Keepers of the Sword

by Guy Morgan Galli

Since the days of Isaiah, two families have been charged with safeguarding the brass plates containing the history of God’s works among His people — one to preserve them and the other to protect them at all costs. But these are dark times. Having spent the last decade apprenticing in the closely guarded secrets of steel making, Zoram anxiously returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem to fulfill his destiny and take his place as the new Keeper of the Sword. His homecoming, however, is overshadowed by the suspicious death of his father and rumors of betrayal that reach the highest levels of power. Despite this, Zoram steadfastly strives to complete the work he is called to do, but his attention is divided between a woman unlike any he has ever met and another woman obsessed with his position and power. And at the center of this personal and political turmoil stands Laban — captain of Israel’s armies, Keeper of the Records, and the cunning man Zoram is sworn to serve. But how can one man stop a rapidly growing wave of wickedness from destroying the faith, even the very nation, of Israel?

Genres: Lds Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Adventure, Lds

400 pages, Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 2014

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. I'm just meh.
Although I did like how believable the plot was. Really. I could totally believe this was what really happened...
But I feel as though Zoram didn't live up to his amazing training and awesomeness when he really really needed it. Maybe it's just me though...

I'm pretty sure I don't want to be quartered by horses either. Just sayin'...

Her sisters are absolutely ridiculous! Wow. They're exactly like Laman and Lemuel. Except they're women... you know... being sisters and such...
At least they'll be happy together in their bitterness. Maybe.

Dear LDS writers,
I know you want to be part of the national writers club or whatever when it comes to fiction... and I know that in the long run these books are truly much cleaner than what's out there... but really? You just had to throw crap in here? Really? I don't think you need to be all sorts of descriptive in describing a wicked mans extracurricular activities to show me he's vile. There's no need to drop to the world's standard of good writing. Rant done... for now.

Well. I'm pretty sure I don't want to die by stoning...

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fiction book taken from a beloved story in the Book of Mormon. The focus is on Zoram, it tells a idea of what it may have been like to be him. In this book, Zoram has trained his whole life to make the sword that will guard the plates of holy scripture. His training takes him to a high mountain to learn how to forge steel, a practice that was not developed in Ancient Jerusalem.

I enjoyed that Zoram was faithful. He knew things to be true and kept his standards, even when faced with trials. I really despised the character of Laban. He is corrupt and the book outlines how a nation falls, by turning away from God and believing in the strength and cunning of men.

I had a hard time with the pacing. At times it was rushed, and at others it dragged. I found myself skimming over many parts of the book. The book has violence and innuendo. I would recommend to more mature readers.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this take of the story from Zoram’s point of view. Thanks for a fun read.

[Nicole Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I struggled to get through the book & almost didn’t finish it; however I went back to it & I’m glad I did finish it. It was a great plot & the story line is intriguing. The beginning is a bit slow. I really didn’t like how rude the sisters were to Rachel & I wish the author wouldn’t have portrayed them that way. It was a good book, but not on my favorites list.

[EJ Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was an entertaining read. It was interesting to see how Gali would introduce the characters and set up the situations. I only gave it three stars because the characters didn't stay "in character". On one page they would profess someone as a friend and then later not care if they were killed, or say they didn't know each other well and then later be remembering all the shared experiences, hidden tunnels that Laban doesn't even know about but Zoram, Anat and Rebekah do, Anat telling Zoram how to prepare a man's body for burial when the priests were there to do it. There were a lot of these inconsistencies that I thought should have been caught and fixed during the writing, reviewing or editing before publication. Rebekah was particularly inconsistent - independent, strong-willed but her younger sisters rule over her rudely. Didn't ring true at all. Also didn't understand why the main story took place in such a short period of a few days. It could have easily gone over a period of years or months especially to develop the love story better. I did like the interspersing of Zoram's monastery experiences with the main story. SPOILER -It's a good thing Zoram didn't accept Wu's farewell gift or it would have ended up lost in the rubble of Jerusalem and the world would be without this ancient text.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with the life of Zoram, a book of Mormon character that we know little about other than that he was a servant to Laban. I felt the emotions of Laban were not true to who he was. He would have been a man who thought he was above other men because of his position, not a skeptic. Likely he was like the Pharisees- a hypocritical believer. The magic of the sword was a bit too unreal for me, but I can see a lot of teens liking this story.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. A “what if” scenario. I think men might find the book a little more interesting, with the sword making parts of it. It was a slow read in parts, but once I read the whole thing, I was glad I had kept reading. It is neat when it gets towards the end and all the Book of Mormon stuff starts connecting into it. Great plot and if things had gone the way they do in this book, you definitely see why Nephi was told to kill Laban. Skipping to the end of the book to read the good part is not a good idea. I would think it would ruin the full feeling and effect of the book, it all comes together - but very interwoven in the happenings of the book. If I could I would give this 3 1/2 stars. It isn’t quite the 4 star book of what I would usually rate at four, but 3 seems too low. There are a lot of references to the filth of the times. Adds to the sleaze of Laban. These books written by LDS authors that take place back then seem to all have a lot of it in it. I guess it is true to the times, but yuck. I am not a fan of those points.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars for this scriptural historical account of Book of Mormon character Zoram. and was a cool fleshing out of a character we don't hear a whole lot about. Written by a man, this book has lots of elements that guys will appreciate, like lots of details about the forging of steel, even hand to hand battles and intrigue. Hey, this girl liked it pretty well too! I also very much liked the backstory of Ishmael's oldest daughter whom he falls in love with, although it's still missing quite a bit of her history, and I'd kind of like to see how she makes a difference in the subsequent Nephite society. A few holes in the story, like in this story Zoram never actually becomes Laban's servant but is his equal until being framed as a fugitive, and someone with the forge training he had would surely have passed that skill onto the future Nephite nation, to name just a couple, but worth the read for sure! I've already recommended it to certain men in my family and they're interested!

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Took the life of Zoram in the Book of Mormon and added such dimension to his life and what he was like. Yes, it was a fictional story, except for the accounts from the Book of Mormon, but the personality of Laban was developed and how they all interacted. It was really great to think deeper into the lives of these people from the Book of Mormon. I really appreciated the creativity of the story.

[K Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I thought I struggled reading this because it took a character from scripture and gave him his own story. Later I realized I continued to struggle because the point of view changed so frequently. It's a good story but I skipped pages to get on with the tale of Zoram. And I must admit I rolled my eyes when other historically based people were mentioned.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book after getting through the first 1/3 of it thus 4 stars. I did love that it was clean and when there were unsavory things happening they weren't written in a gory way. Some of the creative licenses taken with the characters weren't my favorite but if you stick with it they turn out in the end. Laban was written especially well.

[Maria Torbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the story from just a small part of Book of Mormon. Appreciate that Zoram was true to his beliefs despite the corruption around him. Definitely did not lime Laban. Learned more About metallurgy than ever thought I would. Could have done without some of the scenes with Anat. Definitely recommend

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story!

[Heather Faas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but a bit verbose

[Kristen Lorton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for people familiar with the Book of Mormon. Fun historical fiction set in the times/characters of Book of Mormon.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Zoram, (Book of Mormon), from the author's point of view, was pretty interesting.

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but I had long breaks between reading and moments where I was so frustrated with a character I had to put the book down.

[Adri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa! A story for Zoram. I recommend this to anyone who loves the Book of Mormon and who would like a fictional story about Zoram. 👌

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tale is so realistic you wonder if it might really have happened this way...

What if...Zoram was the son of "the keeper of the sword?"

And what if...Zoram had been trained to be the next "keeper of the sword?"

And what if...Zoram had been trained in forging and wielding swords?

And what if...Zoram became the keeper of the sword making him a servant to the "keeper of the records?"

And what if...Zoram forged the sword of that keeper?

If so...then Zoram was the servant of Laban, who was keeper of the records, and it was Zoram who forged Laban's sword.

Brings the whole story of Zoram to life...doesn't it?

Clear and striking details of training and living during this time.

Plots between kingdoms and rulers are brought forth.

Lies, deceit, suspense, intrigue, a need to conquer...

A prophet is compelled to flee for his life.

But the records cannot be left behind....

And what happens to the keeper of the sword when the keeper of the records no longer has the records OR the sword?

FASCINATING look into events that are recorded from ancient Israel.
SUPERBLY told and will definitely keep you turning the pages!
I LOVE the way this author writes!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this fun historical fiction. Zoram has always been just a servant--easily dismissable in my mind while reading about Nephi & his family. This is his story. I liked that it was told half in flashback. It lets the reader read about what is currently happening to Zoram while filling us in on his back story. We get to see some of Lehi's family, Ishmeal's family and Laban. It really brought the scripture story to life for me.
It took a story that is only a few verses and added so much depth to it!
I would recommend this story to people who like H.B. Moore, Gerald Lund, or other authors who write scriptural based stories.
language: clean, heat level: mild

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the fictional meat of the story that filled in the factual skeleton of events recorded in the Book of Mormon. Zoram's character development really cast him in a different light than is given in the sparce scriptural account. Did a fantastic job filling in with such a well developed story tying all the ends together to create a satisfying picture. Laban was sufficiently despicable. My only qualm was pacing & the flashbacks felt like distractions sometimes.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only so many books that I like that are novels about people from the scriptures, this one of those books. Zoram had spent many years as an apprentice and is on his way back to Jerusalem to become keeper of the sword. The story goes back and forth between his time as an apprentice and his time of keeper of the sword. A great book!

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to get into this book and just couldn't do it. So I tried again a few months later in a different setting, but again it just didn't draw me in. (I was quite proud of myself for recognizing it wasn't going to work for me and not feeling the need to suffer through it just to see if it got better.)

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I am always cautious with a "religious" based book, but this was really well done. It brought the characters and events alive and although it is the authors idea of what happened and who Zoram was, I really enjoyed the story. Well written and well realized.

[Dora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing I didn't like is that Sam was made out to be a simpleton.

[Elizabeth Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Great LDS fiction.

Formal review here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love the different points of views throughout it. From Zoram to Laban, from Rebeka to Naomi. I would recommend it to everyone.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on Zoram.

[Lucretia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story and touching! Makes you think, in a delightful way! I was so sad when the book ended!

[Traci Bullock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how it drew you in with all the different characters and plot twists.