The first cycle of the Empire of Israel reaches its exciting climax when the Israelite Nathan and the Philistine Achish meet in an epic confrontation on the most famous battlefield in human history: Armageddon.
Nathan has dedicated over thirty years of his life to protecting Israel’s first dynasty. He helped his lifelong friend Prince Jonathan deal with hostile Philistines, conflicts with the Prophet Samuel, King Saul’s mental decline and constant political intrigue. Yet, the threats to Israel seem endless and personal peace still eludes Nathan in his quest to avenge his Father’s murder by the Philistines. Ironically, a beloved hero now poses the greatest danger to the Kingdom. David restored the honor of Israel and King Saul’s prestige by slaying Goliath. However, the insecure Saul fears David will steal both the hearts of Israel and the Crown for himself. Nathan now finds himself torn between Saul, David and even Jonathan as civil war looms on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Achish has problems of his own. The King of Gath endures both successes and setbacks while implementing his deep strategy to create his own Philistine Empire. Achish must carefully pit Israel and the other Philistine Kings against each other in a deadly game which will leave Gath as the region’s dominant power. However, time is running out for the aging King. Achish sees a limited window of opportunity in which to act before Gath’s power begins to wane. He chooses to roll the iron dice at a time when victory is far from certain. Ironically, Achish’s hopes and dreams may depend on an Israelite named David.
“A King to Die" is the third book in the "Empire of Israel" series. This exciting Biblical saga continues in the soon to be released fourth book, "A King to Unite".
This book is about Saul’s continued downward spiral into depression and erratic behavior. He has tried to kill David because of his erratic fear that David would take his crown.
It takes a little getting use to, there are no obvious miracles like you would think a Biblical Story would have, but when things are written more like happenstance then you see God is there. More like real life where sometimes we don't see the Lord's Handiwork until we are looking back on our lives and realize it was more than coincidence. At first I was annoyed, no grand miracles no voices from the heavens just real people leading real lives not aware that God's Guidance sometimes comes through normal everyday things. We may not realize our God is there doing his work through us, but History has God's Hand Print all over it. I am looking forward reading the rest of the series
Great book even though I'm sure it added drama for intrigue ...it also inserted bible text
I like the fact the author would insert from the bible after each chapter so that you knew even though there maybe spice up the drama in the story but basically stuck to and ran it w the Bibles text ...for ppl that state the Bible is hard for me to follow...these books might offer a great alternative....but just remember that some characters and scene scanario maybe added to make story more interesting so try and keep you bible handy but the author does insert quiet a bit of that already....very good read!
This is a faith building series about The Kingdom of Israel and God’s direct involvement and continued loving mercy in the lives of His people even after they rejected Him as their king and chose to put a man in his place as their King. I especially enjoyed the Author’s style of writing. It is a true talent to skillfully weave historical, Biblical facts into a well written fictional narrative as seen by Nathan the prophet. I recommend this book to everyone who has a heart for God and a love for history.
Author constantly waste more than 25% of content repeating incidents in an unnecessary form of review. He also adds to this repition by including Old Testement Passages from Book of Samuel in after the fact again unnecessary repition. The rest of the content is excellent but for me it frustrates me to have him keep reviewing events that have just occurred. Readers aren’t ignorant!!!
I do enjoyed the book A King to Die. The layout was so interesting I kept on reading into the wee hours of the morning. I enjoyed the way the author closed the book out. Looking forward to reading more of his books.
Very well done in terms of blending the biblical account with fictional details. Could really use some extra editing for spelling and grammar at times, though. Quite entertaining overall.
I am a bible reader . I was so amazed how the stories connect with the scriptures. It was awesome. .Almost like I was a living witness in the battles I enjoyed it very much, couldn't put it down
I have just finished “A King to Die”, and can hardly wait to begin book #4. So well written and love the scripture is included to keep this whole series on track!
I love how the author has mixed history with fiction. A great time in Israel’s history for the writer to bring out the different events. It has a great mixture of action and interactions between people.
A great story based on biblical accounts from the book of Samuel. Great battle descriptions. Great description of the conflict within the Philistine empire.
Dale Ellis has give us another great rendition of the life of David and those around him. I am looking forward to reading the fourth book in the series.
This book tells the stories of Saul, David, Jonathan, Nathan and Goliath as well as the Philistine kings. It ends with David still living in a Philistine city under the protection of a Philistine king-not as a prisoner but a person who is the head of a group of followers. Saul is dead as well as his four eldest sons. Nathan has survived but with an injury to his leg.
The other two books I had taken one half of a star because the books all need an editor. This book is no exception, however I decided that was silly. I love these books as they bring all the characters to life...we've read about them in the Bible, but they are brought to life as people doing ordinary things during their lives.
It was hard for me to put “A King to Die” down. It is an amazing account into the life of king Saul, Jonathan, David, Nathan and all of the characters represented. I laughed with some and cried with others. The battles were brutal and some of the other people’s kings lives were gruesome but it gives the reader a better understanding of what went on in those critical bible times. I am so looking forward to the life of one of my favorites bible characters King David! Aside from some minor “type-os” the reading was great!