Set in A.D. 2088, the United States of America, along with the rest of the world, has turned her back on God and now finds pleasure in technology and all its advancements. Abby, raised in an isolated village in Papau New Guinea by missionary parents, comes to the U.S. after her entire village becomes sick and dies from a mysterious illness. Abby is overwhelmed by the way technology has taken over everyday life. Even more disturbing are the new brain transplants that replace the human brain with a silicon one. As she tries to find her way in this new world, she sets out to reintroduce Christianity to the American people. Abby and Creighton Daniels, a history professor, stumble on information that will affect the public's potential relationship with God in a negative way and may cost them their lives.
Usually, I do not read futuristic or sci-fi novels. I prefer romantic or historical non-fiction or biographical books. But, I decided it was time to step beyond my normal boundaries and read something different. The Last Christian is definitely different. I liked Abby's character. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, her faith never wavers. Sure, she doubts she is doing the right thing and struggles to hear from God, but she does not give up on Him and continually seeks God in His Word. She is not afraid to tell others about Christ and searches for a way to reach a group that feels they have evolved away from the need of God.
While the story line was interesting, I had a hard time with this novel. Part of it was wrapping my brain around the advances in technology (compared to what we have now), their out look on God (very negative) and the idea of brain transplants. Sometimes questions that raised in the storyline were answered in one part but were not completely answered in another. Nanites were used to infect different people. In some cases, they were injected into water bottles. But the question was not answered as to how an isolated people group with absolutely no contact with the outside world become infected, along with a doctor that helped Abby. Sometimes I had difficulty following along. Many times while reading this book, I had to put it down for a few days because the information was just too overwhelming. It was a good book but I don't think I would want to read it again.
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SUMMARY: A.D. 2088. Missionary daughter Abigail Caldwell emerges from the jungle for the first time in her thirty-four years, the sole survivor of a mysterious disease that killed her village. Abby goes to America, only to discover a nation where Christianity has completely died out. A curious message from her grandfather assigns her a surprising mission: re-introduce the Christian faith in America, no matter how insurmountable the odds.
But a larger threat looms. The world's leading artificial intelligence industrialist has perfected a technique for downloading the human brain into a silicon form. Brain transplants have begun, and with them comes the potential of eliminating physical death altogether - but at what expense?
As Abby navigates a society grown more addicted to stimulating the body than nurturing the soul, she and Creighton Daniels, a historian troubled by his father's unexpected death, become unwitting targets of powerful men who will stop at nothing to further their nefarious goals. Hanging in the balance - the spiritual future of all humanity.
In this fast-paced thriller, startling near-future science collides with thought-provoking religious themes to create a spell-binding "what-if?" novel.
David Gregory is the best-selling author of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, A Day with a Perfect Stranger, The Next Level, and the coauthor of the nonfiction The Rest of the Gospel. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion and communications, earning master's degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and the University of North Texas. A native of Texas, he now lives in the Pacific Northwest.
This book was provided by Waterbrook Multnomah for review.
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