This series is a big commitment and not for the faint-hearted, since each book comes in at 400-500 pages apiece, and cover a lot, but they’re well worth it in my opinion. I requested this title via the Publisher on Netgalley and I’m finally getting around to the series after reading the first book a few months ago.
Most Christian books set in ancient Rome cover the First Century at the time of the Apostles, this covers the reign of Constantine and sees the return of Branduph “Rex” and Flavia, a former Germanic soldier in the service of Constantine and the daughter of a Roman Senator who is now a nun.

Flavia and Rex go through various adventures and misadventures together in the service this time of the Pope, Sylvester although Rex is still trying to reconcile with the emperor Constantine. Their adventures carry them from Rome to Rex’s homeland of Germania and back again: and this time they have a deadly assassin and a heretical Bishop on their tail.

The one issue I have…. is although I like both Rex and Flavia both are suffering from a severe case of Mary Sue-itis. They seem to be invincible: Rex survives being a galley slave, being poisoned, shot (twice) and stabbed as I recall: Flavia is sold into slavery twice, taken as a sex slave by a German King, survives a fall from a considerable height (again) and both seem to have an uncanny knack for everything going their way and turning out the way they want. A few more flaws and genuine struggles or difficulties which aren’t resolved might be in order, perhaps?

Aside from that I did find the historical and cultural backdrop was interesting: this book actually challenges some of the misconceptions people might have about the 4th century “Catholic” church: especially modern protestants: nuns, priests and even the Pope were not like we know them today. Priests could be married, and clerical celibacy was still a matter of debate, nuns did not make lifetime commitments and the canonicity of certain parts of the New Testament was still questioned by some, with various extraneous texts floating around including the so-called gnostic Gospels.

It also sheds an interesting light on some of the conflicts within the state and the church at the time: mostly between Gnostics and heretics. Some might object to the rather binary portrayal of “Catholics good; everyone else bad” but I think there is more nuance in it than that: the author’s depiction of some debates within the church and the finding of St Peter’s relics is also interesting. The details about buildings, places and military tactics are probably the strongest feature of this series- the language?
Not so much: its quite modern and Americanised. It’s not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the novel, but just enough to kind of grate on me.

I was provided with an ARC of this title via Netgalley. This did not impact my opinions which are freely given and wholly my own.

Every Knee Shall Bow
by Bryan Litfin
Pub Date 12 Oct 2021
Revell
Christian



I am reviewing a copy of Every Knee Shall Bow through Revell and Netgalley:


This book takes us back to AD 316, where an Imperial persecution has ended, but Christianity's future still hangs in the balance. Will churches rise in Rome where pagan temples once stood? Will the true Scriptures replace the myths of the gods? Will Jupiter finally bow the knee to the Lord Jesus?





For the first time in history the Roman emperor supports the church. Bishop Sylvester sends Flavia from her convent to seek Emperor Constantine's permission to build great churches and determine the canon of Scripture. The enemies of God are on the move though and they are joined by Rex, Flavia's beloved protector who has fought his way out of exile, the two friends cross the empire by land and sea on an epic quest to free the Roman people from the tyranny of the ancient gods.



Bristling with tension and undergirded by impeccable historical research, this tale of courage, defiance, and humble submission to God continues the captivating saga of two unlikely allies in the age of imperial Christianity.



I give Every Knee Shall Bow four out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

*I received an eARC via NetGalley. This does not affect my review. This review is voluntary.*

I loved the Chievis Trilogy by Bryan Litfin, and was excited to hear he had a new series! But...I'm just not feeling it with the one. While his other series was a bit more vulgar and gory than I normally like in Christian genres, I was able to overlook most of that because the MCs and story were well done.

This one doesn't have that balance and more tempered feel that his past series had. This one feels a bit too gratuitous in it's crude language and vulgar view of women and content. While I do understand that some characters are of Christian POVs and others are non-Christians and so will likely have such views, the fact that the language and content is described in such detail and repetitive nature is unfortunate.

I do tend to read darker fantasy and can understand the importance of differentiating the 'heroes' from the 'villains' and showing realistic and detailing the different lifestyles and ideals of both sides, but at some point, it becomes too much, and the story looses it's focus and devolves into something that less resembles a story of good and evil, and looses all sense of direction.

I do think the idea and concepts behind this series were well intended and had potential, I don't plan to read any more of this series, and likely even of this author as I don't feel that his style resembles the themes and type of story that I had enjoyed in the past.

Another big, brash melodramatic historical tale with questionable dialogue and characters who could be better developed. Still, it has better fight scenes and descriptions than many similar books, so on balance it's quite fun and worth reading once.

Really struggled to get into this book which is unusual as I generally enjoy Biblical historical fiction. It felt slow moving, but I'm not sure if that was just a reflection of the time it was written about.

This is a time period I know little about, so there was tons of history in it. I feel like this gives an excellent description of the time period. I can visualize so much of the cities and culture. I wonder though if the author got so caught up in the history that perhaps some of the plot was lacking. I had a hard time staying focused and remembering the plot and what was going on. It's a great way to learn about Ancient Roman culture if you don't want to read a history book. But if you're looking for a typical novel it's a little different. In my opinion.

Thank you netgalley for the book. All opinions are my own.

I requested to read and review this book through Netgalley.com. This review is my honest opinion.

This book was not what I was expecting. I do not like to leave negative reviews but my honest opinion was this is not the book for me. The book was hard to get started and then it was hard to keep going. I have to admit to skim reading in parts.

Another thing that bothered me was his use of the term Holy for people was bothersome, only God is Holy, we are called to be holy as He is.

The book overall was a long read and too jumpy for me, jumping from one place to another, one speaker/character to another. It did not flow well for me. It seemed that a lot could have been cut and the book would have been more enjoyable to me.

I give this book a 2-star rating.

Flavia is a nun during the time of the Emperor Constantine. Constantine became a Christian and started spreading Christianity in Rome and all his Kingdom. Pope Sylvester used Flavia, an heiress, and her mother and a priest to travel to Constantine to get funding for building Catholic edifices in Rome and creating a Bible for his use after having a council determine which manuscripts should be included for the New Testament. Flavia and her party get hijacked along the way and pressed into slavery. Rex, a former soldier for Constantine, who has fallen into disfavor and who was in love with Flavia before all the drama started (see book 1 of this series), has problems of his own but manages to come through and rescue Flavia. Their adventure continues as we learn some of the problems of the early church and learn about the culture and religious thought. The Gnostics are part of the "bad guys" and their view is well explained. I love all the research that went into this book and the author's grasp of this history. This series is worth having on your bookshelf. It will help you learn more about early Christianity in a non-boring and very entertaining way.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Every Knee Shall Bow is a look at the events surrounding the Constantine Empire in the 4th century, specifically as it relates to the spread of Christianity and the early church. We meet Flavia, a young Christian woman who is serving as a nun in a convent. (Be sure to read the introduction which explains how the ancient Christian offices such as nun, priest, and pope differs from today.) The other main character is Rex, a German and former officer under Constantine who has been sentenced to row on a navy ship as punishment for cowardice. The how and why of where Flavia and Rex got to be where they are come from book one, but background is given throughout this book. I have not read book one, and there is quite a bit in this book that stems from it which makes it a little hard to follow at times.

I enjoyed this book overall. The book is told from multiple perspectives, including some non-Christian ones, and the author does a good job of having the characters speak, think, and react based on what they believe. This is a complicated story set in several different cities with a large cast. It is well-researched, but it occasionally has clunky dialog and exposition on why a character would say/do something instead of letting it flow naturally or letting the reader infer. The story could be tightened up a bit and trimmed to focus the plot. I didn't feel like I really got to know the characters since there was so much going on and the point of view moved.

There is a lot here on what it means to become a Christian and how various groups believe a person should live as a Christ follower. Much of it is good and true, but some is not. Do not use this as a basis of theology. If you want to understand how to become a Christian or to live as one, read the bible. This is a work of fiction from various viewpoints and belief systems.

This is Christian fiction and as such is family friendly. However, due to the nature of the story, there is a smattering of violence and one "off-screen" scene of non-consensual sex.