sstaley
Written on Jun 1, 2010
I always love to read historical fiction from Book of Mormon time. This book is like one that I have never read before. It is not very often, that I read a novel that includes the Gadianton robbers and the final days of the Nephite people. The Book of Mormon people are brought to life in this novel. David uses rich detail, in his writing, to perfectly describe each of the nations that were at war with each other.
I was impressed with the amount of research that David put into this book. As you read, you know that much of course is fictional, but also you realize that this book is full of historical facts. I am not sure that I will ever want to write a historical novel. I think that they research more than any other writers.{I could be wrong here since I have not written a novel yet.:) }
Another exciting thing about this book, it is part of a series of book about this time period. The sequel will be called, "Blood of Our Fathers" and will be released in 2011. I think that this series will eventually be looked at as a great Book of Mormon epic. There is a lot of action and intrigue throughout the novel. There are many different stories and plot lines being played out. You also need to be on your toes to keep everyone straight at the first. Even though these are names you have heard before, I had to seriously pay attention or I would have been lost. This is not a novel to pick up and read casually, you will want to focus on each of the main characters and who they are interacting with.
One thing that really made an impact on me was how truly evil the Gadiantons were. All of my life, while reading the Book of Mormon, I knew that they were evil. David brings to the forefront how truly conniving and wicked this group of people were. You could see how Satan led them in all of their dealings with others. David paints a clear picture of who the true heroes were during this time. I truly loved reading about Captain Amaron, a true leader who stuck to his values and religion.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel, by the very talented, new author,
David J. West. Once I started reading, it was so hard to put down; you had to read chapter after chapter to see what would happen next.Then you had to read the next chapter and then the next etc. I lost some sleep as I read well into the wee hours of the morning.As I have said before, that is a sign of a well written book. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.