The Remnant by Monte Wolverton

I thoroughly enjoyed this dystopian novel. It is entertaining and is full of thought provoking scenes and interesting insights.

The year 2062 saw what was called the Final War. Major cities and nations were devastated. The war, combined with environmental disasters and pandemics, has left the world with merely a tenth of its previous population. A world government was formed and the World Federation banned all religion. All religious literature was destroyed. If a person would not sign the Affidavit of Renunciation, they were taken to work camps. The world economy was now based on this free work force.

In 2131, Grant and a number of others escape from their work camp. His parents and grandparents had been Christians and he still believed. He and his small band set out on a quest to find authentic Christianity. What they find is a commentary on what happens to Christians when there is no Bible to guide them, no authority or standard.

Grant and his group stumble across several “Christian” groups as they look for a genuine Christian experience. There is the leader who is obsessed with Christ's second coming. He's given dates for the return – all of them wrong. But he is really a con man and has a dedicated group of followers. Then there was the “health” group. Disease is of spiritual origin and they have incantations and odd foods to cure people. Their secret weapon was a “Holy Ghost cockroach.” Another group venerated a saint. Another group ingested drugs and had “spiritual” experiences. As I was reading this book I kept thinking of the many segments of Christianity we see promoted today.

There are a number of issues explored in this well written novel. How do groups get taken in by an errant leader? How would we survive if we didn't have our Bibles? Wolverton has deftly brought in lots of church history into the novel. How familiar are we with heresies from the past so that we could recognize them today? And, what is the real meaning of “church”?

Of all the issues covered in this book, perhaps the last one is the most important. Is it better for Christians and Christianity to have Christianity be against the law or to have it be accepted and used by the empire? We'll find out in a sequel.

I recommend this novel to readers who are ready to be challenged by a very possible future of being in a post apocalypse world without having been raptured.

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You can read excerpts here.

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My rating: 5/5 stars.

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. He and his wife make their home in southwestern Washington State.

Plain Truth Ministries, 272 pages. You can purchase a copy here.

I received as complimentary digital copy of this book through Litfuse. My comments are an independent and honest review.