In 2003 Ted DeKker introduced the world of fiction to a man named Thomas Hunter and the alternate world called the colored forest. The three book series entitled The Circle Trilogy captivated readers across the globe and watched the events of the forest unfold (BLACK, RED, WHITE). Recently DeKker released a new four part series as a part of the Circle Trilogy entitled The Lost Books which is intended but not exclusively for young adult readers. These books seemed to really strike a chord with fans so Thomas Nelson released the Lost Books series in Graphic Novel form. I think this was a great move since I found the novels a little hard to read as they were kind of dry and in some places hokey. However, when I received the Renegade and Chaos (Books three and four) in the mail for review I found them much more enjoyable.
RENEGADE
This graphic novel opens with Billos being “transported” to a new reality where he is introduced the infamous Marsuvees Black. Black convinces Billos that he is the “chosen one” and sets him off to find three books of history that are located in the town of Paradise (which Circle readers are familiar). Darsal, and the former Horde girl Karas make a deal with Alucard to give them a book so they too can be transported to this dimension where Billos is and he agrees. As the two embark on their quest to find Billos the three find that they are not necessarily welcome in the town of Paradise (no thanks to Billos’ killing spree). Dedicated to the man she loves Darsal will do whatever it takes to save Billos from the lies that he is being fed by Black and return him safely back home. But this isn’t as easy as it seems.
CHAOS
Brings Johnnis and Silvie to the future (or past) in Las Vegas Nevada where the two begin their search for Darsal and Karas. After a series of unfortunate events the two find themselves face to face with a much older Karas (who has become a successful entertainment manager) and learn of the death of Darsal. Determined to find the three remaining Lost Books of History the trio travels to Turkey where they encounter the evilest of evil and find that Darsal is still alive, yet she has some demons to battle with (literally) before she can make her way back home where she belongs. The story comes to a climatic conclusion, yet leaves the door wide open for the next series of books to come.
I have to admit I was a little skeptical of this series when I first started it, but with each book DeKker takes the reader deeper and deeper to a reality that we have been waiting years to go explore. The Graphic Novels are well drawn, keeps true (yet cuts down on some of the excess in the book) and is a series that any fan of this series should own. If you are a fan of the Circle Trilogy and the Lost Book Series then you need to get your hands on this Graphic Novel series.
Reviewed by Jeff Holton
