Mortal by Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee
Reviewed by Lori Twichell, Radiant Lit
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Religious
Publisher: FaithWords
Date: June 5, 2012
Rom Sebastian has grown a great deal in the past nine years since we last saw him in Mortal. Where he used to be a frightened young man who wasn’t completely sure of his destiny, now he’s well aware of what he needs to do and where he needs to be. He leads a group of warriors known as Mortals. They are people who have managed to awaken their previously dormant emotions due to the blood of the future Sovereign, Jonathan. Rom’s entire life is dedicated to the protection and security of Jonathan. It’s up to Rom to do everything possible to ensure that Jonathan takes his rightful place as leader upon his 18th birthday.
Just a few days away from the transfer of power, Rom’s nerves are strung taut as piano wire and they’re ready to explode. A new kind of corpse has been discovered and it’s far more alarming than anything that they have ever experienced. But even worse than this new type of enemy is the knowledge that Saric, a man overflowing with black emotions and evil intentions, is actually alive and creating these corpse creatures. Rom’s objectives haven’t changed with this knowledge but the path he must take to get there is now far different.
And then there’s Feyn. Kept in a coma for all of the past nine years, the plan was to install Jonathan as Sovereign and then wake her up to serve under him. It was a good plan but Saric wasn’t about to let that happen. Now Rom must not only figure out how to get Jonathan to power, but how to stop Saric and save Feyn all at the same time.
When I reviewed the first book in this series (Forbidden) I said that it felt like the build up to a roller coaster ride. We were strapped securely in to our seats (surely for our own safety – this was collaboration between two of the greatest modern masters of words woven into story after all), primed, pumped and filled with eager anticipation for the journey. Then the gears clanked together and the engine started pulling and we were off; fingers clutched tightly around the bar with our hearts racing against our ribcages. What was coming next? Forbidden took us through twists, turns and spirals that set our teeth on edge and shoved our adrenaline right to the edge. And then we climbed. And climbed. And climbed. Slowly edging toward the drop ahead that we knew would take the breath screaming right out of our lungs. Forbidden left us hanging right there on the edge.
Mortal picks up right back at that drop off and with little preamble, dumps us headfirst into the churning, roiling ride that is Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. Seamlessly plotted and scripted with precise detail, Mortal is designed to leave us breathless and gasping. It delivers with a shout and a whimper all wrapped up together in a frenzy of action and anticipation.
For a book about generations who have lost the ability to feel emotions, Mortal tugs on every emotion in our limited human spectrum. Fear. Desire. Love. Hatred. Longing. Faith. Trust. All of these can be found in Mortal. They’re wrapped with gut wrenching action and suspense, clever dialogue, and plot twists that will make you dizzier than your first stomach-exploding drop on your favorite roller coaster.
The best part of this book is that we know we’re only partway through the ride. The next book, Sovereign, is set to release not nearly soon enough. (Note to Ted and Tosca: I know you’re working hard on it. Your faithful fans appreciate it! Now stop reading this silly review and get back to writing? Please?) No matter how high or low Mortal took us, I doubt we’ve reached the highest and lowest yet. Dekker and Lee undoubtedly have more planned for us and I know that without question, they have much more planned for us. If this were a standalone release, it would be brilliant. As the center of a three part series? It’s the cream in the middle of our favorite brand named sandwich cookie. And I’m sitting here with my ice cold glass of milk – ready and waiting.
*PG-13 – this is definitely a book meant for older teens. Rating
**Review copy provided by the publisher. Thank you!
