Ted Dekker’s “The 49th Mystic” will take you on a journey that will challenge you to see the world, and those within it, in a whole new way.
Sixteen-year-old Rachelle Matthews lives in a remote, self-contained community ruled by law and order in Eden, Utah. Blind since a baby, she does have two forms of sight: “nightmare sight” where she dreams nightmares in color, and sight through echolocation.
When the Shadow Man from her nightmares returns her sense of sight, she begins a journey between two worlds — Eden and the Other Earth, 2,000 years in the future — in her dreams.
In the Other Earth, she learns she is the 49th Mystic, who must locate the Five Seals of Truth to save both worlds. She must learn to overcome her fears and feeling of inadequacy, finding her strength to fight a seemingly impossible battle.
As she fights evil forces in both Eden and the Other Earth, she must learn whom she can trust, including her guide and mentor, Talya, who quotes Scripture and the teachings of Yeshua. And along her journey, she meets the sons of some familiar character to readers of Dekker’s Circle Series — Samuel of Hunter (son of Thomas) and Jacob, son of Qurong.
“The 49th Mystic” is a story of identity, awakening and perception. Its story is scientific, philosophical, religious, and full of love, hate, fear and strength. Dekker, as usual, does a phenomenal job of diving into the story of man, the story of God, and the story of God’s love for man. He tackles issues like self-worth, looking to the light and not fearing the shadows; not being a slave to fear; finding our source of strength; changing our perception; and getting lost is part of the journey.
Dekker is an amazing wordsmith, brilliant in creating multiple worlds with very real and relatable characters, as well as characters we love to love and those we love to hate. Circle Series fans will delight in revisiting some old characters, like a couple of beloved and adorable Roush.
This story will appeal to fans of philosophical, “religious” reads, as well as fans of science and science fiction stories. And with several unseen twists, “The 49th Mystic” might even appeal to conspiracy theory fans. You don’t need to have read Dekker’s Circle Series to read this novel, but it might help answer a few questions. But if you haven’t read the series, Dekker does a great job of acquainting the reader with the original series’ characters and themes.
Disclaimer: this story does contain quite a bit of violence and brutal situations.
“The 49th Mystic” ends with Rachelle having found the first three seals. Be sure to pick up “Rise of the Mystics” to see how Rachelle’s story — and the fate of humanity — ends.
Five stars out of five.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.
“The 49th Mystic” (Beyond the Circle series, #1) by Ted Dekker