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Tennis Shoes #9
Tower of Thunder
In 3000 B.C., threatened by the sword of Akish and the army of the Nephites, Mary, Becky, and Josh shelter a baby destined to become a great patriarch as Steffi is captured and taken to the Tower of Babel and Harry time-travels back to the battle between Akish and Gid.
406 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2003
26 people are currently reading
1068 people want to read
About the author
Chris Heimerdinger
42 books459 followersChris Heimerdinger is an author and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) who has presently written sixteen adult and young adult novels, most of which center on religious themes familiar to LDS members. Most are published with Covenant Communications in American Fork, Utah. One title, A Return to Christmas was also picked up by Random House/Ballantine in 1995. When the title was released by Ballantine in 2004, it was republished by Covenant Communications.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 1, 2023
Another fantastic edition to this series! I also love the creativity taken from materials written about the Tower of Babel.
December 7, 2017
#7 I read the book “Tower of Thunder” written by Chris Heimerdinger. It was so wonderful as always! Half of the family went to the time where Mary, Joshua, and Becky were and half of the family went to the time where Apollus, Meagan, and Ryan were. This book was only about the Mary, Joshua, and Becky side of the story. I loved this book! It’s so amazing to me how this author has a lot of different books and they all are interesting. He hasn’t bored me yet! A part that makes me sad in this book is little Joshua, he is only twelve but he gets taken over by evil. And he thinks he’s doing what’s right but he is making the worst choices. And it’s really good for the story, but personally it makes me so sad! In this book my favorite parts were the miracles that were performed. They were astonishing and awesome. What I love in all of his books is the fact that he makes me feel as if I really am there. One of the weirdest parts of the book was all the modern technology they had in such ancient times. They had airplanes, that weren’t like airplanes now but like airplanes in the Wright brothers time. So It was just surprising that it was mentioned in the book. I think the theme in this book is don’t stray. Because there was an evil sword and everybody kept getting drawn to it. And no matter how hard they tried they just kept going back to the evil. And those who did evil ended up hurting their friends or family. This is definitely a series I want to read again, and I’m super glad that I did!
October 11, 2010
This book is good, and it's full of adventure, and has the craziest cliffhanger ending so far. BUT IT HAS NO MEAGAN AND APOLLUS IN IT. Therefore, it can only get three stars. I remember how livid I was that I waited years for this book only to have to wait several more years to find out more about my favorite Roman centurion and his modern-day girl.
May 27, 2010
Again, I loved it. However, I hated that not a single word was mentioned about Megan or Apollus. I guess I just have to read the next one.
June 22, 2017
I've completely lost track of who's who, not to mention when and where everyone is. The more chaotic these books get, the less I enjoy them. The plots get more convoluted and the cast gets more bloated and the feeling has gone from fun but reverent to over-the-top and magical. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy, but when you mix magic and religion things get a little weird.
I found the earlier volumes made me want to return to the scriptures and read more doctrinal works. These make me wonder what happened to the Heimerdinger who made me cry when he wrote about the Savior's visit in the Feathered Serpent.
The chaos is so extreme that I can't remember much of the book and what I do remember makes little sense. Someone needed to rein him in and remind him to focus on story and character. There aren't enough index cards in the world to keep track of this plot.
I found the earlier volumes made me want to return to the scriptures and read more doctrinal works. These make me wonder what happened to the Heimerdinger who made me cry when he wrote about the Savior's visit in the Feathered Serpent.
The chaos is so extreme that I can't remember much of the book and what I do remember makes little sense. Someone needed to rein him in and remind him to focus on story and character. There aren't enough index cards in the world to keep track of this plot.
April 3, 2021
Out of all the Tennis Shoes books, this is the one I could most see as a movie. It's very cinematic and focused.
The previous book left one group of time-travelers at the Tower of Babel and another in ancient America. The ancient America group makes no appearances in this book, but I think that makes the book stronger because it allows the author to focus on the Tower of Babel arc. He's able to introduce the stakes, keep a consistent flow, and have payoffs in the same book (compared to later books where he tried to do too many viewpoints and unrelated plots at once, so they were less focused).
He brings in more fantastical elements, though some break continuity.
I think Heimerdinger handled the sword of Akish better in this book than in Gadiantons and the Silver Sword (book 2) where it was introduced. Book 2 had an inconsistently applied theme of using legalistic perfection to combat the corrupting influence of the sword. This book treated it more directly as a spiritual battle about the source of one's trust: prayer and faith in God, or other influences that claim to know better and to have our best interest. Which is way more relatable. And, as a good example of how this book does setup and payoffs well, characters by the end of the book have actually seen the consequences of this theme borne out.
There was more Steffanie in this book. Her voice sometimes bordered on annoying or cringey but was fun overall. Her competitive drive and athleticism made her the perfect character for the situations she was put into.
The previous book left one group of time-travelers at the Tower of Babel and another in ancient America. The ancient America group makes no appearances in this book, but I think that makes the book stronger because it allows the author to focus on the Tower of Babel arc. He's able to introduce the stakes, keep a consistent flow, and have payoffs in the same book (compared to later books where he tried to do too many viewpoints and unrelated plots at once, so they were less focused).
He brings in more fantastical elements, though some break continuity.
I think Heimerdinger handled the sword of Akish better in this book than in Gadiantons and the Silver Sword (book 2) where it was introduced. Book 2 had an inconsistently applied theme of using legalistic perfection to combat the corrupting influence of the sword. This book treated it more directly as a spiritual battle about the source of one's trust: prayer and faith in God, or other influences that claim to know better and to have our best interest. Which is way more relatable. And, as a good example of how this book does setup and payoffs well, characters by the end of the book have actually seen the consequences of this theme borne out.
There was more Steffanie in this book. Her voice sometimes bordered on annoying or cringey but was fun overall. Her competitive drive and athleticism made her the perfect character for the situations she was put into.
February 9, 2022
This was an interesting interpretation of the story of the Tower of Babel. I thought the author effectively created a vivid picture in my mind with the telling. The references to God in the story were a little bizarre but I liked how things moved forward. Don’t look to this story for historical accuracy but rather for entertainment value. The good vs. evil theme was dominant throughout. The is a reread of the series for me and I have forgotten the last few books and I think it is because they don’t end, they don’t stand on their own. The last few books are all the same story. I prefer a series to have more closure in each book and then have prior characters be sub characters in future story lines. That being said, this is worth reading if you are willing to commit for the long haul.
July 20, 2021
Finished listening to the audiobook version of the story. It was exciting in places. Several narrators added a perspective on the ancient world through the eyes of modern adults and children. The evil silver sword is back in the picture. Some of the characters get to meet several ancient patriarchs. Interesting take on the tower of Babel, where the wicked king is trying to conquer heaven and earth.
November 16, 2018
Another good volume about LDS time travelers who go back in time to help scriptural heroes and prophets. This volume goes back to the time of the Tower of Babel and the complicated political situation around that era. It is another fun read.
June 15, 2022
Great! Ate it up. Felt like I was watching a movie. Didn't even notice when I turned the pages. Time flew!
(If you see this review repeatedly for the other books, it is because this is how I felt about ALL those books!)
(If you see this review repeatedly for the other books, it is because this is how I felt about ALL those books!)
February 27, 2024
A disappointing entry in the series. I enjoy these mostly because of their fictional accounts of historical scripture events. This book overdid the time travel and especially the really big plot detour to a prior story.
August 5, 2024
What a twist. I never expected it to end like that . I will definitely continue reading this amazing series. I read this book for the prompt read a book whose character is a spiritual leader. (52 books summer mini)
July 17, 2017
This is part two of this chapter of the Tennis Shoes series. Solid throughout. The ending was stellar.
July 28, 2018
Another great listen too in the car
May 27, 2020
... And this is where I stopped reading. It just became all to onerous, and I could no longer relate to any of the characters.
September 26, 2020
This was entertaining, for sure, but I felt my need to suspend my disbelief on this one pushed to the point of annoyance a few times. 2.5 stars.
July 10, 2021
Outstanding!
March 30, 2025
We read this as a family. It is the 9th book in the series. We have enjoyed these adventurous books. They are SO intriguing & keep us up late at night reading more! This book was super interesting & I feel like the author notes at the end of the chapters were so informative. I really learned a lot about the time period & the Tower of Babel. We can’t wait to start the next book in the series.
October 23, 2017
Once again, I read the previous 8 books and now I feel like I need to continue. Ok book but not as exciting as the previous books. I feel like we are really starting to stretch.
September 25, 2010
It seems whenever Chris Heimerdinger picks a genre to write in then he does much better. His first book was firmly historical fiction – with a contrived passage through time – that worked was brilliant. The second one was quite decidedly a fantasy with a magic sword, sorcerers, coffers and assassins. This is my favorite of the series and is the only one where none of the main characters travel in time. The third and fourth books went back to being historical fiction again with a little bit of murder mystery thrown in at the beginning. These ones were also quite good.
Then he started the trilogy that consisted of The Sacred Quest, The Lost Scrolls, and The Golden Crown. These ones tried to toe the line between fantasy and historical fiction. There are sorcerers that do fantastical things while the book insists that they are all just deceptions. The problem with that is that there is never any explanation about how those deceptions are carried out. Even a few of those magical acts were explained the stories might have made more sense. The books have a cult that can control who will be bitten by a snake and Scythians who can smell better than dogs and whole load of silliness that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever because at the heart of the books they are trying to be historical fiction. These ones just kept getting worse the farther along they got. This is also another instance where the research got in the way of the story. Heimerdinger seemed intent on putting his characters in places just to witness some obscure historical event or meet some historical figure.
For this next series of books he’s decided to firmly plant his foot in fantasy and the result is surprisingly good. This book completely ignores the storyline of Meagan, Apollus and Ryan in the America’s and focuses on Mary, Rebekah and Joshua. Harry and Stephanie also join in.
There are magic stones that good guys can use to figure out how to travel in time and how to fly ancient gliders. There is a magic sword that talks to people and corrupts them in almost the same way that the One Ring does (it’s the same one destroyed in ‘Gadiantons’ – time travel, you know). The Tower of Babel is so high that it reaches beyond the clouds and somehow is also recognizable as a Ziggurat. There is a city inhabited by angels that floats in the sky. Each of these things sounds more and more preposterous but feels less and less unbelievable as the story moves along because it is a fantasy. In this fantasy world cities can float and stones can give revelation to people. What makes it even more interesting is that much of the magic is merely a fantastical spin on actual gospel lore – the magic stones are supposed to be a Urim and Thummim. We know very little about the world at the time of the Tower of Babel and that makes it feel like a fantastical place – people live hundreds of years still, they believe that they can reach heaven through a tower – and why not if it’s so close that you can see it.
The story is captivating. Heimerdinger has finally found a way to portray characters that are not all copies of each other. The simplistic view of romance is still there from the other books. Some new characters show up that are different enough to seem real. The history and culture – and arrogance – of the people of Nehor are fascinating.
I enjoyed this book and found that the adventure and wonder make for a captivating story. I found I was a little sad that there are no more stories set in this ancient time – at least not yet.
Then he started the trilogy that consisted of The Sacred Quest, The Lost Scrolls, and The Golden Crown. These ones tried to toe the line between fantasy and historical fiction. There are sorcerers that do fantastical things while the book insists that they are all just deceptions. The problem with that is that there is never any explanation about how those deceptions are carried out. Even a few of those magical acts were explained the stories might have made more sense. The books have a cult that can control who will be bitten by a snake and Scythians who can smell better than dogs and whole load of silliness that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever because at the heart of the books they are trying to be historical fiction. These ones just kept getting worse the farther along they got. This is also another instance where the research got in the way of the story. Heimerdinger seemed intent on putting his characters in places just to witness some obscure historical event or meet some historical figure.
For this next series of books he’s decided to firmly plant his foot in fantasy and the result is surprisingly good. This book completely ignores the storyline of Meagan, Apollus and Ryan in the America’s and focuses on Mary, Rebekah and Joshua. Harry and Stephanie also join in.
There are magic stones that good guys can use to figure out how to travel in time and how to fly ancient gliders. There is a magic sword that talks to people and corrupts them in almost the same way that the One Ring does (it’s the same one destroyed in ‘Gadiantons’ – time travel, you know). The Tower of Babel is so high that it reaches beyond the clouds and somehow is also recognizable as a Ziggurat. There is a city inhabited by angels that floats in the sky. Each of these things sounds more and more preposterous but feels less and less unbelievable as the story moves along because it is a fantasy. In this fantasy world cities can float and stones can give revelation to people. What makes it even more interesting is that much of the magic is merely a fantastical spin on actual gospel lore – the magic stones are supposed to be a Urim and Thummim. We know very little about the world at the time of the Tower of Babel and that makes it feel like a fantastical place – people live hundreds of years still, they believe that they can reach heaven through a tower – and why not if it’s so close that you can see it.
The story is captivating. Heimerdinger has finally found a way to portray characters that are not all copies of each other. The simplistic view of romance is still there from the other books. Some new characters show up that are different enough to seem real. The history and culture – and arrogance – of the people of Nehor are fascinating.
I enjoyed this book and found that the adventure and wonder make for a captivating story. I found I was a little sad that there are no more stories set in this ancient time – at least not yet.
December 18, 2024
What a good adventure series. I know that I've read this series before, but I could not remember a single thing that I learned from them. I do love all it's all coming together and everything is meeting up again. Still has me anxious, but oh well
September 3, 2010
I was pretty impressed with how many different perspectives that Heimerdinger used to tell this story. He not only took on three new characters (not counting the one for the epilogue), but once again made each voice distinctive and convincing. I also think he is just a good writer. I love his descriptions of not only physical objects but feelings as well. I also think he has great word choice to portray his sentiments exactly. I loved the priesthood blessing/prayer toward the end of the book especially. The ending of this novel also helped me to see one of the underlying themes of this last adventure in the series. I feel Heimerdinger is trying to draw a parallel between the battle of the last days and battles in other periods of history. His latter-day warriors are struggling to sanctify their souls as they also fight to save their lives.
December 3, 2013
Tower of Thunder is another exciting adventure in the Tennis Shoes series. I enjoyed the action-packed story. The plot was quick-paced, without too many slow parts dragging it down. I also liked that the various members of the family finally started to gather in the same area by the end of the book (it's so confusing trying to keep track of which family members are where in time and geography). I did think the idea of the City of Enoch floating in the sky (i.e. literally being taken up to heaven) was pretty far-fetched, but it worked for the purposes of this novel. (I kept hoping someone in the Hawkins family would end up there so I could hear about what it was like, but I guess that will remain a mystery until the hereafter!)
Fun book. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
Fun book. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
April 14, 2015
This book picks up where the last one left off. Mary, Josh, and Becky are stuck in the time of the Tower of Babel, searching for a way to get home and to destroy the sword of Akish. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is still searching for them, and Harry and Stephanie having found the time they are in, but not having found them yet.
The story is exciting and brings up some interesting things, but I have a hard time with parts of it, feeling that a little too much liscence was taken with the historical aspects of the story. It also comes with a shocking ending, making you want to read the next book. Not my favorite, but still a fun read, especially when I am listening to it, as I have done with the whole series.
The story is exciting and brings up some interesting things, but I have a hard time with parts of it, feeling that a little too much liscence was taken with the historical aspects of the story. It also comes with a shocking ending, making you want to read the next book. Not my favorite, but still a fun read, especially when I am listening to it, as I have done with the whole series.
April 28, 2011
I know I've read this at least once, but it's been so long I basically forgot the whole thing. I absolutely loved it! This twisted plot takes Mary, Rebecca and Josh back to ancient times in Babylon during the building of the Tower of Babel. Other family members--Harry and Stephanie--try to come rescue them and, suffice it to say, the plot gets quite crazy! I enjoyed learning about that biblical time (the chapter notes are so enlightening). The story ends at quite a crazy point, so I am anxious to start the next one, but Curtis wants me to hold off for a tiny bit (we'll see how long my willpower lasts).
August 25, 2011
This is fantastic. With different narrators, it keeps more than one plot going to keep the interest level high. The Tower of Babel, Shem and Melchizedek, and tiny Abram plus the Jaredites kept me highly interested. To see how he related this was illuminating. I never thought that Abram may have known the Brother of Jared or Shem. It isn't for sure but it is good food for thought. I liked his summaries at the end of some of the chapters. Prince Mardon and King Nimrod were perfect bad guys. It explained how they could actually go to fight God with the Tower of Babel. Very interesting. This was my favorite of the first nine novels. Now I will read #10.
May 12, 2017
I wonder if it's ever occurred to the author that if he wasn't so descriptive, he could tell a story in one book instead of two. And I also wonder whose decision it was to replace all instances of the word "further" with "farther." It doesn't always work, you know. Geez.
This is another one I loved as a teenager. Sure, a time portal in the Tower of Babel is silly. Floating through the City of Enoch is a bit much (and so is the dinosaur). Mary is the most boring person in the fictional universe. And bringing Gid back is totally cheating, but I'm not complaining. I'm just relieved that none of this took place in Israel—the Jaredite nation is a MUCH more interesting setting.
This is another one I loved as a teenager. Sure, a time portal in the Tower of Babel is silly. Floating through the City of Enoch is a bit much (and so is the dinosaur). Mary is the most boring person in the fictional universe. And bringing Gid back is totally cheating, but I'm not complaining. I'm just relieved that none of this took place in Israel—the Jaredite nation is a MUCH more interesting setting.
October 1, 2008
Once again a good one! This book after each chapter gives a history of the bible portion being used in the story. I love it!! I have been trying really hard to study more with the scriptures and well we have a lot of history books in our house but the wording is so above my head it has been hard to understand. Chris Heimerdinger is totally on my level for learning the history of scriptures. The story too is exciting and actually creepy and suspenseful more so then the other books. I LOVE IT!!
November 14, 2009
I liked the Temmis shoes books but by the time Heimerdinger got this far he seemed to lose focus. So many story lines are going on that you lose track of them and wonder what is happening when you switch story lines. He also seems to be just writing the story and ending the book when he has enough pages to make an averge sized book. It's one thing to have a cliff hanger ending that makes you look for the next book and it's another to have an ending that make you look to see if the rest of the chapters intended for the book are missing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2010
So this book was tough for me to rate. It was a very thought provocing book. I learned some stuff about the Tower of Babel that I just didn't know! That was the good part. The bad part was...reading all of the footnotes at the end of each chapter really broke up the story. Maybe it would have been better to not have read those, but then on their own they were very interesting. So I am undecided. How did I really like this book?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews