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To the Ends of the Earth
The bestselling author of The Quilt weaves together a tale of political, religious, and personal conflict during the rise of Christianity. A Carthaginian merchant journeys to Constantinople to find riches and power, but finds a ruthless government ruling in the name of Christendom.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
T. Davis Bunn
67 books128 followersAlso writes under the names Thomas Locke and Davis Bunn.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 16, 2017
To the Ends of the Earth starts off slow, but this is because it is a character driven story more than it is an action/adventure or thriller. The build up pays off, and once you clear the first half and understand the true nature of Travis, Raffa, Hannibal, and Lydia, the author is free to really get into their purpose and the circumstances they must overcome.
This is a novel that tells the story of a pagan's journey towards Christianity, and the very real struggles Christianity faced in the Roman Empire in the years after the Jesus' death. Travis is not a believer of any one sect, as the religions of the day were called. He does not associate with temples or rituals. And yet when he meets Lydia, a true believer that God is the light that can free all of mankind, a spark is kindled. Part of that is a growing love for the woman, but part of it is a hunger for the belief in a higher power, and in a God who is merciful and kind. He has seen too much brutality in his day to want anything else. As Travis and his trusted guard and friend Raffa travel to save Travis' family holdings, they bring along with them Lydia and her father Hannibal who wish to do the same for theirs. It is a dangerous time for everyone, particularly Christians, and the route is speckled with trouble. There are twists and turns in both the growth of the characters and the stories revealed that will keep the reader guessing until the end.
This is a novel that tells the story of a pagan's journey towards Christianity, and the very real struggles Christianity faced in the Roman Empire in the years after the Jesus' death. Travis is not a believer of any one sect, as the religions of the day were called. He does not associate with temples or rituals. And yet when he meets Lydia, a true believer that God is the light that can free all of mankind, a spark is kindled. Part of that is a growing love for the woman, but part of it is a hunger for the belief in a higher power, and in a God who is merciful and kind. He has seen too much brutality in his day to want anything else. As Travis and his trusted guard and friend Raffa travel to save Travis' family holdings, they bring along with them Lydia and her father Hannibal who wish to do the same for theirs. It is a dangerous time for everyone, particularly Christians, and the route is speckled with trouble. There are twists and turns in both the growth of the characters and the stories revealed that will keep the reader guessing until the end.
August 11, 2017
It was a little hard keeping up with the story. One of the main reasons is that it takes place at a time when there was very little written about the church. Constantine has just died and his sons are fighting amongst themselves for power, even though it might mean death for Christians. I do not know where this story starts out from because no name of a place is given until Travis sets foot in Carthage. After that you can at least keep up with his travels into the Mediterranean as you keep up with the maps given in the book. This is also a time when Christian churches are fighting with each other because of false doctrine entering in. Today people think Christianity is a mess, you should read of it back during that time period of history.
November 30, 2018
The concept for this novel was very intriguing for it is a time period that is not often written about. Dealing with the rise of early Christianity after the rule of the Roman Emperor Constantine. I haven't read enough about it and I wanted to learn more. And while I did learn a bit, there wasn't a lot that held my interest in this novel.
Travis is the son of a landholder in dire need of help. He has two older half-brothers who hate him, living in Carthage and Rome. Yet Travis is the one, despite the wealth of his half-brothers, to set out on a journey as a merchant to find fortune for his father again. He has dealings with one brother in Carthage, where he also meets the merchant Hannibal and his daughter Lydia. Then the whole crew goes to Constantinople in hopes of gaining money for their goods. Of course there is the love interest between Travis and Lydia, gag worthy so. There was no build up with their affection or interest in each other. It was just a bam they love each other deal. And of course they run into the other half-brother in Constantinople and Travis has to get out of all the evil and mustache tweaking plots his half-brothers send his way. Oh, it was so cliche, I stopped paying attention at lest half way through. I had a vague hope that it would become interesting in the end. Really it was just about Travis finding Christianity, since Hannibal and Lydia were Christians. Not the first dude who converted for a girl in history. It just read flat and as a overly hyped hero's journey with a hero I didn't even like. Lydia was fascinating, a Christian woman who traveled with her merchant father. Give me her story and for crying out loud she doesn't have to fall for the first guy that comes to her door. Again, cliche and silly.
I wanted to know more of the history of this time and I really don't feel like I got a lot of that beyond the epilogue that gave a brief summary. It was a cruddy love story and it focused way too much on elements of Christianity, without explaining why Christianity became so popular.
Travis is the son of a landholder in dire need of help. He has two older half-brothers who hate him, living in Carthage and Rome. Yet Travis is the one, despite the wealth of his half-brothers, to set out on a journey as a merchant to find fortune for his father again. He has dealings with one brother in Carthage, where he also meets the merchant Hannibal and his daughter Lydia. Then the whole crew goes to Constantinople in hopes of gaining money for their goods. Of course there is the love interest between Travis and Lydia, gag worthy so. There was no build up with their affection or interest in each other. It was just a bam they love each other deal. And of course they run into the other half-brother in Constantinople and Travis has to get out of all the evil and mustache tweaking plots his half-brothers send his way. Oh, it was so cliche, I stopped paying attention at lest half way through. I had a vague hope that it would become interesting in the end. Really it was just about Travis finding Christianity, since Hannibal and Lydia were Christians. Not the first dude who converted for a girl in history. It just read flat and as a overly hyped hero's journey with a hero I didn't even like. Lydia was fascinating, a Christian woman who traveled with her merchant father. Give me her story and for crying out loud she doesn't have to fall for the first guy that comes to her door. Again, cliche and silly.
I wanted to know more of the history of this time and I really don't feel like I got a lot of that beyond the epilogue that gave a brief summary. It was a cruddy love story and it focused way too much on elements of Christianity, without explaining why Christianity became so popular.
June 16, 2018
interesting book about the struggle of the early church
May 10, 2019
Historical fiction about the Byzantine empire
November 29, 2019
Nice twist on the historical novel. Look forward to more from the author (I hope).
June 10, 2021
The book is kind of boring until you get half way through.
September 28, 2022
Very enjoyable story... Liked the characters, the intrigue, with a great flow of suspense and action. Well worth a read...
August 7, 2008
I was fully engaged, enjoying this a lot. Interesting historical novel.
April 28, 2009
I couldn't even finish it.
June 25, 2010
I wasn't that fond of this one. Some parts I really enjoyed, but the main story seemed a bit long winded.
January 20, 2012
a novel of the Byzantine Empire
December 27, 2013
Book lost its way, could have been a lot better.
May 5, 2014
Takes place AD300 in Mesopotamia. Early Christians.
December 16, 2015
A novel of romance and adventure, and the early Byzantine Empire. I enjoyed this peek into the end of ancient times.
March 22, 2016
Enjoyed reading about Istanbul - back when it was a thriving Constantinople, full of intrigue and a rising competition to Rome, as the Empire began to splinter.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews