The choice is theirs to make... Fear or Love...
Like father, like daughter. I can tell you that Nine is going to take me awhile to digest just like it would with one of Rachelle Dekker's father, Ted Dekker's books. There's a lot within those 340+ pages.
At face value it's a humdinger of a suspense novel with a touch of almost sci-fic technology. And it's got a delightfully spooky cover. But those are only surface things. They are not the deeper questions that Rachelle Dekker asks through fiction. What does it mean to be human? Are we simply products of our past? Can we change our programming. Can we choose our own story? Is there redemption for those who have chosen the darkness?
One thing I will mention about Nine is that there are some familiar faces from Rachelle Dekker's previous book, The Girl Behind The Red Rope, that she co-authored with her father. Parts of this story make more sense if you've already read that book. I found myself referring back to some sections as sort of a refresher. Don't worry, if you haven't read it you can still read Nine as a standalone.
Riveting. Gripping. Thought-provoking. Intense. They are all words that could easily be used to describe Nine. As such, I finished it in record time, less than a day. Rachelle Dekker's storytelling skill is vivid and undeniable. Some aspects of the story are frighteningly plausible in light of man's attempts to play God, instead of the conspiracy theories they first appear to be.
I enjoyed this book and I am definitely looking forward to more from this talented young author.
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)