Book Review: The Final Summit, by Andy Andrews

  Where is God in all of this?

I’ll start with the positives:

The Final Summit is a nice little book with an attractive cover that can be read in an afternoon.  Andy Andrews is a wonderful story-teller.  He weaves fascinating facts about well-known historical figures throughout the book, portraying them in a way that makes you wish you had met them yourself!  

The question that the main character (David Ponder) in this book must answer, with input and advice from the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and King David, is this:  “What does humanity need to do, individually and collectively, to restore itself to the pathway toward successful civilization?”

The question is posed by the Archangel Gabriel, who gives them a limited amount of time, input from five pre-determined historical figures, and just five chances to get the answer right, or the implication is that God would destroy humanity as He did just one other time in the days of Noah.  Right there, I have a problem, because after the flood in Noah’s day, God promised never to destroy mankind again. 

 

So on to the negatives:

The “correct” answer to this question was not at all what I was hoping for or expecting.  This book contains Biblical characters wherein mans’ fate would be decided by God, AND it is published by a Christian Publisher, so I expected the “two-word” answer to be something along the lines of “Pray Earnestly”, or “Seek God”.  But it was nothing of the sort.  Because of this, I felt completely let down by the book.  I mean, where was God in all of this?  He got nothing more than a slight “nod” throughout the entire book. I found it odd that the characters weren’t even permitted to ask God for help or advice.  If I didn’t know God better myself, I would have thought, after reading the book, that God was distant, silent, impersonal, cold and unfair.

Granted, this is technically a work of fiction, and if you want to read the book to learn about history and some of the great accomplishments of real men and women, that’s fine.  But it bothers me that the book implies that God somehow approves of it all while being given no glory or credit for any of the good that’s been done throughout that history.  

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.