Book Review – A.D. 33 by Ted Dekker
- By Kelly
- October 17, 2015
- No Comments
Looks pretty intimidating doesn’t it? Above is a picture of Ted Dekker’s A.D. 33, and it is remarkable. We’ll get to that in a minute. Here are a few more details:
Author – Ted Dekker
Publisher – Center Street Publishing
About the book (from the publisher website): New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker delivers the gripping story of Maviah, a slave who becomes a queen in Arabia, A.D. 33.
They call her the Queen of the Outcasts. Maviah, a woman whose fate was sealed on her birth by this world-unwanted, illegitimate, female, a slave-subject to the whims of all. But then she met a man named Yeshua who opened her eyes. She found strength in his words, peace from the brutal word around her. Because of what he taught her, she has gathered her own traveling kingdom of outcasts deep in the desert, wielding an authority few have seen. But when her growing power threatens the rulers around her, they set out to crush all she loves, leaving her reeling as a slave once more. She must find Yeshua to save her people, but when she does, she will be horrified to discover that he faces his own death.
Enter a story full of intrigue, heart-wrenching defeat, uncompromising love and staggering victory-one that re-examines everything you thought you knew about the heart of Jesus’s stunning message and the power that follows for those who follow his easily forgotten way.
Ted Dekker –
Let’s get into it shall we?
My review: I had previously read A.D. 30 and was appropriately blown away by it, so when the opportunity came to re-engage in the world of Maviah, I lept at the chance.
Ted Dekker is a master of research and word, and he quickly pulled me back into the story of Maviah and life in the dessert as lived by the Beduoin people. I found myself enchanted by the descriptive details that made everything so completely vivid and then the characters. Maviah felt so close to my heart from A.D. 30 on. She has been through more in her young life than you could imagine several people handling, and an experience with Yeshua has indeed changed her life. She is strong, she is a leader, and she is making real change which makes her a real threat. In this time frame a woman being much of a threat at all is impossible to imagine, but she is powerful and smart and Maviah will need everything from her mind to her faith to get through the current circumstances she has been thrust into. It is truly an adventure story of faith that is absolutely gripping.
Maviah’s story is a story of grace, amazing events, strength, challenge, questions and survival. She struggles with the same questions many of us have had at one time or another in our lives. And I believe this stand in a life of faith or not. We all have those moments where we are looking at our reflection in the mirror and that moment of doubt can drop us or move us ahead. With unflinching honesty we face everything with Maviah. Let me tell you, I love that. In a time when so often everything falls into place for a character, it is refreshing seeing that trials can come along and that everything will not always fall into place, but that doesn’t change the love of an everlasting God. It is not only Mavaiah who captures this story but also Talya, Saba and many of the Bedu they work together with. You will probably find more than one favorite. And of course Yeshua who instills forgiveness and hope as only he can.
For me it truly was a story that brought to life more aspects of my faith. Ted Dekker is an incredible story teller who will weave a world right around you that will captivate and excite you. It can also be an emotional ride. It was for me. I felt a strength in my faith at the end and had to pass it along. My son, who is a fan of history has begun reading it and is devouring it which seriously pleases me.
I rate A.D. 33 a 4.5 star. It is a book that will entertain as it makes you think and helps you grow.
I received A.D. 33 from Center Street a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. to facilitate my review. The opinions are strictly my own.
