I am thrilled to find this new review, written by Catherine Cavendish, the author of Touched by Darkness, Cold Sparks, and other books. This is what she wrote about my novel, Rise to Power:
'Rise To Power' is the first in a series of books charting the life and times of Kind David. Yes, the Biblical King David. But if you think this is going to be a religious, pious retelling of the story, you would be mistaken. This is the book's power, and what makes it so accessible to any reader, irrespective of their religion - or lack of it.
The subject himself is well aware of the sycophantic scribblings of the official historians of his day. In this account, he attempts to set the record straight, and present himself, with all his failings, to the reader's scrutiny.
In this first volume of his memoirs, we see the young, ambitious, ruthless David who will stop at virtually nothing to achieve his dreams of power and greatness. He will see King Saul off his throne - but will stop short of killing him, or of publicly condoning anyone else for doing so. He takes any woman he desires, even the married ones, and, as for Goliath...
David knows all about creating a popular public image. He knows how to attract support, and when he needs to resist his natural urge to seize power. He's in it for the long game, and his understanding of what makes humans 'tick' is impressive. The author has presented King David as a seriously flawed character, but a fascinating one - perhaps because of that.
An exciting read. I was hooked from the beginning. Others have mentioned the slightly controversial use of modern idiomatic language which maybe shouldn't have worked but, for me, it did. And it added a new dimension to this work. I look forward to part two and thoroughly recommend 'Rise To Power'
King David's story - As You've Never heard It Before, June 18, 2014
This review is from: Rise to Power (The David Chronicles Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
'Rise To Power' is the first in a series of books charting the life and times of Kind David. Yes, the Biblical King David. But if you think this is going to be a religious, pious retelling of the story, you would be mistaken. This is the book's power, and what makes it so accessible to any reader, irrespective of their religion - or lack of it.The subject himself is well aware of the sycophantic scribblings of the official historians of his day. In this account, he attempts to set the record straight, and present himself, with all his failings, to the reader's scrutiny.
In this first volume of his memoirs, we see the young, ambitious, ruthless David who will stop at virtually nothing to achieve his dreams of power and greatness. He will see King Saul off his throne - but will stop short of killing him, or of publicly condoning anyone else for doing so. He takes any woman he desires, even the married ones, and, as for Goliath...
David knows all about creating a popular public image. He knows how to attract support, and when he needs to resist his natural urge to seize power. He's in it for the long game, and his understanding of what makes humans 'tick' is impressive. The author has presented King David as a seriously flawed character, but a fascinating one - perhaps because of that.
An exciting read. I was hooked from the beginning. Others have mentioned the slightly controversial use of modern idiomatic language which maybe shouldn't have worked but, for me, it did. And it added a new dimension to this work. I look forward to part two and thoroughly recommend 'Rise To Power'
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