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    The Gift
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    The Gift
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    The Gift
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Gift

    Written by Bryan M. Litfin

    Narrated by Ray Porter

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This second book in the Chiveis Trilogy continues the search for the New Testament in a world where the Bible has been lost. The Chiveis Trilogy takes readers hundreds of years into the future. War and disease have destroyed civilization as we know it. Much technology has been discarded and history is largely forgotten. Slowly, the few survivors have begun to build new communities, and kingdoms now prosper in a kind of feudal order. But the Word of God has been lost for centuries. After the finding of an Old Testament in book one of the trilogy, The Gift picks up the story of Teo and Ana. Exiled from their homeland and trying to survive in unknown and dangerous lands, they search for any record of the missing Testament. Their journeys lead them into the region we know as Italy. An elite society welcomes Ana, who finds she must choose between her new life and her dream of returning to Chiveis. Will Teo and Ana's relationship withstand the circumstances and new enemies pulling them apart? And can Teo keep ahead of a powerful and mysterious force opposing his search for the New Testament? Litfin's imagination and fast-paced narrative style will capture the hearts and minds of all fiction readers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEChristian, Inc. Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2012
    ISBN9781610452908
    Unavailable
    The Gift
    Author

    Bryan M. Litfin

    Bryan Litfin has a ThM in historical theology from Dallas Seminary and a PhD in ancient Christianity from the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books and scholarly articles on the early church, as well as six published or forthcoming novels (three of which are set in the ancient church era). Bryan lives with his wife and two children in Wheaton, Illinois, where he is the Head of Strategy and Advancement at Clapham School, a classical Christian school. For more about him, see his website at BryanLitfin.com.

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    Reviews for The Gift

    3.5/5

    36 ratings31 reviews

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    • 3/5
      In the second book of the Chiveis Trilogy, we find our heroes in a new land, having been run out of Chiveis. It is here that they find a new set of challenges, ones that are more insidious and subtle than the ones they encountered before. The trials here are not as external as before -- the temptation here is to surrender to pleasure and ease, not to give up against hardship. Ana in particular falls victim to the new attention that her beauty has brought to her, and Teo is left alone to seek the New Testament without his constant companion.Litfin, besides being able to write a pretty fun page-turner, is not content to run the two through the typical trials we would expect in such a work. He is looking at sin as well as persecution, temptation as well as opposition. The end result of The Gift is a book not quite as entertaining as The Sword, but one that is diving farther into these characters than I had expected originally.The volume also sets up the last one nicely and leaves me wondering where they are going next. There appears to be what we can only call a new papacy lingering in the background. I do not imagine that Litfin will be content to let that be (he is a Protestant), but he does seem to be in some ways compressing church history into this one generation. To be sure, I am anxious to continue the series.On the negative side, while there are some really good and lofty ideas floating around in there, they are interspersed by plot that is not always necessary or is redundant. Ana's character gets a little deeper in this one, but it is actually more often their enemies that have the better characterizations in these books. That being said, the Iron Shield was a cool idea for a villain that just didn't go anywhere. That was a great disappointment in this one, because I was looking forward to more from him. All that being said, it's still a solid and fun story, and worth the time.
    • 4/5
      Naturally, the three books of this trilogy should be read in order. To be honest, though, The Gift was the one book in the trilogy that was the most demanding of me. By turns, it was soaring, glorious, and then it was frustrating and crawled by. Books like these, written by the Christian author about God's plan and purpose in the world all end the same way- because in God's story, we win.Bryan Litfin surprised me at every turn. In a good way. It's rare that I have to put a book down to keep myself from hyperventilating. I was, literally, on the edge of my seat a couple of times. Characters do what you don't expect them to do, but it fits with the message. I liked that it was sometimes unpredictable (SPOILER ALERT: I did not like Ana's "drifting" into the society of Ulmbartia, how the glitter and attention went to her head so that she started treating Teo like a second-class citizen; it frustrated me to pieces.), but there were times I was just so frustrated with the stupidity of some of the characters that I had to put it down for a few minutes.All in all, a worthy addition to the trilogy, and one I would definitely recommend to my friends.
    • 2/5
      Second in Liftin's post-apocalyptic series, The Gift improves leaps and bounds over it's predecessor The Sword, but I'm still hesitant to give it three stars. This volume finally gets a little originality and Liftin finally starts showing instead of telling, but, unless you managed to slog through The Sword, there isn't enough payoff here to call this anything other than mediocre. That said, with how much of an improvement this volume was, I'm eager to see the third to see if it's actually a good book.
    • 2/5
      While the first book in this series was pretty decent, this one was not good at all. As a matter of fact, I almost put it down without finishing it. I said in my review for The Sword that the concept that Mr. Litfin has created is very solid. His post-apocalyptic future has destroyed the world that we are familiar with and society has risen again in a form very similar to feudal times. The two main characters, Ana and Teo, have discovered some old texts of Christianity (a version of the Old Testament most significantly) and are trying to introduce it into their society to provide an alternative to the controlling and sacrifice based religion currently practiced in their realm. For this they are expelled. Once again, in this volume, the author does have a nice storyline set up. Ana and Teo must learn to survive in a new country with different laws and practices. They have also committed themselves to searching out more Christian texts in order to fill in the rest of the precepts of the religion and complete their knowledge of the God to whom they have devoted themselves. Fine, all well and good.This book however takes off on the weaknesses of the first and multiplies them greatly. In the first book, characters of the opposing religion were unbelievable evil in their actions and everything that they did was evil. It made absolutely no attempt to disguise that this religion was wrong in every way. Well, in book 2, here we go again. Heinous acts are committed by the opposing characters and no one ever questions whether this is right or wrong. The ultra-good intentions of Teo and Ana become saccharine sweet and the virtues of Christianity are continually shoved down the readers throats. All of this combines to make what started out as a solid concept almost unreadable. The action and adventure in the novel are all that kept me going, but it was definitely a struggle.
    • 4/5
      this is a great book, although I hadn't read the first one, so I was a little lost but I still got through and it was awesome. Definitely recommended for those Christian Fiction lovers.
    • 4/5
      I had previously read "The Sword", the first book in Bryan Litfin's trilogy, and was curious to see what turns the story would make. In a medievalistic earth in the future, technology, history, knowledge are lost. Most importantly, the Bible is lost. Ana and Teofil discovered the Old Testament in the previous book, and have been driven out of their country. As I read, I was excited to see what would happen next, and the plot had exciting twists and turns. The writing, while improved, is still somewhat awkward, and the characters are at times cliched. But Ana's character is developed more in this book, and we see behind the pretty face. Not bad for Christian fiction, and I'll certainly be reading the next book.
    • 2/5
      I received this book through the Early Reviewers program (shocked that they would send me book 2 after my poor review of book 1). To be honest, it would have languished in my queue if not for my sense of duty and the fact that I'm moving and wanted to get it packed.Litfin's writing style has improved, but he's still a "tell, don't show" sort of guy. His hero is still pretty much perfect and impossible (what's the male version of a Mary Sue called again?), and his heroine is still pretty much a pretty trouble magnet used as inspiration and a source of drama. While the premise continues to be good -- post-apocalyptic outcasts trying to rediscover the lost religion of Christianity -- the execution is lacking. The prose is stilted, using some overwrought words mixed in with the most basic English vocabulary and style. Basically, it feels like reading a sanitized version of Twilight, or like the Left Behind trilogy. If you liked those books, you'll enjoy this.This book adds even more romantic tension between the main characters' thoughts, but they talk to each other more like an old married couple. Their friends are 2-D good, their enemies impossibly and hilariously evil. For all their talk about Deus, there's even more deus ex machina.Bottom line: if you'd enjoy reading romance novels but don't want to stain your mind with any sexuality, this is your book. If you like your fantasy to be 100% focused on putting Christianity front-and-center, this is your book. If you insist on well-written fiction, this could be a guilty summer beach book.
    • 4/5
      First of all, a note inspired by a couple of my friends. Yes, this is a christian book. I'm not a christian, and I still enjoyed it. Many non-christians won't give it a chance (my two friends, for example), but I would recommend you do. But as with all trilogies - it's better to read book one first.Normally I start with a review with a short introduction to what I thought about the book. This time I'm going to do it differently, and start with a review of the introduction of the book itself. Firstly there's the prologue. Now it's the second in a trilogy - and normally I don't like prologues in the second of a trilogy. But this was short, and in essence was the same as the prologue of the first novel - extended a bit to briefly (barely) cover what happened to the main characters in book one. I felt it didn't really didn't need to be there, but it doesn't harm the story. But what I really want to talk about of the introduction is the first chapter. The start of the novel finds the main characters (Ana and Teo) with a small group of scouts. The author uses this as a way to help remind the reader of what happened in the first book (The Sword). It's not a unique way to recap the readers, but the way Litfin utilises this tool is possibly the thing I admire most about the beginning of the book. It's easy to read - not just a long monologue about the previous book - it even misses out the majority of the story. But it shows the character of the characters, and from the first chapter we are once more identifying with and sympathetic to the characters, Ana in particular.Except for one point, and this I felt was the biggest problem I had with the book. I had felt that at the end of the last book the two main characters feelings were pretty much sorted out. If not spelled out in words, it seemed to be pretty clear. But in the Gift it seemed to be that actually they were quite confused about each other. Maybe this is me reading too much into the first book, or not having read it in a while, but it seemed to me like their relationship had taken a step back.Since I'm discussing the problems I found with it, I might as well discuss the other thing here. For a considerable amount of the first half of the book, I felt that it lacked direction. While events occurred which were central to the plot, there seemed to be a lot of the characters not knowing what they were going to do. And since they are separated early on, they don't get a chance to plan. The purpose only arrives when Teo decides to take things into his own hands (from what I can tell, roughly six or seven months after the start of the book. The whole book lasts a year). After this however, it's a nice story. That's not to say it's a bad story at the start - just not very strong.I admire Litfin's ability to depict his characters different beliefs about God, or Deus as he is called in this fantasy novel. He has his believers and he has his non believers. He also has those somewhere in between. But what I am impressed by is that his believers are still human. Even Ana, the more devout of the two, occasionally has doubts about God. Most of the novels I've read with christian characters has characters that fit the molds of "Priest who is actually not religious" or "Devout, perfect believer who never stops believing" - essentially the two extremes. Litfin manages to place his characters at various positions on this scale, and keeps them there. The brief scene involving Ana's parents is another example of this.Another thing that I liked to see is the differences between the different regions. In particular the avoidance of Ruins of Chiveis, but the embrace of the ruins of Roma. I particularly enjoyed the description of that ancient city, and it's a nice touch I thought. I won't say anything more about it, as it's a slight spoiler, but if you choose to read this book you'll see what I mean. A couple of side comments before the conclusion of the review, firstly the scripture. generally it's translated. But occasionally it's said only in latin. In future editions, or the third in the trilogy, I would like to see translations of those at the back of the book. It's a little thing, but I don't speak latin.The other thing I'd like to comment on, not really part of the story, is the cover art. It's impressive. Cliff Nielson has done well, and he was a good choice. If I wasn't reviewing this book because I enjoyed the first, it would definitely have drawn my attention. I like it.Overall this book has many strengths. The characters were as excellent as before, the descriptions were vibrant and interesting. The various factions impressed me, and the links with the pre-apocalypse world also. On the negative side it didn't really develop a strong plot until midway, and the relationship between Ana and Teo sometimes seemed overly confused. It didn't invoke the same thoughtfulness as the first one did, but it was an enjoyable read all the same, and I look forwards to the final in the trilogy.
    • 2/5
      I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.I also received book 1 of this series last year. It was flawed, but the concept was fascinating: 300 years after the destruction of much of the world, Europe has returned to medieval feudalism. A young man and woman find a copy of the Old Testament and convert to this mysterious new faith, and face persecution as a result. It ends up being a fantasy/dystopia with heavy vibes of what early Christians endured under Rome. Despite some aggravating flaws--such as extremely black and white characters--I wanted to give the second book a try.If this hadn't been an Early Reviewer book, I would not have finished it. Instead, I skimmed, wincing all the way.Instead of improving, all of the flaws of the first book are magnified here as they search for the New Testament in a future Italy. Ana is a beautiful woman who every man wants to rape. No exaggeration. Ana isn't completely passive, but when she's active it's in a sacrificial way. She's the one who runs at the guy with a sword and yells, "No!" only to be tossed aside. And then there's Teo. He's a trained soldier and he gets all the action and heroism. The bad guys are even worse. They are as flat as possible, pure evil and relishing in it. I expected moustache-twirling, too. It's rather insulting to the reader when the characters are painted in such broad strokes. Even some promising attempts at diversity--such as a gay man whose only indicator of gayness is his constant descriptions of being "effeminate"--fell into stereotypes.The plot felt contrived as well. For some reason, everyone as a copy of the Old Testament but not the New. (And yet all these people who only have the Old call themselves Christian). Hundreds of pages blurred by as Ana was seduced by the high society of a Paris Hilton of this new world, and kept being told that Teo was just her "bodyguard" and she had to stop thinking about him. Meanwhile, Teo was actually fighting swordfights and meeting the exiled freaks of society and doing the heavier lifting in the plot.Then there is the dialogue. I won't describe it. Instead I'll quote (and do note that this is an advanced copy, so it could be changed):"You have led me straight to the prize, Teofil... Now at last I will kill you. My only regret is that I cannot prolong your death. I will have to pour my anger on your woman instead."Yeah.I really, really like the concept of this series. I love dystopian books, and the idea of Christianity (or any lost faith) being rediscovered is fascinating. But this just plain doesn't work.
    • 5/5
      EXCELLENT!!!!! This story was unique, engaging and captivating from beginning to end!! can't wait to read more in the series!
    • 2/5
      Not a bad read, though I am not sure about the whole christian theme being so blatant in the book, i normally prefer a little masking like Narnia. A bit slow at the beginning.
    • 2/5
      I've read a lot of fantasy and science fiction over the last 40 years, but only started reading Christian works in these genres in the last five years or so. I really wanted to like this book because of the Christian theme, but it just didn't hold my interest and I gave up after 80 pages. The basic plot is good and the characters were almost interesting, but the writing just wasn't up to the high standards that I look for these days. Even so, I would be willing to try future works by Bryan because this book shows that he has a lot of potential.
    • 4/5
      I am sorry to say that I did not read the first book in the trilogy prior to this one. However the second book can be read as a stand alone as Litfin does a good job of weaving enough information from the first book into this story line through flashback, comments, etc. The concept of a world where the Bible has been lost is intriguing. However I feel the characters can be a bit over dramatic, predictable and in some ways not human enough. Despite the character development weaknesses, the story is engaging. Their feeling of frustration in not knowing the rest of the story of God comes off quite well. I like that fact that through certain characters Litfin shows the Love that God has for all people no matter who they are. The characters on the side of evil are just that what they are supposed to be evil. Overall it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the first and 3rd books in the trilogy.
    • 5/5
      As I did the first book in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do feel like a reader could take this book up without having read the previous one, as Liftin makes a clean break with all but the main two characters throughout most of the book. As opposed to the last book, which I really had no idea where in the world the setting was, this setting is much clearer - and as I've been to some of the places it was even easier to visualize (the scenes will be familiar to most even if they haven't visited because of their popularity & because his writing is such that you easily find yourself immersed in the world). As a reader I also found myself drawn to the characters emotionally - always an exciting thing. One thing I have really enjoyed about both books is that they trace major themes from actual church history - so I am very curious where the results of this second book will lead us in the finale. I'd love to write a lot more, but I'd give so much away, so - just go enjoy it yourself.
    • 3/5
      I received this as an Early Reviewer and wasn't able to review it as soon as I was finished as I couldn't find it to add to my library (may have been an error on my part), so it isn't as fresh. Even though I had not read the first book in this trilogy, I found it pleasantly surprising to find that I could easily follow and get into the story without prior knowledge of the characters or story. Litfin did an excellent job of weaving flashbacks into the storyline. I'm not sure how someone would feel about this who had read the first one, but it helped me. The premise of a post-nuclear world that has lost the Word of God was believable and made for an intriguing setting, especially when the characters come across remnants of the old society. The characters themselves have, to some degree, depth, but I found them rather stereotypical and predicable. Overall I found the story to be enjoyable and involving but lacking in depth, which I usually like to see in Christian fiction. There is a predictable "fall," followed by predictable redemption, while other characters go the way you'd expect. I saw no new revelation of the character of God or connection with any character to challenge me or make me think. I would like to read the first book, though, and will read the third when it comes out so I can see what happens as there is a great adventure.
    • 3/5
      The Gift is the second book in a series by Christian author Bryan M. Litfin. I received the book for free as a part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program on the condition that I review the book after reading it.As with the first book, I was not super impressed. The plot and concepts of the story itself are actually fairly good, but unfortunately the author does not really do a great job in presenting that story. The characters feel a little forced and over-dramatic in dialogue and reactions. Modern concepts and ideas also seem to creep in to what is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic society hundreds of years in our future. It's just not particularly convincing. That's actually too bad, because it feels like the idea could have been masterfully pulled off by a more skilled writer.I will also say that the book is unashamedly Christian, even going as far as to include study questions in the back for strengthening your faith. Non-believers are likely to be turned off by the overt spiritual under and overtones. For believers though, this book (and this series) may be worth giving a try.
    • 4/5
      When I saw that I would be receiving Bryan Litfin's novel The Gift to review, I discovered that it was the second in a planned trilogy. Sometimes you run across a book in a series and it doesn't matter if you haven't read the previous books, but in this case I fill it's pretty essential for a real understanding of where the story has been and where it's taking us. So I immediately purchased The Sword and read it rather quickly.I absolutely loved The Sword. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, mankind is living in a feudal stage with no technology. The story, after you get past the introduction of how the world came to be like this, reads much like a fantasy, although we can never forget it is science fiction because of the ruins of the ancients. The Sword tells us how Teo and Ana find the Old Testament, their discovery within it's pages of the one true God, and why they are on the run from the leading religious authorities in their kingdom of Chiveis. In The Gift, Teo and Ana are on the run and discover a whole other world that's out there. Ana gets caught up in the new society and goes through a fall from grace in a series of events and the choices she makes. Teo, while trying to protect her, is considered a low-class citizen and doesn't have as much access to her as before. But he also is on a mission to get to Romo and find the Papa, who may be able to lead him to a copy of the New Testament. The Gift has instances that draw parallels to Bible stories, such as one character who acts like a traitorous Judas, selling Ana out and receives silver for her deed. The first part of The Gift was interesting and kept me reading to see where it was going, but I felt a good deal of the middle was much slower than the first book. The latter half went at a much faster pace and I found myself not wanting to put it down. Like it happens so often with trilogies, the second book didn't hold up as well as the first, but that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I love books like this series, and I'm looking forward to the final volume.
    • 4/5
      1) I hate reading series out of order, but I take what life gives me. Going into this without knowing much background, I could still read the story and know what was going on. Major points there since some more famous authors still can't manage to pull that one off.2) Christian fiction...yeah. Not really my thing. While this wasn't overly preachy, the fact still lingered in the back of my mind. I tried not to let the bias free from its cage.3) All in all, this was a good book. I wouldn't read the first, personally, but not for terrible writing. I have passed it on to a younger sister to read.
    • 3/5
      This book was, unfortunately, a bit of a 50/50 split. I loved the depth of the characters and the strong difference of good versus evil. But the book has many plot problems. In one place you have one of the protagonists lying in bed, practically dead and barely conscious and the other protagonist is senseless from fatigue. In this situation, everyone is in the same room and somehow (miraculously) the almost dead protagonist gets up - without anyone noticing(!) - and switches the medicines! How? And how, I might add, does Latin - a dead language dropping from modern culture rapidly - survive a terrible, worldwide catastrophe when, as I said, it is practically dead in 2011 and the war doesn't happen until 2042 AND the story takes place 400 years later???? Even after all those incongruities, I still found the book powerfully gripping to the point of reality. I found myself reading cover to cover in the joyously painful intensity of the story. I loved the characters, places, and theme of the novel, but found it lacking in plot formation. You can't just throw in a random element to the plot and hope it works out, you have to show the how, when, where, and the what of any event in a book. It isn't like watching a film or TV show. It's writing. One other thing I didn't like was the sensuality of the novel. In a Christian fiction story, I thought the goal was to break away from the sensuality of the world and show the beauty of writing without all the innuendo and "romance" that the world gives us constantly. So my overall thoughts? All in all, a good book. But I feel like I wouldn't read it again. I give it a 3 out of 5. I would say that the audience would be anywhere from middle to late teens/young adults to even adults.
    • 5/5
      I am always disappointed to start reading a series or trilogy on a sequel, so I was a little apprehensive to begin this trilogy with book 2. However, I didn't want to wait till I could find and read book 1, so I went ahead hoping that there wouldn't be too much I'd missed so I would be lost.I was not disappointed with this book! There were obviously things that happened in book 1 and they did reference some during the story, but each was explained or summarized enough that I didn't feel like I was an outsider peeking in, and the story worked well enough to stand on it's own.A medieval setting in the future, due to society having been wiped clean from war, our two heroes are searching for truth and the one true god, and meeting with lots of opposition and obstacles along the way to test their faith.The plot was engaging and the conflicts were all thought-provoking. The characters were all well-rounded enough that they seemed like real people with stories of their own, and were interesting enough that you wanted to delve into those individual stories.I found both heroes to be extremely likable and I was routing for them all the way. The bad guys were evil and creepy just like bad guys ought to be, but they weren't one-dimensional and so fit into the story seamlessly.I found myself feeling frustrated at the character's lack of understanding about their faith, because they seemed to grasp hard at concepts that were completely wrong, so I was releived in the end when everything started to fall in place as they discovered the truths of the New Testament.I am looking forward to getting and reading book 1 and book 3 when it's published as well. Ana and Teo have captured my imagination, which is all that one could ask of a story!
    • 3/5
      I think this book would be perfect for a younger audience, maybe late teens. There are some good lessons to be gained from the main character's struggles with temptation. I found it a little boring for long spans and thought the storyline line a little predictable.
    • 4/5
      I received the first book (The Sword) in the trilogy last year and was left wanting to know where Ana and Teo would be led next. This next installment was everything I could ask for. Though they experience appalling evil, they also grow in their faith of Deu. They join up with some of the remnant of the Christiani and in a beautiful scene near the end of the book, they find the New Testament from the most unexpected source. Faithfulness to the path of Deu and forgiveness (both giving and receiving) are important to the development of their relationship with each other, with their new friends, and with Deu. And that faithfulness will lead to their next mission in the next book.I enjoy these characters. They aren't presented as paragons. They have so many questions about Deu , they struggle as they try to believe and they suffer for their faith. And they learn to trust. Yet again, I am left wanting to know what will happen next.
    • 4/5
      I received the book as an advanced reader copy from LibraryThing's Early Review program. Although I have not read the first book in the Chiveis Trilogy, "The Sword", I do think this book stands alone. In fact one the main problems I had with the book is that it tries too hard to remind you about the events of the previous book. There are at least 5 place in the book where he reiterates the events in "The Sword" where Ana and Teo find the Old Testament. Don't get me wrong he needed to link the two books, and give new readers some back story. It was just over the top, and once you are in the third act of the book you really don't need to hear AGAIN about how they found the book, you already know so get on with the action.That and the strange jump in perspective towards the beginning. An attack that the reader has been expecting suddenly jumps to the perspective of the attacker "Hrath the Almighty", and Teo is pretty much left out of it even though his quick thinking leads the attackers into an ambush that would have otherwise been a massacre. And then it jumps again to Nikko Borja, the main villain of the piece without a wrap-up of the attack from the main characters. In fact when you go back to the main characters its a long time until the attack comes up in conversation.These examples just show that Bryan Litfin is new to writing fantasy fiction. I think the character are otherwise well-rounded, and developed nicely. The premise to the story is creative and the biggest draw to the novel for me. The post apocalyptic Christian fantasy, where the Bible has been lost to the ruins of time is really intriguing. I think with a few more novels under his belt Bryan Litfin could be the next Stephen R Lawhead.
    • 4/5
      I wasn't sure how I would like this book when I started reading as it is different from my normal selection. The story has a very smooth flow and the characters are developed as the story progresses. I did not read the first book in the series and I think this books stands alone. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      Okay, so I gave the first book in this trilogy a bad review, because the writing let me down. However, I was interested in the premise and the story line enough, that I requested the second book. I was blessed to recieve an advance copy again! Thank you library Thing!I'm glad I did, because this second book is much better than the first. I enjoyed it from front to back. The characters were lovable and although they seemed to go through an unbeleivable amount of trials, they faced them with courage and reasonable good sense this time.The premise is working better in this one, Ana and Teo go in search of the lost New Testament, finding other believers on the way. The adventure also kept me turning the pages.They get into one scrape after another becasue of their belief in an ancient and unpopular religion. I also liked being able to recognise some of the "ancient" places they went, and to think of how they would look hundreds of years after. The only thing that still bugs me is that they seemed to have a lot of blind faith in the old religion, when they hadn't even learned much about it yet. In that sense the characters still seem a little naive to me. It didn't ruin the story for me though. It was still a good read.
    • 5/5
      The Gift is a powerfully written story about forgiveness and a desire to know the truth, no matter the cost. The author has a gift for making situations impossible and seemingly hopeless, then finding hope in every situation. I lost track of the number of times I held my breath expecting the worst, which often happened. As the story progressed I saw how even the worst circumstances were used by God for a greater purpose. There were so many spiritual truths and lessons in this novel. I couldn't imagine living in a world knowing most of the truth, but then missing the greatest portion of that truth, the person of Jesus Christ, who ties the Old Testament to the New. This story moved me to tears on numerous occasions and gave me an even greater appreciation for the scriptures. It also contained a powerful romance that was compelling because it showed the power of true love and the beauty of committing to loving one person for life, the person God intended for you. Teo and Ana exemplified sacrificial love, which always draws the unsaved to faith in Jesus Christ, Who is the model for us all. It's impossible to read The Gift and not be moved in some way. I cannot wait to read the next book in this incredible series.
    • 1/5
      I'm not sure if it's the overuse of dialogue, but the pacing is terrible. Honestly, this could probably be 100 pages shorter and be so much better for it. Also, this book continues to set up the struggle between two opposing religions that is the over-arcing narrative of the series. Unfortunately, the setup is frustrating in its simplicity; Christianism is shown as being over-the-top good and virtuous while the characters of the opposing religion are almost comical in how evil and repugnant they are. I think it's more interesting for opposing sides to be complex and varied rather than black-and-white.
    • 4/5
      In part two of the Chiveis trilogy (begun with The Sword) Bryan Litfin leads readers in Ana and Teo’s continuing journey in The Gift – out of their beloved Chiveis and into a post-apocalyptic Italy where beauty and sensuality reign supreme. Here they encounter yet further persecution and realize that not only is Deu’s religion prohibited in their homeland, but has also been targeted by powerful leaders in other lands.As the pair strive to rediscover the missing portion of Deu’s Word (the New Testament) and unravel the secrets surrounding the Pierced One, their character continues to be refined and tested by many trials. Thankfully Litfin has done much to improve the depth of his characters, giving them more realistic flaws while drawing them closer to their Creator.No longer is Ana a seemingly sinless young woman as she comes face to face with her own previously hidden weaknesses and failings. The tender – if confused – feelings between Teo and Ana also continue to build on a firm, if still somewhat platonic bond of affection.It is exciting to see that Litfin has clearly been working on improving his craft, and as such, I am looking forward to reading the continuing adventures of Ana and Teo which are bound to be as exciting as those contained within this installment.Disclosure: I received a physical copy of this title for review.
    • 5/5
      This book takes place a mere three weeks after the end of The Sword. Teo and Ana have met scouts from a land called Ulmbartia, and are welcomed as heroes after Teo helps defeat some attackers. Ana is noticed by the top levels of Ulbartia’s social stratus, and is quickly welcomed into high society — which separates her from Teo. Everything looks wonderful in Ulmbartia.But things are not always as they seem. Ulmbartia has a problem with people who are less than perfect; these Defectives are taken from society and never seen again. And there is even more hostility to the One God and His Book — even as Teo and Ana search for the lost second part of the Book. And Ana has to make a choice between the good life she’s been given and the man she owes her life to — a man she may even … love.The Gift is a great sequel to The Sword. There is action (especially toward the end), there is suspense, main characters die or seem to die. There is theological exploration that reminds me of some of the questions that the Jews had of their Messiah — is He to be the conquering hero or the suffering servant? And which of these was Iesus Christos? We see the continuing development of an orthodox Christian theology as Teo and those with him begin to learn more and discover more about this ancient, lost faith called Christianity.I’ve actually had this book done for quite a while — this series has grown on me, and I’m a little disappointed that the next book will be the last one (it’s a trilogy, after all) — though I’m hoping for a second trilogy. The plot moves, the twists and turns suck you in, and the characters are compelling (though I got a little frustrated at Teo and Ana constantly NOT declaring their love for each other). And once again, we get a glimpse of how theology may have developed in the early Church, and how different opinions and interpretations led to the many sects and denominations we have today. My recommendation of the Chiveis Trilogy is only strengthened after reading The Gift. It’s in stores — go buy it already!!
    • 5/5
      Step forward several hundred years into a post-nuclear apocalypse future. Earth has lost most of her technology and a new feudal age is in full swing. In this world, the Christiani are hunted down and nearly exterminated, and even the very message of the New Testament has been lost and nearly forgotten.This is the story that Bryan M. Litfin crafts for us in his Chiveis Trilogy. "The Gift: A Novel", the second book in the series, follows Captain Teofil and Anastasia as they journey through new lands in search of the lost New Testament. Along the way, their adventures are many as they narrowly escape imprisonment, torture and death at every turn. The physical dangers aren’t the only obstacles in their quest, they battle temptation to fit in to the spirit of the world they inhabit, too.The book comes off feeling a bit like a fantasy work, yet there are no fantastic characters. It’s actually more similar to a tale from a long lost medieval age, with the twist of people trying to search out the true meaning of Christianity. The character development is excellent even if the plot at times seems too good to be true. The quest to find the true nature of Christianity and to uncover the lost New Testament makes for a great story line, however. And the book moves along at a quick pace.Without having read the first book, I was still able to enter the story easily: enough of the backstory was retold that I didn’t feel lost. This book also comes with 15 study questions in the back which would allow it to serve as a class assignment for a study of literature, or equally well as a discussion guide for talking over the story and the moral dilemmas which faced its characters with your teen-age children.This story was both unique and well-written. And what is vital for a fictional tale, it was ultimately satisfying. Yet the book offered even more, it was a work about our Christian faith and the struggle to live it out faithfully in whatever age we find ourselves in. I recommend the book highly. It would make for great summer reading. I’ll be keeping my eye out for the conclusion of Litfin’s Chiveis Trilogy, too.Disclaimer: This book was provided by Crossway Books for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.