As Sure as the Dawn - Francine Rivers
Book 3 in the 'Mark of the Lion' series: "A Voice in the Wind"; "An Echo in the Darkness"; "As Sure as the Dawn."
The final book in the Mark of the Lion series, As Sure as the Dawn changes its focus from Hadassah and Marcus to Atretes, the German gladiator who appeared in A Voice in the Wind. Picking up where that book left off, Atretes is an angry wreck of his former self, betrayed by the woman he loved and grieving the apparent death of his son. However, early on he learns (from Hadassah) that his son is still alive, and sets out to reclaim him from the woman who is now raising him: a Christian widow named Rizpah.
As with the previous two entries in this series, As Sure as the Dawn focuses a lot on the relationships between the main characters, with Rivers' pre-Christian background as a writer of Romance fiction skillfully helping us to care deeply about the characters we have met. It could be quite easy to repeat the formula that worked with the previous books, but Rivers instead gives us a much different relationship between Atretes and Rizpah. Unlike gentle Hadassah, Rizpah is fiery and passionate, just as ready to snap at Atretes as to tell him about Jesus. Atretes too is quick to anger, partially from nature and partially from his history in the gladiator arena, and the two clash far more openly and violently than the main characters of the previous books.
Early on, Atretes and Rizpah realise they must work together to raise young Caleb, and that it would be best for them to return to Atretes' homeland of Germania. To aid them in their travel (Atretes was brought from his homeland in chains and doesn't know how to return) they are eventually introduced to another Christian companion, the Roman Centurion Theophilus. This leads to more interesting dynamics, with Atretes deeply mistrustful of any Roman, let alone a Roman Centurion!
The book could be roughly divided into three sections (although Rivers has divided it further than this). The first section takes place in Ephesus as Atretes and Rizpah first battle over Caleb, the second is the journey back to Germania, and the third outlines the trials and struggles our main trio face once arriving in a largely hostile and very non-Christian Germania. As in her earlier books of the series, Rivers avoids easy cliché answers to the problems our heroes face, and although she does include a few miraculous moments to help stir some stubborn hearts, not every bow is neatly tied off at the end. This is to the book's benefit.
Very different from the two earlier books in the series, As Sure as the Dawn is nevertheless another powerful and thought-provoking story from a brilliant Christian novelist.
Highly recommended.
Completed, with Elise, 22 May 2022.
(Elise Books)
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