Rise of the Mystics by Ted Dekker

I must admit, Ted Dekker has quite the imagination. The ingenious way he intertwines the truth of scripture to challenge the reader’s faith and imagination is remarkable. Here he uses seventeen-year-old Rachelle Matthews as the 49^th Mystic. She transports back and forth from Earth to Other Earth in her dreams while the devious Shadow Man seeks her demise. Similar to the way we study the Bible and only dream of how life will be when Christ returns, but know we are presently in the midst of fighting the battle between good and evil.

Dekker keeps the momentum going throughout the novel as evil versus good and the battle ensues. It’s an amazing parallel to what we experience throughout our lives. This novel is a great example of how we mentally battle with God’s very existence, truth and faith or lies and deceit.

Rebecca, being held captive in a dark dungeon by the Shadow Man, reminds me of how we can become imprisoned in our own minds by the lies of the enemy we know as Satan. Reading this fictional story can open the eyes of readers to a whole new world of realism. The battle’s the same, but the characters are different.

Rise of the Mystics takes you on a thriller ride and transports you into both worlds with Rebecca. I’m impressed with Ted Dekker’s ingenious imagination and the successful way he navigates the story.

I was given an advanced copy of this novel for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Ted Dekker is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. He was born in the jungles of Indonesia to missionary parents, and his upbringing as a stranger in a fascinating and sometimes frightening culture fueled his imagination. Dekker’s passion is simple–to explore truth through mind-bending stories that invite readers to see the world through a different lens. His fiction has been honored with numerous awards, including two Christy Awards, two Inspy Awards, an RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, and an ECPA Gold Medallion. In 2013, NPR readers nationwide put him in the Top 50 Thriller Authors of All Time. Dekker lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Lee Ann.