A.D. 33

 A.D 33 by Ted Dekker tells the journey of a queen named Maviah.  She is known as the Queen of Outcasts or the Queen of the Desert. A neighboring kingdom as taken several children from her village including Maviah's son.  She embarks on a journey for find assistance in getting her son and the other children back, even if that means traveling to distant lands to meet with Yeshua.  She is horrified to discover that Yeshua is facing his own death.  She now must come to understand that this is God's as is the possibility of her own son's death.  Maviah finds herself struggling with her own desires and her teachings of the God word.

I have been looking at this book for a little while since it came out and wanted to read it since it's by one of my favorite authors.  I am slightly saddened to say that I did not like it as much as I have enjoyed his other novels.  I am not sure if i liked that Maviah was present for some key Biblical events.  I understand literary freedom and everything, but it still did not sit very well with me.  What i did like however was that the reader got a glimpse into Maviah's mind, we were a part of her thoughts and emotions. Part of Dekker's charm is that he is able to bring his readers right into the story with the characters.  He paints such a vivid picture that enables the reader to be able to visualize everything as if they were watching a movie.

I highly recommend this book, even if i wasn't a fan of it,  to anyone who enjoys thrillers, suspense, a little bit of sci-fy or fiction in general.  The beauty about Ted Dekker is he writes about Christianity without it feeling like he is throwing it into your face or anything.  He displays it through the character's faith and their struggle which are easily relatable.  My overall rating for this novel is a 4 out of 5 stars.

Search For Significance

It took me longer to read this book than normal for the fact that I kept getting mad at it and walking away.  Why did I get mad at it?  A lot of what it was talking about described me too perfectly and that was hard to face sometimes.  This books makes you come face to face with hard truths about yourself and find the acceptance needed to understand them.

Every one is looking for significance somewhere, but do we look for it in God or do we look elsewhere? That is the question this book addresses.  It use scripture to back up the things it says and has exercises to help you understand the teaching within the book.  At the end is even a little workbook to help you through the book and study it and the Bible.  I found it helpful to read a chapter or two a day and work on the workbook sections at the same time.

It was easy to follow and understand.  It was filled with over the top and excessively wordy chapters.  No matter where you are in your walk with God, this book is helpful in taking that first step in finding significance within Him rather than other places.

I  know I will keep coming back to this book over and over again and will keep learning something in it.  A friend of mine recommended this book to me and highly recommend it to others as well.  If you want to grow and come closer to understanding God's love for us then this is the book for you.   Even though it made me mad over and over again I give this a 5 out of 5 star rating.