An Echo in the Darkness: The Mark of the Lion, Book 2

Arrived as expected, nice shape and the price couldn't be beat anywhere. Looking forward to reading it

This is a continuation of the first novel (A Voice in the Wind). It is a religious love story amidst pagan Rome which contains all the human emotions of violence, pain, lust, disappointment and happiness. It's about the personal journey that Marcus makes to discover meaning to his life after knowing and loving Hadassah, this Christian Jew. His sister out of cruelty and jealousy sent her to the Coliseum to be attacked by lions. It shows Hadassah's faith in God even when facing death.Marcus is forever changed and bitter toward his sister for this act and finds his former life unfulfilling; thus, he proceeds to search for Hadassah's God by going to Jerusalem. What he doesn't realize is that Hadassah survived the mauling and is treated by a physician at the Coliseum. So, this is parallel stories running at once and how they converge at the end. We follow the personal journey of Marcus, what happens to Hadassah, and Julia, the sister of Marcus. All through the story is dominance of the Christian religion with prayers and a couple of miracles connected to Hadassah, and its ultimate conclusion.I felt the ending should have been weaved into the story instead of the author telling us what ultimately happened. However, this is a powerful story about love and faith. Sometimes you get a little too much religion but in eagerness to find out how it ends, you read on. The third book is a stand alone book about the Gladiator and what happened to him.

Being broken from the loss of Hadassah, Marcus journeys to Galilee to try to find some answers about her. She had told him that she heard God’s voice in the wind, but try as he might, he can’t. With a set of unexpected events, however, Marcus begins to understand, but he’s not sure he’ll ever understand why Hadassah was taken from him when he loved her so or be able to forgive his sister for her life choices or killing his dream. But things are not always as they seem, and God still works miracles in the lives of his children.The cover of this one looks exactly like I pictured Marcus. (The cover that is appearing for my review is not the one on the book or audio I had.) Again, I found the research impressive, and the story riveting. The head-hopping continued, and I noticed a few mispronounced words. “Julius,” the male slave, also sounded too much like “Julia,” Marcus’s sister, most of the time. I loved how this one ended, but the last part, where it just told about what happened to the family, should have been worked into story form and not just recounted.

My wife reads many historical fantasy novels and authors. We have met quite a few of them at signings and national events. I am merely her official “photographer and book obtainer”, so I really don’t know anything about what I have ordered and she has read. I have had to build extra shelves in our home to accommodate the vast library she has acquired and read. One shelf is about to break from the many hard backs she has stacked on it. I foresee our den being compared to Lord Grantham’s Library eventually. Rolling Ladders and high back chairs with a butler just through the next door. She only reads books from her favorite authors and favorites from her reading group at work. So, if I have composed a review for a book on amazon like this one, I can assure you she has read it and enjoyed it and heavily discussed it with her group of co-workers. Consider this a recommendation by my wife for an excellent and enjoyable read.

This is the second book in a series and with the teaser at the end of the first book, you can't help but want to read the second. The main characters from the first book are still there (those that survived) and the addition of new characters only serves to give you more characters to care about.Francine Rivers does not follow all the rules of Christian fiction... and in not doing so, her work is fascinating, makes you think about what kind of person you are or could be, and gives you hope.You'll want to forego sleep reading this one.

My pastor loaned the 1st book in this trilogy to me, and after about 20 pages of it, I ordered the remaining 2 books from Amazon. I've never read anything so in depth with how I imagine events actually took place in that era, as well as the emotional upheaval that these characters experienced. I could find nothing wrong with the historical flow either. I can hardly wait to read the last one.

I really liked all three books of the series, but this was my favorite. An amazing story, well told, without the at times difficult to take brutal violence of the first book. Loved the characters and how things unfolded - just enough suspense to keep the pages turning. I will look forward to reading it again. Her books do such a great job of conveying the power of the Christian way.

I often buy books for my wife, who is an avid reader. This book came well recommended by other reviewers so I bought the series. After reading the book, my wife insisted that I read it also. While it is my opinion that these books are written for women, I was surprised at how good of a read it was. I have never been a big fan of Christian fiction, mostly because the characters never seemed real to me. Even the sinners in the books had high moral standards that didn't fit the character. As an example, the pilot and the flight attendant in the first Left Behind book had been involved for months, but had never been intimate. It didn't seem real in the book or the movie. Ms Rivers paints characters with real human feelings, desires, weaknesses as well as strengths. The sinners engage in sinful acts, but without the lurid details of common fiction. There is action, violence and blood in the book that paints the people of Rome as history has shown them to be.

I liked the book overall. It makes scripture very relevant to life choices and is thought provoking. I didn't find it as good as the first one. Very focussed on a few characters and could have done with a few more, or more background stories on the new characters introduced. I get what the author was trying to do but found it a bit cheesy in places. Saying that though I enjoyed the different journeys that the characters were on and couldn't put it down. Looking forward to getting stuck into the third book of the series now.

I absolutely love The Mark of the lion series. Francine Rivers is a Christian writer that writes with an effortless style that I find speaks straight to my heart. These books are challenging to people with faith as much as they are to those without, and even if you don’t believe in God these books are still an amazing account of endurance and love in every sense of the word. I highly recommend these books.

After reading the first book in this series, A voice in the Wind, I was captivated and so I couldn't wait to read this one.An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers. Once again it is beautifully written and evokes many emotions from the characters personal struggles. However, the ending was for me, a little contrived and did not seem to enthral me as the first book did.Having said that though, I am still looking forward to reading the last book in the series. Francine Rivers is for me a brilliant writer and overall her books have made for a very enjoyable read.By ordering these books through Amazon, you can be guaranteed of a prompt service and great prices.

Great value for money. This book is part of a series I’m currently reading. It arrived promptly & in very good condition. Thank you

This is the second book in the series of three.So great! Life changing!I would recommend it to both believers and those searching for faith.