CSFF Blog Tour: The Begotten

List T. Bergren's, The Begotten, is book one in a trilogy called The Gifted Series.

Bergren's novel received a starred review from Booklist. Reviewer John Mort said this of The Begotten:

"Bergren's thriller is set in Italy during the paranoid days of the Inquisition, when Christianity teeters on the edge of oblivion. A long-lost letter from St. Paul surfaces, predicting the rise of a group called the Gifted. Father Piero, a Dominican priest, finds the first of these, a proto-feminist with healing powers, Lady Daria D'Angelo. A knight whom she heals, Gianni de Capezzan, and a mute ex-slave, Hasani, round out the core members, who rapidly gain followers even as they flee the Sorcerer, the fearsome, magical emissary of Satan. Suspenseful and exquisitely detailed, Bergren's first entry in a trilogy will not only thrill evangelical readers but also engage anyone loving adventure and an unnerving battle between good and evil."

Gathering perspectives from several reviewers, I've gotten a clear sense that this novel is not your typical thriller, but a supernatural adventure in a world that is akin to our own, but not wholly ours. Publisher's weekly said to, "Disregard Da Vinci Code comparisons and think Lord of the Rings, but without Hobbits and the allegorical trappings."

Lord of the Rings + Historical Supernatural Thriller = ???

I really, really don't know what the above equation equals, but it sure does pique my interest!!

After reading the book from cover to cover in one night, here's what the editor of FocusOnFiction.net, Kelli Standish said of The Begotten:

"Begren's skill as a writer has SKYROCKETED since she took a break from writing in 2002...In movie form, The Begotten is a cross between The DaVinci Code, Luther, The Fantastic Four, and Lord of the Rings. In book form, it combines the historical detail and noble characters of a Linda Chaikin novel, the darkness and suspense of Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo, the spiritual warfare of Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness, and the miracles of the book of Acts."

In conclusion, today Monday, April 21st, after work, I'm going to pick up a copy of Bergren's book. I guess I finally figured out what that above equation equals out to...

Lord of the Rings + Historical Supernatural Thriller = my buying this book!


Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Jackie Castle
Karri Compton
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Karina Fabian
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
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

5 comments:

Terri main said...

The book is different. I found it engaging and troubling. It raised some theological issues that I'm going to be addressing in tomorrow's post, but I enjoyed the book and many of my theological questions were resolved the further I got into the book.

Christopher Hopper said...

I suppose the LOTR connection might be the "fellowship" formed among her characters, but I wouldn't naturally draw that tie. Maybe that's because I'm so tired of everything being tied to LOTR these days (my on work included) and felt that Lisa did a great job at being fresh. They way I felt putting it was that The Begotten was everything The Da Vinci Code wanted to be, but never could be. (Because Brown forgot about the real Jesus).

Definitely worth reading and I'm looking forward to Terri's theological thoughts tomorrow (mentioned above).

CH

Mike Lynch said...

Brandon,

Good post. As always, you find a way to tie the book to something else in an interesting way.

Mike

Terri main said...

Chris mentioned he was interested in seeing my theological take on this. Well, it took nearly 3 hours to write, but I just finished.

Tomorrow, I'm going to write about Theology, History, Truth and Speculative Fiction.

Terri

Brandon Barr said...

Hi Terri,
I'm going to head on over and check out your article. You always have great topics and present your ideas with eloquence.

Christopher,
Thanks for stopping by. It does seem that anything semi-fantasy in nature gets labeled with a LOTR comparison...

Mike,
You are too kind.