The Circle Series
The Circle Series, originally known as The Circle Trilogy, is a series of novels by Ted Dekker, as well as a series of graphic novels. It is apart of the larger Books of History Chronicles, and was the first series written for it.
One night, Thomas Hunter, an aspiring writer with a sketchy past, receives a severe head injury after being jumped in an alley. Though he escapes with his life, he's knocked out cold, and the next thing Thomas knows, he awakens in another world with no memory of how he got there. This "Other Earth", an idyllic parallel to our own and our world 2000 years in the future consists of two mega-forests, divided in half by a river:
The first forest, consisting of brightly colored trees and healing fruit, is home to Elyon's Children (Humans) and white bats called Roush.
The other, the Black Forest, houses the Shataiki, evil black bats led by the former Roush, Teeleh. Though the Shataiki are less than welcoming when a human tries to enter the Black Forest, Teeleh would like nothing more, so long as the person drank the Elyon-forbidden water within the Forest. If someone did (which Tanis, the first man, eventually does), this would allow Teeleh to cross the river and corrupt the Colored Forest and the people living there.
Every time Thomas goes to sleep in one world, he awakens in the other. As realities begin to blur, Thomas discovers that the Raison Strain, a deadly virus that could wipe out most of our world's population, is about to be released. At the same time, the Other Earth becomes ravaged by evil and teeters on the brink of destruction. Thomas must race against time to save both worlds from the nightmares unleashed upon them, while protecting himself and his loved ones from the forces trying to stop him.
- Action Girl: Mikil, Rachelle, Suzan, and Marie most prominently.
- Aerith and Bob: Tanis, Mikil, Chelise, Johan, Rachelle and Thomas (though this may not be the case, since Thomas is technically from a different world.)
- Back from the Dead: Thomas Hunter (twice!). And also Rachelle once.
- Justin. Even after being brutally beaten, drowned, and stabbed in the climax of Red, reappears at the end of the novel, confirms that he is the adult form of Elyon, and claims his 'Circle' (those that chose to drown in the lake he was killed in to save themselves from becoming Scabs) as his chosen people. It makes sense since he's The Messiah of Other Earth.
- Bat Out of Hell: Played straight with Shataiki and averted with Roush.
- Body Horror: The description of what the Raison Strain does to the human body.
- And in Green, the scene in which Marsuuv removes Billy's eyes and replaces them with 'slimy black orbs'.
- Canon Welding: Shataiki and Roush are alluded to in a few other of Dekker's books, as are the title's colors. The Forest Guard is mentioned briefly in Skin.
- Color Coded for Your Convenience: Roush and Shataiki, and, on a skin-condition level, Scabs (diseased) and Albinos (washed in Elyon's Waters.)
- Cold-Blooded Torture: What happens to Justin at the end of Red.
- The Corruption: Scabs are people infected with a disease that makes the flesh look decayed and rotten, and corrupts a persons heart into turning away from Elyon.
- The Dragon: Carlos Missiran to Valborg Svensson for awhile at least.
- Downer Ending: At the end of Green where Thomas is allowed to go back in time to save his son, but has no memory of it. Since this series was written as a circle . . .
- Evil Is Sexy: Janae. And apparently Marsuuv in some twisted way.
- Expy: Marsuuv to Marsuuvees Black (the main villain in The Paradise Novels).
- Face Heel Turn: Tanis, Ciphus, and Samuel.
- French Jerk: Armand Fortier. (Although he's a bit worse than a jerk...)
- Garden of Evil: The initial Shataiki-ridden Black Forest.
- God: Elyon for Other Earth, who appears in the form of a child. He is also implied to be the God from our world.
- It's confirmed in later books that Other Earth is really Earth 2000 years in the future, so both Elyon and God are one and the same
- Happily Married: Thomas and Rachelle, later Thomas and Chelise. Among many others.
- Heel Face Turn: Carlos, and Chelise, among others.
- Here We Go Again: Green, when Elyon agrees to let Thomas go back in time and try to save his son, but without the memories of what happened.
- High Octane Nightmare Fuel : Pretty much every scene with Teeleh and the Shataiki. Not to mention the description of what the Raison Strain virus does to the body. (Hint: It's very painful and not pretty). And in Green the villains are even Darker and Edgier than in the previous three books, taking part in human sacrifice and vampirism, just to name a few of their hobbies.
- The Horde: All Scabs who refuse to bathe in Elyon's lakes (which cures their skin disease) are called this.
- After Justin is killed, everyone who does not drown in the lakes will become a Scab and join the Horde.
- Messianic Archetype: Justin. Full stop. Heck, the title of the second book is meant to refer to him.
- The Multiverse: Other Earth and the modern-day world.
- Our Presidents Are Different: Robert Blair is an interesting mix of President Iron and President Personable.
- The Plague / The Virus: The Raison Strain.
- The Power of Blood: This trope is a driving force throughout the series, especially in Green.
- Satan: Teeleh.
- Tear Jerker: Justin's death.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Carlos averted this happening to him by doing a Mook Face Turn on his former boss(es) by blowing them to pieces with an anti-tank missile.