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We Three Kings
When the signs of the Savior’s birth appear, Nephi witnesses another miracle—the Liahona starts working again after 600 years of being idle! Determined to find and worship the King of kings, Nephi takes his brother Timothy and skeptic Cephus on a journey across the ocean that ultimately changes their lives—and the course of history—as they become the legendary Three Wise Men.
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 11, 2017
I was really excited to be gifted this book and to start reading it, but while the premise is creative I found the writing and storyline simplistic. Also the continual references to the main character's warrior-like stature became extremely tiresome. So while the story is a great idea about the wise men from an LDS inspired perspective, the execution just didn't work for me.
September 24, 2014
(4.5 stars) This is a creative and thought-provoking take on the Three Wise Men. The signs of Christ's birth have been given and Nephi, the prophet, has been told to embark on a holy quest to return to Jerusalem and seek out Christ. He's taking his brother, Timothy, and needs to convince Cephus, an obscenely wealthy and powerful man, who is also an unbeliever, to come. Cephus is to be the skeptic who will be objective and whose testimony of this experience will be widely accepted. He also needs to provide the ship they will take. Nephi is able to convince Cephus to join them and their road to Jerusalem is anything but smooth.
I loved the relationship between Nephi and Cephus. There were times that Cephus was so whiny and would outright disobey what Nephi asked him to do, but he was always caught and reprimanded. I understood the importance of taking Cephus and his role in the story, even if he was annoying at times. Some of their exchanges were pretty humorous. Cephus was able to make some changes along the way.
This is a book that is full of adventure and even has a little romance. It's well written, entertaining and easy to read. I especially loved the ending!
I also like that there's an author's note at the end where he explains that this is purely a work of fiction, but some of the people and places are historically accurate. The author passed away in 2012, so his wife, Terri, and mother, Ann, served as editors of this book which he originally wrote for his children in 2004.
I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.
Mel's Shelves
I loved the relationship between Nephi and Cephus. There were times that Cephus was so whiny and would outright disobey what Nephi asked him to do, but he was always caught and reprimanded. I understood the importance of taking Cephus and his role in the story, even if he was annoying at times. Some of their exchanges were pretty humorous. Cephus was able to make some changes along the way.
This is a book that is full of adventure and even has a little romance. It's well written, entertaining and easy to read. I especially loved the ending!
I also like that there's an author's note at the end where he explains that this is purely a work of fiction, but some of the people and places are historically accurate. The author passed away in 2012, so his wife, Terri, and mother, Ann, served as editors of this book which he originally wrote for his children in 2004.
I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.
Mel's Shelves
August 19, 2015
Interesting adventure, cheap relationship, written for men.
The Good: So there are some really great things I loved about this book. It was really creative and thought out. It flowed pretty smoothly from actual scriptural account to fictional account. Some things were pretty far fetched, but when you get to fill in the holes, you can put whatever you want in there, right? I loved the interactions with the Christ Child. Nephi's journey to Jerusalem felt like a recreation of Lehi and Nephi's journey from Jerusalem, from the Liahona to the wickedness to the doubting and complaining.
The Not-So-Good: This book felt very man-fantasy-adventure. Though very creative and eventful, after lots of details, reasons, planning, purpose and faith our hero saves the day. Feelings are not pondered over and do not weigh heavily upon our characters but put into action. The romance is also underdeveloped. It would have been better left out. Instead it felt very, "Me, man. You, wife." On my soap box I'd say, don't bother including a relationship in a story if you aren't going to develop the relationship. She just becomes an objectified trophy at the end of his quest.
Content: drinking, some (non-graphic) violence, scantly clad women
The Good: So there are some really great things I loved about this book. It was really creative and thought out. It flowed pretty smoothly from actual scriptural account to fictional account. Some things were pretty far fetched, but when you get to fill in the holes, you can put whatever you want in there, right? I loved the interactions with the Christ Child. Nephi's journey to Jerusalem felt like a recreation of Lehi and Nephi's journey from Jerusalem, from the Liahona to the wickedness to the doubting and complaining.
The Not-So-Good: This book felt very man-fantasy-adventure. Though very creative and eventful, after lots of details, reasons, planning, purpose and faith our hero saves the day. Feelings are not pondered over and do not weigh heavily upon our characters but put into action. The romance is also underdeveloped. It would have been better left out. Instead it felt very, "Me, man. You, wife." On my soap box I'd say, don't bother including a relationship in a story if you aren't going to develop the relationship. She just becomes an objectified trophy at the end of his quest.
Content: drinking, some (non-graphic) violence, scantly clad women
October 7, 2014
4 STARS
This is a work of fiction with some real events and people thrown in. It is a good story and makes you think about the three wise men and their journey to find the Savior. I did not want to put it down.
The main characters is the Prophet Nephi son of Nephi, his brother Timothy, & Cephus they are going on a quest to take a gift to the Christ child. Cephus is a rich lawyer and skeptic.
This does have real people from the Book of Mormon, but we don't know if they ever left and came back especially Nephi. At the back he explains who or what events were real and what he based the story on.
If you saw the star would you have taken a trip to see the baby Jesus. I want to say yes but I probably would go back and forth on my decision to cross the ocean on a boat without maps. Scary! They had the power of God to guide them though with the Liahona now it has started to work again.
I was drawn right into the story. Their is plenty of drama, faith, history and imagination in this tale. It is also a clean read.
I was given this ebook to read for the purpose of giving a honest review and be part of We Three Kings book tour.
This is a work of fiction with some real events and people thrown in. It is a good story and makes you think about the three wise men and their journey to find the Savior. I did not want to put it down.
The main characters is the Prophet Nephi son of Nephi, his brother Timothy, & Cephus they are going on a quest to take a gift to the Christ child. Cephus is a rich lawyer and skeptic.
This does have real people from the Book of Mormon, but we don't know if they ever left and came back especially Nephi. At the back he explains who or what events were real and what he based the story on.
If you saw the star would you have taken a trip to see the baby Jesus. I want to say yes but I probably would go back and forth on my decision to cross the ocean on a boat without maps. Scary! They had the power of God to guide them though with the Liahona now it has started to work again.
I was drawn right into the story. Their is plenty of drama, faith, history and imagination in this tale. It is also a clean read.
I was given this ebook to read for the purpose of giving a honest review and be part of We Three Kings book tour.
September 24, 2014
WE THREE KINGS by John John Pontius is an interesting Christian Fiction/Latter Day Saints/History. A compelling, thought-provoking tale of the story of the Three Kings from the Latter Day Saints point of view. Well written, with interesting and engaging characters. The storyline, in my opinion was plausible. Light reading and one which could be read over again. I enjoyed the relationship between the characters on their journey to see the signs of the Savior's birth. A different but interesting take on the story of the Three Wise Men. Not just a Christmas- time story. It will have you searching out your Bible to see if the details match. As I said earlier, very thought-provoking.
*Received for an honest review from the publisher*
Rating: 4
Heat rating: N/A
Reviewed by: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More
*Received for an honest review from the publisher*
Rating: 4
Heat rating: N/A
Reviewed by: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More
July 1, 2021
A new perspective
Love the way John has written this story.. gives new meaning and insight to the worship of Jesus through the eyes of the three kings... through the eyes of the reader
Love the way John has written this story.. gives new meaning and insight to the worship of Jesus through the eyes of the three kings... through the eyes of the reader
April 20, 2021
An absolutely amazing interpretation of the wise men. I loved the personality and characters and it makes me wish there was more! John Pontius is an incredible writer, and I appreciate Terri Pontius for helping it happen!
May 16, 2013
Very interesting take on the 3 wise men, hey why not?
October 15, 2017
My dad very much enjoys the writings of John Pontius and thought I would enjoy this book. The first time I picked it up, the writing style seemed so stiff and poorly done that I couldn’t continue. I picked it up again many months later and didn’t really have a problem getting into it, so not sure what happened that first time.
The story has a fun premise, and Pontius has done enough scholarly research to make it historically interesting. The events get rather fantastical, which makes it hard to stay within the story. My biggest complaint, though, is that the religious aspect of the story read more like a superhero comic. Nephi is not only a righteous prophet but a literal giant of a man with superhuman reflexes and fighting skills. Miracles come easily and frequently, while promptings from the Spirit always feel the same and are unmistakeable. While such a simplistic view makes for easier storytelling, I think it can do damage by portraying faith as something you can wield like the Force.
The story has a fun premise, and Pontius has done enough scholarly research to make it historically interesting. The events get rather fantastical, which makes it hard to stay within the story. My biggest complaint, though, is that the religious aspect of the story read more like a superhero comic. Nephi is not only a righteous prophet but a literal giant of a man with superhuman reflexes and fighting skills. Miracles come easily and frequently, while promptings from the Spirit always feel the same and are unmistakeable. While such a simplistic view makes for easier storytelling, I think it can do damage by portraying faith as something you can wield like the Force.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews