Mercy is useless. Merav knows better than to ask this of me

Merav, his oldest, is a lovely, bubbly girl. She is petite—but to compensate for that, her hair and bust point upward. She hops onto the stone stage and prances towards her father. Then she rises to her tiptoes to brush her lips across his cheek, at which time her eyes flutter slightly and turn, almost by accident, to meet mine. 

“David,” she curtsies, spreading her silk skirt with a perfectly dainty move, and in a blink, also winking at me. 

“Enough with that,” blurts the younger, nudging her sister aside. With that, she gives Merav a look, as if to admonish her for a behavior unbecoming of a princess, especially a Jewish princess.

Like her father, Michal is tall. She is all legs, and has no chest to speak of. It is flat as a board. The back of her hand, when she extends it to me so I may kiss it, is white, and her palm feels clammy. 

Then, without a single remark to me or to her father—as if what she has to say is too heavy for words—she turns on her heels and walks away. 

Meanwhile, Merav releases the spear from her father’s hold, and with a disarming smile she whispers into his ear, “You love me, father?”

“I do,” he says.

“Then,” she hints at me, “have mercy on him.”

She leans the thing against the wall, and a minute later hops off the stage, and races her sister to the other side of the court. They disappear beyond the stone arc, and the sound of her giggles subsides, until finally it is no more than a ghost. 

 The king heaves a sigh, raising his eyes. Catching sight of the richly draped, raw-silk canopy over his head, he flicks off the pretty tassels dangling down from it. When they fall back into place, he tears them out with a single rip, at which time he turns back to me. 

“Mercy is useless,” he says. “Merav knows better than to ask this of me. I’ve told her so, many times before.”

★ Love historical fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

Historical Fiction with a Modern Twist...

Rise to Power

Paperback ★ Hardcover 

Audiobook

"The miracle of Uvi Poznansky's writing is her uncanny ability to return to old stories 

and make them brilliantly fresh"

-Grady Harp, Hall of Fame reviewer

Soon the trilling of pipes will be heard

And so Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and my bodyguard, Benaiah, hurry out of my chamber together, to escort Solomon to Gihon. I have chosen this spring, whose name means gushing forth, for a reason. 

It flows three to five times daily in winter, twice daily in summer, and only once daily in autumn. No one has ever gone through the passage all the way to its outlet, which is hidden in a cave. It is deep enough to preserve a sense of mystery about it. 

Despite being intermittent, the spring is a reliable source of water for the Pool of Siloam, located in the Kidron valley, which stores up water for the City of David. It made settlement possible here—not only for drinking water but also for irrigation of the royal gardens. Since ancient times, it has been considered a source of sustenance. What better place to ensure an orderly transition of power for my dynasty, and what better symbol for the future!

All my attendants have followed Solomon on his journey, so here I am, left all alone in my chamber. There is not much to do but follow my son from afar, in my own way. 

I imagine the priest taking the flask of oil from the sacred tent to anoint him. There is a flash of gold in the air as he starts pouring, which brings to mind the fragrance of oil. I smell it as if it were dripping over my own head. 

Somehow the days of my youth, when Samuel the Prophet arrived at my father’s house to choose the next king of the land, come rushing back to me. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, in which I detect a dash of powdered bark, a pinch of scented medicinal leaves, sweet cinnamon, calamus and cassia, mixed together into olive oil according to an age old formula passed down the generations.

By now, I imagine, the sound of trumpet must be reverberating back and forth between the walls of the valley. Soon the trilling of pipes will be heard, along with the thud of footfalls in various rhythms of dancing, and laughter, resounding laughter of men and women rejoicing. 

I can almost hear them shouting, and find myself startled by the words, in which my name has been omitted to mark an irreversible change.

“Long live King Solomon!”

And the last thing I imagine before sleep comes is Adonijah, pressing his hands over his ears to stop it, stop hearing the blaring of the trumpet, while his guests are rising in alarm, just about to disperse. 

★ Love historical fiction? Treat yourself to a gift ★

Historical Fiction with a Modern Twist...

The Edge of Revolt

Paperback ★ Hardcover 

Audiobook

"The miracle of Uvi Poznansky's writing is her uncanny ability to return to old stories 

and make them brilliantly fresh"

-Grady Harp, Hall of Fame reviewer

Pure Artistry

I'm thrilled to find this review for my novel, Apart from Love:

5.0 out of 5 starsPure Artistry

ByA Critical Readeron August 28, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This book is truly a work of art. I first discovered Uvi Poznansky when I happened upon The White Piano and was intrigued. After reading it, I knew I had to read the entire series.

The White Piano is woven into this book, which contains both Ben’s and Anita’s perspectives. If I could give Ben’s side seven stars, I would. Anita’s point of view fills in the missing pieces from The White Piano to present a more complete picture of what went on, but I must admit, I couldn’t wait to get through her chapters so I could return to Ben.

There are various issues I have with Anita’s narrative. One is explained at the end of the book, and so I must inform any reader who struggles with the mixture of poetic prose with bad grammar, you must be patient because there is a reason for it. Obviously, we know throughout the book she has bad grammar because she’s not educated. But if she’s not educated, she then wouldn’t tell her story in a poetic or stylistic manner either. However, as I stated, there is a reason for it. Just read until the end.

I also was not aware this book apparently takes place around 1980 until I started reading Book 3. I’d thought this was present day, making the overuse of the word “awful” in dialog confusing. The way it’s used sounds more like the 1950s or 1960s to me, but at least I now know this is not supposed to be present day.

The Anita narration was just a personal pet peeve, but overall this book is amazing. The plot- wow! It is so dramatic and emotional and contains levels of depth. There is some odd behavior, but this is life, and people can be off. In this family, everyone has their demons, and that is part of what makes the book so touching and so powerful.

The books leaves you with lots to think about, and if you try to skim through it quickly, you'll miss out. Enjoy the paint strokes, both large and small. This is an absolutely beautiful work or art.

A Riveting Story!

Here is a great review of my WWII Spy thriller, Marriage before Death:

5.0 out of 5 starsA Riveting Story!

ByKindle Customer49on August 29, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Having already read Uvi Poznansky’s extremely touching love story between Lenny and Natasha throughout their various stages of life, I looked forward to yet another glimpse at their time together. I knew going in, Poznansky’s prose would be poetic and lyrical, her descriptions beautiful. And being a history buff, I also figured I would enjoy reading about the WW2 French resistance––those bold men and women who led cloak and dagger existences, all in the name of fighting the Nazis. But what grabbed and thrilled me was how the author managed to create one riveting action scene after another, dovetailing them nicely into the couple’s journey. And with all those chapter cliffhanger endings that she added, I found myself staying up late into the night, dying to find out how it would all turn out. A treat, indeed!

Love and War

John Holland is a poet, writing about life and the question of where we fit into an uncertain universe. He has a lovely blog featuring his poetry and authors he enjoys. I am thrilled to find his review of my WWII spy thriller, Marriage before Death:

5.0 out of 5 starsLove and War

ByJohn Hollandon August 28, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition

This is another satisfying story from the gifted pen of Uvi Poznansky. This is essentially a WW11 spy thriller, but also a love story.
The love between Lenny and Natasha takes place amidst the chaotic violence of war and intrigue.
Written with maturity and clarity and coloured with deft imagery, this story takes us deep into a place where love struggles to survive the circumstances around it.
Ms Poznansky displays a firm knowledge of time and place and has the ability to take the reader with her on her story. You feel you are there and witnessing the events first hand.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves a well written and authentic feeling story. I would not tie it to one particular genre. It is at once a WW11 spy thriller and a love story. There is an underlying psychological element as well.
It is a pleasure to read.

Throwing caution to the wind

I used to think that ‘throwing caution to the wind’ was an overblown expression—until I found myself doing just that. I hurried in the direction of the glow and then, upon arriving at the village square, found the sight of the fire to be nothing short of hypnotizing. So did a crowd of Frenchmen.

There was not a young man among them in sight. Most of them seemed to be in their fifties and sixties. Their faces reddened by blows of heat, there they stood, watching the flames engulf a building with a frightening roar. 

There was a bursting of timber as the door collapsed into the blaze, its mass reduced to embers. Hot air rippled, one sheet over another, over the equipment inside, which included telegraph and encoding machines, as well as a large printing press. First, its metal turned white-hot. Then it started melting in a tortuous twist, as if trying to release flaming letters. 

Stacks of typed leaflets were arranged in one corner of the space; stacks of newspaper in the other. Over them, flying cinders swirled in the air, sparking fire. 

And in a flash, it all crumpled into ashes.

“There goes Le Populaire,” said one man, with a sigh. 

And another echoed, “Oui, there it goes.”

“One more underground newspaper, destroyed.”

“The mere existence of it used to show us dissenters that we are not alone.” 

“Now, alone we are.”

I stood in the back, wondering why none of them made a move, no one carried buckets of water to douse the flames. I mean, with Paris newspapers under tight German supervision, why not try to save this place? Why not help the French Resistance get their word out? Should there not be an alternative to controlled press? Were these villagers immobilized by shock—or else, was there some other explanation, which I failed to grasp, for being so passive?

★ Love suspense? Treat yourself to a thrill ★

Marriage before Death

Paperback ★ Hardcover 

Audiobook

"Uvi Poznansky raises the stakes in a high stakes story, filled with uncertainty, drama and suspense... This book is a nail biter and one I found hard to put down. For me, this is Uvi Poznansky's best novel to date." 

- Richard Weatherly, Author

Review of Marriage before Death by @RichWeatherly43

Richard Weatherly is a talented writer. He welcomes you to his place where you will find book reviews, interviews, posts on historical events and samples of his creative writing. In addition to the main blog page there are pages with poetry and short stories.

I am thrilled that he posted his review of my WWII spy thriller, along with the book description and my author bio. Check it out:

Review: Marriage before Death: WWII Spy Thriller