As someone who started out as a reader, not a writer, there are so many incredible books and series, in addition to my own, that I would highly recommend. Ted Dekker is my favorite author of all time, while you can find my top 5 by him here, there were too many good ones to stop at 5. So here are my next top 5, or rather ranked 6-10, Ted Dekker books. Ted Dekker is an author I would recommend for anyone looking for stories where incredible worlds meet intense plots and deep theological discussions.
6. The Girl Behind the Red Rope by Ted Dekker
This is one of Ted Dekker's newest books and, despite my dislike of the title, wow this book is incredible. Somehow Ted Dekker takes a fairly simple concept and obvious themes, and turns it into a book with so much suspense and mystery that you can't figure out which side is evil until the end, and even then he made me feel sympathetic towards a legalistic cult. Then he throws in some pretty crazy fantasy elements to make the story even more complicated. Honestly I'm still not sure what's going on in this book, but he pulls it off so well that the complexities elevate the story instead of drag it down.
7. Play Dead by Ted Dekker
I started Ted Dekker's newest book excited but nervous about Ted Dekker’s return to thriller novels. 8 hours later I closed the book. “Play Dead” is incredible!
Ted Dekker made some very risky plot choices, in fact about 3/4ths of the way through the plot made a turn I worried had ruined the entire thing. You’ll have to judge yourself if those choices were worthwhile, but I for one loved “Play Dead”. It is the perfect combination between dark thriller Ted Dekker and theologian Ted Dekker, blended together with his trademark vivid worlds, complex characters, and crazy concepts.
I also have to appreciate how he gave new meaning to his tag line: “dive deep”
8. The Lost books by Ted Dekker
The incredible Ted Dekker's first foray in the young adult genre. This series is in the Books of History Chronicles, set in the same world as several of Ted Dekker's other books including The Circle series, The Paradise trilogy, The Outlaw series, and Beyond the Circle. There is no necessity in reading all of those to enjoy or appreciate the Lost Books, the rest of the world these books take place in only elevate the mythology. As with all of Ted Dekker's work, the engaging complexities of the characters, combined with the crazy plots, make for an excellent read as you fall in love, and love to hate, the four main characters. For those who don't have much reading time, this is a fast and light read. My recommendation, read the first four books, they end on a good finale. The last two were written later and should have stayed lost, were less engaging, and were unnecessarily dark which is the only reason this series didn't make it into part one.
9. Water Walker by Ted Dekker
This book is so good. While apart of the Outlaw series in the Books of History Chronicles, this book stands well on it's own so I'm going to let it stand on it's own, the other two books, Hacker and Eyes Wide Open were pretty funky. But Water Walker, the story of a girl growing up in a cult, shines where the other two stumble. This book is creative and engaging.
10. AD 30 & AD 33 by Ted Dekker
Let me just start out by ranting about how Ted Dekker handled the romantic relationship in this series, let's just say I was miffed. The fact that this series makes the list despite that is a testament to how good it is. After thriving in the thriller genre for a while in his dark phase, Ted Dekker had a spiritual reawakening and took a break from writing. How else would you come back from writing gory and incredibly disturbing novels than by writing a series about first century Biblical times? Where this series thrives is in not focusing too much on established Biblical stories his audience is familiar with, but instead focus on the Arabian culture surrounding Judea. AD 30 and 33 are so well researched that it doesn't feel like a historical fiction series, and certainly not a Biblical fiction series, it feels like a complete and complex world, well thought out and distinct from our own. Ted Dekker blends his signature mixture of theology with action in this wonderful series.
11. Blink/Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker
Bonus one because I wrote this post before Ted Dekker's newest novel came out, causing me to switch around the order.
Rounding out the list is one of Ted Dekker's first novels, Blink, later changed to Blink of an Eye. While Ted Dekker has dabbled in many genres, and often blends several, I'm not really sure how to describe Blink. A mix of realistic fiction with some fantastical elements thrown in, Blink is in it's own category. It follows a man who can suddenly see all possible futures rescuing a Saudi Arabian princess forced into marriage with an evil man. The two must work together to stop a rebel revolt in Saudi Arabia of Islam extremists. If you think that sounds like the plot of a blockbuster movie, that's because it should be. Just because this book is at the bottom of the list doesn't mean it's not good, this book helped cement Ted Dekker as an author who would be around for a long time.
You can read the first 5 recommendations here.
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