Outlaw – Ted Dekker

Outlaw Ted Dekker
Outlaw by Ted Dekker
Also by this author: The Promise, The Drummer Boy, Sinner, Green, The Dream Traveler's Quest, Into the Book of Light, The Curse of Shadownman, The Garden and the Serpent, The Final Judgment, Millie Maven and the Bronze Medallion
Published by Center Street on October 2013
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Suspense
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five-stars

The story of how I, Julian Carter, and my precious two-year old son, Stephen, left Atlanta Georgia and found ourselves on a white sailboat, tossed about like a cork on a raging sea off of Australia's northern tip in 1963, is harrowing.

But it pales in comparison to what happened deep in the jungle where I was taken as a slave by a savage tribe unknown to the world. Some places dwell in darkness so deep that even God seems to stay away.

There, my mind was torn in two by the gods of the earth. There, one life ended so another could begin.

Some will say I was a fool for making the choices I made. But they would have done the same. They, too, would have embraced death if they knew what I knew, and saw through my eyes.

My name is Julian and this is my story. But more, it is the story of my son who was born to change the world.

A dream. That’s what sent Julie Carter to Indonesia. She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d find or where exactly she’d go, but on the basis of that dream she packed only the essentials for her and her two-year-old Stephen, and headed out for one of the few civilized areas of New Guinea. But the dream would soon become a nightmare.

A freak storm. That’s what wrecked the ship and left Julie Carter the sole survivor, captured by the Tulim people. Her mourning for Stephen is tempered only by her own need to survive. Thrown into an alien world where she is considered less than human, Julie must adapt to survive—learning the customs and seeking the favor of her captors. Her value to the Tulim rests solely in her ability to bear a son fathered by one of the warring princes.

A twist. Stephen is discovered alive and now everything Julie has accepted about her new life is thrown into a quandary. His survival gives her both hope and dread: hope because he is alive, dread because his life is bound to cause war and death.

Outlaw is the book I’ve been waiting on Dekker to write. It’s not that his previous books over the past couple years haven’t been good (they have), but that I wanted to see Ted write something that he hadn’t written before, with a unique setting and a compelling storyline and a powerful message. Outlaw accomplishes all of that. Readers will be talking about this one and discussing it weeks after they close the final page.

Ripped from the culture of Dekker’s childhood, Outlaw is a unique story set deep in the jungles of Indonesia, where the rules of modern culture do not apply. It’s the survival story of a woman facing impossible odds in that alien culture. But along the way, she finds that the “savages” aren’t really savage, just different, yet also discovers that the human quest for power runs strong through all cultures.

Dekker’s characters come to life in this story…from Julie, the main character, on down to Kirutu and Wilam, two of the Tulim princes vying for power. The storyline itself keeps the pages turning as, along with Julie, readers learn more about this life in the jungle. And there are enough twists to give readers guessing. But what I think people will be talking about the most is the Nameless One and the message that comes from his mouth. Sound enigmatic enough? Good.

five-stars

About Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than forty 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. Dekker’s novels have sold over 5 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.

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