4.7 Stars Out Of 5
4.7 out of 5
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Value:
4.5 out Of 5
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Meets Expectations:
4.5 out Of 5
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96%
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Displaying items 21-25 of 26
  1. Trinity Rose
    Ohio
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Life without feelings!
    July 28, 2011
    Trinity Rose
    Ohio
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This book Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee is one of the best books I've read of Ted's. It is another series that will be as good if not better than the Circle series. I'm so glad that there will be more books with these characters, because they become a part of your life, when you read this fantastic book.

    It would be hard to imagine a world without love, peace and joy, but in this world they only feel fear. The people in this book are called living corpses, because they don't feel anything other than fear. They just do the same things over and over without feeling just, because it needs doing. Then Rom is handed a vial of blood that promises life. Will he drink it and expose himself to new life, new feelings? How about his family and friends? Will it be worth it in the end? To find out all of the answers read Forbidden, you will be glad you did.

    There is lots of action and adventure; you won't be able to stop reading. If I read a book and can't wait for the next one I know it's a winning story, as this one is.

    You will also read about love, passion, joy, great heartache and that comes from a book that is about people with only the feeling of fear. So you will be missing something if you don't read it.

    I highly recommend this book Forbidden. I will be keeping my copy and love it. I got this as an ebook. The only thing I didn't like about the ebook is that a lot of the words were all together in one line. No space between the words. That has nothing to do with the book, just thought I would mention it. This book will receive a 5 star rating.

    I received my free copy from Center Street/HachetteBookGroup, for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
  2. onedesertrose
    St. Paul, MN
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Book of Mortals #1
    December 3, 2011
    onedesertrose
    St. Paul, MN
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    Warning: Graphic scenes

    Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee will take you on a fantasy ride like no other! I've read many of Ted Dekker's books, but none by Tosca Lee, so I'm not familiar with whose style is presented the most, or if the two mesh together so well one cannot tell.

    It's the story of a civilization where the living are walking dead— while undisclosed secrets held for years leave the people unaware of their loss. It started with The War of the Chaos, when Legion spread and stripped the genetic code of the limbic region of the brain of every thing but fear. It seems like a Utopia without the threat of war, hatred, lofty ambitions, greed, etc., but they must proclaim their loyalty to and live under fear of The Order.

    This alleged Utopian life will be challenged for a few individuals, starting with Rom Sebastian. A box is tossed to him one evil night for safe-keeping, containing a vial of blood wrapped with vellum that includes a cryptic poem and an indiscernible message. Fleeing the Citadel Guard, he shares his finding with current and former friends, putting their lives in danger. Once they consume the contents, they will have to abandon everything they once knew as they encounter real humanity and its sensations.

    However, once the message is decoded, a journey of delight, death, and danger throws multiple groups into conflict. Set in what appears to be a medieval era, the action is swift and sometimes brutal. The graphic scenes show the difference of The Order's view on murder and the reality of what takes place—the proverbial 'Do what I say, not what I do.' Your own senses are put on high alert as they encounter the pages of this book, and your own emotions are stretched during the difficult and delightful circumstances.

    Would a life with love that includes pain and loss be better than a dead life with fear? This question must be answered individually by each of the alive characters. The authors create circumstances that will tear them apart. What will they decide? Their decisions will be crucial as the authors reveal their stories. It's a question the authors tweak your own emotions with as well. Are you alive or just stagnating? Living in Love or fear?

    I do have a problem with the drinking of blood, as Scripture is adamant about not drinking blood. Knowing Ted and Tosca, it will most likely be brought around full circle.

    I found a double meaning to the story that I believe the authors are acutely aware of, and wondering if we catch on.

    You will find that this is not a light-reading book and that it doesn't end with Forbidden. But I can say I'm already hooked for the next book in the trilogy.

    Special thanks to Sarah Reck, Web Publicist | FaithWords & Center Street | Hachette Book Group, for sending me a review copy. No monetary compensation was exchanged.
  3. Michelle Sutton
    Arizona
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    Looks like this is the beginning of a great series
    November 20, 2011
    Michelle Sutton
    Arizona
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 4
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    Well... this was one interesting story. I've read Dekker by himself, then Dekker and Healy, and now Dekker and Tosca Lee (whose writing I adore!) I can see bits an pieces of the feminine perspective in this story. The imagery surrounding love was pretty profound. Better to have loved and truly live, then to merely exist. That was a big part of the story. It made me also think of the scripture where it says Jesus came to give us life, and not just life, but abundant life. That symbolism is clearly in the story. I loved that.

    While a bit violent in several parts (I'm a wuss when it comes to gore as I have a very visual mind,) the passion in this novel shines through and overtakes the darkness. Passion is part of life, and with it comes not only joy, but pain. Rom's extreme grief was very well done, as was his anger at "The Maker" for allowing him experience love so profoundly only to feel like his heart had been cut out from the intense loss of that object of his affection, Avra.

    I found the symbolism with Feyn quite profound, too. The slow dying of a person's heart back into death is symbolic of those who forget who saved them and thus allowed their hearts to grow cold. But the sacrificial lamb in this book was a powerful message, because she remembered that love... enough to give everything for it. So deep and heartfelt! I loved that about the story. I loved the characters' discovery of love for the first time. It was precious to them, as it should be to us.

    There was some similarity regarding betrayal and the reasons behind it (like with Judas in the Bible) that I also found quite thought-provoking. Great imagery there as well. All in all this was a great book. Some parts seemed futuristic, and some seemed like a shadow of the past. It also had a bit of a dystopian feel to it. I am looking forward to the next book when it releases in 2012.
  4. Betsy
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    4 Stars Out Of 5
    very good book, interesting concept
    November 11, 2011
    Betsy
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    Enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one!

    Have liked both authors as individual writers and think together they make a good team.
  5. Arkatox
    Illinois
    Age: Under 18
    Gender: male
    3 Stars Out Of 5
    Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee
    May 7, 2012
    Arkatox
    Illinois
    Age: Under 18
    Gender: male
    Quality: 3
    Value: 3
    Meets Expectations: 1
    [Book Description]

    Many years have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace... and fear. But a terrible secret has been closely guarded for centuries: Every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

    Fleeing pursuit, with only moments to live, a young man named Rom stumbles into possession of a vial of blood and a piece of cryptic writing. When consumed, the blood will bring him back to life. When decoded, the message will lead him on a perilous journey that will require him to abandon everything he has ever known and awaken humanity to the transforming power of true life and love.

    But the blood will also resurrect hatred, ambition, and greed.

    Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare to take the ride.

    [Book Description End]

    With one month from the release of the series' second installment, I finally finished Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee's highly-acclaimed Forbidden, which I first started reading in October 2011.

    The first in the Books of Mortals trilogy takes place in an alternate future in which fear is the only emotion genetically allowed. Although the setting and story are certainly good, the book failed to meet its hype. The book was slow, and even got to be quite boring in many places. It's a struggle to get through, making an unpleasant experience.

    The antagonist is a man named Saric. He was given a serum by alchemists that brings back some of his emotions, but only the horrible ones. Basically, he was turned into a beast in a world that knew only fear. He sickened me to the point that I truthfully say I have never hated anyone, real or fiction, more than I hated Saric. That is not how to write a good bad guy! A well-written bad guy is one who you can see reason behind; one you can sympathize with. Ted Dekker has a trend of writing antagonists who are mentally unstable and/or retarded, and no offense to him, but that is the most annoying kind of bad guy in any story. By the end of Forbidden I literally wanted to butcher Saric.

    There was a flaw in the story's concept. It's an awesome concept for a setting, but it's not possible to get rid of all emotions except fear. Among the characters who could only experience fear, I saw other emotions as well, such as confusion and desperation. Those could be considered attributes to fear, but that's irrelevant, because they're also emotions separate from fear. If someone in that universe suppresses their fear, they can still be confused, causing a major flaw in the idea of no emotions but fear. Other emotions are necessary in order to have only fear, and that in itself is contradictory.

    Forbidden was good, but there were a lot of things I had a problems with; all those listed above, in addition to all of the blood, gore, and sexuality. There's nothing necessarily wrong with having blood, gore, or sexuality in a novel, as long as they don't go overboard. I, for one, am someone very easily grossed out, and there was a lot of gore that I wasn't comfortable reading. The authors could have been just as realistic in their writing while just being less explicit. I know that, because they've done so in the past. As for the sexuality factor, the main evil character, due to his dark emotions, was quite a pervert, wanting to bed every woman he laid eyes upon. He very nearly raped one of the main characters at one point. Another reason to be irritated at Saric and his idiocy.

    Yes, yes, as everybody told me, the book improved massively by the end. The pace quickened, the story developed, and everything turned out really cool. But does a book getting good by the end classify it as a good novel? Unfortunately, not this one. If the entire first half of the book had been retold in half the length, it would have been twice as good. Considering the story got good by the end, I'll be eagerly awaiting the release of Mortal, the second in the series. Poor, poor Forbidden, however, is left with only three stars out of five. If not for the second half of the book, it would have been left with two.
Displaying items 21-25 of 26