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Book ReviewsThunder of Heaven (Martyr's Song Series Book 3) |
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Book: Thunder of Heaven (Martyr's Song Series Book 3)
Written by: Ted Dekker |
Publisher: W Publishing Group
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Exciting!
Rating:
4 / 5
I really enjoyed this novel. This is the first book I've read by Dekker and I found him to be an excellent read. It delievers a good blend of action, revenge, romance, and religion. I also liked the fact that the story was told from most of the character's point of view. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I'm not really religous and that whole "love of God" thing held no meaning for me. Altogether a great story with some issues about terrorism that hit close to home.
Ludlum meets Peretti: God is the chessmaster of history.
Rating:
4 / 5
Book 1 of the "Martyr's Song" series reminded me of John Grisham, book 2 of Francine Rivers, but book 3 reminded me of Robert Ludlum. With fast-paced action you'd expect from a Robert Ludlum thriller, it's a suspenseful page-turner about a terrorist threat to America because of a nuclear bomb and about a CIA operative Casius who acts outside orders. The story begins with two lovers, Tanya Vandervan and Shannon Richterson on a plantation in Venezuela. They are separated and both of their parents killed when the plantation is brutally attacked by drug-runners wanting to claim the territory as their own. Believing each other to be dead, Tanya tries to overcome her past by becoming Sherry Blake, a medical student, whereas Shannon falls under the influence of the dark powers behind the witch-doctor Sula and becomes Casius, a hired assassin for the CIA. Eight years later, their paths cross again in Venezuela, this time with global history at stake due to the terrorist threat.
The theology underlies the plot to a lesser degree than the other two novels in the series. For the most part this is a typical Robert Ludlum style read, minus the moral garbage, but with a killer on the loose, taking down villains, and a count-down for a nuclear explosion. But the theology is there, because Dekker wants us to see God's hand acting behind the events that ensue. Several times, Dekker portrays the unfolding events as moves in a chessmatch where God Himself is playing against the forces of evil. "God's playing his pieces in this chess match ... They've been moving and countermoving for decades up there on this one." The chess match imagery returns throughout the novel. "We know who the players are. They are God and they are the forces of darkness. The white side and the black side." Dekker wants us to realize that God is in control behind the decisions of mankind: "he moves the match."
Shannon has embraced the side of evil and wants nothing else than to take revenge. But his actions could place the future of the United States in jeopardy. Evil can only be stopped and Shannon changed by Tanya's love for him. Here Dekker shows how all the events are worked together by God. Shannon asks: "You can't expect me to believe you were drawn to the jungle to save mankind from some diabolical plot to detonate a nuclear weapon on US soil. You don't find that just a bit fantastic?" Dekker wants us to realize that "nothing is without a purpose", and that God is governing all things in "God's chess match," and this is why Shannon and Tanya have been brought together in love. Tanya's love plays a role in God's large plan: "And if I hadn't loved you, the bomb would have gone off. If my parents hadn't come to the jungle, or if we hadn't fallen in love, or if Abdullah had chosen a different location, the bomb would have gone off. It was all God's leading, his turning evil to good." It's divine chess: "The Creator is the ultimate chess master, isn't he? Why he allows evil to wreak havoc, we can hardly understand. But in the end, it always plays into his hands." Ultimately Dekker wants us to marvel at the chessmaster: "God is quite brilliant, don't you think?"
To properly understand the role that love plays in this cosmic chess game, one needs to read Vol. 2 of the series, because there Dekker more fully works out his understanding of true love as requiring a willingness to die to the self and one's own desires, in a Christlike sacrifice.
In the end, the theological underpinning isn't entirely successful:
1. Dekker emphasizes again and again that Tanya was made to love Shannon, but only until the final climax does it become somewhat clear how her final act of loving really does make a difference. This is the hinge on which the whole chess match depends, yet there was still some cloud over *why* and *how* Tanya's love for Shannon changed the outcome. I found the main premise a little too hard to swallow. It's true that God uses our moves and decisions as part of his chess match, but usually these are ordinary thought-out decisions of daily life, not irrational and unexplained passions resulting from visions. Moreover, the chain of reasoning is weak. While Dekker states that "our parents - they died for this day", yet if the parents hadn't died, the terrorists wouldn't have controlled the plantation, Shannon would not have been filled with revenge, and the bomb scenario would not have arisen in the first place.
2. Dekker suggests that God speaks directly to people today in visions, although it could be conceded that this is merely a literary device that serves the plot.
3. There are a few aspects of the plot that are somewhat too implausible, such as Tanya's return to Venezuela at the insistence of her adoptive grandma, and the failure of the two main characters to recognize one another. The identification of Shannon with Casius is easy to figure out, but I suspect Dekker isn't trying to hide this from us, because he has a much greater surprise regarding character identity in store for us at the conclusion.
These weaknesses aside, on the whole this is a well-written and thought-provoking novel. Overall this novel has less theological weaknesses than the first two, but the theology is more in the background here with the plot taking center stage. Fans of Robert Ludlum style suspense thrillers will love the fast-paced story-line. And although it's not quite as deep as his other novels, and the story-line could have been tightened somewhat, the theology is in itself sound. For a fast paced read with the thrills of Ludlum and the theological depth of Peretti, read of "The Thunder of Heaven" and be reminded that God is the chessmaster behind history, working all things for good. -GODLY GADFLY
Another Great Ted Dekker Novel
Rating:
4 / 5
This was my 2nd Ted Dekker novel. As I understand it, he gets better with each book, so I am trying to read them in order. This book kept my attention through all the chapters and concluded with a bang. Hey, any story where you explode a nuclear bomb over American soil is going to grab any readers attention.
I did, however, find it a little hard to believe that the two main characters didn't recognize each other for a few chapters. But this was overlooked and explained away, and made sense once the story unfolded further.
I would recommend this book. It ties into the Heaven's Wager book, and earlier release in the Martyr's Song series by Dekker. I look forward to reading more of his work.
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