Peter M. Last

THOUGHTS…

While I know The Circle series has received a fourth book, book zero (what is that about?), for the purposes of this review, I will treat White as the conclusion to a trilogy for two reasons. Firstly, this was the original context in which it was published and second, it is the most equitable way to deal with it. It continues the allegory of the Christian faith through history, blending modern-earth and future-earth storylines. The modern-day story is once again a nail-biting narrative and, frankly, where the real story happens. Unfortunately, this makes the future world storyline feel like dead weight at times. Also, because it vies with the present-day story for literary real estate, a relatively small amount of background for this incredibly unique world has left some parts underdeveloped. For example, the people of one culture hate water; however, I never truly understood the depth of their hatred, because I was told about it, not shown it. Another small critique concerns the Books of the Histories, a plot device introduced early in the series and undoubtedly of incredible importance. They are built up to be the driving force in the story, yet they are rarely seen and even more rarely used for anything. Moreover, at the end of White, they have created a host of loose ends which take away from an otherwise good ending to the series. On the front of characters, the book surpasses its predecessors with the variety of people in the storyline. The villains of the future storyline are finally humanized and given depth and variety. Some of them are evil to the core while some are more like you and me. Additionally, differences of opinion among the heroes make them each feel unique. On the other hand, some characters behave in certain ways, not because it is what they would actually do but because the allegory demands it. One character, for instance, displays uncontrollable and unconditional love as an allegory for the way God loves sinners; however, with nothing preceding this attitude to justify it, the situation undermines the character’s personality simply to make a point. My most critical gripe is that The Circle trilogy over-uses death as a plot point and then utilizes poorly conceived resurrection gimmicks to bring characters back. It happens with such frequency that by the third book, the ultimate sacrifice has been cheapened to the point of being practically meaningless. As always, Mr. Dekker’s writing style is all his own, a good thing in my opinion. It melds easy to read English and sentence structures with the occasional use of older, more epic styles of writing. Combine Stephen King with Shakespeare or the Bible and you have Ted Dekker. This creates an easily devoured novel with a readily identifiable style all its own. Despite a few critiques, White is an enjoyable read and a good, climactic end to a trilogy.