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Blink of an Eye

by Ted Dekker (Goodreads Author)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 8,467 ratings · 534 reviews

The future changes in the blink of an eye . . . or does it?

Miriam is a Saudi princess promised to another, a pawn in a political struggle that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East.

Seth is a certified genius with a head full of numbers, a life full of baggage, and an attitude born on the waves of the Pacific.

Cultures collide when they find themselves thrown t...more

Hardcover, 386 pages

Published October 1st 2007 by Thomas Nelson (first published January 1st 2003)

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Mar 20, 2013 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Seth Borders, a genius student in the graduate program at Berkley, thinks he's seeing things. Not hallucinations, exactly. Definitely not "visions"- the term has too many religious connotations. More like- the future. The future is just math, after all- calculating possibilities. Seth has always been brilliant at math- though the future thing is starting to freak him out a little...
Blink.
Miriam is on the run. Her father is trying to force her into a political marriage to a man she knows to be...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 17, 2008 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: 14+

Recommended to Jessica by: Tiphanie

Shelves: christianfiction, fiction, favorites

I loved this book!!
An adventure, romance and a man and a woman's search for the Truth. It was incredibly well written, fast-paced, easy to read and easy to understand, plus a hilarious, frightening and edge-of-your-seat plot.
An atheist student (Seth Border) at a small college with an IQ of 196 (Einstein's was 160 something) who has discovered a strange ability he has to see multiple futures in the blink of an eye, runs into a Saudi Arabian Princess on the run from her family and her nation, who...more

8 likes · like · see review

Oct 26, 2008 Janet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amazing writing. It is obvious Ted is a Christian but he never preaches at you. He just lets the character cope with the situation in their lives and watches God deliver.

This particular book appealed to the linear side of my brain. His progression was so logical and made such sense. I loved how he blended the fact-based person with the faith-based person to bring about change in both of their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll keep it and read it again.

4 likes · like · see review

May 08, 2008 Jeanette Blackson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually read "Blink of an Eye" which is a revised edition of Blink. I had never read anything by Ted Dekker only watched a few of his movies. I am not one to read scary books as I get nightmares, but this one was fine in that area. I really enjoyed this book. I have recommended it to many people since reading it and they have all really liked it as well. It has a bit of romance, lots of adventure, and some suspense. I learned a great deal about the culture in Saudi Arabia that I had no idea w...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ted Dekker is one of my favourite authors and Blink was a book I read quite a while back - I'm not even sure exactly when. I just finished reading it today again, though, and have to admit that it's still just as good as I remember.

I found the characters really interesting and engaging. I'm afraid I know very little about Saudi Arabia, so I can't comment on accuracy with its portrayal. I will say that the brutality in the book was quite upsetting - particularly...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Jenni Noordhoek rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, contemporary, outread-aubrey, speculative-fiction

Not Dekker's best book. I really liked the potential futures idea and it was well-described.

I had some issues with the depth of characterization - it was hard to connect to Seth emotionally as his head was hard to get into.

Samir was sadly underused. I was rooting for him, not Seth, to get the girl... but his presence was limited and not entirely positive.

And I'd no clue how the sheik wanted Omar to 'win the love' of Miriam and yet... he knew that as soon as he gave her to him, there would be...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Margaret rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first read this book about five years ago, and then read the newer "Blink of an Eye" version last year.
I feel like genius-who-is-morally-right-but-legally-wrong is overused and often badly used, but this novel is amazing. When I think about the novel, I somehow feel that it has a long plotline filled with details, but while reading it, it certainly did not drag on. I was kept in suspense for most of it, and some of the twists and turns were really clever. The characters were developed in a way...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Lauren Owen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker grabs the reader into the story on the first page. Seth Border was a certified genius and he knew it. He was sure he discovered an equation that disproved the existence of God. He decided that the future was unchangeable, predestined, and out of human control. Then, one day Seth began to see glimpses of the future, allowing him to catch people before they tripped and know when a bird was about to hit the window. Yet, Seth had no idea where these short glimpses woul...more Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker grabs the reader into the story on the first page. Seth Border was a certified genius and he knew it. He was sure he discovered an equation that disproved the existence of God. He decided that the future was unchangeable, predestined, and out of human control. Then, one day Seth began to see glimpses of the future, allowing him to catch people before they tripped and know when a bird was about to hit the window. Yet, Seth had no idea where these short glimpses would take him.
In the middle of his speech to accept an award, Seth saw a shot of an Arabian woman in the women’s restroom, with a gun to her head. Seth ran from the stage, reaching the bathroom just in time to discover this beautiful Arabian woman calmly washing her hands. However, the seeming safety of this woman could not dissuade him. He grabbed her and pulled her into a stall, making her stand on the toilet seat beside him. With many protests, she stood on the seat questioning him. Who was he, and what gave him the right to run into the women’s restroom and drag her onto a toilet bowl? The Arabian assassin from Seth’s foresight entered the restroom and suddenly a world of futures was opened before Seth. He knew which of his actions would activate a certain future. He managed to safely escape to his car with this woman, whom he now knew was named Miriam. He knew the chase was not over from the futures he saw, which now allowed him to look ten minutes ahead.
Miriam was a fugitive princess, escaping an arranged marriage to a man she knew to be cruel and heartless. She was meant to be joined in marriage to help assassinate the king and shift the power of Saudi Arabia to her would be husband. So she ran. Yet, these men had assassins who followed her. In this cross-country chase, which now had the police involved, Miriam and Seth managed to enjoy the time they had together. Regardless, Seth had to sleep at some point. They both knew that in sleep, the futures would disappear, and the lack of foresight would render them helpless against their adversaries.
Ted Dekker did not disappoint in this exceptional, thrilling novel. He made the book entirely enjoyable: intriguing, riveting, and groundbreaking. His ideas were original, creating an effect of excitement. His writing style draws the reader into an incredible adventure none have ever experienced. This book has no major weaknesses; it included all of the elements needed for an exceedingly gripping fiction book.
This book could be suggested to anyone who enjoys novels that put them at the edge of their seat. If one prefers a book that can be read every once and a while, putting down between chapters, Blink of an Eye is not the right book for their style. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone.
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Aug 17, 2012 Francine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pretty enjoyable. I found it very interesting how it used the story to make you think about philosophical ideas in a different way. However, it annoyed me that the main character was a "genius", but his ideas and arguments were not so genius. They were intelligent enough to really make me think (at one point I had to set down the book and really just think), but I soon thought of a counter argument (which wasn't that complicated). Then for the rest of the book, he kept repeating his argument to...more

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May 31, 2012 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was a page turner from the beginning. It kept me up late. Most books take me two or three weeks to read, but I read this one in under a week.

The plot is riveting. The main character, Miriam, is destined for a life of brutality and loneliness. Her entire life has been planned for her from the moment of birth and she has absolutely no say in what befalls her. In fact, objections of any kind are a sure death sentence. Women in her culture are nothing more than objects whose sole purpose...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Nathan C. rated it 1 of 5 stars

I won't waste electrons by repeating the plot of the book--there's a sketch above--but I will give my uncensored opinion. This book is an indictment on Anglo bibliophiles. In other words, we're a bunch of tarnal fools, and Ted Dekker knows it.

Here's the method: Take an attention-getting subject like islamic extremism--never mind where you buy it, whether it's the genuine article, or whether you even know what it is. Take some cool surfing stuff from California. Add in some royalty to spice up t...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was my first Dekker novel. I found it thoroughly engrossing from the beginning. I enjoyed the whole insight into the Saudi world. Dekker doesn't demonize Islam as so many evangelical Christians; rather you feel as if you're inside the head of a Saudi princess and viewing Western culture from her point of view. This was during the first half, very fast-paced and suspenseful as the heroine, Miriam, finds herself on the run with an American genius/atheist who suddenly finds himself with clairv...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Steven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another good book by Ted Dekker. All though not his best book, but still the plot and characters make it a book that can stand on its own. The two main characters are certainly very different than each other, one a princess and the other a genius American college student. Both end up falling love, some thing you could see coming from the very beginning. I believe both characters, especially Seth, needed more depth. Seth's genius mind really did seem that noticeable through most of the book. The...more

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Aug 03, 2011 James Korsmo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've heard a lot of good things about Ted Dekker, and this is my first forray into his work. He writes fast-paced christian fantasy fiction much in the mold of Frank Paretti. In Blink, Dekker follows Seth Borders, a brilliant graduate student who develops a very strange power, the ability to see alternate futures. At first, he can only see a few seconds into the future, but the gift develops into allowing him to see hours into the future. He is able to see an almost infinite number of possible o...more I've heard a lot of good things about Ted Dekker, and this is my first forray into his work. He writes fast-paced christian fantasy fiction much in the mold of Frank Paretti. In Blink, Dekker follows Seth Borders, a brilliant graduate student who develops a very strange power, the ability to see alternate futures. At first, he can only see a few seconds into the future, but the gift develops into allowing him to see hours into the future. He is able to see an almost infinite number of possible outcomes for any situation, and thus is able to manipulate reality toward the outcomes he wants by doing the things in that particular future. Seth comes in contact with a Saudi woman named Miriam, who is on the run from an arranged marriage in Saudi Arabia. They meet by chance, and the book is the chronicle of their flight across the globe.

Intertwined with this plot is Seth's wrestling with the possibility of God's existence. He starts out intellectually open to the idea, but unwilling to actually believe that God really exists. His own ability to view alternate futures seems to debunk the idea of God's existence for him because it seems to mean that the future is open and this appears to be incompatible with an all-knowing God. But as the book goes on, Seth realizes that he can pray to the God of Jesus Christ and the possible futures that he sees change, pointing toward God's involvement in the world.

Miriam, meanwhile, is wrestling too, both with the cultural difference between Saudi Arabia and the United States and between Islam and the Christianity that Seth is exploring.

All of these plots come to a fast-paced conclusion as Seth rescues Miriam from her husband-to-be's palace and God delivers them from a seemingly inescapable standoff.

Dekker wrestles with some interesting questions in an imaginative way, and that makes the book work. The biggest weakness is in the characters, who seem rather flat. All told, the book wasn't bad, and I'm going to dip into Dekker's work again.(less)

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Jul 28, 2011 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ted Dekker- Blink of an Eye (Center Street 2011) 3.75 Stars

With an extremely high IQ, Seth Border thinks he has it made. He is on the fast track to any job that he could ever imagine, until one day a princess from Saudi Arabia stumbles into his path. Now he is seeing bits of the future and trying to keep her from those who wish her harm. Now he is wanted by many deadly groups and he must trust this new skill to keep them safe.

This book got off to a really slow start; I only kept on reading becau...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Brett rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First off, Ted Dekker is not qualified to write this novel. He is neither an expert in physics nor an expert in Saudi Arabia. It was almost insulting that he puts on the front of having deep insight into either. Second, the use of seeing the future as a plot device felt like a huge cop out. Dekker takes the supposedly smartest man in the world and instead of using his intellect, he uses magic to get out of the random sticky situations he finds himself in. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for...more

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Libtechgurugoddess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ted Dekker's "Blink" is a roller-coaster of a book; I had a hard time putting it down at night to get enough sleep for work the next day. You learn a lot about the treatment of women in the Saudi culture (abysmal) and the Muslim belief system. His main hero and heroine are eminently likable, and you cheer for them throughout the book. The latter is a brilliant, though somewhat naive academic, Seth Border, and the former is a Muslim princess from the royal house of Saudi Arabia, Miriam. Their wor...more

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Jul 22, 2010 Cori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

More than anything, I really loved the concept behind this book. It was about prayer and trust and questioning God’s omnipitence. Made me think quite a bit about the nature of God and how His view of the future might look and how that affects free will. The writing was very fast-paced, with a bunch of chase scenes broken up by scenes of people planning chases. Every now and again the writing was a little clunky, but it worked for the most part. The whole thing felt a little cliched and overdone,...more

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Sep 19, 2009 Irisheyz77 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked Blink of an Eye up on a whim on a recent trip to the library. I read the cover and it sounded like an interesting story. Boy meets girl, boy helps girl out run even suppressive Muslim type people who want to drag her back to her country.

What I got was this weird book with a supernatural twist that just didn't seem to jive with the story as a whole, came out of no where, had no explanation and just defied any sense of believability. Perhaps if I had known about this little twist when I p...more

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Sep 02, 2009 Sandra Strange rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-lds, young-adult

This one is blatantly Christian and horrendously far fetched, with a protagonist with an IQ no one has ever achieved and the gift of precognition that comes and goes, a precognition that not only sees what will happen, but what could happen in all the multiple variants of reality that might result. And he needs that gift: to rescue a Saudi princess from her evil father, evil adopted father, and evil suitor who hopes by marrying the princess to make an alliance to overthrow the Saudi king and tur...more

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Feb 09, 2011 Mindi Rosser rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mindi by: Parents

You think that you have Ted Dekker's style figured out...until you read this novel. How does he utilize such a variety of techniques to continually challenge his reader. Every detail is important. Pay attention to his twisting plotline.

Here is the summary of the book from the jacket cover for those of you Dekker fans or "wanna-be" fans:

"An intoxicating tale set amidst the shifting sands of the Middle East, Blink touches on geopolitical conflicts as ancient as the earth itself. The page-turning p...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Pygmy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: actionthriller, christian_fiction, interracial_love

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ETA: Oh man. The ending of this book turned this overall mediocre, yet still page-turning story into a true stinker. What I wrote earlier is still relevant for the first 3 quarters of the book, but by the end, the story takes a turn into the preposterous.

What went wrong?

I hate to do it, but it is the final, climactic scene where Seth, our resident "genius" turned savior-of-princesses, gives up on trying to see the future and puts faith in God to swoop in and save the day.

Quite literally a Deus-e...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Lisa H. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This looked so promising... then it turned out to be about an atheist's revelation of the reality of God, and not in a subtle, thought-provoking way, but ham-fisted and utterly partisan. (I looked up the publisher after I finished and learned that they put out predominantly religious material.)

Brilliant physics student, Seth, suddenly (shortly after developing a mathematical formula that is supposed to demonstrate that God cannot exist) begins having brief visions of the future, only a few secon...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Daniel J. Weber rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, non-indie, paperback

This was an okay book. It definitely has that Dekker feel, but didn't seem to itch my Dekker desire for suspense and on-the-edge-of-you-seat-action. Why is this? There are two things that I feel contributed largely to this failing.

The plot twist. Yes, there is a plot twist (if there wasn't I would maybe be even more disappointed), but most of the time Dekker tells a fairly regular tale with a few interesting mechanics and characters to draw you in before throwing a curve ball at you 2/3 of the w...more This was an okay book. It definitely has that Dekker feel, but didn't seem to itch my Dekker desire for suspense and on-the-edge-of-you-seat-action. Why is this? There are two things that I feel contributed largely to this failing.

The plot twist. Yes, there is a plot twist (if there wasn't I would maybe be even more disappointed), but most of the time Dekker tells a fairly regular tale with a few interesting mechanics and characters to draw you in before throwing a curve ball at you 2/3 of the way through that keeps you hooks for the entirety of the book and are sad to see it end. Yes, there are usually some subtle hints (or oddities) in the story that make the plot twist connected to the tale and not seemingly come out of nowhere, but the problem with Blink is that these hunts are not very subtle. I saw the plot twist coming from the first hint and was no surprised at all. Because of this I wasn't drawn into the final third of the book after the plot twist like I am in most Dekker books.

The second problem with this book is after the introduction of the "main" characters the story progresses (as it should). The problem with this is that as soon as the (view spoiler) is on, too many characters are introduced all at once to allow to story to flow nicely. Many of these characters were briefly introduced previously, but I got a feel that they were more side characters than anything else. This feeling continues even while the story is being told from their perspective because there is a lack of character development for these characters. This is not necessarily a bad thing if they are to remain as side characters, but if so, why tell certain portions of the story from their perspective? By the end this issue mostly resolves itself, but it makes the story feel a little bit choppy and disjointed as the reader is bounced between character POVs.

Other than this, the book was great. It had some good mechanics that kept things fresh as the reader seeks to learn more about them. It has that Dekker feel, and that works. If you enjoy Dekker, you will enjoy this book, but don't expect it to be in your top 10. Dekker has definitely done a lot better.(less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Clean, Christian Suspense

This book is great! So Miriam runs away to America after she is forced to watch her best friend being drowned by her husband. she goes to a collage that Seth so happens to go to, Seth has a extremely high IQ and had recently developed the ability to see short bursts into the future. Seth "Sees" someone attacking Miriam and rushes to help. they hop in his car and drive away, they have to avoid cops because Miriam DID run away and her father wants to marry her for political gain. cops don't know h...more

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Nov 26, 2008 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The novel opens with Miriam, a young Muslim girl living in Saudi Arabia. She is at her friend's wedding and we quickly learn about marriage in Saudi Arabia. The women have no choice in husbands, and the women are treated as property. Miriam's young friend is terrified.

The plot switches to America and Seth Border, a student at Berkely. Seth is a "super genius." He has an IQ of 196 and is being coveted by all the top corporations and US intelligence agencies. Seth also experiences twice in the sp...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Regina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is my second attempt to read Christian "fantasy" fiction this summer. I gave this book 2 stars (would have given it 2.5 stars if possible) because it was a quick read, had somewhat intriguing characters and for the most part, the story line kept me turning pages. At first, I was really into the story, but then the story bogs down as the author literally stops the action to discuss a brief and biased overview of Christianity and Islam. The book is full of stereotypes, lacks proper background...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Q rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is comedically bad. It's fine if you need to to write about Christianity and promote it with a story, but this book/story/concept and presentation is drivel. It took me longer than normal to get through a book this short b/c I had a hard time suffering through more than a few pages at a time before needing to put it down.

Suffice it to say I'll not bother reading any Ted Dekker books moving forward. I will admit that Dekker's writing style is decent, meaning sentence structure/vocab etc...more

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Feb 17, 2008 Kristi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 26, 2011 Annie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

Picked up in an airport because I'd run out of books and surprisingly good. The action is fast and interesting, the story is set up well, there aren't nearly enough women in a male dominated story but the characters that are here are interesting and well developed for a thriller. I think the thing I liked best, though was the premise. Seth is a good flawed hero who has to sort out the implications of his ability. Some people might not enjoy the quantum physics bits, but I liked the way he handle...more

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About Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker is known for novels that combine adrenaline-laced stories with unexpected plot twists, unforgettable characters, and incredible confrontations between good and evil. Ted lives in Austin with his wife LeeAnn and their four children.

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Books by Ted Dekker

White: The Great Pursuit (The Circle, #3)

Black: The Birth of Evil (The Circle, #1)

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Quotes from Blink

“You’re pretty sharp, Clive. Do you believe in God?”
Clive smiled. “I don’t know, should I?”
Actually, approaching the matter from a purely logical perspective, yes. All the evidence points to the existence of a creator. The single greatest body of evidence is the dismal failure of man’s desperate attempts to come up with a reasonable alternative, beginning with evolution. I’ve always looked at the universe and seen a creator as plainly as most people who look at the ocean see water.” — 58 people liked it

“I think a woman is born with the desire to hear she is beautiful.” — 55 people liked it

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