The Last Christian

The Last Christian by David Gregory is set in the year 2088 where computer technology encompasses just about every aspect of life and God is a thing of the past.

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.

I must admit that I had a hard time when I first started reading this book. I am so not a tech savvy person. Set in the future there are so many "new" terms that it takes a while to understand what each thing is and how it works (the Grid, "tapping" people, VR - virtual reality, nanites, etc.). And I will also admit that I may have put it down were it not for the fact that I needed to write a review about it. And I'm so glad I did. The book is well worth slowing down a bit and trying to understand how it all works together. Mr. Gregory did an incredible job in creating a future using our current technology as a jumping off point.

With great detail and planning he set forth a world where artificial intelligence is striven for. At the heart of the store is a silicon brain that will replace the biological brain and therefore provide eternal life. But at what cost? There must be a cost otherwise one of the creators of the process would not have suddenly reversed his stance on the procedure and tried to stop forward progress.

And what of Abby? How can one person possibly re-introduce Christianity to a society that finds the notion archaic? How can she even get people to listen to her? And in the process how can she not question her faith as she tries to answer the questions unbelievers ask of her?

I highly recommend this book. Very thought provoking and informative.

For more information about the book or to purchase a copy please click here.

Jody

This book was graciously provided for review by WaterBrook/Multnomah.