The Betrayed: A Novel of the Gifted

Book two of The Gifted Series is even better than book one, if that's possible. The Gifted are finding more members as they stumble along, trying to do God's will, but not sure what's expected of them. Daria, the healer, Father Piero, Tessa, Gianni, and Hasani, are searching for the missing parts of a mysterious map, but they're not the only ones. They are in a race against time and evil men who deny God and want to destroy his band of believers. Lord Abramo Amidei, the evil Sorcerer, hopes to destory The Gifted, one by one, until no one is left, except Daria. As he closes in on them, the members of the small band face danger, deception, and betrayal in their search for the truth. The Betrayed is an amazing, beautifully written book, and The Gifted is simply one of the best series I've found in a long time. The Begotten, book one, and The Betrayed, book two are must reads for fans of thrillers and religious history. Both are highly recommended.

Lady Daria and Father Piero continue to seek out the lost parts of the Pauline letter they are convinced will light their way. Surrounded by her faithful knights, the young child Tessa with her own gift of discernment, Daria continues to heal and the Gifted's powers and faith strengthen. The sorcerer feels their spiritual growth and plans well to slowly and methodically destroy Daria's friends by exposing their weaknesses and taking Daria for his own. Drawn in to a trap by a once faithful friend, Daria's small band of spiritual warriors and friends are wrongfully accused, sold in to slavery, tortured and slaughtered, and her own soul laid bare. God's prophecy for the Gifted suddenly seems beyond their grasp. Lisa Tawn Bergren does not let up in the sequel to The Begotten. In this intensely powerful novel the Gifted are tested beyond their own power to stand firm as the evil one plans a concerted attack to bring Daria to his side. The adventure is gripping and the heartache palpable yet newer members drawn to the Gifted provide comic relief in a world sliding into despair. When I read the last page of The Betrayed and closed the book, I was disappointed not to find myself on one of the islands of Venice, so rich and descriptive is Lisa's writing! Piero's plainness and humility, Gianni's strength and devotion, Vito's humour and Hasani's visions all play a part in this captivating story that leaves you gasping for breath, challenged in your faith and eagerly anticipating the final instalment, The Blessed. Trust me, you want to read these books, live the adventure and delight in their truth.

The Betrayed by Lisa Bergren is a thrill-ride in the vein of The DaVinci Code and The Rule of Four, but with better writing and a believable plot. The sequel to The Begotten, the book picks up with Daria, Father Piero, Gianni and the rest of the Gifted in Venice trying to figure out where God wants them to go next. A little background plot: It's 14th century Italy, and a fragment of a lost letter to the Corinthians by Paul prophesies of a group of people called The Gifted who will join together under the symbol of the peacock to battle the Sorcerer and his dark forces. Daria heals, Father Piero has the gift of wisdom, Gianni has faith, Hasani sees visions, Tessa discerns good from evil, Zola who betrayed the group in The Begotten has the gift of tongues. Daria and the gang fled Siena after pursuit by Abramo Amidei, the Sorcerer who wishes to enslave the Gifted's powers for evil. A cardinal from the Vatican is also pursuing the Gifted in hopes of using them to advance his own position in the church to Pope. Each group holds a piece of the lost Letter. The Gifted discover pieces of a map have been hidden throughout the churches of Venice and begin the hunt trailed by Amidei and the cardinal. Politics twine throughout the tale making friends and enemies difficult to distinguish. An enemy now may be an ally later and vice versa. A new member of the Gifted makes himself known in a spectacular way. I love Bergren's attention to detail throughout this series. She made Siena and Venice come alive with rich descriptions. The characters are well-rounded with the Gifted slipping in their faith occasionally, and Amidei's allies questioning his actions as well. Bergren's attention to small detail is amazing: Abramo Amidei's name is itself an attack on God. Translated the name means: Abraham God's friend, nice touch! Trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together for the Gifted is just as exciting for the reader. After reading The Begotten, I had to force myself to hold onto The Betrayed for a couple of weeks before reading it. It was so compelling, I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out, and while it looks as though the series is intended to end with the next, I sincerely hope not. This is one of those series that I would love to just go on and on. Adventure, swashbuckling, romance, faith, mystery, this book has it all.

I love this series. Intrigue, passion, hope, heart, history. If you love great stories, tight writing and church history teamed with romance, fantasy, suspense and mystery, you've got to get this series. If you loved DaVinci Code, Rivers' The Mark of the Lion, Bright and Cavanaugh's Great Awakenings you'll find much to like in The Gifted series. As far as flaws, they are tiny. Three very similar names of major players confused me at the beginning, but once I figured it out, it didn't hinder my enjoyment. Bergren does a small amount of telling and some passive writing, but to tighten this series up any further would have made the story almost too tense. Those who will not read speculative Biblical fiction may not like this series. It is based on a "lost" letter. Bergren does not twist doctrine or attempt to rewrite Scripture, she just adds a story line happening centuries after the Bible, as we know it, was fully formed. What if the gifts of the Spirit landed on individuals who then were drawn together in a group and called to fulfill a path chosen by God? Good question and the amazing story playing out in just such a scenario. The Betrayed is a powerfully written, gut-wrenching tale. As the characters agonize and struggle with the Gift that each has been given, and the responsibility that comes with it, I couldn't help but think of Job's wife's counsel. "Curse God and die." The characters are brought to that point, the one where all they have left is the struggle between believing God is who He says He is, and finding a shortcut out of their pain. Each character is three dimensionally formed and believable as they accept, in degrees and layers, God's calling and their expected obedience. The spiritual warfare aspect of the book is powerful as well, classic good versus evil, but with the good showing weakness and insecurity and evil showing raw magnetism.

The book starts off right where The Begotten left off. It is the year 1340. The members of the Gifted are searching for clues to help understand more about their gifts. Daria, the healer and leader of the group, is being watched by the evil Lord Amadei who wishes for her to use her powers for him. He tries to use her former ally Vincenzo to get her to bow down to his wishes. However her faith is too strong to allow her to bend towards his will. Unfortunately this causes not only her, but all the members of the Gifted to suffer and question exactly how strong their faith really is. Once again I was enthralled by this book. The details are so rich and the characters are extremely well developed that I felt that I was pulled along into the story. At first it was a little difficult trying to remember who everyone was and what their gifts were. The action doesn't really pick up also until the middle of the book. But when it does, BAM! there's a whole lot of excitement going on. Daria has become one of my favorite female characters ever because of her faith and strength. Even when questioning God for the treatment she and others must suffer doesn't waiver her belief. Actually it was good timing that I read this book because my pastor was doing a series on exactly the questions Daria asked in the story. The villain in this book, Amidei, is deliciously evil and the way that he manipulates people to get to the Gifted is scary. The rest of the Gifted are extremely loyal to Daria and will do whatever it takes to save her. All of them get their faith tested in this book. It was also fun to discover a new member of the Gifted as well. Bergren is able to weave historical fact with her imaginative tale perfectly. It's a wonderful blend of fantasy, history and biblical knowledge. The story leaves you hanging so I am eagerly looking forward to the last book in the series. Highly recommended for fans of epic stories like LOTR or Narnia.