The Ambition

This is a very interesting novel. It's a legal thriller written by an ex atheist. There's corruption, faith, ambition, legal issues and the author is not afraid to explore or entertain ideas related to faith.

I’ve devoured a number of Lee Strobel’s “The Case For…” books and was highly excited to read his first foray into the realm of fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed The Ambition but am sorry to see there hasn’t been another release to follow it. Although the main plot thread is tied up, there are a few that are left open ended and would be idea for a sequel, if not a series. <br /><br />There’s a fairly large cast of characters in Strobel foray into what is a crime fiction novel at heart, but I had no problem keeping track of them. We get a corrupt judge with ties to the mob, the pastor of a mega church considering a senate race, an investigative reporter who isn’t afraid to dig for the truth, a gambling addict, and several others who filter in and out of various plot threads. <br /><br />There’s a small bit of head hoping and occasional shifts in tense, but overall, Strobel delivered a compelling novel that kept me flipping pages. Scenes are punchy and short, constantly propelling the plot forward, and the diversity of the characters as well as their motivations make for an interesting melting pot. <br /><br />Standouts for me included Art Bullock, assistant pastor of Diamond Point Fellowship, and investigative reporter, Garry Strider. Tasked with digging into the background of Eric Snow, Diamond Point’s lead pastor—now a candidate for a senate appointment by the governor—Strider’s assignment opens worm holes of power and corruption. There are plenty who don’t want to see Snow win the appointment, and even among those who do, his profession doesn’t suit. Snow goes through a metamorphosis as the novel progresses, and I found his final words—the final words of the book—to be the perfect ending. I would love, however, for Mr. Strobel to revisit these characters in a new story. I would be in line to pre-order! <br />

Filled with scandal, corruption, murder and a couple of miracles, The Ambition is definitely a page-turner. Author Lee Strobel puts everything he's got into this first novel that won't disappoint his fans. He has taken his experience in law, journalism and religion to produce quite an entertaining tale. Strobel is a best selling author of Christian non-ficion. His Case books are very popular, though I have not read or heard of them before reading The Ambition. It seems he has quite a big following in the Evangelical Christian community who have found his non-fiction books helpful in their lives.<br /><br /><br />His strong Christian beliefs make there way into this novel as well, which is understandable since it is considered Christian fiction. His characters' beliefs are always shared and there is some preaching (amongst the characters). Though prominent, it doesn't get in the way of the story. In fact, considering the subject matter- it fits. The Ambition is also a thriller. As mentioned previously, there are mob hits, corrupt judges and possible scandals within a large Church. Strobel does a good job of weaving together these two seemingly different genres.<br /><br />I had a couple minor issues. One- there are many characters to keep track of- a pastor looking to leave his church to get into politics, a corrupt judge, a gambling addict who is a disbarred lawyer, and a journalist looking for a story to help keep his paper afloat. I managed to get confused with who was who quite a bit in the beginning. Once I got more into the story, and their importance to the story revealed itself, I no longer had any issues following along with each character.<br /><br />[SPOILERS]<br />Second, I would have liked to seen a little more bad in the good. What I mean is the characters that are supposed to be good guys were and the bad were bad. There wasn't much in the way of surprises in the end. The agnostic becomes a believer, the pastor returns to his flock, the gambler turns to God and the bad guys get caught. <br />[END SPOILERS]<br /><br />All in all, it was an enjoyable read even for someone who doesn't normally read Christian fiction.<br />

Fast paced book with well developed characters and plots. I enjoyed all the twists and turns that Lee Strobel arranged for the reader.

For a first attempt at fiction writing, Lee Strobel did a fantastic job. The characters are well developed and his knowledge of Chicago politics shines through. He writes about something he is very familiar with as he weaves a tale of deceit and corruption. He is a former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, and he has even taught First Amendment Law. Many people live under the delusion that they can control everything and manipulate the facts, people, or evidence to make things turn out the way they want. Some even lie to themselves as blind ambition keeps them from seeing what's happening all around them.<br /><br />Lee weaves a tale that reminds one of the Godfather saga. If you don't mind overlooking a few sentence fragments, as he sometime writes the way people speak or think, you will come away with a renewed hope and assurance that Good will ultimately triumph over evil. There is also the idea that not every opportunity is something to be pursued. God moves in mysterious ways, and at times in the story, you can almost hear him talking and see him working. Priorities change, and lives are affected. I've said enough. This is a "must read" if you enjoy Christian fiction.

If you know anything about Lee Strobel and his own testimony, then you are in for a treat. Not only is The Ambition loaded with suspense and mystery, but it is filled with spirituality. Everything from coming to Christ, to miracles of complete physical healing, to a Pastor moving to politics. <br /><br />Knowing his background as a reporter, and how Lee sought the truth of Jesus and the Bible, having to have the Bible spelled out as factual for him to come to faith in Jesus, you see that through his characters and appreciate it all the more.<br /><br />There were many leading, well rounded characters. It’s a story of a church that makes a huge difference in Chicago where there are corrupted judges and politicians that are bought by the mob. The struggles of the church, judges and politicians collide and there are explosions.<br /><br />The Ambition is a page turner that will leave you with deep thoughts of your own. It was an amazing story that I found very compelling.<br />Note: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. Other reviews can be read at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://TMWoodsBooks.com/blog">http://TMWoodsBooks.com/blog</a> . Also follow me on Twitter @TMWoodsBook, FaceBook at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/TMWoodsBooks">https://www.facebook.com/TMWoodsBooks</a> .<br />

Eric Snow is pastor of a megachurch in Chicago. He and several followers have built up a good solid Christian church. In his former business, he has made millions of dollars and poured much of it into this church. One day he is approached to be a candidate for the US Senate and he is very interested. Soon, he is off the course and living his life with rising aspirations of being a senator than a man of God and what He wants for his life.<br /> Amazing things start happening at the church. Miracles are happening and people are being healed. But his political advisors are recommending that he distance himself from the church. It's not good for his career.<br /> There are other things going on in this book, also. Corrupt judges, a man in the grips of gambling,heavy duty mafia undercurrents...very well done story that will certainly keep your interest. Written by former atheist and newspaper reporter, Lee Strobel, it's a winner!

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought it was a fun, fast, tight read. It moves at a good pace, it had me guessing as to how it was going to be resolved, and I liked how Christianity was interwoven throughout the other elements of the story (a preacher wanting to leave his church to go into politics, a crooked judge, members of the mafia, a couple of hitmen, a cynical reporter or two, and some legal "stuff" as well). The character development was decent; I thought the various "internal conflicts" were believable, for the most part. I thought it would "evolve into a mystery" of sorts, but it never seemed to quite do that (turn into a full-blown mystery novel). <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="5b6968e8-163e-44f2-aed5-9aba596d4304" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="5b6968e8-163e-44f2-aed5-9aba596d4304">To be honest, I didn't really think anybody's lives were in danger after the first couple of chapters, but I quickly discovered the error of that thinking!</label><br /><br />There was one line that really stood out to me in the book: <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="61dc74cc-2565-49eb-b205-e0a26c272397" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="61dc74cc-2565-49eb-b205-e0a26c272397"><i>". . . though we might not like it, he (God) will use our suffering to shape our character and help draw us closer to him" </i> (262). He goes on to point out that <i>"God never healed the apostle Paul despite his prayers. And yet as Paul said, 'Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope"</i> (262). There are times we will never get the answers we want, and sometimes the answers would never be good enough anyway. We were never promised a cessation of suffering, either, for that matter. What matters is how we handle it, the choices and decisions we make on how we will continue on despite the pain, suffering, and disappointment.</label><br /><br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="02c05cb1-e5df-4b90-b42d-79cbe1c0b1cb" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="02c05cb1-e5df-4b90-b42d-79cbe1c0b1cb">One thing that I thought the author did a "good job" with was not having everybody become a Christian by the end of the book. As "nice" or "ideal" as that would have been, it is simply not realistic. One character dies before he makes a public decision/commitment to follow Christ, and another character prays to the God he does not believe exists for the healing of a woman he dearly loves. Also, a man who proposed to a woman does not become a Christian, either, after she turns him down because of the future problems such a mixed marriage would (could) have. So, the book was more realistic than others I have read where "everybody gets saved" (granted, it was years since I read "those books" and I vaguely remember reading them but do not remember the titles or authors, so my memory of "them" could be off, as well).<br /><br />There was another "moment" that I thought the author did an excellent job with. He has a couple of miracles occurring throughout the book, and when one of the pastors is shot in the chest, I expected him to be resurrected from the dead. That was one of the "better moments" of the book, in my opinion.</label><br /><br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="8a437547-5fe4-472f-b697-4514b7e7a260" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="8a437547-5fe4-472f-b697-4514b7e7a260">The author has the "head pastor" of this mega-church constantly with another woman who was also a member of the church. I do not remember if she was a board member or an elder, but I honestly expected the two of them to have some kind of affair, considering how much they are together and the pastor's wife only appears in maybe "two scenes" in the book. It was really kinda weird/odd, I guess, that the head pastor (Eric Snow) would be with this other woman (Debra Wyatt) as much as he was and "as intimately" as he was (he relied upon her heavily for legal and political advice to the point that he alienated his wife; she wasn't very comfortable with the growing relationship between her husband and "this other woman"). With some of the initial misgivings the wife expressed a time or two when she appeared in the book (regarding his wanting to go into politics as well as how much he relied upon Debra Wyatt), I thought for sure there would be some kind of "blow-up" between Eric and Liza Snow over Debra and the amount of time the two were spending together. She even almost accuses the two of them of having an affair, and then she disappears after Debra insults her (and her husband doesn't come to her defense but instead defends Debra). That was probably the "weakest moment" of the book for me, that it felt like the author wanted to write as if "something inappropriate" was happening between Snow and Wyatt but really didn't want to cross that line.<br /><br />Also, the constant "will-he, won't-he" regarding Snow and the open Senate seat and whether or not the governor would select the "former pastor" or the circuit court judge got a bit old. I know that was a key element to the story, to the plot, but it did get a little old. At the same time, though, it was interesting to see how it affected the various "group dynamics" of the various individuals involved. So it was a bit of a paradox for me, considering how it pulled me in two directions.<br /><br />I don't know how much difference it would have made if the book had been "darker" or "grittier" in terms of the overall story, though. I have read some other Christian authors who really delve into some of the darker pits of depravity and evil and I am never quite sure how I feel about that, except that it is pretty dirty and gritty and in the back of my mind I always have that verse running, "Be excellent at what is good and innocent of evil." So, in that respect, I was grateful the author was able to write a compelling, suspenseful story without having to make it "excessively dark and gritty." </label><br /><br />I enjoyed the book; I think I would enjoy reading another such book if he were to write one. In any case, it was a fast-and-fun read; I had a hard time putting it down. I am glad I took a chance on reading it.<br />

Picked at random from the library shelf as I work my way upwards from Updike to ... well, whatever starts with "A." Corruption and murder in real time with a dose of evangelical Christianity, and a little confusion as to how, or whether, to mix religion and politics. Reinforces my squeamishness about religionists.

This book is about decisions, politics and relationship with God. It's a funny novel and easy to read. There are a lot of stuffs that make you think about your own life and I think that it's a kind of book of reflexions more than a novel.