The Remnant by Monte Wolverton

Book description: 

In the year 2069 the Apocalypse came and went, but Jesus didn't show up, as some expected.

Instead, a cataclysmic war, natural disasters and pandemics eradicated 90 percent of earth's population. Now, in 2131, a totalitarian government rules the world from the majestic, opulent capitol of Carthage, Tunisia. Blamed for igniting the war, religion and religious books are banned. Citizens who will not renounce their religion are sent to work camps.

Grant Cochrin, imprisoned in a bleak petroleum camp in what was once North Dakota, leads his family and friends to escape and embark on a long, dangerous quest for a Christian community. Their resource in this journey? A cherished page torn from the now banished Bible---a remnant of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount handed down from Grant's grandparents. 

What if there were an Apocalypse and Jesus didn't return? What if the survivors found themselves living in a world ruled by a totalitarian government, where religion is forbidden and all religious texts have been destroyed?

In The Remnant, award-winning author Monte Wolverton tells the tale of a band of concentration camp escapees who trek through the lawless American wilderness on a quest for authentic Christianity, only to come face to face with an unthinkable dilemma. The Remnant is a fast-paced story punctuated with dry satire, memorable characters and hard questions about religious institutions.

My review:

   This was a new author to me, and he approached the idea of an apocalypse from a different viewpoint. Most books like this take place after Jesus' return, while this one takes place before.

 I thought the book was well written. It had a great plot and characters that were easy to like and keep up with. I found it very interesting how the main characters had such a limited idea of Christianity and the Bible, yet could tell what was fake or wrong in the many different groups of Christians they ran across. Although the book is fictional, there is a message there for all of us. I was also intrigued at the idea of this group possessing only a small

 The author did a great job of describing what life and the world might be like after events happen that are described in the book.

 I found the idea of Christianity becoming the world religion a bit of a stretch, as the close to the end we get, the more Christianity will be put down. I also found the multiple uses of the "d-word" out of place and distasteful for a Christian novel. However, I did find it an enjoyable read.

About the author:

Monte Wolverton is an award-winning author and syndicated editorial cartoonist. He is associate editor of CWR magazine. He is an ordained minister and holds a MA from Goddard College in Vermont. Along with his wife Kaye, he makes his home in southwest Washington State.

The Remnant is available from CWR Press, an imprint of Plan Truth Ministries

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity for the review copy.