Reading order for: Books of History Chronicles

[Gregory]

Okay, I have been obsessing over the most satisfying chronological order to read all of the Books of History. With convoluted plots and time travel it's very hard to make an accurate map of what takes place when. Reading Dekker's personal thoughts on his website concerning reading order only made me scratch my head harder as he offered no answers, only more confusion.

Sufficed to say, my obsessiveness with a logical order has led me to create the list below. Please feel free to comment and provide suggestions.

Books of History Chronicles
01. Black
02. Red
03. White
04. Chosen
05. Infidel
06. Renegade
07. Chaos
08. Lunatic
09. Elyon
10. Showdown
11. Saint
12. Sinner
13. Green

Note: I did not include Skin and House because they only indirectly relate to the Books of History Chronicles.

[Tal]

I don't think that the Paradise novels should be read in chronological order. I think Saint should be read before Showdown.

[Theo]

Here is how I would tell someone to read them.

Books of History Chronicles
Showdown
Saint
Sinner

Black
Red
White
Green

Chosen
Infidel
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon

House
Skin
(They tie in loosely, Black made the bad guys in
these 2 books from the page that he stole. And Jonas
shows up in skin when the people see a young guy on
horse back.)

[Alice]

House
Skin (you dont know who created Red or White yet and it skin is in the lost books)

Black
Red
White

Showdown
Saint
Sinner

Chosen
Infidel
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon

Green (i think it is best to read this last since it ties everything together in the end until the blood books and Immauel Veins comes out)

[~*Trema*~]

I am so confused. I have read these(apparently not in order!!!)

Boneman's daughter's

Three

Saint

House

Should I start over?? What should I read next. I did not realize there was a series or an order to them other than the "Red, White, Black..."

[Tal]

The only ones that you have to read in order are 'Black, Red,white'. Showdown, Saint, and Sinner don't have to be read in that order but that is the chronological order of them. House and Skin are simply books that are somehow connected to the world Dekker created - 'The Circle'. Also I haven't read 'Chosen etc.' but I believe they have to be read in order and I think they take place within the 'Black, Red, White story.'

[Tal]

The only ones that you have to read in order are 'Black, Red,white'. Showdown, Saint, and Sinner don't have to be read in that order but that is the chronological order of them. House and Skin are simply books that are somehow connected to the world Dekker created - 'The Circle'. Also I haven't read 'Chosen etc.' but I believe they have to be read in order and I think they take place within the 'Black, Red, White story.'

[Heather]

Here is my sigguestion:

Black
Red
White
Chosen
Green

Infidel
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon

Showdown
Adam
Saint
Skin
Sinner

I ended up reading Green first, but I couldn't appreciate it until I finished Black, Red and White first. I chose to put Skin and Saint near one another because I think that Colt may be Johnis/Jhonny and that Englishman may be Red. Also, I think that the Browns could be Kalman and Agotha, so reading Adam and Skin before Saint makes things interesting. I'm going to try and get House in the near future. Hopefully my list doesn't have to many spoilers!

[Tal]

Ah it's been so long since I've read any Dekker, miss it. I haven't read anything of his since before the release of Green. Don't remember 'Adam' that well, is if a circle book?

[Heather]

Nope, Adam isn't a circle book. Adam is about a serial killer named Eve who kills young women with religious backgrounds. When a profiler goes after Eve, Eve goes after the profiler via his wife. The profiler subjects himself to near death experiences to remember who Eve is, but Eve isn't who he seems. My advance is to not read the book at night. Lol.

[Tal]

I have read 'Adam' I just thought you were saying that it was a Circle book. I thought your list was a suggestion of what order to read 'The Circle' books. If it's not then you've missed some seriously good Dekker books.

[Heather]

So far my list is for what I believe should be the overall ideal order, but people who are completly new should probably start with the Circle first and then come back and read them in my order. I only discovered Ted's books about two months ago, so I think I'm doing pretty well. I just got done with Imanuel's Veins and I'm working on the Slumber of Christianity. If you guys have ideas as to what I should look into next, let me know!

[April]

Heather wrote: "So far my list is for what I believe should be the overall ideal order, but people who are completly new should probably start with the Circle first and then come back and read them in my order. I ..."

I'm reading Slumber of Christianity now, and liking it...! Personally I would suggest you read Black, Red, and White...and really where you go from there is up to you...everyone has done a good job of listing orders that would work! Personally I'm on a voyage to read them all..so knowing what I know...they will all come together somehow in the end! I've read all that most have listed as far as 'The Circle' books...which really, are unbelievable. I can't imagine you wouldn't be a Dekker addict by the time you're done with Red! :)

[April]

Gregory wrote: "Okay, I have been obsessing over the most satisfying chronological order to read all of the Books of History. With convoluted plots and time travel it's very hard to make an accurate map of what ta..."

That is a great order! The only thing I might change (and I didn't read them in that order...I read them as they came out!)...would be to throw in
Immanuel's Veins before the Lost Books. I thought it added a bit of understanding...though I wouldn't consider it a 'Circle' book. :)

[Heather]

I've read all the Circle books...not sure what my favorite one was. Once I get done with Slumber, I'll work on House. I've started writing my own fan fic...I'm not saying that I'm some crazy good writer like Dekker, but I'm a Biblical Studies student, and I think that the content is very important for all Christians. I've written Matthew 4 into Thomas' reality and tried to get down to what was actually at stake. What if God would have sinned, like 61 percent of young people believe? At the very least, I've found that scripture that talks about his sinlessness, unchangeableness and death would no longer be accurate. At its core, the book will show that God isn't selfish (inspired by what Billy said in Showdown)and that we need to be biblically literate. I'll post it someday, but don't count on it getting done any time soon. Lol.

[Stacey]

Immanuel's Vein's definitely ties in with the circle and should be considered in this list!

[Stacey]

(and of course, The Blood Book, if you have it)

[Doyl]

I haven't read the Paradise novels yet, but of the ones I have read, I suggest:
1. Black
2. Chosen
3. Infidel
4. Renegade
5. White
6. Lunatic
7. Elyon
8. Green

I read all of the Circle (including Green) prior to reading the lost books. But this seems to be the most Chronological order of events. From what I have gathered the Paradise novels might fall between Black and Chosen.

[Rachel]

doyl....what about Red?

[Doyl]

Oops, I did leave Red out. I would place it between Chosen and Infidel.

[Doyl]

Scratch that. Infidel and Renegade then Chaos and then White, etc.

[Doyl]

Let me try again.
1. Black
2. Chosen
3. Infidel
4. Renegade
5. Chaos
6. Red
7. White
8. Lunatic
9. Elyon
10. Green

[Dustin]

I read the Circle series first (Black, Red, White, and Green,) and only recently the Paradise trilogy, in order.