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Forbidden

(The Books of Mortals #1)

Ted Dekker (Goodreads Author)

3.94 · Rating details · 8,564 ratings · 844 reviews

A terrible truth has been revealed to one man: the entire human race has been drained of every emotion except fear. To bring life back to the world, Rom must embark on a journey that will see either his own death or the reawakening of humanity.

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Paperback, 376 pages

Published March 1st 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton (first published September 1st 2011)

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Sep 21, 2011 Isamlq rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4-5/5

I am restraining the urge to go all fangirly, given that is the first book of Dekker’s that I’ve read. But me saying ‘I liked this’ is quite the understatement. I don’t know what I was expecting when I first started it, but not this: Forbidden, with some (not all) of its well drawn characters. Or Forbidden, with its political intrigue. Or Forbidden with its world of fear.

The world. I should not compare this one to Delirium, but it’s what came to mind upon reading the first few pages. The d ...more

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Oct 01, 2011 Lancelot Schaubert rated it it was ok · review of another edition

(originally @ http://literating.wordpress.com/2011/...)

This was, by far, the most frustrating novel I’ve read. It comes out tomorrow, for those interested.

Don’t get me wrong, Dekker put effort into Forbidden. He’d have to with his “New York Times Bestselling Author” blurb on every book. The book had moments of rapture, these moments where I believed these characters existed out there. Chapters clipped along, tiny hybrids of Brown and Grisham, pulling me in. Overall, it’s probably worth your time ...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

First posted on my blog, Legacy of a Writer.

Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee make an awesome team! Wow! Forbidden, the first in what I am sure will be an amazing series, had such a unique (and really cool) story plot. A world where no feeling, except fear, exists. It may seem like a really bizarre and far-fetched concept to grasp, but—in true Ted Dekker style—by the end of this book you’ve come to believe in it as firmly as Rom and his friends do. Simply amazing!

Each and every character in this book was ...more

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Jul 13, 2017 Aaron rated it liked it · review of another edition

Listened to the audiobook and while the narrator did a good job with the voices and emotions, I think this one may be better suited to an actual reading. My own mind could fill in the anger, love and spite of the characters.
The overall dystopian premise behind the book was interesting. When it began to fall into the realm of mystical occurrences it started to lose me. I'd rather have the story fleshed out with science completely or fully into the realm of the mystical. And I feel this one could ...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Chris Bauer rated it it was ok · review of another edition

"Forbidden", the first in a series by Ted Dekker and Toscas Lee, is the story of a dystopian future where humanity exists without any emotion, save fear. An unlikely band must find a way to defeat the Order and restore mankind.

I'm not certain why but this book did not appeal to me for a variety of reasons. I thought the premise, basic challenges and background were very unique and original. It appeared that the authors provided great effort to making a coherent and compelling background. Several ...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Allison rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, adult, religious-inspirational

This book is basically a dystopian retelling of the story of Jesus. It's about 500 years in the future, and society has eradicated every emotion except for fear. And everything is going along peacefully, if boringly, until one day when a young man named Rom finds himself in possession of a vial of blood and a sheet of vellum with an odd code on it. When drunk, this blood will return to the drinker the full spectrum of human emotion, thus waking him from the dead life that is humanity's current l This book is basically a dystopian retelling of the story of Jesus. It's about 500 years in the future, and society has eradicated every emotion except for fear. And everything is going along peacefully, if boringly, until one day when a young man named Rom finds himself in possession of a vial of blood and a sheet of vellum with an odd code on it. When drunk, this blood will return to the drinker the full spectrum of human emotion, thus waking him from the dead life that is humanity's current lot. Thus Rom and his friends start on an adventure to save humanity.

I read this book as Christian literature for a class, so I was on the lookout for religious symbolism and themes. They're definitely not hard to miss in this story what with the blood that you drink and the theme of love and compassion (and the appearance of a wise and compassionate boy who was foretold as the savior of humanity). But really I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the authors' engagement with religious themes. So for example, the government is basically a theocracy, similar to what it would look like if the Vatican ruled the world. But the events of the book question this government, even though it's supposedly the Maker's will, and multiple characters struggle with what they should believe in.

So in the end I liked this book more than I thought I would, which is great. It got only three stars, though, because I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing. The characterization was pretty shallow, and the authors really relied on plot and shocking details to move the story forward. Also, I felt that the authors didn't take the living-dead thing far enough. The society before Rom and his friends start on their quest didn't feel dystopian enough. Later in the book, humanity is described as the living-dead, as corpses walking around, and you really don't get that feeling at all from the writing. I mean, the authors say that the characters don't feel anything, but the reader doesn't really feel that...if that makes any sense. ...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Tina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, 2011, christian, netgalley, fantasy, dystopia-post-apocalyptic

Full post at One More Page

My supply of Christian fiction has sort of run low ever since I started reading more YA books, so new books from my favorite Christian authors are always exciting and squee-worthy. One of the dream team-ups I had ever since last year when the news went out was Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, and I have waited with anticipation over this book, Forbidden . Imagine my excitement when I saw that the book was available in Netgalley.

In the year 2005, geneticists discovered that ...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Cheryl Olson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley

There are just certain things that apart, truly are great all by themselves, but if you were to combine these two things, you get an end result that is quite remarkable. For example- love peanut butter, love chocolate, together they are amazing. Then there’s Batman and Robin- both very cool crime-fighters in their own right, but put them together and you have the Dynamic Duo. This is of course what you get when you combine fast paced, adrenaline producing, NY times bestselling author Ted Dekker There are just certain things that apart, truly are great all by themselves, but if you were to combine these two things, you get an end result that is quite remarkable. For example- love peanut butter, love chocolate, together they are amazing. Then there’s Batman and Robin- both very cool crime-fighters in their own right, but put them together and you have the Dynamic Duo. This is of course what you get when you combine fast paced, adrenaline producing, NY times bestselling author Ted Dekker ( Batman- hah!) and the breathtakingly passionate and fearless writing of Tosca Lee and put them together. The term “Dynamic duo”, doesn’t really do them justice with their combined offering of “Forbidden”.

Forbidden gives us a futuristic dystopian society where geneticists or “alchemists” in the book have figured out a way to eliminate all emotions in the human race, with the exception of fear, deemed a necessary emotion for survival of the race. Imagine a society where your only emotion permitted you, is fear, sounds a little dreary, huh? This is how we find our main character “Rom” as the novel opens. But very quickly he finds himself in a situation that puts him in trouble with the authorities. He is chosen to carry something of extreme value by an underground group called “the keepers” which are being hunted down and eliminated to get the very thing that is now in Rom’s possession- and what is it? Why it’s the key to “life” of course, or at least life as it used to be and was created to be. Rom now finds himself discovering what it means to be truly alive and realizing that he has a responsibility to wake up the world around him to real life. That is rather a daunting challenge and you will meet the different characters along the way that help him in that challenge.

I honestly didn’t want to go into too much detail in this review as I really don’t want to rob the reader of the pleasure of discovering this amazing story as it unfolds before you. Yes, I would agree that Forbidden has the feel of the “Circle series” of Dekker fame, and the lovely prose of Tosca Lee is certainly apparent on the pages. I found it to be truly a fascinating read and loved the storyline and characters because it was passionate, fast- paced, and a story that completely draws you in. I will say that it’s not for the faint of heart, some of the scenes are quite graphic with regards to the violence. At one point I was thinking, “EW, why did they choose to do that?” But even with that said, I feel that with these authors, I really trust them, and think it was necessary to show the depth of the struggle. There is some definite heartbreak in this novel as well, but the allegories are rich for sure and a novel well worth reading. All I can say is bring on “Mortals”, the next offering in this series, I will be waiting with baited breath. (5 stars)

I graciously received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher Center Street through the Netgalley program in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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Sep 14, 2011 Linz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

FORBIDDEN (The Book of Morals, #1) is the collaboration of authors Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. It is no secret that I am a huge Dekker fan, so when presented with the opportunity to review this book, there was no hesitation on my part to accept. There was just something about the entire premise of this new series that just screamed EPIC.

FORBIDDEN is so reminiscent of Dekker's Circle series that I was immediately emotionally invested.It has Dekker's mastered thriller feel and slightly graphic conte FORBIDDEN (The Book of Morals, #1) is the collaboration of authors Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. It is no secret that I am a huge Dekker fan, so when presented with the opportunity to review this book, there was no hesitation on my part to accept. There was just something about the entire premise of this new series that just screamed EPIC.

FORBIDDEN is so reminiscent of Dekker's Circle series that I was immediately emotionally invested.It has Dekker's mastered thriller feel and slightly graphic content (violence), which I felt added to the story, along with his classic redemptive process for the characters. Unfortunately I haven't read anything by Lee, so I can't speak about her contribution to this book. I can say that this story was a seamless masterpiece. I loved this book.

Life gives us many choices. In this story, there are lovers, those filled with rage, those filled with fear. Every day we must choose how we will live, what we will allow ourselves to be consumed by. Something that was made clear in this story is that you cannot force a thing (idea, belief, etc) onto another person. The effects are not the same as it would be to a willing participant. It usually only leads to unhappiness, suffering, and confusion. Emotions are powerful things. They can make people love with abandon, hate with ferocity and makes us betray all we know. The characters of this tale experienced all of those things. It was beautiful at times, and terrifying at others. There were moments of extreme danger, and utterly heart wrenching circumstances from which I didn't know if a character would survive, and then moments of complete tenderness that made me choke up.

“Three thrillers. Two authors. One last chance for humanity. The Books of Mortals are three novels, each of which stand on their own, yet all seamlessly woven into one epic thriller. The journey begins September 2011 with FORBIDDEN. Mortal will be published in September 2012. Sovereign will be published in September 2013.” -from the ARC back cover

I couldn't have said it any better. This book is phenomenal. It weighed on my mind and heart for days after finishing. I am very much looking forward to the rest of this story. Will the cast of FORBIDDEN succeed in their fight to restore life to the world? That is one huge question that I am dying to have answered. ...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Beth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: abc-challenges, tbr-pile-challenges, suspense, 2014

I've had Forbidden in my TBR pile for about two years (I know, I'm about to reach book-hoarder status), and I never put it off for any particular reason. In fact, Tosca Lee is one of my favorite authors, and I'll recommend her to most everyone. I've only read one other Ted Dekker novel, and while I can see his widespread appeal, I wasn't amazed by it. It was a good, solid read.

To be honest, I'm a bit conflicted when it comes to this review. There were some parts I really loved, and I was moved.. I've had Forbidden in my TBR pile for about two years (I know, I'm about to reach book-hoarder status), and I never put it off for any particular reason. In fact, Tosca Lee is one of my favorite authors, and I'll recommend her to most everyone. I've only read one other Ted Dekker novel, and while I can see his widespread appeal, I wasn't amazed by it. It was a good, solid read.

To be honest, I'm a bit conflicted when it comes to this review. There were some parts I really loved, and I was moved...then, there were other parts that the writing felt a bit off. It was really obvious that two different styles of writing were coming together. Tosca Lee is very lyrical, almost poetic, in her writing style. And though I've only read one by Dekker, his writing seems to be more to the point and fast-paced.

I loved the premise of the story and the overarching idea behind it. The plot is fast-paced and held my attention. The stakes are definitely high, and you could feel that as the story played out.

At times the styles worked well together, but for me, there were times that they didn't. I don't mind a bit of darkness, a bit of ominousness and even violence, as long as it isn't gratuitous, and as long as it has a point in the plot. But some of the descriptions of death here were just unnecessary. They weren't even necessarily overly graphic, but they just felt pointless. Given the character, and the bloody nature of their death, I didn't need extra details about the body after death to make me more sad about it or understand the other characters' grief.

I'm not sure what it was that didn't always work for me, except that the phrase "trying too hard" keeps coming to mind. Sometimes the writing just felt a bit forced and the flow of the story felt a bit clunky.

I did like the book, and I don't like sounding harsh in my reviews. I think I was expecting to love it, but ultimately just felt a bit detached from the story. Like I said, the stakes were there, I just couldn't work up a lot of feeling about them. I tried though, I really did!

I would like to read the second and third books at some point, but didn't end this one feeling a desperate need to seek them out immediately. ...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Rachelle Sperling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved Dekker's early works, but his latest books haven't appealed to me...until now.

The world is populated by the living dead; they just don't know that they have died.

Stripped by a virus of all emotion except fear, humanity as we know it has ceased to exist. War and the pain of loss are unheard of on the earth. But so are love, hope and joy. But not all have forgotten what it means to be alive. A secret society of keepers guard a vial of blood that has the ability to temporarily re-awaken emo I loved Dekker's early works, but his latest books haven't appealed to me...until now.

The world is populated by the living dead; they just don't know that they have died.

Stripped by a virus of all emotion except fear, humanity as we know it has ceased to exist. War and the pain of loss are unheard of on the earth. But so are love, hope and joy. But not all have forgotten what it means to be alive. A secret society of keepers guard a vial of blood that has the ability to temporarily re-awaken emotion, while they wait for the prophesied one whose blood has the power to return life to the world.

Dekker and Lee write powerfully moving and fast paced fantasy narrative. The telling is filled with raw emotion and it does contain violence, but the contents are well in keeping with the story and the reality of a war against evil. As in Christianity itself, there is a centrality to the theme of blood within the narrative. (Parents might consider pre-reading to prepare to discuss these elements of the book with your teens or pre-teens).

Yes, as some reviewers have mentioned, there are details that don't exactly click together all neat and tidy, but I believe that the idea of the book is not to get you to analyze the storyline, but to stretch your imagination and provoke questions. The character's do take awhile to develop (or come to life - literally), but I'm OK with that. How impossible is it to try to make a character "dead," bereft of all emotion except fear, and at the same time get the reader to connect with them?

If you have read Dekker's non-fiction work, The Slumber of Christianity, you will see some parallels to his exposition on imagination, emotion, faith and the power of hope. I found the themes of Forbidden richer for having explored these concepts in his non-fiction work.

I think Lee and Dekker have given us an excellent story in Forbidden and I look forward to reading more in this series.

(I recommend you read the free teaser e-book, The Keeper, before you read Forbidden. It sets the stage for the series, opening the story in the days when world first died.) ...more

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Aug 21, 2011 A Book Vacation rated it it was ok · review of another edition

It pains me to say that this novel wasn’t my forte. This is my first Dekker novel, and while I’ve heard many glorious things about his writing, this particular story just didn’t reach out and grab me. Although the underlying concept of the novel is quite superb, I never personally connected with the characters, which is a must for me. I understood the character’s plights, and I disliked the bad guys and cheered on the good guys, but that was the extent of my connection with them. Now, I was quit ...more

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Oct 09, 2018 Anna Tan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: realmies

Liked the concept, hated the fact that I got to the end only to discover it's book 1.
And the library doesn't have book 2 or 3. LOL

So... I might just end this read here for now. ...more

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Aug 08, 2016 gabi rated it liked it · review of another edition

I did enjoy this book, don't get me wrong. But I had a few problems with it and I was in a major reading slump. But let's move on.

Humanity has been stripped of it's emotions, all except for one: fear. The world is at peace, but is it really peace when humans no longer have what makes them human? But it is all about to change. Rom is given vial of blood that, once consumed, has the power to give the person back all the original emotions people use to have. The message that came with the vial will I did enjoy this book, don't get me wrong. But I had a few problems with it and I was in a major reading slump. But let's move on.

Humanity has been stripped of it's emotions, all except for one: fear. The world is at peace, but is it really peace when humans no longer have what makes them human? But it is all about to change. Rom is given vial of blood that, once consumed, has the power to give the person back all the original emotions people use to have. The message that came with the vial will lead him and others on a quest to bring true life back to all of humanity. But can so few accomplish so much? Rom is suddenly thrust in a world he never knew of. One of love and hope, but also hatred and sadness.Read more...

I have to say that the characters felt a little flat to me. I didn't connect to them as well. I think Saric (one of the "bad guys") was the most interesting. Rom, is the average kind of young man in that world. He isn't poor, but he isn't rich. He only knows fear. It is interesting to see how he reacts to having other emotions. He is brave, risking himself before others. He is reckless sometimes, but smart. And he really worries about those he loves, at least, when he got the emotions to do that. Avra, is...small. She is that person that is usually timid and quiet, but love motivates her to do brave and dangerous things. Triphon is the soldier. He's energetic and bold. He ready to do anything, well, he thinks he is. Neah is a rule follower, she's scared more than anyone else. She is such a rule follower that she makes some very bad decisions. And it "kills" her. Feya is strong. She follows the truth with a dedication that is unreal. Her life is changed and she is probably braver than anyone else in this book.

So I definitely can't say that this plot was boring. It was very fast paced and exciting. But there were a few things in the plot that had me a bit frustrated. The beginning was a little cliche to me. Also, Rom made a few decisions at the beginning that got the story moving. It was the right decisions, but there was no reason or point to back up the decisions. It seemed quite random and accidental. To me, it made the character seem very foolish. After that, the story moved pretty smoothly. There were a few times that characters got out of dangerous situations too easily, but otherwise it was swell.

There was a lot of violence, and it was very bloody in some cases. Just a caution for younger people. Saric, spent time with consorts and treated them terribly. It was mentioned, but never described or shown.

In the end, I'll continue this series. I wasn't too into it, but I'll blame some of that on being in a reading slump. And for its faults, it still was a good book. I'd recommend this to older teens for some of the content, but it wasn't that bad at all.

You can check out this review on my blog too, at: https://aheartredeemed.wordpress.com/... Thanks! ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: christianfiction, forpleasure, forreview

Well... this was one interesting story. I've read Dekker by himself, then Dekker and Healy, and now Dekker and Tosca Lee (whose writing I adore!) I can see bits an pieces of the feminine perspective in this story. The imagery surrounding love was pretty profound. Better to have loved and truly live, then to merely exist. That was a big part of the story. It made me also think of the scripture where it says Jesus came to give us life, and not just life, but abundant life. That symbolism is clearl ...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Britni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Forbidden is the first book in a new trilogy by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. I've never read The Circle Series or anything by Ted Dekker for that matter, but after reading Forbidden I will finally pull The Circle Series off my shelf.

Let's start at the beginning. In order to create peace, 480 years ago humans were given a highly contagious drug created to alter human DNA to remove all emotions other than fear. Can you imagine a life without pain and sorrow? Without joy and love? That's the only life ...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Jill Williamson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Rom, an obedient member of society, becomes an instant outlaw when he comes to possess a vial of blood and ancient letter, given to him by an old man his father knew. In a society devoid of all emotion by fear, Rom is scared of being killed. He flees to his friend, Avra, but she is afraid as well. Rom replays the words of the old man over and over in his mind, and seeing no other way, drinks a portion of blood from the vial. And becomes human again, fully feeling all things. Avra takes some bloo ...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Timothy Ward rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Forbidden is a book about a dark future where the only emotion your genes can produce is fear. The world is ruled by a Sovereign, who obeys the rules set forth in Order, to live in harmony with the rest of mankind. Death is uncommon and war long forgotten, though vile practices still slither unnoticed in the shadows to make it all possible. Everyone is dead because there is no love - that is, until one man is given a vile of blood capable of restoring all of his emotions. Ted Dekker and Tosca Le ...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Adrienna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adrienna-reads, thriller, apocalyptic

Listening to the CD first and plan to get the book hopefully today from the library. I like to follow CD while reading; sometimes the audio works when multitasking but can lose sight without the words in your face.

It starts off pretty interesting and different style of Ted Dekker so far with a co-author could be the reason. Never read Tosca Lee but will consider to do so after this series. The narration is very intriguing and grasp me into the storyline about a new world, its order, and former R ...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Cher rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi-dystopian

1.5 stars. Sigh, such a fascinating premise, but such a dreadful writing style. The problem with this book is that it is adult fiction, but if you took out the few violent scenes, it is written as a middle grade book. Short sentences, stilted cheesy conversations, over-usage of the same words, overly dramatic behavior, and moral lessons being repeated over and over until they are chiseled into your head. Worst of all, the mother of all instaloves is in this book. To be fair, it is due to a chemi ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Aaron rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own, ebooks, nook

I can usually get some enjoyment out of just about any book, but I found this one really hard to get into. The premise of the book was really promising, and I even read the prequel first and enjoyed it. But for whatever reason I just found the characters boring and all of their actions so improbable and ridiculous. The way they acted never seemed to match the way the story line and the world was built (they're supposed to consumed by fear and always follow the Order, but they never seem to have ...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Bridget rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This one took me by surprise. Interesting take on a future world where humans are genetically manipulated so that the only emotion they have left is fear. This fear is used to keep them pacifistic & docile. The current humans are unaware of this manipulation. In comes our hero Rom who discovers that there is a potential cure and a little boy who can help the human race recover their other emotions. Good read & I'm looking forward to the sequel. ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 Jeni rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-copies, reread, because-of-the-author, library-reads, 2019

I'd forgotten how utterly amazing this series is. The setting, the plot....the setting. The characters aren't that influential in my enjoyment of the book, so that's why they didn't get a mention.

But I said setting twice, did you see that? That's because it's BEAUTIFUL! Dekker and Lee created a world that is both medieval and modern. Medieval in that we have castles,~~leaders~~ rulers, ~~guards~~ knights, and heroes and villains dashing about on horseback; modern in that they have cars, televisions, cam I'd forgotten how utterly amazing this series is. The setting, the plot....the setting. The characters aren't that influential in my enjoyment of the book, so that's why they didn't get a mention.

But I said setting twice, did you see that? That's because it's BEAUTIFUL! Dekker and Lee created a world that is both medieval and modern. Medieval in that we have castles,~~leaders~~ rulers, ~~guards~~ knights, and heroes and villains dashing about on horseback; modern in that they have cars, televisions, cameras, computers, and subway trains. Granted, television is for is for practical and news sharing purposes only, given that the entire world's population no longer feels grief, joy, sadness, hope, anger, or anything....except fear. And that doesn't lead to a burgeoning entertainment industry. And it's not like it's allowed anyway, Order forbids it.

In fact, in this world, Order is law, submit to Order and you might obtain Bliss in the afterlife. Step outside of Order, and not only will you have to deal with the fear crawling up your spine (the only emotion humans are capable of), but you'll have to reconcile with yourself that you can no longer obtain Bliss. Hades awaits you. And that only inspires more fear. You get the idea, right? It's either just an emotionless existence, or cold fear. Nothing else.

But when one man drinks an ancient vial of blood said to bring humanity back the emotions that were so long ago stripped away, he sees the truth. That those living around him are not living in "Order" and destined for Bliss, no, they are dead. And he is...alive? That's what these new emotions raging within him seem to scream at him. Love like he's never known, hope for a brighter future promised to him by some man in an alley way, fear, fear unlike he's ever known too, though he's known fear all his life. But when fear is spurred on by love for another human being, it's another beast entirely. Because now he doesn't just fear for his own sake, he now fears for those he loves as well.

But there's another who feels like he and the others who drank the blood do. And he's destined to save the world from their death, to bring them back into life. If they can find him and keep him alive.

While certainly not the Gospel message, there's strong Christian parallels in this story. I mean "a boy whose birth is foretold and is destined to save the world with his blood"? It sounds familiar. I enjoy this aspect, but it's not accurate enough for me to pick up the books for this reason. I read for the sake of the story and the STUNNING imagery these books invoke, and I enjoy the fact that it has Christian parallels.

There were, however, moments when I was wrenched from the story because someone said something that just did. not. fit. The dialect sometimes felt a bit stilted, or not in tune with the rest of the story, sometimes it was just one word that didn't quite fit. While a bit jarring, it certainly doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I can't distinguish how much influence Tosca Lee had in the writing, but I felt like everything flowed pretty smoothly.

These books also have a tad (pinches fingers together...um...widens the gap) bit of violence and gore O_O
It might be a bit much for some (at one point, a character chops off another characters hands during a sword fight). And that's not even the worst of it. Just a little heads up (ahem, and at one point, literally. Sorry, I couldn't resist). Comes with the medieval part of the story I guess.

Anyway, fantastic book and I'm on to the second one!!
...more

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Jul 25, 2017 Kimberly rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reading-list, book-clubs, book-club-2017, audiobook

Book Club, July 2017
Listened on audiobook via Hoopla

This was one of those books that captured my attention with a cool premise, but then disappointed me in the execution of the story. I understand what the author was trying to do considering the premise. Humanity has lost the ability to feel any emotion besides fear. Obviously the story will require emotive language. However, sensationalism doesn't make up for weak writing. The story was rife with clichés, heavy-handed symbolism, mixed metaphors ...more

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May 03, 2017 Joan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had not read anything by Ted Dekker and very wary of trying new authors. However, I am new fan of the co-author, Tosca Lee, so I decided to give “Forbidden,” the first book in The Book of Mortals series a try. I am very pleasantly surprised to find that Dekker is a very good at weaving a compelling, albeit gut-wrenching story. It seems that fiction lends more towards savaging kind, compassionate, noble characters. The brutal death of innocents appears to be the driving plot device in a lot of ...more

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Oct 16, 2019 Tori rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really expected more from this, but it just didn’t draw me in at all. I finished out of my duty to finish books I start. I love other works by both authors, so I had hoped a project they worked on together would be incredible.

The premise was interesting enough, but the characters felt flat and despite colorful depictions of emotion, seemed to have no distinct personalities. Many of the characters felt disposable and the ones that died didn’t leave a significant impact on me like most characte ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 Rachel (Book Boop) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Reminded me of Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy (fantastic read!). Love how Ted draws parallels to the gospels and uses his epics to point to Christ! ...more

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Mar 21, 2018 Ashley marked it as dnf · review of another edition

DNF @ 30 pages. Ain't my cup of tea. It's not bad, but I was not interested AT ALL.
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Feb 26, 2019 Paul rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I found it started off with me wondering where it was going, intrigued, then slowing down in the middle and near the end it peaked my interest again.

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Sep 11, 2018 Donald Hahn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is book 1. Mortals I read out of order which i hate to do. Couldn't put it down. Now on to book #3. ...more

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Forbidden, Book 1 of the Books of Mortals Series

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Genres

Fantasy

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Christian Fiction

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Fiction

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Christian

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Science Fiction > Dystopia

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Science Fiction

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Thriller

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Audiobook

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Apocalyptic > Post Apocalyptic

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Mystery

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About Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker

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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.

Other books in the series

The Books of Mortals (3 books)

Books by Ted Dekker

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

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

Green: The Beginning and the End (The Circle, #0)

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The best-selling thriller writer borrows from the darkest recesses of his imagination in The Priest's Graveyard, a new novel about a man and a...

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“It's the sorrow you feel that allows you to crave love. Without the suffering, there would be no true pleasure. Without tears, no joy. Without deficiency, no longing. This is the secret of the human heart, Rom.” — 44 likes

“Wage war on death. Live for love.” — 30 likes

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Preview — Forbidden by Ted Dekker

Forbidden

(The Books of Mortals #1)

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