Elyon

The Lost Books #6

by Ted Dekker

Elyon's lakes have turned blood red. Is it a curse. . . or the cure?Shaeda has one blue eye and one purple eye. No one fully knows her story, but her mere gaze eats away at the core of one's being. In his quest for power, Johnis now finds himself in her intoxicating grip.Assumed identities, a magic amulet, the fearsome Shataiki bats, and a troubling alliance with the Dark Priest all converge against the three remaining chosen.Only Elyon knows what will happen when the forces of ultimate good and evil clash in their final battle. Dive deep with them in this epic conclusion-if you dare!

Genres: Fantasy, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Young Adult, Adventure, Christian Fantasy

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2009

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]

A fitting conclusion to The Lost Books. It contains all the action and suspense of the the first five novels and then some. What a great read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elyon is the (currently) final book in the Lost Books series, though these last two books have almost nothing to do with the Lost books themselves, or for that matter, the story that unfolded in the first 4 books at all. The 4 book arc that started pretty well and ended very well is followed up by this 2 book mini-arc which follows Johnis, Silvie and Darcal back into Middle, but 5 years later after the horde has taken over the forests and Thomas Hunter and the circle are on the run or in hiding.

While this book was a slight step up from Lunatic in terms of writing, it was really bogged down by several problems that make me think there wasn't nearly enough work that went into putting this story together. Almost all the humor is gone and replaced with a dark, oppressive tone with satanic forces constantly attacking the group from all sides. While there was a fair amount of action, the narrative was not very well done in places and the story was hard to follow from time to time. Also detracting from the story is 2 out of the 3 main characters were not written anything like they were in the previous 4 books so I didn't even recognize them. Granted, in this last book they were not only "scabs", but also heavily under vampiric/demonic possession, but still, there wasn't even a hint of who they used to be. Even worse, Darcal and Marak's story is a complete and blatant retread of Thomas and Chelise's romance in White, but not nearly as well written so that really hurt the book as well.

Really, all in all these two books should have probably been given quite a bit more work or told a different story because they're pretty anti-climactic compared to the first 4 books or the rest of the circle series. While the writing in places was pretty compelling and the action pretty intense, the story was so sloppy that it made it difficult to really get into. The completest in me compelled me to read these last two books despite some pretty negative reviews of the last two books and after reading them, I tend to agree that by and large, they are not well written. They're not quite the 1 star far that some of the reviews have made them out to be either, but they certainly aren't Ted's best works. Read them in you need to complete the series, but lower your expectations and critical thinking skills before you go into it and just enjoy the books as best as you can.

[Pop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worst of the Lost Books series. Really hate that, I enjoyed the first 5.

[Susan Schieber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dekker is on of my favorite authors and I enjoyed the beginning of the lost book series. But I wanted to throw this book across the room. The plot line was annoying, repetitive, and seemed to have no clear direction; Darsal's mandate to "Love the Horde" was not well played; the guidance of the Roush was extremely poor; and the end was somewhat ridiculous leaving you feeling like they took the worst path possible to solve the dilemma. Perhaps this venture in co-authoring these last two books was a poor choice since the story seemed to go downhill starting with Lunatic. The only reason I even finished this book is because I was already invested in the series by reading the first 5 books and wanted to see how it ended. Looking back, I would have preferred to stop after the 4th book and call it good. And what's more, to call this book Elyon is almost a travesty. It should be called Deception, or Stupidity.

[Mason Soerens · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERSONAL RESPONSE

Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill was a great book to read. It left me wondering “What will happen next” and “How will this problem be resolved?” This book was a great way to finish off a great series. Ted Dekker really demonstrated his skills as an author in this book and in this series. I look forward to reading more of his books.

PLOT SUMMARY

As the plan to rid of all albinos from the world begins to take form, many problems arise. Johnis and Silvie pave a way to take this plan into action. They have stolen the amulet from the Shataiki Queen and now must partner with Sucrow the Dark Priest and together kill all the albinos left in the world. This has many problems as many of the people involved have different plots to sway this action in their favor. Johnis wants to use the amulet to gain control of the power of Shaeda, Sucrow wants to use the power to become the ruler of man, and Darsal wants to reverse the power and get rid of all Horde left among the earth. As each person realizes these plans, they all start to turn on each other creating issues in the whole plan leading it to take an unsuspected turn.

CHARACTERIZATION

The main antagonist of the book is Johnis/Josef. Johnis, formerly an albino has not yet discovered that an albino must drown in a red lake in order to remain an albino. Because of this, he becomes Horde and the disease takes over his mind. He takes up the name Josef instead of Johnis to disguise himself to other Horde. He begins to turn more and more on the Circle as days pass. He begins to side with Sucrow and the Horde to devise a plan to eliminate the albinos from the world. He has also been possessed by a Leadhan named Shaeda. She wants to use Johnis to help her take revenge on Derias for banishing her and fellow leadhans from his realm. Shaeda causes a lot of pain and conflict for Johnis. She tears at him to go through with her plan when he wants to follow his own heart.

Darsal is the main protagonist of the book and has a lot of conflict in her life as well. Elyon has instructed Darsal to love the Horde in return for her forgiveness for betraying Elyon. When she begins to love Marak, it messes with his head. He is the Horde general and must follow orders that tell him to kill albinos. Through all the troubles between her and Marak, she still follows Elyon’s order to love the Horde. She loves him through each troubling time, knowing that she could be wiped from the earth at any time.

SETTING


This book takes place in a world that is very desolate and desert. There are some oases and forests that spring from the desert. The main cities are found in the forests. At the beginning of the book, it is spent in the cities. This lets the reader picture more of an urban lifestyle in the characters. When the order is given to carry out the plan to kill the albinos, they begin the journey to high mountainous terrain. They must travel through hot dry deserts to get there. This can let the readers picture the fatigue of the men as they travel and how much harder it is to keep their trust and mental state. These troubles make actions in the book more understandable. Actions like Sucrow stealing the amulet from Marak or Warryn attacking Johnis and Silvie. The post-apocalyptic feel to the timeline helps readers think that actions like the mass genocide of one race, are likely to happen. Readers can tell it is post-apocalyptic because of prior books stating the Histories including things that are from current times.

THEME

A major theme of the book that arises often is that of loyalty. Every character’s loyalty is put through the test at one time or another, Some of which are like Darsal having to love the Horde even though they want to kill her to prove her loyalty to Elyon. It is even stated in the book of Sucrow questioning Marak’s loyalty to the Horde Army. Although loyalty isn’t always kept in this book it is still apparent that it’s the main theme.

RECOMMENDATION

I recommend this book and the series to those looking for a good fantasy read. This book connects real-world elements to a world that isn’t like current Earth. This book has action and romance and really is just a good mix for male and female readers. It is a nice read for high school level readers. The book flows nicely and maintains the storyline really well, making it easy to follow.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I dislike the most about this 6 book series is the fact that the series would have been just fine with 4 books. The last 2 were almost painful.
And I get that the author wanted to spell out CIRCLE with each of the books (which I didn't pick up on until a few books in) but the LE of the circle didn't have the same feel as the first 4 books.

There was more evil, and I get that it had to show that part for the final 'showdown' but I thought this book was so filled with evil it was almost overbearing.

On a funny note, I was reading and dropped the book. I lost my page. I picked up the book and tried to find where I left off. I continued reading only to find out I actually skipped almost 60 pages... and I couldn't even tell. There was no break in the plot... not actually funny... more sad.....

I will continue to read this author but the CIRCLE series will not be on the top of my list.

[Kailyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

John 3:7
That's all I have to say 😁😉

[Vincent Lesner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not really know what to say about these books. The action was cool and some of the concepts were great, but the whole plot of the series was weird. I am not sure what Ted Dekker was trying to get across to his readers.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about these last two books, which were really one book. I'm highly suspicious that Dekker separated them into two books out of greed for more book sales. The first of the two, Lunatic, was disjointed and incomplete. Both in character development and plot. The second seemed like a desperate attempt at giving the series of the "lost books" a happy ending. Lunatic and Elyon had absolutely nothing to do with the "lost books" at all which was deeply disappointing; especially because Dekker had taken the time to write four books that were centered on the search for the "lost books". Why waste all that time an energy when you're not even going to tell the end of the story?!?

I did like the story of Lunatic and Elyon as a stand alone pair. Although not up to par with the other books in this series, and a bit schizophrenic at times, it was interesting to think about. How many of us, in our lives, are deceived into thinking that the popular world is correct? Most of the world in my opinion. Dekker left it open as well, as if he wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to our main characters. Perhaps another series based on the setting for the final scene?

[MyaK · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book moved me so much. It was another example to me, the whole series, to see how God works terrible, very wrong things to good. At the end I almost cried it was so moving and gave me joy.

[Coleton James · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 unresolved stars.

As the last book in the Lost Book series I am disappointed, and well, lost. I spent a lot of time on six books just to be let down by the ending. I don’t understand why nothing was culminated. Like, for example, how Johnis of all people is the “chosen one”. I really thought I would finally understand, but alas.

The last installment in the series is a continuation of the same plot as the previous book. Darsal is on a mission to save Marak, the Horde, the albinos, and Johnis and Silvie by convincing those close to her to drown in the red lakes. Meanwhile, Johnis is still possessed by the Leedhan and is leading a troop to control all the shataiki with a magical medallion that can defeat the Horde and albinos once and for all.

I had a hard time following this book. I didn’t know where we were or what to imagine in my head, and I don’t think the plot was explained well enough. What was this great sacrifice they were trying to make at Ba’al Bek? And why? Maybe I missed something in the text, but there were so many places I would ask myself, why? It was virtually constant action with no understanding of where the narrative was going. It felt unnecessarily heavy.

And then there’s the lost books of history. The whole series is named after these books, and yet they become nothing. What was the purpose of these books? The last two books took a turn that went downhill for me. The first five books were really interesting and I loved the ending. But then the entire purpose of these lost books was lost when they arrived back in Middle.

And nothing frustrates me more than Johnis’s entire arc. Darsal is the one who saves everyone. It was her who brought everyone to all seven of the lost books where they all vanished to the other world. It was her who spent ten long grueling years on earth. It was her who spent that decade with the vilest of evil creatures and who actually found the greater good in the end. It was her actions and morals that saved everyone from evil on earth. It was her with the famous hero arc. Not Johnis. Never Johnis. He was always there to make rash decisions because he was “following his heart”. He treated Silvie like she was beneath him (and everyone else for that matter), and he never got over his big “you must follow me to Hell and back because me big hero” ego. AND THEN, when all three of them return to Middle, it was Darsal who drowned first. Darsal who got the message from Elyon, “love the Horde for me, for Johnis.” And she did! It was her the whole time, in all six of these books, it was Darsal who saved everyone. Not Johnis. Johnis got himself possessed by a vampire. Where did this heart of his go now? Silvie was the only one with any sense to question the hallucinations of a mysterious hypnotic woman. Ugh. I’m sorry, but this final book really frustrates me. Nothing was resolved.

We never got to meet another circle member like Thomas or any of their family, we don’t even know where they were hiding this whole time. What happened to Thomas? What happens to the Leedhans? And how many of these vampires are there anyway?

And don’t get me started on Darsal and Marak’s romance. It was similar to Johnis and Silvie where there was no lead up to the romance or even reason besides the fact that Dekker is telling us that they are romantically invested now. This is where show don’t tell is so important. People don’t just fall in love with people they find repulsive and can’t stand the smell of. Marak had no redeeming qualities. He was a mean old man who killed his family including his supposed love of his life, Rona. There needed to be more character development here.

At least Darsal was cool.

I can’t really recommend this book when I’m so frustrated by it, but at the same time, it is the final book in a decent series. Read at your own risk and don’t expect a grand ending.

3 stars for entertainment
3 stars for impact
3 stars for writing
2 stars for pace/organization
2 stars recommendation
=2.6 stars.

[Kyla Sixkiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill is a captivating conclusion to a thrilling series. The plot is filled with twists and turns, keeping readers engaged and guessing what will happen next. Dekker's masterful storytelling is evident throughout the book, making it a memorable read.

The series reaches its climax as Johnis and Silvie embark on a dangerous mission to eliminate the albinos. However, their plan is complicated by the conflicting agendas of those involved. Johnis, possessed by Shaeda, seeks power for himself, while Sucrow desires to rule over mankind. Darsal, torn between her love for Marak and her loyalty to Elyon, must navigate these treacherous waters.

Johnis, the former albino turned Horde, becomes the primary antagonist. Possessed by Shaeda, he undergoes a transformation, becoming increasingly ruthless and determined to carry out her plan. Darsal, the main protagonist, faces internal conflict as she struggles to reconcile her love for Marak with her duty to Elyon.

The desolate landscape of the desert and the remnants of cities provide a stark backdrop for the story. The post-apocalyptic setting adds a sense of urgency and realism to the characters' struggles.

Loyalty is a central theme explored throughout the book. Characters are tested and challenged, forced to make difficult choices and question their allegiances. The theme of loyalty adds depth and complexity to the narrative.

Elyon is a highly recommended read for fans of fantasy and adventure. It offers a satisfying conclusion to the series while maintaining the same level of excitement and intrigue. The book's blend of action, romance, and thought-provoking themes appeals to a wide range of readers.

[Sydney Stoneking · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the first four, but these last two weren’t my favorite of his. Still good, but just not as powerful of a message as the others. The vampire stuff was pretty weird and didn’t quite fit in as part of the lost books. It only made sense to me a little because I had already read Immanuel’s Veins and Green, but if I hadn’t I would definitely be confused as to how the vampires even relate to the story. If he was going to throw them into the story, it would have been nice to have a bit more back story about the river and the blue forest. Plus, since this one was called Elyon, I was expecting more of an encounter with him at the end or him defeating the Shataiki or something. But overall, I liked the series as a whole. Definitely didn’t end how I expected it to, but I don’t think any of Ted Dekker’s books ever do, and I like that about his writing.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mother bought me this set of books about 9 years ago and I put off reading them for so long but I wanted all things Ted Dekker when I was younger. I finally decided to quit wasting time and to finally read them. It was a good series but I didn’t like the way it ended. Johnis, Silvie, Darsal, and Marak end up so far away from everything they know. We don’t even know what became of Thomas and the rest of the guard. The last we heard of Thomas was when Johnis betrayed him before Chaos. There were too many questions left unanswered. And then the whole first 4 books were practically for nothing but the books are lost again and nobody knows where they went! I enjoyed the series but it didn’t end well, I have more questions that I have answers.

[Michael Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the previous book, Lunatic, I found this book confusing and vaguely unsatisfying. The story is complicated and a little muddled. Fortunately in a merciful fit of exposition near the very end, the characters explain straight out what happened in the rest of the two-book story arc; without that, it's hard to know what was going on. You never really know who you can trust to be telling the truth. In the end the main quest of the entire series does NOT seem to have been satisfied. The main baddie is still at large, and the big conflict between the various factions is not really addressed at all. It's a weird ending for a weird story arc that feels tracked into the actual story, which ended two books ago.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 Book Nerd Your Way Challenge.... #31
Did not fit an available category for the EBN Challenge.

Book #6 of The Lost Books series. Here comes the conclusion of the series. Or is it only the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. I love the way the Author ended the book and brought the story to a new start. I am going to have to check out the other books and see if he carried this forward.

[Audio Junkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Circle series. This book is set in that same world. Unfortunately for me this book missed the mark with the lead in portion (the introduction of characters). It did not give you much time to get to know the characters before you were expected to know both their human and horde names, so the beginning chapters left a lot to be desired.

Overall, it still had a good message and solid foundation, but getting to that point was felt like a confusing journey.

[Natalie Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall this series is not worth reading. They started out ok but eventually gave me a headache with all the different things going on. Like the vampire in the 5th book. That seemed so random and not at all relevant to the previous books. Bad theology and the writing style was juvenile. Donita King and L.B. Graham do a much better job at allegory.

[Audrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed through this book in a hurry just to get it done and didn't find much pleasure in it. There was so much darkness and evil that it seemed hopeless and made me sick. Fortunately it did turn out ok in the end so I guess all's well that ends well. These last two books in this series was definitely not up to Dekker's standards. They are a disappointment.

[Marianne Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I do not like the way it ended. Which is unfortunate as this is a series of six books. The first three I liked and enjoyed immensely. Not so much with the last three. I didn't care for some of the elements brought into the story in the fifth book, Lunatic. I just don't think they added anything to the story. All in all, a pretty decent series, if you love Dekker as I do.

[Amanda Rychtarik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve wanted so bad to love these last two books in the Lost Books of History series. Alas, it was not meant to be. Ted Dekker does his best writing when he writes alone. These last too books, Lunatic & Elyon, felt very superficial & chaotic. To me, they didn’t “fit” with the series’s storyline. I still love Ted Dekker & his “The Circle” series is still my favorite from him.

[Angie Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the analogies in this final book of the series and it was good to have things wrapped up.

My 15yr old son loved listening to them all, but I was very glad this book gave a slight reprieve from the constant fighting (the last couple in the series were exhausting).

Overall, there were a lot of great things to talk about.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the last of the Lost Book Series. It was a good sci fi series. I enjoyed it. I didn't LOVE it, hence the 3 stars, some 4. But I did enjoy it. I like Mr. Dekker's imagination. Very interesting, always.

[Judy Porro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as I expected. This one and the last one just dragged on. I was disappointed and couldn't wait to finish it so I can start something new. I really like Ted Dekker, but this series was disappointing.

[Angelea Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad to be finished with the series. I started it and loved the first three books but then it started to drag and last forever. The last few books, in my opinion, did not really go with the initial series.

[Charity Bogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two books, the third was fantastic! And then went down hill until this booked bombed. Poor character development, a messy plot with many loose ends, cheesy romance, and an ending that fell flat. I crawled through this book because I hated it so much. Sad.

[Tina L. Hecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional ending

A wonderful conclusion to the lost books saga. I kind of like how open ended he usually leaves his stories, whether it's to leave room for future books or just to let our imaginations finish them for us.

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lost its suspense or essence like other novels in a series. Once I reached 100+ pages, I had to read the last chapter or two to get the gist, as it was going in circles for me.

Finished the series.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything by Dekker!