Mortal (The Books of Mortals, 2)

** FIRST PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FORBIDDEN **

Nine years ago Feyn sacrificed herself to ensure Jonathan could come to power and now his time to rule is quickly approaching. Within days he will turn eighteen and take his place as Sovereign of the world. However, Rom's carefully constructed and nurtured plans take an unexpected turn when Saric discovers Feyn's location. Instead of Jonathan giving Feyn life, Saric does. But is the life contained in Saric's blood true life? With Saric's blood flowing through her veins, her loyalty to her Maker is without question, which leaves the Mortals wondering how Jonathan can possibly come to power. In a book that requires serious suspension of disbelief and struggles with unimaginative, dull characters, Mortal continues to follow the path of Forbidden in being little more than a variation of the Circle series.

I feared Mortal was in trouble when it took me three tries to make it through the first ten pages. However, I'm fairly optimistic and I thought that possibly this book just started out slow. Unfortunately, the slow start doesn't end until 200+ pages and even then only has short bursts of engaging action. With the exception of approximately 75 pages, this book was a struggle to read. So much so that at one point I rewarded myself with an ice cream sandwich for simply finishing a chapter without taking a break. I'm sorry to say, but this book is essentially Red with a little White, watered down and very, very dull.

One of my biggest complaints with The Book of Mortals series continues to be its similarities with the Circle series. However, there are some differences between the two series, the most noticeable being the lack of any true object of worship by the characters in Mortal. Part of what makes the Circle books phenomenal is their consistent reminder of God, His love for us, and our desire to live life with Him. Unlike the Gathering in the Circle books which focuses on Elyon, the Gathering (yes, it's called The Gathering) in Mortal has no purpose other than to celebrate life. Perhaps that's the authors' point, that these characters are worshiping life and not the Creator of their life, but it just makes the whole event feel empty and meaningless. Granted the characters in Mortal have no true concept of God or exactly what Bliss is, but it makes parts of this book feel pointless. Again, maybe that's the point of this story, but it doesn't make for particularly engaging or meaningful reading material.

An even bigger issue with this series is the dull, flat, lifeless characters. While Mortal appears to make an attempt to fix some of the problems with characters, they're still solidly one dimensional. Rom is the worst; I struggled to make it through every chapter which featured him. Like all the characters, he has a singular focus and he never grows beyond that focus. He wants Jonathan to become Sovereign, so even though he wants to reach Feyn, ultimately his character is limited by his one objective. Same true for Roland, except his focus is his people. Jordin's focus is Jonathan. Saric's focus is power. I want more from these characters so that I will be surprised by their actions. Instead, the predictability of this book is increased by the simplicity of characters that lack depth.

If by some chance you haven't figured out who Jonathan represents by now, the rest of this paragraph is a spoiler for Forbidden and Mortal. I truly enjoy Jonathan's character. He's the only one that shows any sense of passion or depth. However, I'm honestly not sure if his character is that much better developed than the others or if I impose my own emotional attachment to him because he's the Jesus figure in this story. Jonathan's not that much different than the Jesus figure in the Circle series--having the same impulsive, charismatic enthusiasm about life and people that I see in my Savior. When Dekker sets his mind to depicting Jesus in a fun, creative, and loving manner, that breaks the stoic mold presented by the modern church, he succeeds. Jonathan is one of the few bright spots in this series, but then again, he's also based on the greatest personality in history.

The allegorical elements of Mortal do not completely work for me. This series pretty much focuses on life/spiritual life through Jesus' blood. However, there are elements that I think are supposed to be allegorical, that I simply don't get or I only partially understand. For example, I don't get the ceremony with the heart at the Gathering. I think it has a purpose, but the purpose eludes me. Also, while I feel that the two makers, Saric and Jonathan is a good portrayal of God who gives life and Satan who presents a false life, I didn't completely get (or perhaps agree with) some aspects of Saric's character. I kept thinking everything would eventually click into place and make sense, but unfortunately it never did.

I'll also admit that I simply don't care for the allegorical elements concerning Jonathan's blood. It seems like his blood or conversations, events, etc. about his blood, occupies way more page count than it should. Additionally, as the story wraps up, there are some parts dealing with his blood which left me shaking my head in disbelief. While these scenes probably should have been impacting and inspirational, I was way too concerned with the more practical questions of how this could happen and what would possess people to do this than to appreciate any symbolism.

I really struggled with several of the plans these characters come up with--they seriously lack any thought or consideration. More than once, I kept thinking, is that the best idea they can come up with? This book has several extremely, simplistic plans, totally lacking any thought, which leaves the reader needing to suspend disbelief in an effort to stay involved in the story. I refuse to believe Dekker and Lee couldn't have come up with more complex, interesting, believable solutions.

Though I've pretty much done little but complain about Mortal, it isn't all bad. There is a fantastic scene that takes place at the Authority of Passing that held my interest quite well. The scene is reminiscent of a Nazi concentration camp and adds an emotional depth and connection to the environment that I desperately need. It also serves as one of the few times in which the authors show a character's personality rather than tell about it. Another nice aspect is the allegorical element depicting the Jewish people's expectation of Jesus. There's a nice subtly to this storyline and I appreciated feeling the confusion of the Mortals rather than being told about it. Also, the events leading up to and including the climax are fairly interesting. They're very predictable, but at least I was able to stay engaged in the story for 50-75 pages.

While I didn't particularly enjoy Mortal, I will finish the series when Sovereign releases next year. I have complete confidence that both Dekker and Lee can wow me in the final book.

Review title provided courtesy of FaithWords

Firstly, you need to read Forbidden, the first in the series, otherwise you may struggle to understand all of it.

In my review of Forbidden I was looking for more in this second one particularly in terms of character development. I found Forbidden very plot driven and was looking for more development of the characters in this 2nd novel. Yes, there definitely is some development. Feyn and Saric but particularly Roland are well enhanced. I was disappointed Rom took a back seat in this one as he was the lead character in Book 1.

The Christ analogies continued and were particularly advanced. The power of His blood to save and resurrect us is powerful.

The were some great surprises, particularly at the end. And we are left hanging for Book 3 which is good with a number of different balls up in the air so to speak.

Some great action and some very thrilling scenes make it a very enjoyable read.

I waited with high anticipation for this book. However, it does not live up to the same storytelling quality found in other Dekker books. It is slow and painfully boring...

When Ted DeKker and Tosca Lee teamed up, people were pumped up! Being big fans of both authors, I was incredibly pumped up, even more than I was when DeKker and Peretti pulled it off with "House." With the promise of being fresh, new, and original, you might just say that they were honest, and that they pulled it off. You also might say that they DIDN'T SAY (ok, DeKker didn't bother to man up) that this was incredibly close to The Circle books, just written with different characters, settings, and then some. But they um, manage, to make the original, without being completely copy-cat-ish.

Meeting Rom was an incredible experience, and the vial of blood just sucks the reader right into the beginning of "Forbidden." And Rom has his followers now, and they are ready to take action against The Order. The Order wants nothing more than to crush every Mortal known to man, and Saric may have found the perfect way to propel his plan into action. Oh, let's not forget that Jonathan kid. Right? He's got a role in this too!

Dirty, rotten, stinky, and daring, action is taken, and a fight is ready to be picked. Backs are going to be stabbed, feelings will be hurt, and expect the word "Sovereign" to be thrown around more than 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Ok?

Despite some of my sarcasm, this was more worth it than "Forbidden" was, and it will actually be somewhat memorable. But if you've ever read the very best of Ted DeKker and Tosca Lee, you'll know immediately that this is far from the best they've ever written. It doesn't even come close. It almost feels like being invited for a meal at a friend's house, and all they serve is chicken wings and flat beer. That's not doing it for me. But I am interested in seeing what "Sovereign" has to offer, especially since they threw the word around more than a chewed up frisbee!

Mortal is the 2nd book in the Book of Mortals series by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee.

Nine years after the events of Forbidden, Rom has gone into hiding with the boy Jonathan. They, Triphon, and the Keeper, Book join up with a band of Nomads. Over the course of the nine years, Jonathan's blood matures to a point where he is able to instill life into those who would receive his blood, creating what they now call Mortals. Saric, who was presumed to be dead has now reappeared, claiming he is a Maker of life. His alchemists were somehow able to render into him the positive emotions of life instead of only the negative and dark ones he exhibited in Forbidden. He has a created an army of his "children" called Dark Bloods. Attempting to revive Feyn in order to challenge Jonathan's sovereignty, Saric enters the chambers of the Senate. Thus begins the battle for the rightful Sovereign and for the true Maker of life...

I was extremely excited for Mortal after reading Forbidden last year, but I finished the book slightly disappointed. First off, I felt the book had a much slower pace than Forbidden. The last 1/3rd of the book was actually a chore to get through for me. I didn't care much for any of the characters this time around except for one of the new ones, Jordin. Jonathan was also an interesting character this time around as well. And a lot of the characters from the first book such as Rom and Triphon are not seen as much in the novel although the book seemed to keep going back to Saric and Feyn. Feyn's character also takes a total 180 from the first book. I loved her character in Forbidden, but by the end of Mortal I pretty much disliked her. I also agree with one of the other reviewers here when they said that Mortal was almost exactly like the book Red from the Circle Series. Everyone can pretty much guess who Jonathan is suppose to represent, and by the end of the book, it's pretty much a rehash of Red. On a positive note, the book did have some scenes that were thrilling and where I kept turning pages.

All in all, I still liked the book, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as Forbidden. I'm still looking forward to the last book Sovereign in spring 2013. Hopefully, Dekker and Lee finish the series with a bang.

Mortal by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee is the second book in the "Books of Mortals" series. In the first book "Forbidden" Dekker and Lee outlined a future world dark with the knowledge that the entire population had been stripped of its humanity by an engineered virus that removed all emotions except fear. A chosen few were "awakened" by drinking an ancient blood. Thus started the battle between good and evil, dark and light, mortal and corpse. In the first book, Dekker and Lee started a series that promised to be compelling and deep. Something different than Dekker's Circle series, but equally profound. At the end of book one, I was hopeful for the future of the series, but not completely satisfied with what I'd read. The first book was solid, but not outstanding.
"Mortal" starts to fulfill the expectations of Dekker's fans. This second book is head and shoulders better than the first. Again, I liked the first book - but this one is better. The story grabs you from the beginning and draws you in deeper and deeper as the chapters pass. This book will have you reading late into the night and crying when you finish.....not because the end is sad, but because the next installment "Sovereign" isn't due out for another year.
Dekker and Lee have seamlessly melded their talents for this one and the result is a great read. In "Mortal" you get the story and imagination of Ted Dekker blended with the poetry and visuals that made Lee's "Demon - a Memoir" one of the best books to come out in years.
"Mortal" is without a doubt the best Co-authored book I've read in quite some time - maybe ever. Highly recommended!

Mortal is the don't miss sequel to Forbidden by Tosca Lee and Ted Dekker. Both of these authors have been favorites of mine since I read their first books a few years ago. Ted because of his different way of looking at things and Tosca because of the tough subjects she is willing to take on in her books.

I feel there really isn't anything else I can say about either one of them that hasn't already been said by me or someone else. In this series you do need to read Forbidden to understand what is going on in Mortal. (Don't worry it is worth the read.)

In a world ruled by fear, the Mortals have found the way to truly live again. The blood of the boy Jonathan has saved them all. They are able to experience all the emotions that go against everything the Order has declared for the cause of Chaos. But was it Chaos because of emotions or because of evil in the world?

Saric has been brought back by Alchemy and he uses his knowledge to bring the Dark Bloods to life. He now has an army to rule the world. He just needs to become Sovereign and he can't do that if Feyn and/or Jonathan is alive to claim the seat.

This is a good vs. evil book. But is everything as it seems? Who can be trusted? Who is willing to give all to follow Jonathan? Who is the true Sovereign of the world?

Fast paced, easy to read, Mortal is a wonderful continuation of the Immortal series.

Rom Sebastian, finder of future sovereign Jonathan, has been brought to Mortal life through his blood, as have other Byzantine residents and Nomads alike. They have banded together for nine years to await Jonathan's 18th birthday and ascendancy to the throne. But the evil Saric has other plans. He has awoken Feyn from her stasis and given her life borne of an alchemist's creation, making her a "Dark Blood" along with an army of Saric's making. War is brewing. Rom and his allies are outnumbered, yet committed to survival and the protection of Jonathan. Only time will tell the future.

Rarely do I enjoy a second book in a series more than the first, but this was one of those occasions. Mortal took Forbidden's well-developed characters and threw them into impossible situations, situations that could not have a good outcome. The reader feels all the emotions that the Mortals do. Those familiar with the Circle series will find several similarities, which is hardly a surprise knowing Ted Dekker, as well as parallels to the Bible. Love is a main theme, which it always is with Ted.

The Ted/Tosca is a dynamic duo that I hope is not finished after Sovereign is written. I'm in awe of their collaboration.

I echo the other reviewers who have said that in order to fully appreciate Mortal, readers must read Forbidden first. They are both must-reads, and I can't wait for Sovereign.

So, it's been a while since I read Forbidden. Usually I reread at the very least the most recent book in a series before I read one that just came out. I couldn't wait for the next part of the story, so I dove right in.

This novel did NOT disappoint, but I guess that's a silly thing to say since Ted Dekker rarely (if ever) disappoints. Tosca and Ted have woven us the next part of the story -- where Forbidden forms a border and fringe of the story, setting the stage for more, Mortal twists and turns us closer to the center of this plot. The only disappointing part is that it was a thrill ride that was over too quickly -- and the next part doesn't come out until Sovereign releases next Spring. *sadness* (At least we have Dekker's new sequel to The Priest's Graveyard, "The Sanctuary," to look forward to later this year!)

While a few things that eventually happen are easily guessed, the paths Lee and Dekker take to get there are magnificent and full of emotion, which is the whole point of becoming a Mortal, right? Emotion? :) I am perturbed about one key point at the end, the future of one specific character, but I won't spoil anything for you! Besides, Sovereign could provide a resolution to my issue, and then I would have complained for nothing!

All in all, don't read this book without reading Forbidden first, but you'd better order them together, because you'll need to go straight into Mortal!

Overall, great book. Makes me want to pick up Tosca's other books and re-read (yet again) all of Ted's works. Spring 2013 can't come soon enough... I can't wait for Sovereign!!!

Great series!