Sovereign

The final book in The Books of Mortals series by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee is entitled Sovereign. Along with Forbidden and Mortal, we have followed the remnant of humanity some 500 years after nuclear war has fully decimated the Earth. In the aftermath of that long ago age, scientists developed a virus that infected every remaining soul on the planet. This engineered pathology wiped out all of human emotion except for fear. Gone were love, compassion, and empathy, but what remained was a lifeless population that no longer struggled with the forces that caused conflict and war. Yet this virus was not seen by all as the salvation of our species. A small group called The Keepers understood this infection for what it was, the final path to extinction.

In the first two books of this series, the protagonist Rom Sebastian, came across a small vial of blood and a cryptic ancient vellum that hinted at the mysterious powers of the blood. Once he injected this blood into his system, he underwent a conversion back into full humanity. Rom also came to understand an ancient prophesy about one whose blood would be able to cleanse and restore all of humanity. Although Rom was one against an army of very powerful foes, he ultimately found the one whose blood was to be the source of humanity's salvation, the one who was destined to be the sovereign of the world. With a growing band of followers, Rom groomed the young savior Jonathan from boyhood to the pinnacle of his ascension to power. Yet just when everything seemed to be going as Rom had come to believe it would, Jonathan gave his life. The resistance that involved all of Jonathan's followers then quickly fractured and fell into chaos.

Now some ten years after Mortal, Rom and his band of followers of Jonathan number fewer than fifty. They are hunted like vermin not only by the government forces, but also by the much larger remnant of warriors that had initially supported Jonathan. Seeing that those marked by the blood of Jonathan are doomed, an alchemist develops and releases a new virus that will wipe out all of those of impure blood. In one final encounter of pure blood lust, the leaders of the different groups vow to eradicate the other before the virus fulfills its purpose. To be the last one standing before death is the last remaining prize to be grasped. However, in that darkest moment, we find that Jonathan ultimately did fulfill his destiny to become sovereign of the world, just not the sovereign that his followers had expected.

A great series that I think stands well above the cookie-cutter, mass market, crank-it-out stuff that fills the shelves at our bookstores. Absolutely wonderful story, character development, and balance. Top notch. A wonderful aspect of this story is the brief epilog that brings everything back around full circle.