This book 100% keeps you on your toes and not ready for what happens next. The suspense keeps the mystery going and has so many twists that you wouldn't think of.

tSeth Borders, a genius student in the graduate program at Berkley, thinks he's seeing things. Not hallucinations, exactly. Definitely not "visions"- the term has too many religious connotations. More like- the future. The future is just math, after all- calculating possibilities. Seth has always been brilliant at math- though the future thing is starting to freak him out a little...
Blink.
tMiriam is on the run. Her father is trying to force her into a political marriage to a man she knows to be abusive. Her adoptive father would kill her before he allowed it. Knowing that her only hope for freedom lies in escape, she flees Saudi Arabia for America, hoping to enlist the aid of an old school friend at Berkley...
Blink.
tSeth "sees" her before he meets her- and Arabic woman, a hand holding a gun pointed at her face. He interrupts before the real scenario can occur, spiriting her off campus and out of harm's way- at least for the moment. Then, of course he has to explain how he knew that she was in trouble.
Blink.
tTheir are already groups from both families trying to find Miriam in America- Seth has his hands full trying to keep out of their reach. He is seeing longer and more clearly, multiple futures- options. As their enemies converge, however, he finds a weakness in the gift: he can only "see" while he's awake.
tAnd the Saudi's are near enough that they could catch up with them in the blink of an eye.

I had read this book a few years ago and enjoyed it a lot. But this time I read the updated version outloud with my husband. For some reason the story wasn't as compelling or fast moving as I remembered it being my first time reading. Especially in the end it seemed to wrap up a little too neatly. An interesting story for sure but not as exciting as I had hoped.

I absolutely loved this book when I read it 2 years ago. Found out there was a recent edition titled Blink of an Eye (original book was titled Blink) and I read it. The new book was a wishy washy antsy pansy version of the first. Didn't like it so much. But I understand the changes he made was to get a movie of it made, like the author explained.

What can I say? You do what you gotta do. If you get a chance, read the first edition

This looked so promising... then it turned out to be about an atheist's revelation of the reality of God, and not in a subtle, thought-provoking way, but ham-fisted and utterly partisan. (I looked up the publisher after I finished and learned that they put out predominantly religious material.)

Brilliant physics student, Seth, suddenly (shortly after developing a mathematical formula that is supposed to demonstrate that God cannot exist) begins having brief visions of the future, only a few seconds ahead. At first the only effect is to allow him to anticipate minor problems and avoid them. Then the visions start coming further ahead and lasting longer. When he meets a young Saudi woman named Miriam, a member of the royal house, who has fled from her homeland rather than be forced into an unwanted marriage, his precognition helps them escape the men who have followed her to the US, intending either to take her back to the Middle East, or kill her. One step ahead of their pursuers, they flee across the country, and Seth's increasing gift shows him multiple possible futures, including the means for him and Miriam to escape from each perilous situation. Along the way, the State Department and FBI join the hunt for the pair.

And of course they fall in love, and in the midst of it all (while waiting for circumstances to fall in line to create a way out of yet another trap), they discover that praying to God - very specifically the Christian God - causes their seemingly impossible quandary to change just enough for them to get away again. Unfortunately, Dekker's obvious religious bent throughout the book makes this turn of events totally predictable.

Supposedly the (horrific) portrayal of life for women in Saudi Arabia is quite accurate - I would have enjoyed this more if Dekker had been able to deliver the story with considerably less of his own beliefs on display.

an old favorite. still captivating, still fun.

some interactions are pretty cheesy out loud, but maybe i was just not dedicated to their delivery haha.

This book was a bit of a wild ride! Whew! I enjoyed it’s heady, brainy approach and the consequently mysterious and exciting adventure that ensued. Though, I must say that overall, I left the book feeling very disappointed. IT was one of those stories that you have such high hopes for as you read it, and then when it wraps itself up (or fails to do so) you walk away disappointed and shaking your head.
Also, let it be known, I actually read the republishing of this under the title, In the Blink of an Eye.

//LIKES//
~ The adventure. Like I said. . .really exciting! Once I got past the slow start, I read the last two thirds in one day, mostly because I was trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
~ Clive. . . I wanted him to be a good guy so bad and I was really happy that he finally was. *Spoiler alert* Actually, Clive was conceivably my favorite character in the whole book. :D
~ I was invested in the characters. . . always a sign of good writing.
~ The Clairvoyance aspect was quite interesting. . . though I had my issues with that as you will see below.
~ I found the view of Muslims and the way they think fascinating. If somewhat gruesome. I can’t attest to whether this was realistic or reflects the thoughts and mindsets of these people in real life or not, but the comparisons from Christianity to Muslim was quite interesting. It helped me understand a bit better.

//QUIBBLES //
Some of these are smaller than others, so I will start with the less significant and work my way to the heavy hitters.
~ Seth bounded a lot. LOL! IT was one of those author quirks, but it totally started to drag me out of the story and in the midst of a serious moment, I would start chuckling at the mental image of Seth bounding everywhere.
~ The beginning was slow. And there was a terrible back story dump in the first chapter where we find out the entire life story of Seth. Personally, I find these annoying and try to avoid them at all costs in my own writing. It really bogged down the pace of the plot as well.
~ The issues of physical attraction bothered me a bit too. Thankfully, Dekker did not go crazy overboard with this, but that is the main reason the MC’s were so invested in each other. The look of the others. IT lacked a spiritual depth in this part of the story and some of the instances or situations made me cringe. The feelings and sensations of touching/kissing/admiring the physicality of the other person was annoying to say the least. Again, thankfully, he didn’t go crazy in this department, but it was still there and was scattered throughout the entire book.
~ Miriam’s sudden insertion into American culture felt rater unrealistic. The author excused it away with two things, 1) she had spent a summer in Berkley and 2) she was intoxicated with her newfound freedom. I can see the point of the second a little bit, but I feel like it contradicted her character. She had a very strong moral code and to all of a sudden in a day’s time be such an old hand at flirting made no sense. She was totally comfortable with flirting, and just being alone with a man in general. That felt very unrealistic. I understand the circumstances were far from ideal, but she could have shown a bit of restraint/uncomfortableness.

//PLOT/STORY//
It was slow at first, but then picked up pace and like I said before, I couldn’t put it down. But when I finished it, I walked away very confused and felt that there were quite a few loose ends to be tied up. Some of the issues made no sense. One of my biggest concerns was that the Clairvoyance was never explained. It was briefly mentioned in an off-handed remark that could have been easily missed. Something along the lines of “He had the ability because he needed the ability” insinuating that God (I am assuming because they never said this) gave him the gift to save who he needed to save. Throughout the whole book, I was excited to see where the author went with this. As a Christian, was he going to go the route of Christianity and supernaturalism and explain it using the fact that God had placed that gift in Seth? Or was he going to go the scientific method and explain it with the equation that Seth had discovered? In my personal opinion, he did neither and left it totally up to the imagination which, quite frankly, annoyed me.
Which leads me to another point. This may be a personal opinion, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt. I left the book really feeling like a salvation message of some sort was lacking. Ted Dekker totally set himself up to explain Christianity and lead the Main Character, Seth, to Christ. He did nothing of the sort which was another feeling I felt quite let down by. It wasn’t just that he didn’t put it in, it was that he primed and readied me (the reader) to prepare for Seth to come to some realization of God or His existence, or even His love. No such thing happened. Super disanointing and another reason I left this book totally confused. It felt like it all of a sudden wrapped itself up, and left so many strings hanging from the package.
This book really lacked a point. And what point that it had was weak. It’s one point, (that wasn’t very clearly portrayed) was that Love is a good thing. Sounds a bit weak. And I had to read the interview with the author in the back of the book to realize what his intent and “moral” to the book was. Was it an exciting ride? Sure! Did it have any point? Not really. I was really quite disappointed that the author didn’t take it farther and explain why God’s love was important. This book was entirely void of the salvation message. Jesus is talked about with some frequency, but only as a comparison between Muslim and Christianity.

So, I guess this review comes down to would I recommend this book. The overall answer is no, unless under a certain circumstance I know someone who might enjoy the science fiction feel to it. But to other people in my age and peer group of Christian girls and young women? I would say no. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable offering this book to any of my friends or family.

//CONTENT//
This book contained a good bit of content. Most of it stemmed from the few Muslim extremists. Again, I will say my disclaimer that I understand that this is real life, however, arranged marriages, polygamy, vague mentions of the relations between a husband and wife and violence such as killings, the mindset of “owning a woman” etc. were prevalent in the Saudi Arabia parts of the book. Like I said, I know this is real life, but it was a little creepy for me.
Contained a drowing of a young girl by a father due to religious issues from the perspective of the girls friend who was forced to watch. Several people were killed through various means, gunshots mostly. Physical attraction, mentions of inappropriate physical closeness. Touching, Seth is shirtless on numerous occasions. Seth also falls on top of Miriam in an effort to save her while she is in bed and not fully dressed. Also insinuations to intimacy and threats of rape etc.

I have never read a novel like this before. Not only is it action packed, has really engaging characters, and is informative about the Islam culture, it is very thought provoking. It's a novel who's characters don't just speculate on a heavy subject (The future: whether there is only one future, how God can know the future and still allow free will for men, etc.); they really dig into it, and come to a conclusion, and all the while racing through gripping action. This is one of the few novels I've read that achieved an engaging plot and discussed a heavy issue at length, and came up with a great conclusion.

I read this book in a day. maybe two. it was just THAT awesome. and worth it. ok... maybe some of it was a bit impractical. but that's what books are for: making the impractical and impossible seem real.

This book was a page turner from the beginning. It kept me up late. Most books take me two or three weeks to read, but I read this one in under a week.

The plot is riveting. The main character, Miriam, is destined for a life of brutality and loneliness. Her entire life has been planned for her from the moment of birth and she has absolutely no say in what befalls her. In fact, objections of any kind are a sure death sentence. Women in her culture are nothing more than objects whose sole purpose is to produce male offspring. Death is preferable even to life in luxurious surroundings. When Miriam escapes to the U.S. and encounters Seth, the chase is on. Mr. Dekker keeps the reader in suspense for chapter after chapter as the pair run in desperation succeeding against all odds.

If you are a realist, you will have to suspend quite a bit of disbelief. Seth can see into the future. Hundreds of law enforcement officers are in pursuit, but for some reason, the press never gets wind of a Saudi princess on the run fleeing an arranged marriage nor is any public sympathy aroused in America. This would normally be the stuff from which headlines are made. Nevertheless, the plot is so entertaining, the realist will be willing to overlook such departures from reality for the sake of enjoying an exciting book.

Is this Christian fiction? I suppose many would call it that. God is indeed mentioned throughout the book. However, the core teaching of Christianity, that Jesus Christ died for the sins of all people, is never addressed. It's hard for me to call a book "Christian" when that particular teaching is absent. If you are seeking inspirational Christian reading within the context of a suspense novel, this is not the book for you. If you're just looking for clean entertainment which happens to be written by a Christian author, than this will be worth your while.

Amazing writing. It is obvious Ted is a Christian but he never preaches at you. He just lets the character cope with the situation in their lives and watches God deliver.

This particular book appealed to the linear side of my brain. His progression was so logical and made such sense. I loved how he blended the fact-based person with the faith-based person to bring about change in both of their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'll keep it and read it again.

I didn’t get very far into this book before becoming uncomfortable with it. It read like white nationalist propaganda. Then I started the chapter about Seth and started to get an inkling that this might be a Christian author. So I Googled Ted Dekker and sure enough, he is. I don’t know how preachy the book gets, as I stopped reading it at that point.m as the portrayal of Saudi Arabia seems xenophobic.