Chosen

Chosen
by: Ted Dekker
http://www.teddekker.com/

Think with your heart and prepare to die for you have been Chosen

The land of the Forest Dwellers has been decimated by the Horde under the watchful eye of the vilest of all creatures, Teeleh. Thomas Hunter, supreme commander of the Forest Guard, is forced to lower the recruitment age of his army from 18 to 16. From among thousands, four new recruits are chosen to lead–and perhaps die–for the greater good.

The chosen four are sent on a quest to prove their character, but their mission takes a dramatic turn when they are intercepted, sworn to secrecy, and redirected to a different endgame. Now they must find the seven lost Books of History. Books that have power over the past, present, and future. Books whose words are alive. Books sought by the Dark One that control not only the destiny of their world . . . but that of ours as well (from teddekkar.com)

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Another great book- I'm on a roll this week- first Stolen, then The Order of Odd-Fish and now Chosen. When I was at the bookstore a few weeks ago I was intent to only buy books I needed, one's we were featuring on EFG or one's I wanted to read for TBF Live. Then I saw the cover for Chosen. I couldn't help myself, I read the back, liked what I saw and added it to the pile.

This book has all the makings of a classic hero's quest as we see Johnis reluctently take up the lead of a group of 4 chosen to complete a task by their leader Thomas Hunter. While trying to complete the task they are given a different task, one that hold a far greater importance then the one they set out on. They each have to decide if they will take up their destiny and embark on a quest to save their way of life, or if they will complete the original task and go home.

I really enjoyed seeing Johnis realize his destiny and beging to act like the leader he was born to be. I enjoyed the give and take between the other 3 people he is on his quest with- each is damaged in one way or another by the enemy, the Horde, but at heart each is still a kid trying to find their way. I like them as a team, even when they are bickering and fighting they seem to have eachother's backs.

My biggest complaint is directed squarely at myself. I grabbed the book on the fly without realizing that it is just one book in a series (thank goodness it is the first book), and that I have 5 more to read to find out if Johnis & Co. complete their task and find all 7 Books of History and defeat the dark one. Not only that, but this series fits into a larger series (the Circle Series) that has 4 more book, so that brings us to 9 books, add in the other books that deal with this same world (I think at least 2 more) and my book buying budget has officially been blown and my to-read pile has turned into a to-read mountain. In terms of complaints though, it could be worse. This book is great, I assume the other books are great, and having too many good books to read is a prety decent problem to have.

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As with every post- go check out Dekker's website- it is chock full of great stuff that you'll want to check out, and probably even more books that you might just have to buy.