This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Immanuel’s Veins
Thomas Nelson (September 7, 2010)
by
Ted Dekker
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.
Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.
Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.
After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.
In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.
He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.
Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
This story is for everyone–but not everyone is for this story.
It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.
Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.
With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.
Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.
Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.
But remember, not everyone is for this story.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of Immanuel’s Veins, go HERE.
Watch the book trailer:
SACRIFICIAL LOVE:
As part of my post for Immanuel’s Veins, Thomas Nelson has asked me to answer this question: “What is sacrificial love?”
When I think of sacrificial love, several things come to mind. As a Christian, the first thing I think of is the ultimate sacrifice of Christ – He suffered a horrendous death on the cross to cover our sins because he loves us so much. There are several other degrees of sacrificial love that I can imagine and I’m sure the possibilities are endless. I believe God calls us to live a sacrificial life but that most of us misunderstand just what that means. We think to live sacrificially means to give up everything we hold dear and most of us are unwilling to let go. Yet if we are open to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we can demonstrate sacrificial love each and every day. The following are just a few examples that range from extreme sacrifice to simple everyday sacrifice:
- Risking one’s own life to save a friend, family member, or even a stranger.
- Parents who gives up their food so that their children can eat.
- Giving up something like a cup of coffee or soft drink a day in order to contribute to missions.
- Simply giving up one’s own plans or wishes for another person.
MY REVIEW:
Immanuel’s Veins is a darkly beautiful masterpiece that should be read with the heart engaged so that its true message can be absorbed. If over analyzed, it would probably fall short of the author’s intentions. With a predominate theme of sacrificial love, the story also illustrates the subtle but deceptive allure of evil. Filled with magnificent imagery, Immanuel’s Veins takes the reader into the darkest depths of the human heart and brings him back out into the illumination of Christ’s love. It is a story that will stay with me a long time – a story that left me with emotions not easily explained.
Although I had reservations before reading Immanuel’s Veins based on negative reviews, I found myself swiftly turning its pages and finishing it in less than a day. What a pleasant surprise! In my opinion, this is one of Dekker’s best works. With a truly gothic ambience, Immanuel’s Veins is the perfect gift for those ‘Twilight’ fans of your acquaintance.
