Attention, please! Chosen, by Ted Dekker reviewed

It has been 13 years since Thomas entered the world of the colored forest—a world filled with talking bats, green lakes, and a deadly skin disease.

Now, as Captain of the Forest Guard, Thomas defends Elyon’s people and their seven small forests against the encroachment of the desert-dwelling Horde.

The Guard’s numbers are small compared to the Horde army. Thomas looks for new recruits among young men and women a mere 16 and 17 years old. Four of them will become envied squad leaders, provided with rewards and responsibility.

After the four are named, Thomas sends them on a quest into the desert to prove their worth. But when they encounter enemy Scabs, they must escape or be killed.

Instead of finishing their mission and returning home, the group meets an unlikely ally who dispatches them to search for a new treasure—the Seven Books of History—books both powerful and dangerous that can change the course of history. Can the four comrades confront unthinkable evil and live to tell about it?

Dekker continues the story of Thomas’ forest world in his own unique fashion. Another hero is born within the pages of Chosen, one with character and courage to face fear and death with certainty that he is on the right side.

I will never get tired of Dekker’s style. He somehow keeps raising the bar and then one-upping himself with each new work.

The Lost Books series is sure to be a hit not only with younger readers (to which the stories are aimed) but to more seasoned ones like me. Book Two, Infidel, releases in January 2008.

There is so much to uncover inside this story and so much yet to come. Don’t just take my word for it. Take a deep dive into Elyon’s waters and enter a new world. You’ll be glad you did.