To the cover of the book I bought (on clearance at Barnes and Noble, fyi) was affixed a little circle of shiny silver paper that read: "See First Pages for How This Book Is CHANGING LIVES!" I guess that made me a little suspicious... but I've read some Ted Dekker before and I liked what I read. I turned over the book to read the synopsis and encountered only some nonsense about how the book was about "the fountain of life" and how the "heart knows no bounds" and all that. It was a story "of terrible longing and bold sacrifice". Hmmm.
What this story is: a metaphor of Christ's pure love and sacrifice for the sins and pains and sadnesses of the world. Why it didn't work for me:
It was too sensual.
It was about vampires.
It was over-the-top dramatic.
There was a lot of blood.
I really like that Ted Dekker maintains Christian standards in all of his books. I have enjoyed several of them and look forward to reading more (I've got a couple on my "to read next" shelf, actually). But! I did not like this book and I don't think I'll even keep it in my collection. I felt uncomfortable all the way through it. It was dark, frustrating and, as I mentioned before, surprisingly sensual. I appreciate the metaphor, I do. But I didn't LIKE it--I guess that was the main problem. It felt cloying. C.S. Lewis wrote a beautiful metaphor in his The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that is a story that feeds the soul as well as the imagination. This one made me squirm in my chair and I even resorted to skimming whole passages that were just soaked in blood and drama. Whew!
If you like vampires, drama and romance (and Christianity), you may enjoy this book more than I did. It certainly was different!
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