Question.

Why can't someone harness all of the comedic genius of "Modern Family" and "The Office" and make literature out of it? Has that been done already and I am just uninformed?

Ted Dekker vs. Frank Peretti

Welcome to the first of many!

I realize that the title "Obsessive-Composer" may have already been done in the past, although I haven't googled it to find out. I would like to continue thinking I was the first; unfortunately there are so many brilliant people in the world today, that originality is difficult to come by. Which is exactly why I am writing about other peoples creative works instead of my own.

I decided to compare the two, because they are considered the same genre (and pretty much the only ones I ever hear about of that genre in general) and because I couldn't help but constantly compare them while reading Ted Dekker's work. I am starting my blog with the book "Adam", by Ted Dekker, the reason being that it is what I am currently reading. I have read it once before, but not since I read Frank Peretti's books, which is partially why I decided to read it again to get a fresh perspective. I picked out the book "Adam", if I am being completely honest, because the cover jumped out to me and because the man's face looks like James Franco. I like James Franco, and even though it has absolutely nothing to do with him at all, I decided to read it!

Frank Peretti, however was because every one I knew wouldn't shut up about him. People went on and on about his book "Monster", so I got to work and started reading as many as I could get my hands on at the time. My conclusion? Disappointment. Actually, it was more like 'You have got to be joking'. I did read "Piercing the Darkness" a few years ago, and it was very good, I will give him that much. Or at least I thought so at the time. Aside from that and more recently I read "The Oath", "The Visitation", and aforementioned "Monster". I was thoroughly disappointed with all, except for "The Visitation" which I found interesting but still mediocre. I do believe that he has the ability to be a good writer, its just the religious undertones (if you can call them that) of his supposedly suspenseful stories were all too predictable, "The Oath" especially. I will say he caught me off guard when "Monster" was actually about a...monster. A pack or whatever you want to call it of Big Foot-like creatures that abduct one of the main characters. I continued reading despite my quickly formed opinion of dislike, because I thought maybe it would get better. I didn't feel like that was the case.

Now onto Ted! I have read "Thr3e" and I thought it was fantastic, but "Adam" is only my second Ted Dekker experience. The story begins in Faulkner County, Arkansas, with a description of Alex and Jessica Price, children of lower class migrant workers, and their abduction as children. Their story is written as installments in a book or magazine that shows up periodically, woven through out a supposedly "separate" story. Of course you know that the two sets of characters are one and the same in some aspects, but the information is spread apart enough to still keep you guessing.

The basic story line is this: Alex and Jessica's abductors, the primary character being Alice, are a cult of their own, taking parts of many other religions resulting in Eve's Holy Coven. As children and teenagers they are abused and used as a sort of sacrifice or atonement of Alice's sin. They later run away and attempt to rejoin the world and claim a sort of normalcy that they had never known before. The siblings eventually go their separate ways, and Alex becomes a serial killer known as Eve, killing sixteen women, one each lunar cycle by exposing his victims to an unknown strain of meningitis. His murders are orderly, identical, and virtually clueless. Everything about the series of murders has to do with religion, his victims being of christian beliefs for one thing. Daniel Clark, a FBI agent that specializes in criminal behavior is the lead agent on the case and is absolutely obsessed with the Eve case to the point that his life outside of the bureau and his marriage both crumble because of it. Daniel experiences a near death experience by the hand of Eve, or Alex Price, that changes everything about the case and what is at stake. Lori Ames, Daniel's new partner, resuscitates him after a whopping twenty-one minutes. There is a love triangle that happens all through out the story: Heather (Daniel's ex-wife) still loves Daniel, Lori has an obvious and even aggressive interest in Daniel from their first meeting and perhaps before, having read his works on the criminal mind. It is difficult to say if her interest is intrigue, love, lust, or all of the above, and Daniel is still in love with Heather but is infatuated with Lori. One of the problems I had with the story was the immediate emotional intimacy that connected Lori and Daniel. I think Ted was going for chemistry and underlying sexual tension but it is anything but underlying. The only part that justified that part of their relationship in my mind was the fact that Lori had saved his life, which creates a bond that bridges the fact that they don't actually know each other at all.

The rest of the story boils down to Heather being taken captive by Eve, and then Daniel, which brings the metaphor to light that all involved are not just workings against a psychopathic killer, but battling between their disbelief in God and the pull of Satan, with eternity hanging in the balance. Alex is actually possessed by a demon named Eve, that threatens the souls and lives of both Daniel, Lori, and Heather. The ending is all involved acknowledging and embracing that God is in fact real and the only Savior from the brink of hell they face. And a twist, Lori is actually Jessica, Alex's sister!

I did not like the fact that Daniel's only short coming is his denial in the supernatural. The author just goes on and on about how genius Daniel is and blah blah blah. It gets old. In order to find out more about the case, Lori helps Daniel access and partake of potentially lethal drugs in order to give him a near death experience. THREE TIMES. Right after he had died for twenty minutes and was brought back to life. I thought that was just ridiculous. It was like the constant cliche of the story, Lori and Daniel fighting about how dumb it is to kill him again and how he definitely won't live, and then they do it any way and he lives every time.

However, all in all I found it to be a great book, and I definitely recommend you read it for yourselves! The winner of the author stand off? Definitely Ted Dekker.

P.s. Has anyone read "House" that Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti authored together? I'd be interested in what that experience is like. Maybe that will be on here in the future...