The Stones

by Eleanor Gustafson

With comprehensive detail and flowing prose, Eleanor Gustafson crafts the retelling of King David's life–from his teenaged anointing to his death–as seen through the eyes of Asaph, a Levite historian.
Fictional in scope, yet with amazing Scriptural accuracy, The Stones provides a revealing, behind–the–scenes glimpse into biblical history with all the twists, turns, thrills, and romance of the world's great drama.
You will be there
" A young teen collects stones to take on a giant
" A prideful rebel takes count of his fighting men
" A fallible leader succumbs to lust, temptation, and deceit
" A poet and musician grows closer to God through prayer and worship
" A man after God's heart discovers the unfailing love and forgiveness of his Creator
The Stones is an epic adventure of man's innate need to worship God and rely on Him for strength–and how badly it can go when he fails to do so.

Genres: Biblical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Christian, Fiction

608 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2008

About the author

Ellie Gustafson writes pretty good books these days. Been at it long enough to learn a few things. It all started in 1978 with my first published article, “I Saw a Thing Today,” about a couple of weasels I met on a stone wall in Vermont. Short stories and other articles followed, and then came Appalachian Spring. BIG learning curve. The editor slashed characters, whole chapters, and made a lot of red marks everywhere. Had to rewrite the entire book—on a brand-new Apple IIe computer I had no idea how to operate. The novel was well received, however, which led to more novels and more painful learning experiences.

A common book theme is the cosmic struggle between good and evil in light of God's overarching work of redemption. Having graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois—where I met my husband while teaching horsemanship (funny story there)—I have since been actively involved in church life as a minister's wife, teacher, musician, writer, and encourager. A host of other experiences, from mouse wars to house building, help bring color and humor to my fiction. I do like to laugh a lot.

My husband and I live in Massachusetts, where he recently retired from teaching online college courses in philosophy. We travel a fair amount, spend time with three children and eight grandchildren, and enjoy camping at the family forest in Chester, Vermont.

I've had two professionals in the publishing field tell me that An Unpresentable Glory is one of the best novels they've read. High praise, indeed! Please give me your honest assessment.

Reviews

[Lisa Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, i just can't bring myself to pick this book back up, so I guess I'm giving up on it. I thought I would just love a book about the life of King David - whose life could possibly be more interesting? Obviously I know the story from the Bible, but the Bible isn't exactly the most chronological book. I was hoping for a great sweeping chronological story, starting from the beginning. Unfortunately, like my main criticism of Cleopatra, the author assumes you already know the story. Yeah, you know who Joab is and how he fits in, right? And she doesn't even bother to tell of his early years, and even leaves out the fight with Goliath! The book starts when David is on the run from Saul, with no explanation of how he came to be in that position. Tons of characters, none of them explained. Sigh. I'll go back to the Bible, thanks.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read and some good insights into what King David's life may have been like... Definitely worth a read, though probably not something I'd read twice. But then, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Bible-based fiction. :)

[Narelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading The Stones. The fictionalised story of King David’s life provided a fascinating insight into a famous Biblical character that could be equally enjoyed by male and female readers.

We gain an insight into what made David tick, including his close walk with the Lord and the very public consequences of his sin. We discover a man who had a difficult relationship with King Saul before receiving a kingship and multiple blessings from the Lord. Yet David was human like the rest of us and we witness his struggles to remain obedient to God in all areas of his life.

The story follows the events in 1 and 2 Samuel. I liked learning more about the lives of the people who were close to David, especially his wife Abigail and David’s commander in chief, Joab. Joab was a fascinating and complex character, and the narration provided by Asaph added an authentic flavour to the story.

The battle scenes were realistic and we are given a birds eye view of the mighty warrior men and the people who surrounded David, both friends and foe. We learn about David’s complex relationships with his many wives and children, and how his deceit with Bathsheba led to dire consequences. I highly recommend this book to those looking for a fast paced and action packed Biblical fiction story about one of the greatest men in Israel’s history.

[Dan Rowling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. I did have mixed feelings about it though. On one hand I liked the way that the author filled in the gaps from the stories of David that we have read and are familiar with from the Bible. On the other hand, it showed the dark side of David. On one hand, it showed that David was definitely someone special and you could see why God chose him. On the other hand, his sins were great and definitely changed the way that a person may look on the life of David. I know that doesn't change the way we should look on our own sin. Sin is sin. I know that this is conjecture, but I do think that the author got a good grasp on what it may have been like back in the time of David. If there was one thing to change with this book, I would like some sort of appendix that a person could track the events from the book and compare them to the passages in the Bible where they took place. All in all, this was a very enjoyable book.

[Kathryn Spurgeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

History alive

The story centers around David a well-known biblical character with characters hardly mentioned uIn passing but makes me want to reread and reinterpret the story and events.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about King David. Had some profanity I was expecting but over all the story kept me engaged. More emphasis on his military conquests than many books I have read about him.