Book Review: A Man Called Blessed {BookSneeze}

A Man Called Blessed by Ted Dekker and Bill Bright

ISBN: 9781401688790

Paperback, 360 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Retail: $16.99

About the book: 

One man holds the key to locating the Ark of the Covenant--but he's hidden deep in the desert and no one has seen him since he was a boy.

In the explosive sequel to Blessed Child, Jewish soldier-turned-archaeologist Rebecca Solomon leads a team deep into the Ethiopian desert to find the one man who may know the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Such a discovery would bring hope back to her people. Her search brings excitement and danger--including unexpected love and a discovery far more powerful than even the holy artifact.

Meanwhile, Islamic fundamentalists dispatch Ismael, their most accomplished assassin, to pursue Rebecca and the man she's searching for. These men fear that the Ark's discovery will compel Israel to rebuild Solomon's temple--on the very site of their holy mosque in Jerusalem. But the man they seek is no ordinary man.

His name is Caleb, and he too is on a mission--to find again the love he embraced as a child and to share that love with the world.

About the author:

Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author with more than five million books in print. He is known for stories that combine adrenaline-laced plots with incredible confrontations between unfrogettable characters. He lives with his wife in Austin,Texas. 

My thoughts:

I believe this is my first Ted Dekker novel. It is a sequel to Blessed Child but I didn't find it necessary to have read that one first (since I haven't yet). Reading this book, A Man Called Blessed, there were a few snippets of history that I probably would have had a better idea of what was going on if I had of read the first book. 

The main characters are Rebecca Solomon and Caleb. Other characters that have a part in this book are David Ben Solomon (Rebecca's father), Avraham (a soldier on the mission with Rebecca), Zakkai (a professor and archaeologist), Ismael (the assassin and son of Abu Ismael), Abu Ismael (Syrian general, Palestinian), Jason and Leiah Marker (Caleb's adoptive parents), and Father Hadane (a 'monk' in the desert).
There were a few parts where I could feel my eyebrow go up in a "what sort of hollybaloo is this?" kind of look. But I got to thinking that really, the book is about God doing impossible things. So for me to think "That's impossible!" in a book, of fiction no less, is a little silly. After I let go of that line of thinking and just took it as it came, I really enjoyed the book. I wouldn't mind reading the first book, Blessed Child, for the background and for a good adventure read.