Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill

Reviewed by Karri Compton

"...being a Dekker fan made reading these [YA books] a necessity and it turns out, a pleasure."

So continues the saga of the Forest Dwellers, the Horde and the Shataiki. All seek power and victory over the others. There is even a new breed seeking dominance, a cross between Shataiki and Horde. The beautiful Leedhan Shaeda is furious that her race has been banished and requires vengeance against the evil Shataiki. She needs a human to control in order to achieve her plans. Johnis willingly places himself into her hands, pitting himself against Silvie and Darsal.

Friendships waver, new alliances are forged, and love blossoms as the drama continues to its finale. Will the Dark Priest be overthrown? Can Johnis come to his senses before Thomas Hunter and the Circle are destroyed? And what of Darsal, the newly drowned heroine who has been commissioned to return to the Horde and love them? Will her commitment and sacrifice help her survive or place her in more danger?

I loved the journey of Johnis, chosen in the first book of the series to lead the other new recruits on a perilous mission. He starts out timid and unbelieving that he is worthy of such honor. But he’s a great warrior and learns that he is valuable to Elyon and his people. His confidence and ability grows as the books progress, but then he is deceived and taken captive by a force stronger than he is, and he has to somehow gain hold of himself once more in order to do what’s right. He’s not a perfect hero, but a true one from which readers can glean insight.

When Black, the first of the Circle series, released, I never could have imagined that six YA (the Lost Books series) novels would be spun off of it, all set in the same fictive world. Now that they are all completed, the only remaining tale needed to finish the battle between good and evil is Green, due out in September. I have to admit that I enjoyed the Circle series better than the Lost Books series, but that’s probably because I’m not normally a huge YA fiction fan. But being a Dekker fan made reading these a necessity and it turns out, a pleasure.

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Karri Compton, wife and mother of three, devours Christian fiction whenever possible. Her favorite genre is suspense/thriller, especially Ted Dekker novels. Since promoting biblical worldview fiction is dear to her heart, she reviews on her blog, Fiction Fanatics Only! and is a staff reviewer and interviewer for such sites as The Christian Suspense Zone. Her latest published work appears in Peculiar People's novel collaboration, Delivered. She is a member of such writers' groups as The Lost Genre Guild and FCW. Editing the completed first draft of her novel keeps her busy, as well as performing in musicals put on by her local community theater association.