As Sure As the Dawn by Francine Rivers
Reviewed by Lori Twichell, Radiantlit.com
Genre: Romance, Historical
Publisher: Tyndale
Publication Dates: March 1, 1998

As the third book in the Mark of the Lion series, As Sure As The Dawn picks up the story with the character of Atretes. Last seen in the first book (A Voice in the Wind) Atretes was trying to help Hadassah get out of the pit where she was scheduled to die. It was there that Hadassah told Atretes that his son was alive and gave him the information to track the boy down. Now, after skipping over this portion of the story in the second book, An Echo in the Darkness, Francine Rivers kindly takes us on this journey of exploration for the most famous gladiator in Rome.

Atretes, finally freed from being a merciless, bloodthirsty gladiator, finds that the world of freedom in Rome is not what he thought it might be. Women follow him everywhere, he’s mobbed if he’s seen in public, and he has no privacy whatsoever. Even the search for his son becomes a chaotic and frightening adventure as he tries to get to the small sect of Christians in Rome who supposedly know where his son is.

Once he discovers that his child had been given to a Christian woman, Rizpah, who had recently lost her own child, he is bound and determined to take the boy back. He sends his own slaves out to find a blonde German woman to nurse the child, but this does not prosper as he’d hoped. The baby, attached to Rizpah as his mother, refuses to nurse. This infuriates Atretes to no end, but having concern for his son, he takes Rizpah on to care for the boy until he’s weaned.

When Atretes tires of the popularity of his life in Rome, he determines that he wants to go back to Germania, the land from which he was stolen and forced into slavery. He makes the journey with his son, the woman Rizpah, and Theophilus, a former Centurion who is now a Christian and feels led to witness to the German people.

The journey is horrifying for Rizpah, who has never been outside her comfort zone in Rome and is frightened of what life will be like without the support of Christian brothers and sisters.

As with Hadassah, Rizpah lives the gospel and shows the light of God with every action she takes. By the time she reaches Atretes’ former village, he has turned his life over to Christ, but it is anything but easy going. The village, ruled by a priestess of dark powers, is a frightening place where Rizpah and Theophilus take their lives into their hands with every action and deed. Atretes is determined to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to his village and family, but he learns very quickly that God’s word cannot be preached or forced. Everything works in God’s time.

Once again, Francine Rivers has created characters that, despite the centuries of time and history between us, can be vivid examples of how to share the gospel today. Rizpah is far from perfect, often losing her temper and speaking things which she shouldn’t, but her heart is solidly held by God. She opens her life and her will to God’s plan and she is a brilliant, sometimes heartrending example of what we should be in the face of adversity. Her life is nowhere near perfect, but it is perfectly held in God’s hand and grace.

Though some have complained that with this book, we left the beloved characters of Marcus and Hadassah behind, the way Rivers crafted this series made this book the perfect ending to her beautiful trilogy. It shows how seeds planted (in this case by Hadassah) were watered and grew throughout years when Hadassah was not even a factor in Atretes’ life.

This series, another mainstay of Christian fiction, is one that is delightful, heart wrenching and beautiful to behold. Getting to the heart of emotions, Rivers is a master of placing the reader inside the mind of these rich and amazing characters. Examples of what we should and shouldn’t be as Christians, amazing plot twists and unexpected adventures populate Rivers Mark of the Lion trilogy.

*PG-13 – There are some situations in this book involving dark arts and potential seduction. Though not overly graphic, the subject matters themselves beg for a little more maturity.

Review copy of this book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers. Thank you!