Sinner by Ted Dekker

*Warning* Contains spoilers for Showdown and Saint *Warning*

Billy and Darcy, two teenagers left from the fated Project Showdown, are now living out in the real world working steady jobs. He's a lawyer; she works in a factory. But their lives are changed when they meet again and discover that each has a strange power. He can read minds; she can control people's will. Together, they can be the most powerful people on earth.

Johnny, the Saint, is still living in Paradise, with his fiancee, Kelly. When he and the citizens of Paradise hear about a new amendment Congress passes stating that no one can condemn any race or religion, they band together to stand against it.

Marsuvees Black is back. He is a villain created from Billy's imagination, and now, without the Books of History, no one can stop him.

One of the best things about Ted Dekker is his flair for always coming up with good central themes. Sinner's theme is free speech and what would happen in a world without it.

Another good thing about Sinner is that it ties Showdown and Saint together very well. It answers several questions and allows the reader to see how the three books go together.

There are several surprises at the end. Dekker did things that I didn't know he had in him. Original things. Things that public doesn't like.

The one drawback that keeps this book from being five stars is the slightly cheesy showdown with Marsuvees Black at the end. I really wish Dekker would have avoided this, Otherwise, it would have been five stars.

Even though Marsuvees Black is sort of a dumb villain in the way that he's dressed as a black cowboy straight from a cheesy western, at least there is an explanation for why he looks like that: because Billy created him. Also, Black's dialogue is definitely abnormal for a villain.

It's a good thing Dekker those not to utilize the Books of History in this book instead of using them as a CRT. Otherwise, Project Showdown wouldn't be an Elite series.

4.5 stars