Black - the Birth of Evil

Thomas Hunter is walking home from his job at the coffee shop. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bullet is shot at him. After some scuffle, he escapes over the rooftop. A bullet grazes his head, and he passes out. When his eyes open, he's in some sort of paradise. A paradise that only exists in his dreams. Or does it? Thomas learns that his paradise exists 2000 years in the future, that a virus nearly wiped out the earth, sending the remaining parts into a cosmic warzone. So why is Thomas here? Why does he know this? It seems only reasonable that he should do something to stop this virus. Only how do you get someone to take you seriously when you tell them that in a dream a fuzzy, green eyed bat told you that a virus is gonna wipe out the earth?

If you've read any Ted Dekker, you know what to expect. Action, romance, plots that make the Matrix look simple. This book is no different. This book is found in the Adult section of the library, and I'm not exactly sure why.


Violence
That said, there is a violence element. Thomas is being chased by a gunman, and gets shot twice in the stomach by said gunman. Violence in the other world is generally non existent in this book, as the Other Earth is pre-fall at this point. The majority of Other Earth violence consists of Shataiki swarming and nearly killing Thomas.

Sexual Themes
Nothing really, there is a lot of romance in the book, indeed, the entire series revolves around the Great Romance, Elyon's love for the humans. Romance is limited to kissing.

Language
Nothing.

Darker Elements 
As usual, Ted's evil is EVIL. If you don't like your evil to haunt you and make you scream, don't read Ted Dekker. This evil he portrays is real. It's not fluffy, it's not watered down. His Shataiki could very well be real, they're that evil.

This was a great book, the whole series is good and exciting. DO NOT START THIS BOOK WITHOUT THE OTHERS NEAR AT HAND. I have read the whole series, and loved it. I think that the good parts outweigh the bad, and Black I would recommend to mature audiences of 14 or so, however, usage of a certain word throughout the other books, makes this series doubtful for just any young adult.
I rate it PG-13 for violence, and evil evilness.