I've just finished reading Black: The Birth of Evil which I found utterly engrossing. Have had to go straight on to the 2nd book of the series as it finished on such a cliff-hanger. I enjoyed the fact that the story changed backwards and forwards between two 'worlds' and the way in which they interlinked. The story has some allegorical elements but can be enjoyed as a simple story if you want to ignore the message within, and it is possible to not notice it, as I would have done had I not been discussing it as I read. Dekker has another convert