What do you think?
Rate this book
A freak storm has spawned three tornadoes that are bearing down on the town of Summerville.
Yet under the cover of the storm looms a much more ominous A vindictive killer known as Red who's left a string of victims in his wake and is now bent on exacting his final revenge on the unsuspecting town.
But there is an enigma surrounding Red that the FBI is unwilling to admit-closely guarded secrets of something gone terribly wrong beneath the skin of Summerville. Secrets that will destroy far more than one small town.
Wendy Davidson is caught in the middle. She's a recovering cult survivor who takes refuge in Summerville on her way to visit her estranged mother. And with her, four strangers, any of whom could be the next victim . . . or the killer.
Yet under the cover of the storm looms a much more ominous A vindictive killer known as Red who's left a string of victims in his wake and is now bent on exacting his final revenge on the unsuspecting town.
But there is an enigma surrounding Red that the FBI is unwilling to admit-closely guarded secrets of something gone terribly wrong beneath the skin of Summerville. Secrets that will destroy far more than one small town.
Wendy Davidson is caught in the middle. She's a recovering cult survivor who takes refuge in Summerville on her way to visit her estranged mother. And with her, four strangers, any of whom could be the next victim . . . or the killer.
402 pages, Hardcover
First published April 3, 2006
343 people are currently reading
5782 people want to read
About the author
Ted Dekker
191 books9,989 followersTed 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 836 reviews
April 9, 2013
What the hell? I just... what?
Took this book home hoping I'd found another Stephen King, or at least a poor man's Dean Koontz.
Koontz he is not. King he definitely ain't.
The characters are not likeable; their backstories are cookie-cutter and very little time is devoted to their development. "I escaped a cult and now I'm afraid to touch men" "She used to be a child model" "He dabbled in the occult for a while" "His mom thought he was ugly" Very vague and doesn't generate any emotional connection or intrigue.
I kept hoping this book would get better, but after the first line, it just kept getting worse. In case you're curious, the first line is:
"When the rain isn't so much falling--be it in bucket loads or like cats and dogs--but rather slamming into the car like an avalanche of stone, you know it's time to pull over."
Even that's not thrilling, but it generates the expectation that we're going to have a first-person narrator who is at least maybe a little sarcastic. This did not happen. It's all third-person, sometimes to a confusing degree (Which "she" are you talking about, Dekker? Quit making us guess!).
I kept hoping we'd find out that these characters had some deep dark secret that connected them all, but the way in which they are really connected was pretty stupid (and also predictable). The "science" used to explain their experiences is pretty much a deus ex machina and was not believable at all. Maybe Dekker was trying to be tricky, but there are so many ridiculous hints dropped that I'm guessing most intelligent readers will be like me and guess who the "killer" is the second he is introduced, then dismiss him because surely no author of a so-called thriller would make it so moronically obvious, then find out, nope, you were right in the first place and Dekker is just a hack after all.
The killer has some kind of obsession with "ugliness" that the book never really explains, although it spouts some inane, vague, generic drivel that Dekker apparently THINKS is explaining. I can tell that Dekker thinks the book's "message" is really mind-blowing, but it's really not. In fairness, I didn't realize Dekker was known for "Christian thrillers" until after I read the book, so perhaps he feels obligated to shove some sort of message in, but honestly it was not necessary for the plot and in fact may have irrevocably ruined an otherwise potentially salvageable story.
I have no idea what the hell is up with the ending. Maybe it's supposed to be a cliffhanger. On the other hand, the characters seem to know what happens next and "what they have to do," but I sure as hell didn't get it, so maybe there is a convoluted explanation that can be found only in the brain of Ted Dekker. All I know is that it made me angry and I wish there was a way to demand a refund of the hours I spent reading this book.
Took this book home hoping I'd found another Stephen King, or at least a poor man's Dean Koontz.
Koontz he is not. King he definitely ain't.
The characters are not likeable; their backstories are cookie-cutter and very little time is devoted to their development. "I escaped a cult and now I'm afraid to touch men" "She used to be a child model" "He dabbled in the occult for a while" "His mom thought he was ugly" Very vague and doesn't generate any emotional connection or intrigue.
I kept hoping this book would get better, but after the first line, it just kept getting worse. In case you're curious, the first line is:
"When the rain isn't so much falling--be it in bucket loads or like cats and dogs--but rather slamming into the car like an avalanche of stone, you know it's time to pull over."
Even that's not thrilling, but it generates the expectation that we're going to have a first-person narrator who is at least maybe a little sarcastic. This did not happen. It's all third-person, sometimes to a confusing degree (Which "she" are you talking about, Dekker? Quit making us guess!).
I kept hoping we'd find out that these characters had some deep dark secret that connected them all, but the way in which they are really connected was pretty stupid (and also predictable). The "science" used to explain their experiences is pretty much a deus ex machina and was not believable at all. Maybe Dekker was trying to be tricky, but there are so many ridiculous hints dropped that I'm guessing most intelligent readers will be like me and guess who the "killer" is the second he is introduced, then dismiss him because surely no author of a so-called thriller would make it so moronically obvious, then find out, nope, you were right in the first place and Dekker is just a hack after all.
The killer has some kind of obsession with "ugliness" that the book never really explains, although it spouts some inane, vague, generic drivel that Dekker apparently THINKS is explaining. I can tell that Dekker thinks the book's "message" is really mind-blowing, but it's really not. In fairness, I didn't realize Dekker was known for "Christian thrillers" until after I read the book, so perhaps he feels obligated to shove some sort of message in, but honestly it was not necessary for the plot and in fact may have irrevocably ruined an otherwise potentially salvageable story.
I have no idea what the hell is up with the ending. Maybe it's supposed to be a cliffhanger. On the other hand, the characters seem to know what happens next and "what they have to do," but I sure as hell didn't get it, so maybe there is a convoluted explanation that can be found only in the brain of Ted Dekker. All I know is that it made me angry and I wish there was a way to demand a refund of the hours I spent reading this book.
January 11, 2020
“...encontró belleza más allá de la superficie. Fue allí, más allá de la piel de este mundo, que podría estar una cura de la fealdad”.
Con Ted Dekker nunca sabes lo que te vas a encontrar en una de sus obras, pero lo que sí es cierto, es que nunca será lo que te estás imaginando. Siempre te va a sorprender.
Cuando lees las reseñas de este libro, te consigues a sus fanáticos y a sus detractores, en mi caso muy particular, estoy dentro de los primeros. Dekker es un escritor que se sale de todos los parámetros conocidos en su género, y presenta una novelas de ficción distintas y absorbentes; y en este caso particular con Skin una historia reflexiva y especulativa, fuera de lo común que destroza esquemas.
Además de ser una novela de ciencia ficción, también tiene mucho horror, suspenso y misterio, así que te sientes un poco detective porque hay tantos posibles asesinos, que comienzas a dudar de todos. Pero no sólo el asesino es el misterio principal. Algo muy extraño sucede con el pueblo; los escenarios cambian, y la tormenta parece estar sacando lo peor de cada uno.
Hay mucha acción durante toda la historia, pero también tienes espacio para reflexionar sobre un tema que hoy en día se ha vuelto muy común: la belleza. Hace que te preguntes: ¿Qué es la belleza? ¿Qué es lo que hace que lo bonito sea feo y lo feo bonito?
Este libro mantiene la intriga a un nivel superior... es imposible no querer pasar las páginas y saber cuál es el final, que por supuesto… no es lo que crees esperar.
Me ha gustado tanto como Tr3s.
100% recomendado
“Pocos prescinden alguna vez de sus dulces porciones de delirio personal para saborear el amargo sabor de la verdad”
Con Ted Dekker nunca sabes lo que te vas a encontrar en una de sus obras, pero lo que sí es cierto, es que nunca será lo que te estás imaginando. Siempre te va a sorprender.
Cuando lees las reseñas de este libro, te consigues a sus fanáticos y a sus detractores, en mi caso muy particular, estoy dentro de los primeros. Dekker es un escritor que se sale de todos los parámetros conocidos en su género, y presenta una novelas de ficción distintas y absorbentes; y en este caso particular con Skin una historia reflexiva y especulativa, fuera de lo común que destroza esquemas.
Además de ser una novela de ciencia ficción, también tiene mucho horror, suspenso y misterio, así que te sientes un poco detective porque hay tantos posibles asesinos, que comienzas a dudar de todos. Pero no sólo el asesino es el misterio principal. Algo muy extraño sucede con el pueblo; los escenarios cambian, y la tormenta parece estar sacando lo peor de cada uno.
Hay mucha acción durante toda la historia, pero también tienes espacio para reflexionar sobre un tema que hoy en día se ha vuelto muy común: la belleza. Hace que te preguntes: ¿Qué es la belleza? ¿Qué es lo que hace que lo bonito sea feo y lo feo bonito?
Este libro mantiene la intriga a un nivel superior... es imposible no querer pasar las páginas y saber cuál es el final, que por supuesto… no es lo que crees esperar.
Me ha gustado tanto como Tr3s.
100% recomendado
“Pocos prescinden alguna vez de sus dulces porciones de delirio personal para saborear el amargo sabor de la verdad”
April 8, 2011
If you've ever wondered what happened to Scooby and the gang from Scooby Doo, Scooby got a couple of movie deals and the rest of them ended up in this overrated suspense novel. Someone in the town of Summerville, who goes by the name Red, is murdering innocent people. He wants to play psychological games with a small group of people, demanding that they kill the ugliest or everyone dies. Throughout much of the book, this group of five does little else other blame one another, justify why the other person is the ugliest and should die, or fall madly in love and then desperately out of love with one another. At times, it seemed Dekker wrote "Skin" while watching re-runs of Beverly Hills 90210.
For those readers familiar with Dekker and psychological thrillers, they'll figure out the ending half way through the book and then simply read frantically trying to get to the end so they can prove themselves right. Dekker seems to purposely telegraph the endings of his books, perhaps thinking he created a unsolvable puzzle. Sometimes, he uses innovative devices, but in Skin he used a pathetic cliche. And, of course, his sub par writing is only good enough to be in a book meant for the mass market. Dekker's books will never be required reading, or even suggested reading, in high school or college literature course.
After you read Skin by Ted Dekker, you will put it down, decide to never read another book by Ted Dekker, and conclude that the only thing that could have made it better is if the group of five had a dog named Scooby and the bad guy would have said at the end of the book, "And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for these meddling kids."
For those readers familiar with Dekker and psychological thrillers, they'll figure out the ending half way through the book and then simply read frantically trying to get to the end so they can prove themselves right. Dekker seems to purposely telegraph the endings of his books, perhaps thinking he created a unsolvable puzzle. Sometimes, he uses innovative devices, but in Skin he used a pathetic cliche. And, of course, his sub par writing is only good enough to be in a book meant for the mass market. Dekker's books will never be required reading, or even suggested reading, in high school or college literature course.
After you read Skin by Ted Dekker, you will put it down, decide to never read another book by Ted Dekker, and conclude that the only thing that could have made it better is if the group of five had a dog named Scooby and the bad guy would have said at the end of the book, "And I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for these meddling kids."
Read
October 4, 2011Personally I loved this book,I thought it was a great mix of mystery and suspense it kept me on my toes the whole time. At first I didn't really understand it and thought it was going to be one of the worst books by him, but as I got farther along I realized how brilliant Skin really is! I loved how you really got to know most of the characters but it wasn't just at the beginning it was throughout thee whole story. I would have never guessed the ending, it was completely random. I think if people would give this book a chance they would love it, but most people (like me) got a few pages in and don't understand so we give up. I would recommend this book to mostly high schoolers just for the simple fact it is a little advanced
June 4, 2010
GAH!!!! Nonsense, just complete nonsense!!! The story itself was quite a page-turner, I was all interested in seeing what was going to happen, BUT the ending completely ruined it for me. All that suspense, all that mystery, and for what? To find out at the end that the whole story took place inside a video game?!?!?! Seriously?!?!?!?!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this one.
I saw in some of the other reviews that this isn't even one of Dekker's best.
So I will most definitely be on the look-out for more of his books.
I saw in some of the other reviews that this isn't even one of Dekker's best.
So I will most definitely be on the look-out for more of his books.
November 28, 2018
El libro tiene un comienzo realmente espectacular, lleno de acción y de imágenes fuertes, un asesino implacable que llega a un pueblo buscando a uno de sus policías y para ello comienza una matanza tan brutal como increíble.
Sin duda es un libro brutal, con una historia que por momentos me parecía incluso onírica y aunque nos van explicando las razones de esta situación, no se me quitaba la sensación de estar metida en un sueño.
La persecución de Red, su juego de venganza, la forma en que se van desarrollando los hechos y asesinatos, sin duda me han tenido con los pelos de punta.
Sin embargo lo mejor viene cuando la historia da un giro tan increíble como espectacular, realmente me ha sorprendido tanto que casi pegué un brinco, no me podía creer lo que estaba leyendo, es realmente ten impredecible que no puedo mas que quitarme el sombrero ante Dekker.
Me gusta mucho este autor y cada libro que he leído de él me ha dejado con ganas de seguir leyéndolo y así lo haré, vale la pena, su estilo, su imaginación, su manera de construir historias diferentes, con personajes fascinantes.
Este libro no mantiene un ritmo estable, hay momentos en los que acelera y en otros va despacio y creo que ese juego hace que tanto el estilo narrativo como la historia nos mantenga en un suspense muy peculiar.
Tiene un final difícil de interpretar, me ha dado la impresión de que podría haber una segunda parte, sin embargo he revisado los libros del autor y no veo que haya publicado ningún libro relacionado con este, al menos no lo he encontrado, pero tendré que leerlos todos, ¿Quién sabe? tal vez si lo haya y no lo encontré, al menos eso espero, no es que tenga un final abierto, propiamente dicho, pero se le acerca mucho, de ahí mi calificación, no me gusta que me dejen así, eso no le quita que el libro sea muy bueno y que me haya sorprendido favorablemente.
Sin duda es un libro brutal, con una historia que por momentos me parecía incluso onírica y aunque nos van explicando las razones de esta situación, no se me quitaba la sensación de estar metida en un sueño.
La persecución de Red, su juego de venganza, la forma en que se van desarrollando los hechos y asesinatos, sin duda me han tenido con los pelos de punta.
Sin embargo lo mejor viene cuando la historia da un giro tan increíble como espectacular, realmente me ha sorprendido tanto que casi pegué un brinco, no me podía creer lo que estaba leyendo, es realmente ten impredecible que no puedo mas que quitarme el sombrero ante Dekker.
Me gusta mucho este autor y cada libro que he leído de él me ha dejado con ganas de seguir leyéndolo y así lo haré, vale la pena, su estilo, su imaginación, su manera de construir historias diferentes, con personajes fascinantes.
Este libro no mantiene un ritmo estable, hay momentos en los que acelera y en otros va despacio y creo que ese juego hace que tanto el estilo narrativo como la historia nos mantenga en un suspense muy peculiar.
Tiene un final difícil de interpretar, me ha dado la impresión de que podría haber una segunda parte, sin embargo he revisado los libros del autor y no veo que haya publicado ningún libro relacionado con este, al menos no lo he encontrado, pero tendré que leerlos todos, ¿Quién sabe? tal vez si lo haya y no lo encontré, al menos eso espero, no es que tenga un final abierto, propiamente dicho, pero se le acerca mucho, de ahí mi calificación, no me gusta que me dejen así, eso no le quita que el libro sea muy bueno y que me haya sorprendido favorablemente.
December 16, 2020
Ted Dekker book Skin is a roller coaster of a book. Once you think what is going on they change it up and go in a new direction. A murder in a small town and a tornado 5 people wake up with the town gone. Here starts the adventure. A killer wants the 5 pick one person who is the ugliest to be killed. So fighting for their lives they try to be one step ahead of the killer. Now I have to say I was surprised about all the characters in the novel. As you read you will understand new things about them that leads to a surprising ending, and let me tell you it is surprising. Ted Dekker keeps you guessing up to the end, and even he leaves the end open to wonder what will happen to these people. Will there be a sequel? I like the fact that you are surprised all the way through. You need to set aside a full day because I can't see where you could put down this novel. I read it in a day. I enjoyed this novel and becoming more of a Ted Dekker fan as I read more of his works. This isn't a Christian novel. There is some swearing but it is a clean read. I do recommend this novel and prepare to be thrilled!!
October 29, 2018
Great twists in this one by Dekker! Keeps you guessing 📚
September 22, 2011
SKIN by Ted Dekker was published in 2006. It is a Christian-Fiction book with a twist on life as we know it. This book took me only about four days to read because of how much i loved it; it is about 300 pages long.
It takes place out in the middle of nowhere in the present year. A group of five people, a cop, young lady and her brother, a restaurant owner, and a video game artist are locked into a town of two building in the middle of a desert. An unseen serial killer named Sterling Red demands that they kill the ugliest person in their group or he will kill them all.
This is a good book of great suspense, crime, and hate for ugliness. The author points out that beauty truly in the eye of the beholder even if it takes a shotgun pointed at your head to realize it. I believe the characters of this book really have to find this out themselves to try to survive.
I personally loved this book for its vivid description of characters and the way it reveals the answer to all the suspense that it continuously builds up. I cannot presently think of anything i dislike of this book.
I do think this is my favorite book ever, and anyone who like suspense and murder should definitely read this book.
It takes place out in the middle of nowhere in the present year. A group of five people, a cop, young lady and her brother, a restaurant owner, and a video game artist are locked into a town of two building in the middle of a desert. An unseen serial killer named Sterling Red demands that they kill the ugliest person in their group or he will kill them all.
This is a good book of great suspense, crime, and hate for ugliness. The author points out that beauty truly in the eye of the beholder even if it takes a shotgun pointed at your head to realize it. I believe the characters of this book really have to find this out themselves to try to survive.
I personally loved this book for its vivid description of characters and the way it reveals the answer to all the suspense that it continuously builds up. I cannot presently think of anything i dislike of this book.
I do think this is my favorite book ever, and anyone who like suspense and murder should definitely read this book.
May 12, 2024
Wowzer! Best Thriller of the year for me so far! I LOVED IT🔥🔥🔥🔥
April 8, 2021
4.5 Stars
Ted, Ted, Ted. I kept thinking how I need to pray for this mans mind. The stuff he comes up with, my goodness.
This book follows 5 individuals caught in tornado and finds themselves being haunted by a serial killer named Sterling Red. Not only are they being haunted, but is being forced to kill the ugliest one from the group. (See what I mean about his mind, lol!)
To ignore the request can and will cause death to another person outside of the group and/or the maiming of one of them.
This book yet deals with good vs evil, but more concentrates on how our words and actions affect others around us. For every action there is a reaction and we must all bare the consequences for those actions.
This book reminds me of the following movies rolled up into one: Wreck-It Ralph, Avatar and a little bit of the Matrix. It kept me guessing and trying to figure out who Sterling Red really was.
The ending, left me perplexed and having to process this book for days longer. It reminded me of how we can prematurely come out of something that we have not fully dealt with and or released to God. We at times find ourselves having to go back into that very situation, until we get the outcome that God wants for us to have.
Do I recommend? Yes.
Ted, Ted, Ted. I kept thinking how I need to pray for this mans mind. The stuff he comes up with, my goodness.
This book follows 5 individuals caught in tornado and finds themselves being haunted by a serial killer named Sterling Red. Not only are they being haunted, but is being forced to kill the ugliest one from the group. (See what I mean about his mind, lol!)
To ignore the request can and will cause death to another person outside of the group and/or the maiming of one of them.
This book yet deals with good vs evil, but more concentrates on how our words and actions affect others around us. For every action there is a reaction and we must all bare the consequences for those actions.
This book reminds me of the following movies rolled up into one: Wreck-It Ralph, Avatar and a little bit of the Matrix. It kept me guessing and trying to figure out who Sterling Red really was.
The ending, left me perplexed and having to process this book for days longer. It reminded me of how we can prematurely come out of something that we have not fully dealt with and or released to God. We at times find ourselves having to go back into that very situation, until we get the outcome that God wants for us to have.
Do I recommend? Yes.
February 25, 2016
SKIN embodies everything that both interests and frustrates me about Ted Dekker. On the one hand, I love how ambitious it is, and I appreciate the way it pushes the envelope for mainstream Christian fiction. On the other hand, I'm floored that a novel this inept can even get published, let alone sell half a million copies.
SKIN goes from being a good book in the first act, to being a bad book in the second act, to being a terrible book in the third act. Dekker doesn't just waste a good premise; he obliterates it. The writing also gets sloppier and sloppier as the novel progresses, as though he were in a big rush to finish it and move on to his next paycheck--*ahem*--I mean, project.
The big problem with Dekker is that he overestimates his own creative genius. Since not too many well-known Christian authors write in the thriller/horror genre, Dekker's books tend to stand out in Christian bookstores, and people who mostly limit themselves to Christian fiction mistakenly think that he is doing something new and innovative. The reality, though, is that Dekker is a hackneyed writer whose work generally can't hold a candle to that of his secular peers (THR3E being the possible exception). I understand that Christians enjoy exploring the positive themes found in Dekker's books, but I personally found the theology/philosophy of SKIN to be incredibly muddled. Ted Dekker's exploration of what constitutes true beauty is nothing short of an absolute mess, and it comes across as especially odd in light of the fact that Dekker strikes me as caring more about his personal appearance than almost any other male author I can think of. I mean, what the heck is a 53-year-old author still doing dying his hair black and dressing like a teenager working at Hot Topic?
I admire that Dekker's books seldom get "preachy," but it doesn't change the fact that he sometimes shoehorns in an overt Christian message where none is required. As with THE BONEMAN'S DAUGHTERS, the spiritual overtones of SKIN feel tacked on simply to placate Dekker's Christian audience. Certainly, they do nothing to enhance the quality of the story. But more on that later...
Anyway, SKIN actually starts out pretty cool, with a deadly storm, a mysterious killer walking the streets, and an alternate reality in which the world has been reduced to a desert. Sure, it all feels like B-movie schlock...but in a good way. The first real problem occurs in how Dekker presents his characters. Dekker's idea of character development is to give each character a different quirk. One is shy around women, one hates to be touched, one dabbles in the occult, one seems hopelessly innocent (at least, for a while), etc. Oh, and the bad guy eats mustard straight from the bottle because he's craaaaaaaaaaazy!!! Apart from their one special quirk, however, each character is totally generic. The one exception being the eccentric genius detective character, who, due to Dekker's bad writing, actually comes across as a bumbling idiot.
The killer gives the main characters a task: determine who is the ugliest of the group and then kill him, or else they will ALL die. Sound exciting? Well, it's not. You see, in order for the characters to pass the test, the killer must agree with their choice. And, beacuse they don't know whether the killer is referring to inner-ugliness our outer-ugliness, and because the whole notion of beauty is completely relative in the first place, the characters have no basis for making an informed decision. They'd be better off playing "eenie, meeny, miny, moe."
(Spoilers begin now.)
Besides, it ends up being a trick question, anyway, and not worth all the time spent discussing it. Another subject that gets discussed endlessly with very little payoff is the possible identity of the killer. All the characters in this book constantly accuse each other of being the killer (based on little or no evidence, I might add), so it feels a little frustrating when all their finger-pointing turns out to be hopelessly off the mark. Since Dekker doesn't offer readers any real clues (only red-herrings), discovering the true identity of the killer is no fun whatsoever. (One of the things that made THR3E so good was that he actually set up the twist ending.)
In the third act, the book REALLY goes off the rails and becomes an unpleasant chore. We learn that the main characters are actually living inside a virtual reality video game. More specifically, they are living in a game within a game within a game. Trust me, it's as stupid as it sounds. Somehow, the killer (who is also one of the players inside the game) managed to reprogram the whole game from the inside (don't ask me how this is even remotely possible). The people running the game know what he is doing, but, for reasons that are never explained, continue to allow him to kill off the other players. One of the other players conveniently awakens from the game just in time to learn what is really going on. Once they realize they are inside a game environment, they somehow figure out they can "level up" and beat the bad guy simply by realizing that everyone is equally ugly on the inside. (Unfortunately for the bad guy, he's stuck on a lower level because he believes he's more beautiful than everyone else. Sorta like Satan! Get it? Because Christian novel!)
I am at a loss for words to express how stupid all this is. And there's a lot more I could complain about, but I think I'll stop there. You get the idea.
SKIN has a very interesting set-up that Dekker slowly turns into a trainwreck of bad plotting and lazy prose. The beginning 1/3 is good enough to prevent me from rating the book 1 star, but the third act is the literary equivalent of getting kicked in the crotch.
SKIN goes from being a good book in the first act, to being a bad book in the second act, to being a terrible book in the third act. Dekker doesn't just waste a good premise; he obliterates it. The writing also gets sloppier and sloppier as the novel progresses, as though he were in a big rush to finish it and move on to his next paycheck--*ahem*--I mean, project.
The big problem with Dekker is that he overestimates his own creative genius. Since not too many well-known Christian authors write in the thriller/horror genre, Dekker's books tend to stand out in Christian bookstores, and people who mostly limit themselves to Christian fiction mistakenly think that he is doing something new and innovative. The reality, though, is that Dekker is a hackneyed writer whose work generally can't hold a candle to that of his secular peers (THR3E being the possible exception). I understand that Christians enjoy exploring the positive themes found in Dekker's books, but I personally found the theology/philosophy of SKIN to be incredibly muddled. Ted Dekker's exploration of what constitutes true beauty is nothing short of an absolute mess, and it comes across as especially odd in light of the fact that Dekker strikes me as caring more about his personal appearance than almost any other male author I can think of. I mean, what the heck is a 53-year-old author still doing dying his hair black and dressing like a teenager working at Hot Topic?
I admire that Dekker's books seldom get "preachy," but it doesn't change the fact that he sometimes shoehorns in an overt Christian message where none is required. As with THE BONEMAN'S DAUGHTERS, the spiritual overtones of SKIN feel tacked on simply to placate Dekker's Christian audience. Certainly, they do nothing to enhance the quality of the story. But more on that later...
Anyway, SKIN actually starts out pretty cool, with a deadly storm, a mysterious killer walking the streets, and an alternate reality in which the world has been reduced to a desert. Sure, it all feels like B-movie schlock...but in a good way. The first real problem occurs in how Dekker presents his characters. Dekker's idea of character development is to give each character a different quirk. One is shy around women, one hates to be touched, one dabbles in the occult, one seems hopelessly innocent (at least, for a while), etc. Oh, and the bad guy eats mustard straight from the bottle because he's craaaaaaaaaaazy!!! Apart from their one special quirk, however, each character is totally generic. The one exception being the eccentric genius detective character, who, due to Dekker's bad writing, actually comes across as a bumbling idiot.
The killer gives the main characters a task: determine who is the ugliest of the group and then kill him, or else they will ALL die. Sound exciting? Well, it's not. You see, in order for the characters to pass the test, the killer must agree with their choice. And, beacuse they don't know whether the killer is referring to inner-ugliness our outer-ugliness, and because the whole notion of beauty is completely relative in the first place, the characters have no basis for making an informed decision. They'd be better off playing "eenie, meeny, miny, moe."
(Spoilers begin now.)
Besides, it ends up being a trick question, anyway, and not worth all the time spent discussing it. Another subject that gets discussed endlessly with very little payoff is the possible identity of the killer. All the characters in this book constantly accuse each other of being the killer (based on little or no evidence, I might add), so it feels a little frustrating when all their finger-pointing turns out to be hopelessly off the mark. Since Dekker doesn't offer readers any real clues (only red-herrings), discovering the true identity of the killer is no fun whatsoever. (One of the things that made THR3E so good was that he actually set up the twist ending.)
In the third act, the book REALLY goes off the rails and becomes an unpleasant chore. We learn that the main characters are actually living inside a virtual reality video game. More specifically, they are living in a game within a game within a game. Trust me, it's as stupid as it sounds. Somehow, the killer (who is also one of the players inside the game) managed to reprogram the whole game from the inside (don't ask me how this is even remotely possible). The people running the game know what he is doing, but, for reasons that are never explained, continue to allow him to kill off the other players. One of the other players conveniently awakens from the game just in time to learn what is really going on. Once they realize they are inside a game environment, they somehow figure out they can "level up" and beat the bad guy simply by realizing that everyone is equally ugly on the inside. (Unfortunately for the bad guy, he's stuck on a lower level because he believes he's more beautiful than everyone else. Sorta like Satan! Get it? Because Christian novel!)
I am at a loss for words to express how stupid all this is. And there's a lot more I could complain about, but I think I'll stop there. You get the idea.
SKIN has a very interesting set-up that Dekker slowly turns into a trainwreck of bad plotting and lazy prose. The beginning 1/3 is good enough to prevent me from rating the book 1 star, but the third act is the literary equivalent of getting kicked in the crotch.
January 29, 2009
Dekker's website shows the phrase "From the mind of Ted Dekker"...
All I can say is that only from Dekker's mind could come this book. Twists and turns, heroes and heroines, mind tripping plot...
I must say that reading a Dekker book is like drinking expresso to the imagination. I can't say this was his best book or that I truly enjoyed it but I can admire the staggering imagination of the author.
I would recommend this book to die hard Ted Dekker, Stephen King, or Dean Koontz fans.
I give this book a high five for the mind trip.
All I can say is that only from Dekker's mind could come this book. Twists and turns, heroes and heroines, mind tripping plot...
I must say that reading a Dekker book is like drinking expresso to the imagination. I can't say this was his best book or that I truly enjoyed it but I can admire the staggering imagination of the author.
I would recommend this book to die hard Ted Dekker, Stephen King, or Dean Koontz fans.
I give this book a high five for the mind trip.
April 16, 2015
3.5/5
Whew, how to summarize this one?! Okay . . . a freak storm brings five random people together in the small town of Summerville. There, they encounter a mysterious and stealthy killer, Red, who is after them, for reasons unknown to them. The five of them, including Wendy, a former cult survivor, and Colt, a cop, take shelter in a library for several days where the mysterious Red hides and forces them to play his creepy games. He wants them to choose the "ugliest" of the five and kill them, and in the meantime, he'll be on a killing spree in the town, until they decide.
The strange thing is, when they initially go outside, they see nothing but sand and desert land which has covered the town after the storm, but a few hours later, the town has reappeared. The next day, they see only sand again . . . then the town. The FBI are also involved in the case, and sometimes are able to get in contact with Colt, Wendy and the others (when they can see the town), but not all the time (when they can see only the desert). This leads the FBI to think that either Wendy, Colt and company are collaboratively Red, or that something is wrong in their minds . . .
WHOA! Okay. This book was full of suspense and was also a total psychological thriller, which I was not expecting. It was full of twists, turns and surprises, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After about a hundred pages or so, I could not stop turning the pages! I did take issue with this book though for a couple of reasons: there were WAY too many characters, to the point that I could not really keep them all straight. I did like the conclusion though, which had a real shocker that I did not see coming at all. My only problem with the ending was the last page or so which I felt could have been tied up more nicely. I did like the conclusion as a whole though, what with the shock factor and all. All in all, this was an interesting and suspenseful read with a couple of setbacks. I'd read Ted Dekker's work again.
Whew, how to summarize this one?! Okay . . . a freak storm brings five random people together in the small town of Summerville. There, they encounter a mysterious and stealthy killer, Red, who is after them, for reasons unknown to them. The five of them, including Wendy, a former cult survivor, and Colt, a cop, take shelter in a library for several days where the mysterious Red hides and forces them to play his creepy games. He wants them to choose the "ugliest" of the five and kill them, and in the meantime, he'll be on a killing spree in the town, until they decide.
The strange thing is, when they initially go outside, they see nothing but sand and desert land which has covered the town after the storm, but a few hours later, the town has reappeared. The next day, they see only sand again . . . then the town. The FBI are also involved in the case, and sometimes are able to get in contact with Colt, Wendy and the others (when they can see the town), but not all the time (when they can see only the desert). This leads the FBI to think that either Wendy, Colt and company are collaboratively Red, or that something is wrong in their minds . . .
WHOA! Okay. This book was full of suspense and was also a total psychological thriller, which I was not expecting. It was full of twists, turns and surprises, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After about a hundred pages or so, I could not stop turning the pages! I did take issue with this book though for a couple of reasons: there were WAY too many characters, to the point that I could not really keep them all straight. I did like the conclusion though, which had a real shocker that I did not see coming at all. My only problem with the ending was the last page or so which I felt could have been tied up more nicely. I did like the conclusion as a whole though, what with the shock factor and all. All in all, this was an interesting and suspenseful read with a couple of setbacks. I'd read Ted Dekker's work again.
April 10, 2011
I found this one unintentionally hilarious, then swore off Dekker novels.
Most if it is yet another Dekker-villain who enjoys forcing large groups of people into ludicrous scenarios, all of whom obediently run around like headless chickens screaming "We Have No Other Choice!!! ZOMG!! We MUST kill each other, if he tells us to!!!"
Honestly, why is there never any heroism? No one willing to refuse to play the game? No one who says, "Kill me if you want, but you can't make me a killer?"
Each of the characters are given a caricature of a sob story, presumably to give them depth, but absolutely NO research seems to have been done to learn about what victims of these various abuses actually suffer. So rather than being made unique by their suffering, they become generic "victims" and their histories sound more like magnet poetry (the [anorexic] ex-[cultist] is getting [divorce]-d) than like actual experiences with actual memories and feelings associated with them.
A lovely bit of absurd preaching at the end, topped off by an "and then I woke up." Awful, awful.
Most if it is yet another Dekker-villain who enjoys forcing large groups of people into ludicrous scenarios, all of whom obediently run around like headless chickens screaming "We Have No Other Choice!!! ZOMG!! We MUST kill each other, if he tells us to!!!"
Honestly, why is there never any heroism? No one willing to refuse to play the game? No one who says, "Kill me if you want, but you can't make me a killer?"
Each of the characters are given a caricature of a sob story, presumably to give them depth, but absolutely NO research seems to have been done to learn about what victims of these various abuses actually suffer. So rather than being made unique by their suffering, they become generic "victims" and their histories sound more like magnet poetry (the [anorexic] ex-[cultist] is getting [divorce]-d) than like actual experiences with actual memories and feelings associated with them.
A lovely bit of absurd preaching at the end, topped off by an "and then I woke up." Awful, awful.
December 2, 2019
I mean, what the hell even is this?
This thing is a nightmare, and not in a fun IT or The Thing kinda way. It's dumb and pretentious in a way that makes me more and more frustrated the longer the book trudges on for. How this book has escaped with a 3.8 is above me, because the quality drops faster than the hindenburg hosting a cigar appreciation night.
It's not like Skin doesn't have potential. I mean tornadoes bearing down on a town where a serial killer is on the loose and 5 characters have to escape is a perfect setup that could end a million and a half ways. But everything the good side of Ted Dekker (who I will call the intern) brings to the table the bad side (who I will call Pillock) body slams back down.
"Hey," says the intern, "Why don't we have the main character be a cult survivor who has major social issues? We could reveal her issues slowly in a way that builds suspense around her behaviour."
"Huh?" asks Pillock as he jerks awake, "Sounds good, but I'm worried but audience will collapse at the slightest hint of intrigue so we should just dump her backstory at the very beginning. In fact why don't we just pile backstory on the reader in smothering heaps while the story's still building momentum."
"Oooookay then. What about giving the killer supernatural powers that give him that extra threatening edge. We could imply that the killer is not quite human, like Randall Flagg from the Stand, or make a clever twist that the killer is multiple people like Murder on-"
"Or we can just put the entire world in a simulation, and have the killer rewriting the simulation from the inside out by... doing... you know what, since nothing outside the simulation makes sense either, let's pull a DOUBLE TWIST and have them be in ANOTHER simulation."
"Uhh..." Says the intern, as he glances at the door, "isn't that a horrifically cheap twist, one step below it was all a dream, that will throw any sense of investment out the window, and give you free license to do whatever you want, while giving the reader no chance to figure out who the killer is?"
"Yes, but I want to feel clever by creating a twist so far out of left field no one could ever predict it and derails the story, which is the definition of a shitty twist, but fuck it."
Then Pillock writes a note to copy and paste the barely demonstrated theme into some random dialogue as awkwardly as possible before shooting the intern in the head.
If you're psychotic and get off on never reaching a satisfying climax, or just looking for a laugh, you could do much worse.
This thing is a nightmare, and not in a fun IT or The Thing kinda way. It's dumb and pretentious in a way that makes me more and more frustrated the longer the book trudges on for. How this book has escaped with a 3.8 is above me, because the quality drops faster than the hindenburg hosting a cigar appreciation night.
It's not like Skin doesn't have potential. I mean tornadoes bearing down on a town where a serial killer is on the loose and 5 characters have to escape is a perfect setup that could end a million and a half ways. But everything the good side of Ted Dekker (who I will call the intern) brings to the table the bad side (who I will call Pillock) body slams back down.
"Hey," says the intern, "Why don't we have the main character be a cult survivor who has major social issues? We could reveal her issues slowly in a way that builds suspense around her behaviour."
"Huh?" asks Pillock as he jerks awake, "Sounds good, but I'm worried but audience will collapse at the slightest hint of intrigue so we should just dump her backstory at the very beginning. In fact why don't we just pile backstory on the reader in smothering heaps while the story's still building momentum."
"Oooookay then. What about giving the killer supernatural powers that give him that extra threatening edge. We could imply that the killer is not quite human, like Randall Flagg from the Stand, or make a clever twist that the killer is multiple people like Murder on-"
"Or we can just put the entire world in a simulation, and have the killer rewriting the simulation from the inside out by... doing... you know what, since nothing outside the simulation makes sense either, let's pull a DOUBLE TWIST and have them be in ANOTHER simulation."
"Uhh..." Says the intern, as he glances at the door, "isn't that a horrifically cheap twist, one step below it was all a dream, that will throw any sense of investment out the window, and give you free license to do whatever you want, while giving the reader no chance to figure out who the killer is?"
"Yes, but I want to feel clever by creating a twist so far out of left field no one could ever predict it and derails the story, which is the definition of a shitty twist, but fuck it."
Then Pillock writes a note to copy and paste the barely demonstrated theme into some random dialogue as awkwardly as possible before shooting the intern in the head.
If you're psychotic and get off on never reaching a satisfying climax, or just looking for a laugh, you could do much worse.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2021
Just wow...there are no words to express my feels. This is going to be short and sweet.
This book has me frustrated in a good way. As much as I can't stand the ending and how open ended the epilogue was, I definitely enjoyed the wild ride and mystery of this story. Ted Dekker has a unique way in crafting some mindboggling stories. I didn't feel much on the faith side of things for this to be considered Christian fiction, but it was still great as a suspense, mystery novel.
The world was interesting, the characters kept me intrigued. I was into all the emotions as I was reading this story. I truly enjoyed it. I think compared to Thr3e this was good, but Thr3e for me was great, so this book is a solid four star rating.
The message of beauty and its perception along with the talk of how we as people were different skins and masks -- excellent.
I can't wait to read more of Dekker's standalone novels.
This book has me frustrated in a good way. As much as I can't stand the ending and how open ended the epilogue was, I definitely enjoyed the wild ride and mystery of this story. Ted Dekker has a unique way in crafting some mindboggling stories. I didn't feel much on the faith side of things for this to be considered Christian fiction, but it was still great as a suspense, mystery novel.
The world was interesting, the characters kept me intrigued. I was into all the emotions as I was reading this story. I truly enjoyed it. I think compared to Thr3e this was good, but Thr3e for me was great, so this book is a solid four star rating.
The message of beauty and its perception along with the talk of how we as people were different skins and masks -- excellent.
I can't wait to read more of Dekker's standalone novels.
September 7, 2018
Çözüm kısmında şaşırtmayı başardı ama çok da hayret etmedim. Sonu ise beklentimi karşılamadı gibi. Belirsiz sonlardan özellikle nefret etmem ama bu kurgunun ucu açık bitmesini sindiremedim. Açık sonlar kimi kitaplara yakışıyor ama bu türe değil, ı-ıh. Değinmeden edemeyeceğim bir konu; kitabın çevirisi. Cümleleri hiç mi ikinci kez okumadınız yahu? Hiç mi "Ay bu çok anlamsız olmuş," demediniz? Tam kendimi gerilime kaptırmışım çeviri ayağıma taş oldu. Kendi alanım olduğundan ekstra eleştirel bir duruşa sahibim belki, okurken de elimde olmadan dikkat kesiliyorum, görmezden gelemiyorum. Bu da okuma keyfimi son derece etkiliyor.
Read
July 1, 2011That was a terrible book. For some reason I felt compelled to finish it which just irritated me more. The plot had an interesting twist, but the writing was sloppy, the editing very poor and the characters juvenile and tedious. Not sure how this person has so many books published, but you can be sure I won't ever read another of his.
February 16, 2008
Ugh...the only scary thing about this book is the fact that it got published.
November 12, 2024
I loved the set up for this story. A group of strangers finds themselves trapped in a small town due to a storm with a killer on the loose that seems to have a reason to want revenge on all of them. Thriller books like this are one of my favorite genres.
It was interesting how Colt seemed to trust Wendy right off the bat without even thinking about it. He put her in charge of one of the teams when they split up to try and make an escape, he told Wendy to frisk the group for weapons but no one checked her, and he even pulled her aside to work on private plans just the two of them. During Colt’s point-of-views, he was shown questioning the possibility that different people in the group may be working with Red, but his thoughts never drift that way with Wendy.
It was interesting how Colt seemed to trust Wendy right off the bat without even thinking about it. He put her in charge of one of the teams when they split up to try and make an escape, he told Wendy to frisk the group for weapons but no one checked her, and he even pulled her aside to work on private plans just the two of them. During Colt’s point-of-views, he was shown questioning the possibility that different people in the group may be working with Red, but his thoughts never drift that way with Wendy.
December 18, 2021
DNF @ p. 320 , 81%
So, this book was . . interesting. I'm still surprised I didn't get any nightmares from the graphic details written on the pages of Skin. However, while I didn't appreciate the extensive descriptions, I will give this to Dekker - it was a fascinating storyline. I also grew to love certain characters and related to them.
Now, to begin, I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked this book off a shelf at a thrift store. I'd heard of Ted Dekker, but I'd never ventured out to read his books. This was the first Dekker book I've ever read. Therefore it may have not been the best choice for a first timer.
Content:
-Language: none that I recall, save for a few words said in replacement of foul language
-Romance: there was an interesting romantic relationship that formed, and another that blossomed towards the end. There was kissing, hugging, touching (not inappropriate), noticing
-Violence: TONS in this area. As this is a book centered around a serial killer, there is a lot of . . well, you guess it: murder. And the methods of this serial killer were grotesque. I wrinkled my nose more times than one. Many many descriptions of blood, cut off fingers, torture, screams of agony, control, pointing guns, shooting guns, a character tries to hang himself, etc., etc. Please be cautioned.
-Blood/Gore: ^as mentioned above, many descriptive details of blood, wounds, a character nearly dies from a snake bite, details of the murdered people, etc.
While I did enjoy getting to know the complex characters and following their story up to 81%, I ultimately had to stop, because it was too intense and bloody for me. I do think that Ted Dekker is a phenomenal writer, but the content was more than *I* can handle.
If you're thinking about reading this book, just be aware that there is quite a lot of violence, gore, and scary details. Recommended for ages 16+ due to content listed above.
So, this book was . . interesting. I'm still surprised I didn't get any nightmares from the graphic details written on the pages of Skin. However, while I didn't appreciate the extensive descriptions, I will give this to Dekker - it was a fascinating storyline. I also grew to love certain characters and related to them.
Now, to begin, I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked this book off a shelf at a thrift store. I'd heard of Ted Dekker, but I'd never ventured out to read his books. This was the first Dekker book I've ever read. Therefore it may have not been the best choice for a first timer.
Content:
-Language: none that I recall, save for a few words said in replacement of foul language
-Romance: there was an interesting romantic relationship that formed, and another that blossomed towards the end. There was kissing, hugging, touching (not inappropriate), noticing
-Violence: TONS in this area. As this is a book centered around a serial killer, there is a lot of . . well, you guess it: murder. And the methods of this serial killer were grotesque. I wrinkled my nose more times than one. Many many descriptions of blood, cut off fingers, torture, screams of agony, control, pointing guns, shooting guns, a character tries to hang himself, etc., etc. Please be cautioned.
-Blood/Gore: ^as mentioned above, many descriptive details of blood, wounds, a character nearly dies from a snake bite, details of the murdered people, etc.
While I did enjoy getting to know the complex characters and following their story up to 81%, I ultimately had to stop, because it was too intense and bloody for me. I do think that Ted Dekker is a phenomenal writer, but the content was more than *I* can handle.
If you're thinking about reading this book, just be aware that there is quite a lot of violence, gore, and scary details. Recommended for ages 16+ due to content listed above.
December 11, 2021
bu kitabı 10 yıldan fazla bir zaman önce okumuştum yaşım gereği sanırım mükemmel bir kitap olarak kalmıştı aklımda. keşke tekrar okumasaydım. aslında son 20 sayfaya kadar 5/5 gidiyordu ama sonundan bu kadar nefret ettiğim başka bir kitap hatırlamıyorum gerçekten.
özellikle kitabın başından sonuna kadar güzellik çirkinlik kavramlarını ilkokul felsefesi seviyesinde deşilmesi ve bunun gerçekten konunun temelini oluşturması çok can sıkıcıydı.
özellikle kitabın başından sonuna kadar güzellik çirkinlik kavramlarını ilkokul felsefesi seviyesinde deşilmesi ve bunun gerçekten konunun temelini oluşturması çok can sıkıcıydı.
July 15, 2020
unfortunately not as great as i remembered it being.
January 18, 2019
Very clever. It kept me guessing and I never felt like it was predictable. I enjoyed the story and the twists.
June 28, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 I listened to this book quickly! I wanted to know what was happening and how. I caught some of the twists but don't fully understand how some things happened. The epilogue wrapped up some of it nicely while still leaving me on a cliff for other things.
October 21, 2020
This book was just plain boring. There were times when I wanted to DNF it, but I didn't, because I was so close to the end. Half of the time I was tempted to put it down and do better things with my time, but I just powered through.
I didn't see any of the twists coming, but there were just so many and it really was a brain scrambler.
TD;LR
Book's themes were unfinished and I did not get at all what I was looking for. The other books in the circle series are way better.
I didn't see any of the twists coming, but there were just so many and it really was a brain scrambler.
TD;LR
Book's themes were unfinished and I did not get at all what I was looking for. The other books in the circle series are way better.
August 26, 2015
I really enjoyed the concept of Skin. Ted Dekker for me is a hit or miss. I have read a few of his books and own more that are on my shelves waiting to be read still. I have loved some of his books while others have just been total misses for me. In regards to this one though I can't say too much without revealing the plot. But, I will say that I did not guess what was occurring. (If that makes any sense lol). Now that I am done reading it, it sort of reminds of another book by Erica Splinder but I don’t recall the name. Where the plot in that one is about a cat & mouse game that’s played (literally). The connection that Red, Wendy, Colt, Nicole, Carey & Pinkus have is also one that I did not predict. I always love it when a book takes you to somewhere you didn't think you were going in the first place. That’s why I really enjoyed Skin. I know this review is kind of confusing since I am not revealing much of the plot, but trust me it is a GOOD READ indeed!
Copy provided by publisher
Copy provided by publisher
December 21, 2009
I did not like this novel at all. I am a fan of Ted dekker, but I just couldn't get into it. Plus, the antagonist made me extremely uncomfortable... I guess that means Ted did something right, but it was not for me. My 16 yr old daughter understood the 'gaming' aspect, which I did not, and she enjoyed the book "okay". I rather like Ted's more 'Christian' fiction. This latest stuff is secular and just creepy. IMHO
I cannot recommend this book at all.
I cannot recommend this book at all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 836 reviews