Monday, April 21, 2008
CSFF Tour proudly presents: The Begotten, by Lisa T. Bergren
Check out and buy this great book here
Visit the author's website
MY REVIEW:
Medieval Italy--home of Roman Catholicism, burning of heretics, fierce arguments concerning icons and illuminations--the setting for one of the most creative fantasy novels I’ve read in a long time.
The author’s premise is this: What if the lost, uncanonized letters of St. Paul to the Corinthian church were found and kept secret for centuries until the appointed time? What if, in those letters, there was divinely inspired prophecy about a group of people with spiritual gifts that would amass and become a force to be reckoned with?
Father Piero, a Franciscan monk, has been entrusted by his teacher with a portion of these letters. His documents contain illuminations that picture some of The Gifted. He knows that he is one of these gifted because his likeness appears in the pictures. Somehow he must find the others depicted and gather them together for the cause of Christ. Other than that he knows little and must rely totally on faith for the rest.
Lady Daria D’Angelo, Gianni, Father Piero, and an odd band of friends follow God’s leading as events that they never could have imagined unfold. Shadow and deception threaten to take the town of Siena in their grasp unless right can overcome.
I have not studied in depth this period of history as it relates to Christianity and Catholicism, but the author obviously builds upon mindsets and power struggles existing during this time period. She sets the stage plainly for a good-and-evil battle of immense proportions. The most poignant point she makes is that “the Church” may not be on God’s side after all, but on the side of darkness. Scary stuff, but so goes the way of religion in history--it’s not all piety and charity.
I found this novel engrossing and very well-conceptualized. The danger was palpable and the reader is put through a wide range of emotions. The author delivered her story through expert character formation, plot, dialogue and conflict to create a thoroughly enjoyable tale. I highly recommend it and have already ordered the next book in the series, The Betrayed.
And finally, check out the other blogs on this tour for more goodies:
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Jill Hart
Michael Heald
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Pamela Morrisson
John W. Otte
Rachelle
Steve Rice
Ashley Rutherford
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachelle Sperling
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Robert Treskillard
Laura Williams
Timothy Wise
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Great review! Bergren does do a great job of showing the difference between being Catholic and being Christian - at least in that time period.
ReplyDeleteKarri,
ReplyDeleteI love this book, too! Glad you gave it such a good review...
Cool!
CH
Be careful. The Church of the past, the Church of today, and the Church of the time period of the Inquisition are very different entities. I never would think that Lisa was stating that about the Church as a whole, but as the Church during the Inquisition. It was not all bad, but there were poor leaders currently in control.
ReplyDeleteMJ
You're right. I certainly did not mean to make a blanket statement. I suppose I'm jaded about Christianity and the body of believers in general right now because I see so many of us doing "church" and Christianity badly and it is a bad witness.
ReplyDeleteKarri