The Conqueror by Bryan Litfin // Revell Reads Review
As armies converge and forces beyond Rex's and Flavia's controls threaten to destroy everything they have worked for, these two people from different worlds will have to work together to bring down the evil Emperor Maxentius. But his villainous plans and devious henchmen are not easily overcome. Will the barbarian warrior and the senator's daughter live to see the Empire bow the knee to Christ? Or will their part in the story of Constantine's rise meet an untimely and brutal end?
Travel back to one of the most pivotal eras in history--a time when devotion to the pagan gods was fading and the Roman Empire was being conquered by the sign of the cross.
My Review
Oh,
my feelings about this book are many and varied. When I was younger, I
loved reading Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mysteries. Greek and Roman
mythology have always fascinated me. This is just a time period of
history that I really enjoy. So to start with things I loved about this
book, number one would have to be the setting.
The next amazing
thing was the characters. They were complex and real and well developed.
Even the pagans, (more on them later), were extremely well done. We
kind of had four storylines - Rex. Flavia, Constantine, and Maxentius.
Going back and forth between the stories never felt jumbled or abrupt.
It flowed together seamlessly.
Flavia and her mother were bold
but still had fear. They did what they had to do but cried out to God
for the strength to endure. Her father, I felt bad for him and for his
family. He's kind of like the seed that fell among thorns. It's sad.
Rex's
storyline might be the most intriguing to me. His sense of honor and
doing what is right while also battling his desire for vengeance.
Characters that have battles like this inside of them are quite
interesting and usually have the most development.
Now, for what
I didn't like so much. I will start by saying that if the author had
not included the historical note that he did, I might not have noticed
these things as much. However, my biggest "issue" had nothing to do with
that. There was a lot of "adult" things in this book. While it never
got graphic or explicit, there was enough sensual stuff that I just
don't expect in "Christian" books. Now, to be fair, most of it was among
the pagans. I understand being realistic but I don't think you always
have to include something just because it actually happened.
In
the historical note, the author mentions including things, mostly
regarding faith, that don't fit today's language. So he was trying, in
some degree, to be historically accurate. Okay, cool, but then using the
words "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" and Flavia's personality don't fit.
I'm not one to be picky about history usually but it did stand out to me
because I thought he was trying to be more historically accurate.
Along
those lines, I'm not sure it is good or helpful to repeat poor theology
just to be accurate. At this time in history, the church was starting
to get into some "interesting" arenas theologically and that came out in
the book on occasion.
Finally, I know the universal church used
to be called "catholic" but I thought it a bit much how often the
author included that adjective to describe the church. I'm not sure the
believers went around calling it the catholic church all the time.
These
are all little things. Minor inconveniences really. I liked the story
enough that I want to read more, especially after that ending!!! I was
engaged the whole time and it was quite the page-turner of a story.
There
are two things that are odd, for me anyway. I appreciated that things
didn't always turn out well because there were too many instances of
"God will make it all work" out, so I appreciated that it didn't always
happen. Also, a major betrayal didn't bother me, and based on other
things, it should have. I should have been devastated but I wasn't. Odd.
Many thanks to Revell for a copy of the book. All opinions were my own and a favorable review was not required.
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