beauty. She could as easily be an angel painted by DaVinci or Michelangelo. The perfect bride.

Brian Jacobs, seventeen, had brought his girlfriend here after school for reasons unrevealed and found the Bride Collector’s fourth victim. Brad preferred to think of them as angels.

He peered closer and felt strange words of empathy well up inside of him.

I cry with you, Angel. I weep for you. For every strand of hair that will never again blow in the wind, for every smile that will never brighten someone else’s day, for every look of desire that will never quicken another man’s pulse. I am so sorry.

“She’s beautiful,” Nicole said behind him.

He felt a momentary stab of regret for having been pulled away from his connection with the woman on the wall. Nikki walked past him, eyes fixed on the woman, touching his arm gently with her fingers as she passed. Her breathing was steady, slightly thicker than usual. He knew the cause: the dark waters of the killer’s mind she now probed by staring at his handiwork.

Like an avalanche, the poignancy of his relationship with Nikki crashed through his mind… and then was gone, replaced by the image of her standing next to the woman. A blonde angel hovering over a brunette. One with arms stretched wide in complete resignation, the other with arms folded. One nearly naked, the other dressed in a blue silk blouse with a black jacket and skirt.

She’s beautiful, he thought.

“Dear God.” Kim Peterson’s voice cut softly through the room, gasping what the other two were too proud to verbalize. The forensic pathologist stepped up next to Brad, withdrew a pair of white gloves from her bag then set it down. “What do we know?”

Brad would have preferred to spend more time alone with the victim, but the opportunity had passed. “No ID. Discovered an hour ago by two teenagers.”

They stared in a moment of silence.

“She’s beautiful,” Kim said.

“Yes.”

“This makes four.”

“Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

The pathologist approached the body opposite Nikki, who remained quiet, lost in thought as she studied the body with searching eyes.

Kim sank to one heel and gently lifted the woman’s toes for a better view under the foot. “Care to tell us how you think it happened before I begin my preliminary examination?”

He wasn’t ready, of course, not yet, not without a complete analysis of ungathered evidence. But he’d been credited with an uncanny ability to accurately judge events from the thinnest of evidentiary threads, and not without reason. He’d cracked three major cases in the Four Corners region since leaving Miami and joining the Denver field office a year ago. At thirty-two years of age, he was on the fast track for high ground – much higher ground, if you believed his superiors.

But he believed none of them because he knew that, unlike them, his motivation had nothing to do with climbing an organizational ladder.

“Male, size eleven by the shoe prints. They were here for a while, maybe a day…”

“How so?” Nicole asked.

A distant murmur carried to him: an officer speaking to the curious driver of an approaching car outside, instructing him to head back to the main road. The over their heads ticked as it began to cool in the late afternoon.

“That smell. It’s baked beans. He was hungry so he ate. You won’t find the can. He wouldn’t leave any DNA evidence in here.”

“She was alive when he brought her here?”

“Yes. And he killed her like the others, by draining her blood from her heels. No struggle. He either gained her cooperation before he brought her or while she was spread out on the table, listening to his reasoning. Like before. A tarp under the table caught most of the trace evidence––bodily fluids, skin cells, hair. He was careful not to use too much force, keeping her on the edge of control and submission. She was lying prone, sedated, conscious and fully aware when he numbed her heels and drilled up into them. He was forced to clean up the blood on table and floor where it ran off the tarp. Then he sealed the wounds, lifted her into position, held her long enough for the glue on her shoulder blades to cure on the wall, reopened the wounds on each heel, and watched her blood drain into a three-gallon bucket.”

All of this, Brad had guessed from the markings on the table and floor, the ring from the bucket beneath the woman’s heels, and the lack of bruising. The physical evidence had painted a picture in his mind as clearly as if he was staring at a Rembrandt.

“He did it out of respect, not rage,” Brad said.

“Love,” Nikki said.

He nodded, even willing to go that far. “Love.”

“Both heel wounds are plugged with the same fleshy putty we found on the other three,” Kim said, standing. “And what kind of love is this?”

“The groom’s love,” Brad said, savoring his response.

Special Agent Frank Closkey spoke from the door. “Sir?”

Brad held up his hand without looking back. “Give us a few more minutes, Frank.”

The agent retreated.

Kim continued her initial examination, gently prodding the woman’s flesh, checking her eyes, lifting her hair, inspecting the back of her shoulders. But Brad already knew what she would find, for this was the fourth body the Bride Collector had left them.

The question was why? What motivated him? How did he make his selections? What good or evil did he think he was doing? What had been done to him to motivate his taking of life in such a manner? Where was he now? Who had he decided to kill next? When would he take her?

Where was he now?

The questions spun through Brad’s mind as one, yet unique. Some were clearer than others, but all whispered from beyond, tempting him to listen because each question already contained an answer. He simply had to find it and unpack it.

Nikki paced with one arm pressed against her belly, the other propping up her chin. It struck him that like her, two of the victims had been brunettes. Like her, all four had beautiful complexions.

What would enter the killer’s mind if he were staring at Nikki through a hole in the wall at this moment? Brad pushed back a fleeting impulse to check the wall behind them to see if there might indeed be a hole there now, filled with a single eye peering in at them.

A dozen reasons as to why this would be absurd presented themselves to him. He summarily dismissed them all, returning to what the killer might think if he was watching Nikki the way Brad watched her now. He let himself wander––her calves well defined beneath the hem of the black skirt.

Her wavy long hair cascading on her shoulders, her eyes bright with question. Her forefinger absently brushing full lips. A perfectly symmetrical face.

Would the killer feel any desire?

No. No it wasn’t desire, was it? She was beautiful, but beautiful women filled the world. Something else drew the Bride Collector, in the same way that something else was drawing Brad now, though he had a difficult time putting a finger on it.

Of the numerous women he’d dated over the past ten years, only four relationships had lasted two months or more, each ending sooner than the previous one. Nikki had once accused him of playing the role of bad boy. He thought picky was a better label. He had taste, after all.

After what he’d been through, he needed to be picky.

Nikki was thirty-one, married once at age nineteen, divorced six months later. A forensic psychologist with a doctorate in psychology from CSU. Highly intelligent, witty, reduced to deep introspection by scenes that might have left most people heaving.

This would excite the killer, wouldn’t it? And if Nikki came on to the killer, would that excite him?

No, Brad thought.

“He would like you,” Brad said.

Nicole glanced back at him, arm still around her waist. “Excuse me?”

He caught himself. This was one of those frequent times when brutal honesty might not be so wise.

“I was just thinking that he liked her. You. That is, speaking to the victim. He. He would like you, meaning he would like her.”

Kim saved him. “Speaking to cadavers now, Bradley? Don’t worry, I do it all the time.”

“You were looking at me when you said it,” Nikki said.

“So I was. I tend to do that.”

“What, stare at women? Or specifically at me?”

“Both, on occasion.”

A faint smile turned the corners of her mouth up. She winked, not a full wink, but the movement in her right eyelid was unmistakable. Or was it?

Nikki turned to face the wall, leaving Brad to feel somewhat dirty. In an attempt to help the woman on the wall, he’d somehow violated her privacy. Yet her story was still unknown, and demanded respect.

Silence. Remorse. Shame.

“Sir?”

Brad turned from the wall and walked to the door. “Bring the team in. Photograph every inch, dust every exposed surface. Blood, sweat, spittle, hair; bag and tag the air if you have to. I want preliminaries from the lab this evening.”

“Um… It’s getting late. I don’t—”

“He’s staring through a peephole at another woman already, Frank. We have less than a week to stop him from showing that woman his love. Preliminaries tonight.”

Brad left the shack thinking he might have chosen better words to express the urgency burning across his nervous system.

In order to continue this “Green Week” thing Phen and I have got going, this week’s edition of Thoughtful Thursdays takes a look at a quote from one of my favorite scenes in the novel.  If you haven’t read Green, you may not want to read this post, but I edited the quote down to ensure that any spoilers are VERY minimal.

Ted Dekker, Green, p. 325

It is important to know for context of this quote that Thomas is experiencing an intimate moment with Elyon after a whole 300 pages of difficult times and frustration.  He’d been so focused on all the hang-ups of the here and now, that to even glimpse Elyon’s presence anywhere was becoming increasingly difficult.

Finally, though, Thomas gets the chance to commune with Elyon in a way he hasn’t done since the green waters of Black.  In this intimate moment, Thomas holds the boy’s hand and, for the first time in a very long time, he feels at peace.  All the cares of the last few days and the last 10 years, utterly vanish as he experiences the presence of his Creator.

I don’t know about you, but this is something I need to be reminded of constantly.  This truth that no matter what I’m going through or how far I’ve strayed from my God, He loves me unconditionally, and simply wants to be with me.  And just resting with my Abba, with my Creator, with my Comforter is enough to satiate all of my needs and desires.

For all the times I’ve turned my back on God and then blamed Him for not being present, I need to remember this.

For all the times I’ve tried to gain fulfillment through idols and selfish pursuits, I need to remember this.

For all the times I’ve lived life as if I have everything under control, I need to remember this.

Remembrance.  It’s the chord that this quote struck in my heart as tears welled up in my eyes.  The Israelites were asked to remember their stay in Egypt and the exodus that only came from God’s rescue.  The church has likewise been asked to remember the death, sacrifice, and resurrection of their Savior.

That’s why I love taking communion.  No matter where I am or what form the communion takes, I’m always forced to pause and remember.

Therefore, I think it only appropriate to end with another quote by a guy much more famous than Ted.

“Do this in remembrance of me” – Jesus

Here are some of the Green reviews that we have compiled up until this point.  We will continue to update this post as more reviews come in.  If you have a review you’d like to share with us, please e-mail me @ ScribesofOE@gmail.com
The VERY first review of Green posted anywhere on the Internet was this one and we had it here first.

Fiction Addict posted their own review here.

The Christian Manifesto gave their take on it here.

Library Journal had this to say:

“Dekker’s prequel/sequel to his “Circle” trilogy (Black, Red, and White) is an apocalyptic, spellbinding thriller set 2000 years in the future. Earth as we know it has been destroyed. Thomas Hunter, who time-traveled to the future, discovers that his son has joined up with the dark forces. Verdict: Dekker continues to write shocking stories that revolve around the war between good and evil in our hearts. His myriad fans will want this suspenseful, larger-than-life visionary novel, which will also appeal to readers who enjoy Dean Koontz and Stephen King.”

UPDATE (9/2/09):  The Circle’s own living_aLOUD (Sara) posted her review here

Also, Chris Jager, fiction buyer for Baker Book House posted this review

Karri Compton, one of the Circle’s beloved moderators, posted her review here.

These reviews are all spoiler-free. So, if you have yet to get your lucky paws on a copy of Green, feel free to indulge in these teasers.

Stay tuned to this blog as it is updated with more reviews as we get them.

Some of you know that I work at a Christian bookstore.  With the release of Green, came the opportunity to create a display that would be eye-catching and creative.

My coworker, Jeanne, and I tasked ourselves with this project.  What resulted (which is 99% Jeanne’s work) was nothing short of unique.

We took a round, glass table (the only part that was my idea) and added 4 patches of fabric to it that corresponded to the 4 novels.  What you can’t see in the pictures is that the green fabric actually “circles” around the back half of the table to rejoin with the black piece of cloth.

It was also Jeanne’s idea to have the books get progressively higher off of the table.  Red sits a little higher than Black and so on.  As Green reaches it’s highest level at the back of the table, it starts cascading back down to lead into Black.  Symbolic, huh?

The other touch was to put the boxed set right in the middle propped up by more copies of Green.

Once again, credit to Jeanne.  I just helped her execute her awesome idea.

So, what do you think?  Have you run into any other creative displays in your shopping for Green?  Phen and I would love to put up pics of other things that have been done with Green (whether at home or in stores). E-mail us anything you have: ScribesofOE@gmail.com

-Andrew

In honor of Green’s release, today’s Ted-Inspired Tuesday brings you the whimsical, colorful art of Other-Earth, as drawn by DarthxErik. Enjoy and don’t forget to leave a comment!

You can check out more of DarthxErik’s amazing work here!

And don’t forget to run out to your local bookstore and buy Green today!

It’s finally here! The day we’ve all been waiting for. September 1. The release of…

On this post we’d love to hear your experiences tracking it down this morning. How fast did / are you reading it? First impressions?

We’ll be bringing you more content throughout the day with Ted-Inspired Tuesdays plus new reviews as they come in.

If you have any pics or artwork you’d like to submit about Green or anything Ted-Inspired, e-mail me: ScribesofOE@gmail.com

For now, here’s the newest info from Kevin Kaiser about upcoming releases:

Discuss away.

This week for Music Mondays, we have a video from one of Ted Dekker’s favorite artists, Muse.

Fans who were at this year’s Gathering even saw Muse’s Black Holes & Revelations on sale right alongside Ted’s books and merchandise.  Muse’s music is critically acclaimed and has become even more popular as “Knights of Cydonia” was featured in Guitar Hero 3 and “Take a Bow” played prominently in trailers for Watchmen last year.  Also, some mildly popular teen vampire movie included “Supermassive Black Hole” on their soundtrack, garnering the band even more fans. 

This band has also quickly become one of my favorites.  Their unique genre-bending sound captivates me from the first track to the end.  For me, it’s become great “productivity music” as I write papers and read.  This song is “Invincible” from their Black Holes & Revelations.  Enjoy.

Muse has a brand-new album coming out soon.  The Resistance hits stores on September 15. 

Let me know what you think.  Do you agree with Ted’s taste in music?

What’s trippin’, Circle peeps? Well, this week has been the penultimate week, all leading up to the release of Green, so we have a few morsels for you. Enjoy!

FACEBOOK: Ted has updated quite a few times over the week. Hear what he has to say.

“So many questions, many had me chuckling. I want to answer them all! I want to take each of you aside and tell you what you want to know. But this time only one unlocks my mind. 327. The question and my answer is in the comments, near the end of the questions. I give you an answer that will upset some. But that’s how it will always be in our Underground.

The number 327 has opened my mind. JoAnn asks what advice I would give to a couple struggling to show love to each other.

Now, love the world.”
–Ted Dekker, via Facebook

“I have chosen you; You have chosen me; We are both chosen. The question remains which image should now be chosen: A, B, or C? Speak now, be heard.”

A

B

C

Ted later said the first was chosen. Looks like there will be new versions of the Lost Books coming out soon!

“As we get to know each other in this Underground, it becomes plain that some of you don’t know me at all. Bob Bloop (name changed) writes that my use of numbers and gaming here is unlike me and pretentious. So not true. Who am I? To own or not. Which do you think is me today, A, B or C?

The consensus is correct. I do have a Harley in my garage. On four wheels, I drive a BMW M6. You know me better that most. So then the publisher has agreed to go with your choice of cover for Chosen as well–the first, which sets the theme for all six in the series. Thank you for speaking. You have been heard.”
–Ted, via Facebook

“So… GREEN is available Tuesday everywhere. And I will be available no where. I will lock the door on that secret room and allow only the butler in with food and drink for seven days. I will have to become obsessed. Now we will see who is alive. Have you ever been obsessed about something? (Y or N) Then who or what? Let this be your living confession. Be heard or be dead.”
–Ted Dekker, via Facebook

GREEN: There are quite a few more reviews out there now that we’re only two days away from Green’s release. You can check out Fiction Addict’s review here, by Jake Chism. And you can find The Christian Manifesto’s review here, by Matthew Robbins. I can totally assure you that those two reviews are spoiler-free. You can also find some reviews on Green’s Amazon page here. But beware of spoilers.

Also, Ted has posted a thread on the Circle regarding some concerns several have had after reading Green. Here and here. There’s some more good discussion of all things BoH-related floating around their too, so check it out. BEWARE OF MAJOR SPOILERS THOUGH. I’ve had most of Green spoiled for me just by perusing some threads and sites for news.

Tea with Hezbollah: Ted’s next non-fiction book, about his trip last year to the Middle East with Carl Medearis, is set to release January 26, 2010, and you can now preorder it on Amazon here. The cover art is up too.

Kudos to Andrew for uncovering that. You can also preorder Burn from Amazon too, by the way, if you didn’t know. Here.

BLOG: Well, if you haven’t noticed, Andrew and I brainstormed a bit, and we came up with this new weekly format for the blog, to better involve you and deliver you more content. Here’s this week’s recap.

Music Mondays: “Jamboree” – John Reuben
Ted- Inspired Tuesdays: “Sinner” by Aleena Korell
Wacky Wednesdays: “Mask” comic strip by Brandon “Phen” V (me)
Thoughtful Thursdays: “Writing, Discovery, and Grace Juice” by me
First-Look Fridays: “Awake by Skillet” Review by Andrew “Chandor” A.

Hope you enjoyed! And stay tuned this week for even more content, exclusive to the Forest Guard Chronicles.

–Phen

And don’t forget to run out and buy your copy of Green on Tuesday!

13-year old Dutch Laura Dekker, who wanted to attempt a sailing trip around the world was stopped by the dutch court. If she’d done her trip, she would be the youngest person ever to sail around the world. Now, the question is, can this be a justice issue? I mean, why can the dutch court stop her doing this in a country, that’s known for it’s extreme freedom. I personally think there’s no thing the court could stop, because sailing around the world’s seas ain’t controlled by noone.

Would you let (if you were a parent) your daughter, whos only 13, travel around the world with a sailingship? You’d know she is extremely talented and can handle dangerous situations.

And now as a citizen: Would you care about her trip? Or do you think, the court’s right?

Token from ABC World Headlines

It’s my pleasure to bring to you one of this blog’s features I’m most excited about. Every Thursday we’ll bring you one of Ted’s deepest, most profound quotes and elaborate on it in our own thoughts and musings. Here’s one from Showdown. Enjoy. Leave a comment.

1. Write to discover.

If you are a writer, then you know how it feels to put the pencil to paper and pour all your creativity and heart onto that page. It’s a discovery process. I know that while writing some of my own works I have found out a lot about myself, just through my own characters and scenes. When you’re writing, you’re taking that journey too. Sure, you are in control of the actions taken throughout the book, but in the end, you are never certain of what you may truly discover.

Discover – to see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown)

2. There is no greater discovery than love.

Discovery is beautiful. It is truly breathtaking when you find yourself on the verge of darkness and confusion, and there, in the midst of all pain, blossoms understanding and love. What is greater than this? Surely, there can be nothing worth more than discovering love and hope. No worms or Grace Juice can compare. Who would want to end their story with a discovery of nothing but death and hatred? What satisfaction would you find in it?

3. All love comes from the Creator.

So, if the greatest discovery is love, and all love comes from the Creator, Elyon, then when you discover, you are finding Him. Let’s apply this to our definition of discover.

Discover – to see love and our Creator, get knowledge of love and our Creator, learn of love and our Creator, find love and our Creator, or find out about love and our Creator; gain sight or knowledge of love and our Creator (something previously unseen or unknown)

4. Write what you will.

We have creative freedom to write what we please, to explore all the questions that may plague our minds and all the dark corners in man’s heart. In the end, though, we will discover. So, don’t be afraid to write what’s on your mind. You may just end up making the greatest discovery.

“The rules reflected the students’ purpose in their studies, certainly, but even more so in their lives as a whole. They were often encouraged to substitute the word live for the word write. Live to discover, as long as discovery leads to a love from the Creator.”
–Ted Dekker, Showdown

Live to discover, as long as discovery leads to a love from the Creator.

–Phenomenal

What’s crackin’, Dekkies? As part of the new blog format, every Wednesday we’ll display comics, parodies, and other various humorous things. And today I present to you a comic drawn by yours truly, parodying Ted’s Paradise novels. The truth shall be revealed.

There you have it. The truth behind Marsuvees Black. Yes, he is Ted Dekker. (Yeah, I know the comic looks a little rough. I’ll fix it later. >>) Hope you enjoyed. Leave a comment. Or shoot an email to phenomenal0719@live.com if you have any thoughts or ideas you want to share.

–Phen

As part of the new blog format, every Tuesday we will feature a work (whether it be a painting, poem, etc.) from one of our fellow members of the Circle. So, today it is our pleasure to bring the beautiful stylings of Aleena in a song based on Ted Dekker’s Books of History Chronicles. The song sets a perfect tone and is a great background to Ted’s series. Enjoy! Leave a comment.

And if you want any of your work to be featured here, then shoot me an email at phenomenal0719@live.com!