Fascinating! 'The Conqueror' - Constantine's Empire 1 - by Bryan Litfin

 

About the book:

AD 309. Rome teeters on the brink of war. Constantine's army is on the move. On the Rhine frontier, pagan Germanic barbarian Brandulf Rex joins the Roman army as a spy. Down in Rome, senator's daughter Junia Flavia finds herself embroiled in anti-Christian politics as she works on behalf of the church.

As armies converge and forces beyond their control threaten to destroy everything they have worked for, these two people from different worlds will have to fight together to bring down the evil Emperor Maxentius. But his villainous plans and devious henchmen are not easily overcome.

Will Rex and Flavia 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?

My review:

What a wild and crazy ride!  There was so much action in this book, not to mention political intrigue and church history.  It was incredibly fascinating!  I really admired Flavia as she had such a strong faith, even while she went through dangerous circumstances.  Rex was wonderful, too, self-sacrificing on the one hand and reluctant to give up his violent ways on the other.  He had a hard time understanding who Jesus was as Flavia's God and why he should worship Him instead of Hercules.  There was so much mentioned in this book I want to learn more about.  It's a fascinating time period but also a hard one to read about when you see how women and slaves were treated.  The story wasn't graphic, however.  There's a good amount of detail that really fleshed out the time period. There was some romance.  This is the first book and I'm interested to see where it goes from here.  I would recommend it if you like history and action.

I received this book free from Revell.  I was not compensated for this review.  All opinions are my own.

           The Author

1. 

   Bryan Litfin

   Bryan Litfin is the author of the Chiveis Trilogy, as well as several works of nonfiction, including Early Christian Martyr Stories, After Acts, and Getting to Know the Church Fathers. A former professor of theology at...

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