This week, the CFBA Tour is featuring the latest thriller from Ted Dekker:
Is this the book that changes what Christian fiction can be about? First, the concept:
It is set in Eastern Europe in 1772, a time of war between the Russian and Turkish empires. The small principality of Moldova, neighbor to Transylvania, is wedged between these two powers, and is a strategic interest.
The empress Catherine the Great sends one of her best soldiers, Toma Nicolescu, to guard over the Cantemir estate. This noble family holds the key to politics in this critical area. It is ruled over by the matriarch Kesia Cantemir, and her twin daughters Natasha and Lucine.
Toma enters this world just as a neighboring duke begins to make his presence known to the Cantemirs. The dashing Vlad van Valerik has his sights on one of the Cantemir twins. But Toma has been smitten by one of the beauties as well.
As passions intertwine, a torrid love story bursts forth. Evil seduces. Death will be known. Love will bloom. And as the back copy says, "Blood will flow."
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Dekker will not win over the literati with this novel. This book has a strong idea, and it pushes that idea relentlessly. The two main characters are noble but flawed, and their choices have consequences. Other characters serve the plot, and are not fully fleshed out. In other books, this would bother me. In Immanuel's Veins, this almost seems necessary, as it is a love affair between two people, in the best sense of the phrase.
It certainly is a sensual book. Dekker dedicates it to King Solomon, he who is often thought to be the author of the Biblical Song of Solomon. He doesn't hold back in driving home the emotion. He doesn't titillate, but some may not be able to handle the force he uses to write this book.
Some are saying this is Ted Dekker's version of a vampire story. I suppose you could say that. Perhaps you should check it out for yourself.
The end point: I am a fan of Dekker's, but not every book of his is a home run. Immanuel's Veins is unique in his bibliography, and it is a significant contribution to what fiction can do. I enjoyed it, and I ponder it still. It certainly gets the blood pumping, and it may just be my favorite Dekker book.
He asks the question "what is sacrificial love?" It is a novel written to address that one idea. In conjuction with it, I wrote about it yesterday.
And what did I mean by "Is this the book that changes what Christian fiction can be about?"
Well it seems I'm out of time for today ;). Check back tomorrow for that thought.
And I promised a giveaway! One person who comments on this post will be chosen at random to win a special t-shirt designed by Dekker's publisher to help share the message "spread the love". It is a cool T, and I think you'll like it! Leave a comment, and I'll choose a winner by Monday, Sept 20.
If you'd like to read the first chapter of Immanuel's Veins, go HERE.
sounds like a good book! i'll ask my husband to order it for me - did i win a t-shirt? :-)
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