Forbidden (The Books of Mortals) Mass Market Paperback – October 30, 2012

"In the year 2005, geneticists discovered the human gene that controlled both innate and learned forms of fear. It was called Stathmin, or Oncoprotein 18. Within 15 years, genetic influencers for all primary emotions were similarly identified.Nearly a decade later, in the wake of catastrophic war that destroyed much of civilization, humanity vowed to forsake all that had conspired to destroy it. Out of the ashes rose a new world in which both the advanced technologies and the passionate emotions that led to its ruin were eliminated. A world without hatred, without malice, without sorrow, without anger.The only emotion genetically allowed to survive was fear. For 480 years, perfect peace reigned.Until now."With those words, Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee open "Forbidden", the first novel in their new "The Book of Mortals" series. Whether by design, or by happenstance, they also start a book that makes one of the best and most accessible expositions on the dangers of world government I've read in a very long time."Forbidden" is primarily the story of Rom Sebastian, a twenty-four year old resident of the city of Byzantium. An artisan (if you can call anyone that in a world with no emotion), Rom is stumbling his way through a mediocre life like everyone else. That life is interrupted when he is accosted by a crazed man on the street. This man claims to have known Rom's late father, and further claims that he was murdered by the government - the same government now chasing him.The man tells Rom his father was part of an organization called the Keepers - custodians of an ancient and forbidden knowledge. He tells Rom he must now carry on his father's legacy. As the authorities close in, he gives Rom a parcel and exhorts him to discover the secrets it contains, and the secrets his father died to protect. As Rom turns to flee, the Citadel Guard arrives and, to his shock and horror, slit the old man's throat in the street.With that, Rom is set on a path of both enlightenment and exceptional peril. The parcel contains a vial of blood that, when ingested, restores the emotions long ago excised from the human psyche. Love, hate, envy, jealously, joy - the blood opens a door to all of them. As Rom struggles to comprehend the meaning of the old man's words, he and a small group of his friends taste the blood and its illicit secret. With eyes and hearts newly opened, they begin to unravel the web of half-truths and deceit that have held society together for the last 480+ years."Forbidden" is both a complex and a subtle story. Fiction is an effective mechanism to deliver and digest complex ideas (you've read " Atlas Shrugged " and " 1984 ", right?) Like the old saying goes - a little sugar helps the medicine go down. Here, a superbly crafted post-apocalyptic novel helps couch a more cogent and timely warning on the dangers of globalism. Through the eyes of Rom we are given a glimpse of what the world would be like should globalism firmly take root. A world that, sadly, is not as incompatible with much of today's political and societal rhetoric as one would hope:"Rom had heard the city was a place of light at one time, of sun by day and city lamps by night, like sparkling gems strewn against a backdrop of velvet. Televisions and computers connected everyone. Planes crisscrossed the sky.Citizens owned weapons.Now personal electricity was rationed. Televisions existed in public spaces and for state use only. Many had phones but computers were restricted to state use. Planes, reserved for royal business, were a rare sight in Byzantium's overcast sky. And the only firearms in the world existed in museums."Sounds crazy doesn't it? Sounds like something out of a science fiction book. Sounds impossible and improbable - but it's not. Just spend a few minutes online and you'll be surprised at what you find in the headlines. At last year's climate summit in Cancun, one paper that was presented called for a limit on the personal use of electricity as a means to combat the dubious "global warming" crisis. During this summer's riots in the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron proposed that the government have the power to shut down access to websites and social media during times of societal unrest (a proposal that has since, thankfully, been scrapped). The suppression or outright ban of access to information through the Internet is a favorite tactic of both outright dictatorships as well as merely "oppressive" governments.The EU has put a plan in to place to eliminate cars in all major cities by the year 2050. The instances of "global warming" propagandists who preach reducing your carbon footprint while they themselves enjoy the conveniences of travel on private jets, are too numerous to catalog. The only stories more numerous than environmental hypocrisy are those cataloging Progressives' call for the elimination of gun ownership as a basic human right.Science fiction perhaps, but not an impossible journey to get from today to the world of "Forbidden"; a world with a severely reduced number of inhabitants (another tenet the globalists like to preach), oppressive government control, and a population ruled by fear. A world where the global elite saw their opportunity when the fear gene was discovered and then didn't let the crisis of world conflict "go to waste". A world where the elite preyed on people's fears, enticing them to give up their liberties - then made overcoming those fears a physical impossibility.This is not, however, a world without hope. As Rom, his friends, and a few fortuitous allies work to overcome this oppression of the mind and the soul, you find more than a few layers of allegory spread across the pages. In particular, there is a strong religious subtext underlying much of the book. The public, devoid of emotion, is described as being dead. The only way to wake them, to have them born again into a world of emotion, is by receiving the blood in the vial. This paradigm of resurrection and salvation through blood is a core tenet of the Christian faith. It's no secret that Christianity and tyranny do not mix well (there's a reason Christians are persecuted throughout the world, and religion is the target of most dictatorial regimes). The promise of salvation and the hope of forgiveness have been the relentless wind and rain that's worn down more than one mountain of totalitarianism over the centuries."Forbidden" is an excellent book, and one you should read for two reasons. First - read it to be entertained. It's a well-written story with a rich world and characters ripe for continued development. Dekker and Lee have created a captivating narrative that will appeal to thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy readers alike. This is the first in a planned series of books, so there is a requisite amount of set-up and explanation. It's handled rather well, with a quick pace and a deft balance between action and exposition.Second - read the book to be educated. It's a compelling meditation on the dangers of centralized world government. It explores the idea that - while human feelings and passions are messy, and people have a capacity for both good and evil - the alternative to that chaotic swirl of emotions is an antiseptic and bleak existence. This story will force you to consider what it really means to sacrifice freedom for security - even if that freedom is just the freedom to feel. This book that made me think - long and hard. I hope it does the same for you.*A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for purposes of this review.

"Forbidden" is a novel set in the future, when there is only the Order and One Sovereign that rules from the city of Byzantium. Five hundred years ago, the world faced the apocalypse--now known as Chaos--and barely survived. As a result, weapons of destruction are eradicated (except for the knives carried by The Citadel Guard, which they use quite effectively) and the world lives in peace--sort of.Without it's knowledge, humanity has been stripped of all emotion, except one, by the introduction of a secret virus--Legion. The remaining emotion is fear and fear is how the populace is controlled and a questionable peace reigns. But there is a small remnant of men that exists, who have guarded the secret for restoring to humanity the full range of emotions. The group, known as The Keepers, have guarded this secret for hundreds of years. But now their secret has been discovered and darker powers are determined to obliterate this threat to their own agenda of power.Saric, son of the current Sovereign and brother to the next Sovereign, is determined to bring about a new Order of his own making with the help of the alchemists and their own version of life-changing viruses. Through the work of the alchemists, Saric has experienced the awakening of the long-dormant dark emotions of lust, anger, and envy-to name a few.Rom, an artist by trade, is pulled into this secret order by the death of a Keeper that knew his father--also a Keeper--a history Rom knows nothing about. He's given a secret vial of blood and a scroll of vellum that he can't interpret seconds before the Citadel Guard kills the previous Keeper.The two diametrically opposed views of how life should be are about to clash and set the last 500 years civilization on a new course."Forbidden" is a fast-past, plot-driven novel--maybe a little too fast paced. For a novel with such high stakes, there isn't a lot of conflict or obstacles to overcome. The conflict is there, the obstacles are there--but both are fairly easily resolved or overcome with a lot of violence, in a world where violence supposedly no longer exists--a clue that Legion's effects may be failing?The other issue I'm having a bit of difficulty getting around is why the characters involved choose to go against fear--the only emotion they've ever known. Because the DNA altered by the virus Legion is beginning to revert to what it once was--meaning the virus's effects aren't permanent--the farther the generation is from the introduction to the virus, the less effect it has? I don't know--based on some of the characters actions, it's a possibility. It's also intriguing to me to know that a whole group of people, the alchemists, seem to be above the virus's influence altogether--they don't seem to be ruled by the fear that grips the rest of humanity. Why not? How have they escaped the highly contagious nature of Legion? There is a partial answer to my first question mid-way through the book and maybe a clue as to why these few people defy the primary emotion of fear to follow a different path."Forbidden" is the first book in "The Books of Mortals" series and I'm curious to see how if some of the questions I have are answered. I plan on reading the next book in the series to find out if my questions are answered and, hopefully, new questions will arise to keep me reading through the entire series.

Okay, well firstly, I have just discovered Ted Dekker through his Circle Series and cannot recommend it highly enough. Superb, imho, and I "eat" the book as if i had never tasted words in my life before! So coming to this one I expected so much. Perhaps that was the issue - I expected so much that in the end I was disappointed. I wouldn't say that it was disastrous but neither did it live up to the mythical, fantastical, allegorical, moving epic that was the Circle series. The story is set in a dystopian future (post apocalyptic) where all emotion bar fear has been genetically removed from humans. That is until Rom and his colleagues stumble upon a vial of blood that changes their whole world. They are chased and threatened by Saric whose uncontrollable emotions are swept into dark political anguish with his quest for power. But i'll end there. There is beautiful poetry to some of the descriptions and the characters are drawn well (at times) although I have to say some of them seem to be slightly caricutured. Kudos to the writers for not always sticking to the safe path and the book particularly lifts towards the end with some heart wrenching moments. However, I have to say that whilst the dramatic scenes worked well...the transition between them seemed almost superflous and hurried, this wasn't helped by the lack of scene/world setting. I didnt "feel" the world like I could with Ted Dekkers Circle series and I am not sure I totally connected with some the characters either. So, I await the second and third books with anticipation and perhaps this anticipation will be buoyed by the fact that i felt slightly let down by the first in the trilogy. Come on Ted and Tosca, lose me in the world you create and then leave marks on my heart that bring me back to reality!

An exciting read from one of my favourite authors.

Full of twists and intrigue, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have now bought others in the series. I have recommended Ted Dekker's books to a number of others and they have universally given them the thumb's up.

Fast pacing and with very few unnecessary frills to spoil the story. LOVED IT. Now for the next one please.

This was a fabulous trilogy. The authors characters were so vivid. Very futuristic and I can see this happening in the real world too. Very good, well written books. Couldn't stop until I'd reached the end of the third book.