Sinner

Paradise #3

by Ted Dekker

Some say roll with the punches. Drift with the tide. Nothing can stop the inevitability of change. There was a time when 300 Spartans disagreed with such mindless thinking and stood in the gap. Now it's time for 3,000 to stand in the gap. Sinner is the story of Marsuvees Black, a force of raw evil who speaks with wicked persuasion that is far more destrictive than swords or guns. Beware all who stand in his way. It's also the story of Billy Rediger and Darcy Lange, two unsuspecting survivors of a research project gone bad, who discover that they are perhaps the two most powerful souls in the land. Listen to them or pay a terrible price. And it's the story of Johnny Drake, the one who comes out of the desert and leads the 3,000. Follow him and die. Sinner tells the story of a free land where people who worship as they please and say what they believe are suddenly silenced in the name of tolerance.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Christian, Thriller, Mystery, Horror

374 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2008

About the author

Ted Dekker is known for novels that combine adrenaline-laced stories with unexpected plot twists, unforgettable characters, and incredible confrontations between good and evil. Ted lives in Austin with his wife LeeAnn and their four children.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've given Ted Dekker plenty of high praise in my previous reviews, so let me just cut to the chase: Sinner is not his best fantasy/allegory work, but it is still great. It might be hard to understand if you haven't read Showdown, though.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ted Dekker has some interesting ideas about tolerance. He sheds light on a particularly disturbing aspect of American culture and politics; namely that we should be tolerant of all peoples, regardless of their color, nationality, gender, age, or personal beliefs except Christians because Christianity is an exclusive belief system intolerant of any other system which rejects or defies it. Why is this so disturbing. Let me explain: In America, we say that we have to be tolerant of Muslims because they are free, under our Constitution, to practice whatever religion they feel like, but Islam is more exclusive than Christianity, claiming a holy charge to kill the infidel. But, people are still intolerant of Christianity because of its exclusivity, even though we are called to love the sinner and not condemn him. Dekker's book is set several years in the future, and America is no where near being quite as convaluted as is portrayed in Sinner, but we are well on our way. Who knows, in ten or twenty years Dekker's Paradise Novels may even seem a little prophetic.

[Janie Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this read with exceptionally high expectations since both Showdown and Saint were extraordinary reads. I love the Good VS. Evil Concept that this series was based around. With Sinner I did not feel that adrenalin and overall excitement that I feel with just about every book I read of Dekker's. It started good and then quickly lost that special Dekker touch. It went from Good VS. Evil to religion VS. religion, and belief against belief. This is one thing I dislike so much about our society today and now I have to read it as well? And even from one of my favorite authors. It is great to have strong beliefs, but come on.

I don't understand why it is so important for someone to prove someone elses beliefs are wrong. Just believe what you choose to believe, that is each individuals right, just leave others alone and allow them their own beliefs. Live life. Life is too short for all of this. We don't have the right to judge others anyway. SO this installment was all about that and was a HUGE turn off for me. I could not believe that I was actually reading it.

There were some strong points in the story and a decent twist near the end of the book. I still thoroughly enjoyed the strong characters that Dekker wrote. I think my favorite was Darcy in this installment. Dekker writes in every aspect of Darcy's life, you live in her shoes and you see her fail and succeed and finally overcome the hold that Black on her from book 1. We also get to see much more of Billy, and Johnny in this installment which I liked as well.

Even though I was not thrilled with this story I am glad that I finished and had some closure to this insane ride. I only feel that this one could have been so much more. And was left pretty disappointed. Gonna have to rate this one about 2.5.

[Lovely Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75⭐️

[T.E. George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will leave the plot for others to rehash. Instead, I would rather comment on the journey Dekker seems to be making. As I have noted in other reviews, The Circle Trilogy was the height of Dekker: fresh, innovative, multi-layered, and spiritually profound. The Books of History novels have headed downhill from there. Showdown was still very good, Saint okay, and Skin barely passable. Sinner offers me hope but still doesn't rise back to the level of Black, Red, White.

Some will not like Sinner because it is "preachy". That isn't its problem. House and Skin were almost devoid of any obvious spiritual underpinning so it's good to see Dekker move back toward that. The real problem is what another reviewer has noted. I'm starting to feel like we have another Left Behind on our hands. It took God 21 chapters to tell the story of Revelation and Tim Lahaye hundreds (12 books, I believe). I am truly excited to see Dekker's upcoming, Green, and wonder if he shouldn't have allowed it to be the finish of the Books of History.

Some aren't going to like this review and that's okay. I am aware of Dekker's love for Steven King and his desire to pattern his novels after the Dark Tower world. It just seems forced at times. This review is not written as a Dekker hater but rather admirer. And, as an admirer, I keep hoping he will not be sucked too far into the mass marketing trap and lose sight of the wonder of his stories.

[Katie Finzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so Ted Dekker is my favorite author. I love him and this book has amazing moments. Some of the quotes, especially those spoken by Johnny towards the last third of the book, are some of my new favorites. However, I just felt that this book was all over the place. The first half was amazing. I was so happy to see characters I hadn’t seen since Showdown and it was very fast-paced. After that first half, the plot was confusing, the characters abilities seemed to be extraordinary at times while easily avoidable at others, and some characters ended very differently than I feel they should have based on the previous books in the series and on their character development. Overall, I do really like this book, but Showdown (book one of this series) is definitely the best.

[Broken Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I thouroughly appreciated the themes addressed in this novel, I was left wanting more. And not in a good way. I'm a huge fan of Dekker and his books are always packed with adrenaline provoking plots and symbolism that opens your eyes to how creative of a writer he is. In that aspect, this one was lacking and just left me feeling unsatisfied. Considering how amazing Showdown and Saint were, there was just something missing in this one and I can't put my finger on it.
I enjoy this series as a whole. This book in contrast to Showdown is much more political, and the characters are the same but in more grown up circumstances. Same old Darcy for sure. I found Billy's character interesting in this one, his descent into evil intrigued me. However... The ending to his story is Sinner confuses me in light of the book Green. In Green, Billy is pure evil. So why did Dekker end Sinner with Billy on a good note? All this back and forth with his character is a little frustrating, to be honest.
One thing I'm just not buying is the twist with Kelly. I want it to clique, but it's just not! In perspective of Saint... It just doesn't feel right. And I don't buy that such a strong and powerful Christian like Johnny was completely seduced by Marsuuves Black in that way. It's just too much of a stretch for me.
I know I have more criticisms than usual for this one... It's just that in light of how much I normally love Dekker... This one was just an anticlimactic ending to a really amazing trilogy.

I will end on a good note: I do applaud Dekker for his boldness in the theme of tolerance. That's a bold thing to address and once again he shows no fear in stomping into scary territory. One amazing thing about him is his writing constantly makes me want to know the God of his novels, this powerful, loving, and beautiful Jesus. Sometimes we revert to thinking Jesus is so far away and disconnected, but Dekker never ceases to remind me that God is so much more. The creativity that Dekker taps into is a constant reminder of the creativity of the God we have the chance to know.

[Micaela Hardyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really and truly thought this one was gonna be better than the rest of the series. It was tolerable at first. The dialogue wasn’t as truly terrible. Yes, the plot was still a bit paradoxical and illogical in many ways, but it was decent. And then of course Black had to show back up and start with all of his “wanna trip, baby” crap, and of course everyone magically has a conversion experience by looking into someone’s eyes, and OF COURSE the dialogue has to get corny and just flat out weird before the book can end. And let’s not forget the explosion of LIGHT scene that must always serve as a climax to a paradise novel. I’ve never been so thankful to be done with a series.

With that said, I recognize Dekker is usually, well, better than this. But it’s gonna be a hot minute before I can pick up one of his books again after this series. Considering reading the paradise novels? Read the circle series instead.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished Saint, about a good guy, Carl who really is Johnny Drake from Paradise (from Showdown). He was an assassin in the previous book but ran away to the desert because he realized who he was, and he was not a killer but a kind soul who is filled with the love of God.

Another two characters from the Paradise Showdown story appear, Billy and Darcy. Billy is the kid who created Mr. Evil, Marsuvees Black. Because they both wrote in the Book of Histories, they now each have special powers. Billy, when he looks in your eyes, can read your thoughts. Darcy, when you look in her eyes, can make you do anything she says. Imagine having those powers. Well, of course, the government found them and talk them into helping them change some laws.

It was a little far-fetched, but I understood where Dekker was going with the plot. Johnny comes to save the day... but does he?

There was a lot of politics about changing the law regarding freedom of religion. I get it. It is a topic that is debated probably since the beginning of time. I thought it was a little much but then again, the story wouldn't make sense without the details of the debate.

[Josh Olds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Billy Rediger has spent the last dozen years running from his past. It was he who wrote Marsuvees Black into existence and nearly destroyed himself and Paradise in the process. His attempt to soothe his troubled mind through gambling and booze hasn’t paid off and he finds himself in severe debt to an angry crime boss. But the tables turn when Billy suddenly discovers he has the ability to read minds.

Darcy Lange has also spent a dozen years trying to forget what havoc her thirteen-year-old self brought upon Project Showdown. Life is humdrum and Darcy is apathetic until one day she manifests the ability to persuade others. Almost immediately, Billy and Darcy find themselves reunited and under the care of a CIA agent named Kinnard — reunited because Billy felt the sudden urge to connect with Darcy after being reminded of her, and under the care of Kinnard because he knew of Project Showdown and was anticipating their abilities.

Meanwhile, the outside world is falling apart. Religion in the United States has become increasingly diverse, with more and more claiming no religion at all. Tolerance has become the mantra: everyone’s beliefs are equal and no one way is exclusive. But that mantra is beginning to be challenged. Religious-based hate crime is on the rise, with the lynching of Christians leading to a full-scale riot. Billy and Darcy are called in by the government to use their abilities to quell the crowd. In the middle of this are Katrina Kivi and Johnny Drake. Kat has been quite the teenage rebel and example of religious intolerance. A right hook to the face to a Muslim schoolmate landed her in community service and at the feet of Johnny Drake. Johnny takes in the young girl and through his own powers opens her eyes to the truth.

The religious situation continues to deteriorate, leading to the United States Congress—under influence from Billy and Darcy—to amend the First Amendment to outlaw hate speech such as claims of religious exclusivity. Johnny, Kat, and the residents of Paradise don’t intend to follow any such rules, boldly proclaiming their intentions to preach salvation through Christ alone. The final battle begins to rage as it pits one town against the nation, but even more importantly one man against himself—or one man against his creation. Marsuvees Black is back and he’s been manipulating things all along, baby.

As much as it pains me to say it, Sinner is an absolute disappointment. The plot is a discombobulated mess—you’ll notice I took 500 words to simply try to give a basic setup. Billy and Darcy have these amazing powers, yet their use of them extends to dispersing a crowd, showing off, and influencing a Senate vote. Honestly not that thrilling. While Saint portrayed Strople/Johnny’s power through assassinations and action sequences, Billy and Darcy get government meetings and terrible dialogue

Kat Kivi’s character, while dear to Dekker’s heart, was extraneous to this story. I know Ted’s reasons for writing her, I know of her significance and understand how she personalizes the story for Ted, but this is a Paradise novel and introducing a new character doesn’t work. It’s almost like, in trying to write everything, Dekker spread the story too thin and favored Sinner’s thematic elements over the story.

Which…I don’t know why Ted had this brief time period where he was suddenly worried about free speech (a year after this book was published, Ted’s novel Immanuel’s Veins would be banned in the Netherlands for its sensuality, but the timeline doesn’t fit) but in both this book and his Christmas gift book The Drummer Boy, Dekker turns into a raging fearmonger insisting that all religious freedoms will soon be going away. It’s a theme that’s tonally inconsistent with the Project Showdown series, reduces his most iconic villain to a government worker, and isn’t it just a bit ironic to publish a best-selling book complaining about the lack of freedom of speech?

Even if Dekker did treat the theme with the nuance and perspective it needed, it wasn’t a story that fit within the Project Showdown milieu. The story doesn’t fit the characters. Ted wanted to tell a different story, but here’s the story he had to write to finish the trilogy, and that’s why we get what we get.

What does work is the secondary theme of Billy’s fight against Marsuvees Black. This is what the story should have been about. There was the creation of evil (condemnation) and redemption through sacrifice (justification) in Showdown and the formation of spiritual identity (sanctification) in Saint. Sinner should have been about Billy and Darcy’s attempt to ultimately defeat evil as incarnated in Marsuvees Black (glorification). That would make the series a thematic parallel to Black, Red, and White as well. Showdown was written as a standalone novel years before it was published. After it was published, there had to be a follow-up. As such, neither Saint nor Sinner really seems to fit as sequels—but it’s especially egregious with Sinner. That ad hoc construction of the trilogy really impacts the whole of the overarching Books of History Chronicles narrative. A tighter, more focused plot that followed naturally out of Showdown and had more secure connections to the rest of the series would have not only improved Sinner, but the BoHC as a whole.

In the end, too much theme, not enough story, and this is not the story these characters needed to tell—and not one that Dekker tells well. The thematic fearmongering falls flat. Dekker does a disservice to his greatest villain. And the book is just slow and boring. Dekker fans need to read this to round out the Paradise Trilogy and flesh out their knowledge of The Books of History Chronicles, but this isn’t a book I’d otherwise read.

[Kristin Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Ted dekker books. And this started really good. Then in the middle it got really stale and made me avoid picking it up. I went ahead and finished it. Things were just way too convenient. The ending wrapped up in a pretty bow too quickly. Idk normally I’m so much more invested in his books.

However it was still a great story, but he did make Christianity feel a little cultish. Like the law that got passed to consider talking about faith hate speech…. I’m not understanding how that affected the rest of the world after this showdown… idk. It gave cause for a lot of unanswered questions. But it showed things in government that I could totally see happening in the near future.

[Leya · Rating 5 out of 5]

After going for several years not reading Ted Dekker, this book was a good reminder of why i used to enjoy this authur. The book has definatly rekindled my love for his writing so much so that i am now looking for other books of his that i can read.

i really enjoyed the story, even though it was the 3rd book in the series i never felt like i was missing chunkc of information.

definatly a good read.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sinner by Ted Dekker is a peek into a future where “tolerance” has become the new religion. Our children are fed a constant diet of the necessity for “tolerance” in school every day. While we become tolerant of cultures and religious beliefs outside our own, we find that the beliefs that are still in the majority are becoming less tolerated. I’ve often felt that as a society, we need to stop focusing on and celebrating the differences between all of us. Instead I’ve thought that if we could use the time our children are taught to celebrate our cultural differences to show our children how very much we all are the same, we would build a stronger more cohesive society. I’m not saying that our huge country shouldn’t be filled with people of all colors, religions, and beliefs. I’m merely suggesting that underneath all of our individual customs, we are all pretty much the same. We all want a better life for our kids, we all want a safe place to live and we all want to be secure. It’s how we achieve this that seems to be the problem.

Dekker makes interesting comparisons with the way our society is heading now. It’s simply not enough to tolerate others, we must always be cognizant of our ability to offend and be offended. In Dekker’s future, our seeming inability to ignore the things we don’t participate in becomes intensified ten fold. And our hyper sensitivity to contrary beliefs magnifies as well. In this scenario, a public Christmas tree becomes, instead of a beautiful charming symbol of one groups belief; a symbol of oppression and hatred displayed only to remind some that they don’t belong.

I believe the goal of Sinner was to point out the direction we’re heading in, to sort of sound an alarm of some sort to both Christians and more secular readers. The book succeeds on that level, Christians will note the way society and our government is slowly eroding the display of their beliefs. The more secular reader can see how government has slowly started to erode our Bill of Rights, and perhaps be a bit more aware of the encroaching of our rights that takes place with such regularity.

I enjoy Ted Dekker’s books and although I haven’t read any of the other Paradise novels, Sinner didn’t disappoint. This particular novel was a tad bit preachier than the other novels I’ve read by this author. I’m not particularly religious, (no I’m not going to say that annoying “I’m spiritual, not religious” line. What the heck does that even mean?) but I usually really enjoy Dekker’s books. Some reviewers have mentioned the Left Behind series whilst reviewing Sinner. I attempted to read that series, but found it just way too contrived and not terribly well written. I know, the series has sold something like a gazillion books, but I just didn’t much like them, so I quit after the third or fourth book.

Dekker’s novel reminds us all that while tolerance is to be expected in a society as broad as ours, we must be on guard against the types of intolerance it breeds.

[Adrienna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the prologue is similar to the second book in the series, this book puts all the pieces back together since the first read in the series. After thirteen years, religious sect who started the project showdown, Roman Catholic, do not want their failure to leak out with the thirty six kids. However, all the other thirty four were found and dead. Now Billy and Darcy were saved by Brian Kincaid after Agent Smith found Darcy in her apartment tied up. My suspicion has to do something with this Kincaid guy, whose side is he really on. Supposedly, the book of History have all disappeared since the first novel but they possessed so much power with the way of words that evil spawned from the writings of Billy and as for Darcy later had some writings of influence. Now they possess the gifts: Billy can read minds by looking into the windows of a person's mind as for Darcy can use the words of persuasion. Yet they discover like Johnny Drake (in novel 2), the power is useless if the eyes are covered (by sunglasses for example). I always wondered if the "eyes are the windows to the soul (soul=thoughts and emotions)".

SO far I love how this story is pieced together but sometimes the action scenes lose me (but it could be me, like when I read about Darcy trying to get away from the stranger...trying to figure how she went out on the ledge of the apt. room and later ended in the kitchen and then attic...I might have missed something and how her capture did get her). Another concern (personal one) is that Kat happens to be African-American (really multicultural) who is a witch. Honestly, I do not know too many AA's who are witches and the ones I met who were, were of another ethnic group. But there was one young adult who I met that was of three or more races who did dabble with witchcraft because of self-esteem issues.

But as I get further in the read, it is dragging and long-winded on the issue about the blog surfing on the NET that Johnny Drake did. I hope the very end is good as it was in the beginning to middle parts. They are all back where it started, in Paradise (Colorado).

I believe this might be the best book of the series for me. 4.5 stars/5.

Adrienna Turner

[Symon · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you who didn't know, 'Sinner' is the third book in the 'Paradise' trilogy written by Ted Dekker. The trilogy involves the 'Books of History' which the Circle trilogy was all about ('Green' is coming out this year... will that mean it will be the Circle quadrilogy?). I love the way Dekker's books all seem to be linked to each other... even 'House' is linked to Paradise. But I digress.

Sinner is written as two books (Book 1 and Book 2 interestingly enough) and tells the story of three aldult orphans, each gifted with superpowers, living in the near future where religious tolerance rules. I won't say anymore about the plot, except to say that it is by far Dekker's most 'Christian' book to date, and that Jon Dylan was absolutely right when he commented: "The way Dekker tells the story seems to blow conventional plot unraveling clear out of the water."

Dekker himself says that the reader can read the Circle and Paradise books in any order, but I strongly suggest that you read Showdown, Saint, and Sinner in that order and relatively close to each other. I read Showdown 3 years ago, and while reading Sinner, I wish I had the Showdown story fresh in my memory.

The book has got me thinking about hate-speech and tolerance more than ever before. Dekker makes some very intelligent and frightening statements in this book about what the very near furute could hold, and quite frankly, it scares me.

Is the story great? I think so. Showdown is a masterpiece, the first half of Saint is brilliant, Sinner is great. Read them in order, and please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

One last comment, Marsuvees Black returns in Sinner... "Wanna trip, baby?"

[Brenten Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first book i’ve ever read from the pen of Ted Dekker… i know that seems amazing, but i’d just never gotten around to digging into any of his books and then, the notion of this 10-book series really seemed a bit too much of a commitment for me to settle down with, especially since i wasn’t certain that it would work out…

Now, having read Sinner, i want to dive into the rest of the series… unfortunately i only have one of the other books in my possession (Showdown) and there’s always the pressure of making time to read them… if you’re anything like i was, though, skeptical of the commitment or whatever, i have to say that even though this is technically part of a larger story, it’s self-contained enough to make it a thrilling tale in and of itself… I had no problems whatsoever staying with the story for the whole 400 or so pages… and, though some broader themes were addressed and some “historical events” were referenced, i didn’t feel out of place at all as i navigated the take…

having said all that, Sinner is a wonderfully-paced adventure with a twinge of reality despite some extraordinary circumstances… it offers readers an escape with a fantastical while still exploring circumstances and events that ring ominously true… and on top of all that, it reads somewhat like a parable, artfully driving home a number of points without once delving into the territory of being too preachy… a definite recommended read, but be forewarned, it’s going to open up a world to you that will lead to a number of other books that you’ll really want to read…

-from trudatmusic.com/raw

[Syahira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm kind of surprised that the book is intended to be read in circle and there was no 1st in any turn... so this book is the first for me despite it being said as the third book of the series. Although I think the initial religion approach in near future society is interesting, but half of it was a bit ludicrous... especially with the bit about Johnny and his near utopia influence on the people. Darcy is likable in the beginning but she began to be corrupted with the power she held in persuading people. The religion practices is kinda overt but it did cover the entire book. I'm a muslim are a bit weird out about the arabs calling people infidel and "go burn in hell!" (I think I always get that in True Blood only its not by muslims...). Its kind of overt but if you are open to the book, it kinda make sense.

Everyone seems to be bursting it seams of racial and religion hatred. By changing the amendment into more absolute pro-tolerance, the book effectively hypothesise an american situation if someone proudly showing off their own religion, they broke the law and need to be punished. How dystopian...

In this book, its like reading books by Tun Mahathir. Lots of philosophy in this book. I kind of like it in some weird way. Is it rereadable? Hmm.... that is a question.

[Lolapaige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Ted Dekker's view of a world taken over by a crooked government bent on political correctness under the guise of "tolerance" is spot on. I started this book not realizing it was part of a series and although it references previous ones it didn't leave you completely clueless as to what had happened before. All in all a very interesting read.

[Keiki Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dekker is one of my favorite author's, if not my favorite. This was a great project but with every new book from Dekker, I yearn for the depth and insight of his first few novels.

Still a great read.

[Adrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird, crazy ending to a twisted dark series that never gripped me from the start. I'm not saying I didn't like it because a three star rating says I did. However, overall I found it slightly depressing because it was SO dark.

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but I'm not hooked.

[Hope Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the reading order of the Paradise trilogy is pretty flexible so I’ll just say that this is the last of the three that I’ve read. But I’ve also read Green already so I knew the entire time what would end up happening to Billy. This is the spoiler free side of things so I won’t get into specifics. But the ending just kinda disappointed me, mostly cuz I have read Green. If I had read this first then my reaction would be quite different 😆
I think my only other “issue” with it is that I found it a bit predictable at parts.
But I really liked seeing the characters again and all they go through in this. I also thought the theological and political discussions were intriguing and cool to see hashed out. For that I really did like it but I wouldn’t say I loved it or would want to reread it so 4 stars it is!

🚨 Spoilers ahead 🚨

Fave Chapter:
Ch 1
I just really liked the scene where Billy got his powers. Having it happen in the middle of a courtroom was rather entertaining 😆 it was fun to see Billy’s reaction to spontaneously being able to read minds.

Fave Character:
Johnny
Ey! Johnny boy was my favorite in all the Paradise books! How about that?
I like his personality and his power is very intriguing. I’ve always loved his devout nature. And I find his character so complex. Since Saint he’s been so strong but also seemingly fragile in a way and i find that so unique and interesting.

Ship:
Darcy x Billy
I’ve seen Billy with a couple of woman in the circle universe at this point and Darcy is by far my favorite with him. They had a Bonnie and Clyde kinda thing goin which I thought was… fun for a lack of a better word.
Johnny x Kelly
well RIP this ship! i’ve always had trust issues with Kelly so i cant say i was surprised at all. but man was i feeling for Johnny. i really hope Johnny ends up with someone.

[Marcelo Gonzalez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy Martyr Complex, Batman. This is the most grandstandingest, bananas logic collection of words I've read in quite some time.

You're telling me that the antagonist's plan was to make hate speech and hate crimes illegal and not covered under the first amendment in order to make it so Christians cannot declare Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the life and the way that he was going to do this was by lynching black people from black churches. And what is the response of black men? To go out and attempt to rape Darcy as payback, which is among the most tone deaf things I've ever read in writing and I once accidentally read the first page of a Dinesh D'Souza book.

All this, and Johnny Drake's best plan was "I'm going to publicly declare I hate this and that you can't silence me about Jesus," request that 3,000 people from online chat rooms follow him for what he basically called a last stand against evil, and lead an open rebellion against the new law, but we're not supposed to read that as a cult leader? He could have just said "I believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life" anywhere and no one would have batted an eye because that is very much not a hate crime (no one except for Marsuvees Black, but as his entire plan was based around Johnny Drake doing something bat shit insane, more power to Black for reading him like a book.)

This book is literally the meme of the person putting a stick in their bike tire and blaming it on someone else. The entire purpose of this book wasn't to bring closure to what would have otherwise been a pretty great trilogy as it was to get on a soapbox and rail against something that he made up in his world and is saying exists in the real one when it has literally never existed in America.

[Peter Last · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Sinner" is the disappointing final volume in Ted Dekker’s "Paradise Trilogy" (though no doubt not his expanded universe which, similar to our own universe, is constantly expanding.) It is over-the-top, boring, preachy, and generally a painful ride to get through. Regressing from the complex, rounded characters of "Saint," this book utilizes one-dimensional protagonists who have only a couple of traits which are supposed to be sufficient to carry them for the book (they are not). This makes dilemmas which should be heartbreaking or twists which should be mind-bending just bleh and forgettable. I simply don’t care about these characters. The world is also bland and flat, borrowing from our own but set 26 years after the book was published. It is mostly the same but with a few dystopian bents, clearly pulled from the primitive, terror-driven side of Mr. Dekker’s imagination (and not fun terror either). Technology and social norms have shifted, yet the same songs are popular twenty-six years later. How does this make sense? The plot is also bland, boring, and preachy. Rather than follow a remotely logical path, it twists, turns, prods, and jerks characters to where they need to be, when they need to be there. This is lazy and makes me check out of the book. Overall, Sinner is a dark, joyless ride which often made me groan, roll my eyes when my throat was sore, and shake my head once my eyes tired out. This is not one I recommend reading unless you are trapped on a desert island and it is one of only a few books available. It would still probably beat "Moby Dick."

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate a 3 Star as a good read. Dekker has an incredible gift at paralleling the abstract mystery of the holy scriptures with tangible plot and human experience. It’s that way with everything he writes.

There are technicalities of this book that would prevent me from rating it higher. One in particular is that within the dialogue I am frequently returning to the previous phrase, paragraph.....page.....to try and determine who said what. It’s quite frustrating.

There are also scenes in which the progression of the story line, events, circumstances, happens abruptly. I feel as though I should be able to follow (and feel that many people have no trouble following where the scene is taking them) but I stumble trying to understand what the underlying meaning is. It’s hard to maintain a strong footing when the implied meaning is not clearly stated. And this happens repeatedly.

But other than these minor nuances, I still enjoy and admire Dekker’s creativity and scope of writing. He’s always taking his readers to new heights in the experience and parallel of salvation. I absolutely love this feature of his writings. Just as in the circle trilogy, the “drowning” still blows me out of the water (no pun intended...). And he is a brave writer. He has a public platform and he is not afraid to speak out his convictions. I commend him for that. He is a very gifted writer.

[Chloé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Review: ???

I really don't know how to review this book. Having read the previous two books in this trilogy, I knew going into this novel that Ted Dekker writes a slow-burning plot - he likes to introduce you to all these things that seemingly don't connect or relate in any form or fashion, and in the last 100 pages or so reveals exactly how everything does just that. This worked really well in Showdown and relatively well in Saint. In this book, however, parts of it were just plain boring. I even complained to my boyfriend about how boring a certain character *cough* Kat *cough* could be. But then, I persevered through all the boring, and the last 70 pages of this book were absolutely incredible. The whole series has been building up to this one last showdown, and it blew my expectations out of the water. It wasn't cliche, but it wasn't fully original either - it was exactly what this story needed. So, I don't know how to rate this book. On one hand, it's so extremely slow and certain characters seem so out of place until the end, but the end is beautiful and perfect and amazing and stunning.

[Caleb Lail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, it took me a month to get through this, because this book actually made me dread reading.

First off, I love Ted DeKker, I do! He makes Christian-y popcorn thrillers that are often enjoyable and well-paced.

This one?

Oh God.

He tries to touch on race and it comes off as incredibly racially insensitive. “Paradise” is mainly white people. He makes sure to point that out. I know that’s not what he was going for, but whatever right-wing beliefs he holds show up in a bad way in this book.

The pacing is incredibly off. It’s slow for most of it, and then goes to 100mph near the end.

It’s super cringey. DeKker has never been a great author grammatically, and a lot of nuances of his annoy me (like all his protagonists have strong jaws and rippling muscles) but this one went in weird directions. A lot of awkward kissing, like, it makes you feel like you shouldn’t be watching. It’s gross and detailed and yeah.

I’d say read “Blink” or “Adam.” He has good work. This is not one of them.

[Moradeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be very honest, if you love dekker because of his adrenaline, physical, thomas hunter, the chosen one"johnis" fights and storyline against physical principalities, you are going to HATE sinner. But if from Thomas Hunters journey(the circle trilogy, all them hardcore fans) you were always paying attention to the UNDERLYING message in all of the books, then you will keep reading SINNER till you drop. Normally there is a subtle message in all of Dekkers books about how the battle is nearly never physical. In SINNER he gives up the subtlety and screams it, **the battle to kill us all, will be against evil we have created ourselves (marsuvees black) it will be about tolerance and 100% acceptance of everything and everyone(the constitution change), in the end, it will be about opinion(the unwillingness of the people of paradise to change) opinion will kill us all!!** Which truth slaps me to be very frank. So, I recommend sinner, awesome book, Go read it.

[E.M. Chaffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Really wish I could rate this on a ten star scale.

It was entertaining with a good fast paced story, but I still had to force myself to keep reading. I'm sure it's not the book's fault at all, I'm probably just not the target market. But here's the thing: It sure seemed like all the women swooned/tried to seduce, like, all the men. I don't know if this is a token male fantasy or what, but it made me roll my eyes a few times. I get it - Jesus was betrayed with a kiss, etc. etc. but man, those women. Can't get 'em to stop tryin' to kiss all the boys. Anyway. Lots of kiss-hungry women. I can't relate.

This was the first of the series I've read, and I didn't feel lost. There's enough backstory that it can be read first.

[Avis Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading a book of good and evil that’s complexed and plays with your mind, you’ll enjoy this one.
Sinner is the story of Marsuvees Black, a force of raw evil who speaks with persuasion that is more destructive than swords or guns.
It’s also the story of Billy Rediger and Darcy Lange, two unsuspecting survivors of a research project gone bad, but who discover that they are the two most powerful souls in the land. Listen to them or pay a terrible price.
And it’s the story of Johnny Drake, the one who comes out of the desert and leads the 3,000. Follow him and die. It’s the story of a free land where people who worship as they please and say what they believe are suddenly silenced in the name of tolerance.