The Final Summit

Note: This post is from my previous blog.


I found this book to be quite interesting. I have not read the prequel, so I don't have a complete grasp of everything the main character did, but I think most of the pertinent details were given in this work. Especially because this is a work of fiction, I don't want to give too much away, but in order to steer you towards or away from this work, I'll share a bit of what's taking place. 

It is now 28 years after the events in The Traveler's Gift. David Ponder has used what he was given in that adventure to become very successful. He is approached early on by the archangel Gabriel (who took him on his last adventure) and told that a summit of all other Travelers throughout time is being convened to discuss an important question: "What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?" Ponder, being from the current point in time, is chosen to lead the summit because he represents the everyman (unlike all other Travelers, Ponder has not aspired to greatness) and because he should care the most earnestly about the result of the summit. 

Many characters throughout history make appearances in this work. King Solomon is in the stands watching the summit proceedings, as are Anne Frank, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, to name a few. I would suggest a reader particularly take note of World War II era personality Eric Erickson. 

While and entertaining read, this book is quite theologically shallow. Gabriel mentions that in history, God has decided to start over, and says the most recent of such reorganizations took place with the Flood in Genesis. If you want to count Adam and Eve being banned from the Garden of Eden, then I can be okay with this statement, but as it is written, it suggests that there have been several other instances where such events have taken place. Another problem I had with the theology is when Gabriel tells us that current scientists suspect a highly advanced civilization that existed some 30,000 years before the Aztecs and the Incas. As I reread this portion, Gabriel doesn't say that these people are right in their assumption, but being a staunch believer in a young earth (roughly 6,000 years old), this portion rubs me the wrong way. And, by and large, there is little reference to God, Jesus, or the Bible. 

I found the resolution to the summit to be anti-climactic. I won't spoil the answer that is ultimately accepted, but to me, it falls far short of what would truly need to happen. We cannot save this world, as God has already declared He will eventually destroy it and create a new heaven and new earth. What we can do is give people the chance to be saved by faithfully witnessing to everyone of God, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice that has redeemed us from sin if we would only accept it. 

Overall, I'd give this book a 3/5. It is well-written, and should be quite entertaining for anyone 10 or 12 and older. 

Note: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review from BookSneeze.