Episode 1184: Allegorical Fantasy Isn't Dead

Finished reading Ted Dekker's Green today, which functions as both the end and the beginning of the Circle series, themselves part of the larger The Books of History Chronicles. I'd read the original trilogy a couple of years ago and loved it, and although I agree with some critics who say this book is comparatively weaker, I don't think it detracts from the overall audacity of Dekker's allegorical project. Of course, it's only possible to divine the allegory if one possesses a certain familiarity with the Bible, particularly the New Testament. Not that the references are necessarily all obvious. My favourite was actually a reference in Green to 1 Corinthians 13:12, perhaps more famously known via the title of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly. As an allegorical fantasy, the Circle series is more The Chronicles Of Narnia than The Lord Of The Rings, with a healthy dose of contemporary thriller infused. It's definitely readable, although the religious overtones will definitely rankle for the more militantly atheistic. The full series consists of 17 interlinked books, a sprawling achievement, and I've only read five so far. Could try to get through the rest by the end of the holidays, but I should really get on with stuff I have (as opposed to want) to read, right?