Lunatic (edit title)

• Rated 3 stars

“5th book in the Lost Book series by Ted Dekker. This series is getting a little old. I'm ready for it to end. I know there is one more after this one....not sure if more are planned. I love the concept and the first 3 were great, but the story is getting stale.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Creepy so far. It's kinda hard, because I can only read this story in my library, my library has only had the last three in this series in, so I have read the book right before this one, and no others. So it is a little hard to get what is going on. But that's my fault.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Not quite as good as the first 4 but still very good.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Pretty ok book not really any twists ”

• Rated 5 stars

“this book was AMAZING!! I loved this book WAY more than the others, but i havn't read the last one yet.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Really good and your opinion on the characters change a lot in this book and in chaos.”

• Rated 4 stars

“A lot has changed in the five years since Johnis, Silvie, and Darsal left the forest. Thomas and the Circle are missing. The horde has taken over Middle Forest. There's no more ritual bathing, instead it's been replaced by drowning. The three are faced with the questions of where to go and what to do. Deciding it's better to split up, Johnis and Silvie leave Darsal in search of a lake and Thomas. Instead, they find Shaeda and a power beyond their imagination. Meanwhile, Darsal, tries to flee but finds herself captured and thrown into prison with three other `albinos'. What they teach her could very well save The Circle.

I have really enjoyed this young adult series. I had some doubts about it originally, but I've come to enjoy the plot and the characters. Johnis again takes a lead in this portion of The Lost Books series. However, instead of his quick thinking and strategy leading them, he's been consumed and lead by the mysterious Shaeda. A lot can be derived from this relationship and it's a very interesting one to read about. The interaction between these two characters, make for a nice mystery. How far will Johnis follow her? What are her intentions? Can he control her or does she fully control him? All these little nagging questions kept things moving and quite interesting.

**SPOILER for WHITE**
Darsal's part was a bit surprising this time. It'll be interesting to see how far the relationship between her and Marak develop. Since it takes place after White, I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy following a similar path with this relationship. I am hoping for a new angle in Elyon. It would be somewhat disappointing to see a repeat of White.
**END SPOILER**

Of all Dekker's co-written books, Lunatic and Elyon are by far my favorite. The writing flowed much better and the styles meshed well. It didn't seem like two separate authors shoved together. With few exceptions it seemed close to Dekker's style. Hill added her own touch, which complimented Dekker's writing rather than over powering it.

I did have a hard time getting into the story. Partly because I had forgotten some of the previous four books, and partly because there seemed to be some unnecessary details. For example, if I don't know what Roush are by now, I should probably back up and read the previous books. On the other hand, there were some things I really wanted explained more. For example, Eram. He was sorta explained, but not to where I understood his role in the story. Exactly how the Middle Forest fell was a little cloudy to me as well. Hopefully these things will be fleshed out in Elyon.

Lunatic has a very big cliff hanger ending, so make sure you have Elyon on hand before starting.”