Rife with intriguing speculation, Ted Dekker's The 49th Mystic pushes against the boxes that encompass much of modern Christianity.

The seemingly idyllic Eden, Utah, is an isolated religious community and the home to Rachelle, a girl born blind. Her father, David, has been seeking a cure through a combination of psychological and neurological means.

Rachelle's vivid dreams are stalked by a presence she calls Shadow Man, a menacing entity who threatens to blind her even if she regains her sight. When an operation that David hopes will restore Rachelle's vision is interrupted by Vlad Smith—Shadow Man embodied—Rachelle plunges into a coma and finds herself awake in the alien world of her dreams.

There, she discovers that she is the 49th Mystic, shouldered with a great destiny that could either harmonize or desolate both the dream world and Eden.

The interplay between reality and dreams, blindness and sight features prominently. Eden acts as a microcosm of the world at large, a stage for virtue and depravity. Inside Rachelle's dreams, these themes are conveyed in more allegorical terms. But even here, assumptions are challenged. The villainous Horde—those who have rejected the saving grace of Justin—counts a man named Jacob among its members, but when his path crosses with Rachelle's, his character is more complex.

Rachelle's quest for the Five Seals of Truth—a task she must complete in time to save both worlds—deepens her development as a Mystic, a person who sees the world outside of the strict dualities imposed by the majority. She must encounter and unite with these truths to discover her real self and how she, and the rest of the world, relates to God.

The 49th Mystic delves into the heart of Christianity, attempting to exorcise a few black-and-white demons that have periodically plagued its expression.

Rife with intriguing speculation, Ted Dekker's The 49th Mystic pushes against the boxes that encompass much of modern Christianity.

The seemingly idyllic Eden, Utah, is an isolated religious community and the home to Rachelle, a girl born blind. Her father, David, has been seeking a cure through a combination of psychological and neurological means.

Rachelle's vivid dreams are stalked by a presence she calls Shadow Man, a menacing entity who threatens to blind her even if she regains her sight. When an operation that David hopes will restore Rachelle's vision is interrupted by Vlad Smith—Shadow Man embodied—Rachelle plunges into a coma and finds herself awake in the alien world of her dreams.

There, she discovers that she is the 49th Mystic, shouldered with a great destiny that could either harmonize or desolate both the dream world and Eden.

The interplay between reality and dreams, blindness and sight features prominently. Eden acts as a microcosm of the world at large, a stage for virtue and depravity. Inside Rachelle's dreams, these themes are conveyed in more allegorical terms. But even here, assumptions are challenged. The villainous Horde—those who have rejected the saving grace of Justin—counts a man named Jacob among its members, but when his path crosses with Rachelle's, his character is more complex.

Rachelle's quest for the Five Seals of Truth—a task she must complete in time to save both worlds—deepens her development as a Mystic, a person who sees the world outside of the strict dualities imposed by the majority. She must encounter and unite with these truths to discover her real self and how she, and the rest of the world, relates to God.

The 49th Mystic delves into the heart of Christianity, attempting to exorcise a few black-and-white demons that have periodically plagued its expression.

Dekker (Water Walker) returns to the Circle universe in this enthralling first installment of a two-part series. Rachelle Matthews, a blind woman living in the utopian community of Eden, Utah, started having horrific nightmares of a Shadow Man at age six. Her nightmare comes to life when the Shadow Man, Vlad Smith, arrives at her home and promises her she will regain her eyesight, even offering his own sight for hers. During a risky procedure designed to restore her sight, which had already been planned before Vlad's appearance, Rachelle slips into a coma and wakes up in a different reality 2,000 years in the future. Each time she sleeps, she awakens in the other world, alternating between the present and the future. In the future world, she discovers that she is the 49th Mystic and that she must rediscover the five seals of truth in order to show people the way beyond fear and rescue both worlds (the contemporary world and the future world she imagines) from imminent darkness. Vlad declares the world of Eden will end in only six days. Rachelle's treacherous journey to find the five seals mirrors a Christian on a quest to discover who he or she is in God's eyes. Creatively entwined with teachings from scripture, Dekker's book will appeal to readers looking for a thrilling, faith-driven adventure. (May)