Heretics of Piedmont

Witnesses of the Light #1

by D.J. Speckhals

IN THE YEAR 1458, Andreas de Bonomo, a struggling novice monk, is sent on a mission to infiltrate an ancient Christian sect flourishing in the Italian Alps.

Along the way, Andreas meets a travelling preacher, who introduces him to the mysterious Vallenses. As they accept him into their society, he finds himself unexpectedly sympathetic toward their simple faith, which places him in the center of a conflict between the mighty medieval Church and the primitive Christians of the valleys.

When intimidation and violence begin, Andreas must decide whether to follow the traditions of his ancestors or open himself to those he once named heretics.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

351 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

D. J. Speckhals is the author of the “Witnesses of the Light” historical fiction trilogy, which transports readers to fifteenth-century Europe to explore the resilient faith of the Waldensians.

From a young age, Dustin has held a deep, lifelong passion for history and geography. He spent many school nights studying National Geographic and Rand McNally atlases, striving to capture a glimpse of the world beyond his home in Michigan. After receiving his B.A. in Pastoral Theology in 2009, he married Andrea and relocated to southeast Pennsylvania, where he has established a successful career as a software developer.

When not immersed in writing and research, Dustin enjoys serving in various ministries at his church, running, pursuing the perfect slice of pizza, and embarking on adventures with his wife and their four children.

Reviews

[Jayna Baas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of the Looking Back in Time New Year Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win this book along with five other Christian historical novels. Runs from 01/08/24 through 01/22/24. Enter here: https://kingsumo.com/g/bspatt/looking...

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December 2021:

As soon as I saw that this book was about the Waldensians (called Vallenses in this story), I was intrigued. I love the lesser-known stories of history, and the Vallenses fit the bill: Bible-believing Christians before the Reformation. That said, at first I was afraid it would be hard to engage with the story. My history-loving nature likes to feel immersed in the time period, and this narrative had a definite modern feel—that of a present-day storyteller recounting medieval events in modern vernacular. The somewhat distant narrative style contributed to that effect, and I confess that it was hard for me to ignore some of the grammar and punctuation issues. But once I got into it…well, let’s just say I couldn’t stop. I loved the characters and how well they were portrayed—all of them very human and with natural growth along the way. Andreas didn’t change his mind overnight. The Vallenses weren’t perfect. Some of the bad guys actually thought they were doing the right thing. I also loved that the salvation scene in this story was so much more than just praying a prayer; it was real heart change. The hardest part of the story itself came near the end. I knew, of course, that there couldn’t be a story about the Vallenses without persecution and possible martyrdom. I just didn’t want it to be that character. I’m a sucker for happy endings, and while the story did have a mainly happy ending, it was…sad, too.

The details of research were well done, and I enjoyed the smattering of foreign languages throughout. I loved Andreas and his conflict over his faith. This was a challenging read, but in a good way. I wouldn’t recommend it for very young readers due to some of the content (although the graphic details were kept to a minimum), but otherwise I give it a solid four and a half stars. It’s fascinating to me to think about what these medieval Christians risked to translate the Scriptures and spread the gospel, and I’m so glad D. J. Speckhals was willing to delve into their story. Heretics of Piedmont is full of real struggles, deep faith, and strong lessons. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys thought-provoking Christian history in the guise of fast-paced storytelling!

[Kristina Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Characters: Andreas was a well-developed character, and I enjoyed seeing his growth over the course of the story. Raimond, Constanza, Johan, and the others were good side characters; and I absolutely despised the villain. I did find myself frustrated with Andreas, Raimond, and Constanza a couple of times when they stood by and didn't do all they could to protect their family/friends.

Language: Clean.

Plot: While some parts were paced slower and focused more on character development, others featured higher stakes and some action scenes.

Romance: Clean. Just a few hints of a developing romance. I appreciated that Constanza wasn't willing to marry an unbeliever.

Theme: The themes were my favorite part of this novel: salvation, evangelism, standing for the truth no matter what, faith, and many other good ones. I especially appreciated how the false doctrine of the Catholic church was examined in light of the Bible.

Writing: D.J. Speckhals's clear, descriptive writing style worked great for this book.

Overall: Heretics of Piedmont was a well-researched book that I'd recommend to those who enjoy Christian fiction and historical fiction.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars & 7/10 hearts. Having studied the history of Bible-believing, God-following Christians, I am familiar with the Waldensians/Waldenses/Vallenses/Vaudois and have always highly admired them. When I saw this book, I was very excited and eager to read it!

The setting is 1458 Piedmont, Italy. A young monk is expelled from the Roman Catholic Church for unbecoming conduct and secretly given a mission: infiltrate the heretics and find out all about them so the Catholic Church can destroy them. Quickly falling in with a Vallense preacher, Andreas settles down among the unsuspecting Christians...

The characters were epic, one of my favourite things about this novel. Andreas is such a nice young man and his arc is sooo well done, very genuine and realistic. I loved his struggles between love for his friends and loyalty to his past. Constanza was a Godly young woman, quite an inspiration for me. Her sweetness and kindness was beautiful, and she was very realistic too, with her struggles and her fun humour. Raimond was the hero character, and reminded me of John Bunyan. Such a strong, dedicated man. I loved his persistent efforts to win Andreas and his constant care and warning to the other Vallenses. Johan added a lot of humour, but was also quite a warning… And all the other minor characters were quite unique and real and alive, very well done.

This book is a mixture of slice-of-life and Christian historical fiction adventure. The plot was excellent. Slow-paced at times, enough to be realistic and move the plot along, but then quite suspenseful, and always keeping you gripped. The climax was twist after twist, and definitely not your cliché persecution climax. I was left reeling by a sudden twist in Andreas’ story… The romance was basically nonexistent and I loved that.

The writing style did cause me a few problems. It’s quite modern in voice and dialogue, which bothered me—“okay” was not a word in the medieval world, peeps, and that hill I will die on. However, after a while I got used to it and it bothered me less. There were a few mixed-up homonyms and punctuation errors; but what really bothered me was the recurring issue with ambiguity:

Nicolaus, however, walked up to Raimond and Andreas with a slight grin.
“Let me show you what I’ve done since last time you were here,” he said to Raimond.
“He’ll keep us ‘til sunset if we let him,” he whispered.

I’m sorry, but as an editor, lack of clarity really bothers me. In spite of these stylistic errors, however, I found the book very well done for an indie debut novel. And the way the Italian and Latin and even French was woven in? So well done. And probably quite accurate too, because the French was 100% accurate.

And, guys. The THEME, the MESSAGES, the TOPICS. Worth 9 stars alone. The Godliness of the Vallenses was really impactful and convicting to me. The way they lived their faith and God’s values; the way they raised their children; their steadfastness under persecution; and their intense scripture memorization… wow. Also, I was extremely stuck by how when debating they always founded their arguments on the Bible and drove the questions straight back to the Word of God. So good. Besides all these, there were a host of other topics, such as…
- The issues of the Roman Catholic Church. So well done and so true.
- The importance of evangelism and missions.
- The cost and folly of leaving the narrow way because it is too old-fashioned, boring, etc…
- The importance of kindness and love to outsiders.
- How to be an obedient, respectful child even when an adult and living at home.
- How to handle when you think God has given you a dream/mission and your parents disagree/won’t let you do it.
- The importance of sticking to God’s ways instead of reacting like our adversaries.
- The difference between self-defence and attacking.
- The balance between self-defence and trusting in God… The last two were SO well done and SO thought-provoking.

Overall, this is a clean, family-friendly (with maybe some edits for little ears) novel with a great plot, a great cast of characters, and a boatload of great messages—a book I think every Christian should read… especially right now.

Content: Many mentions of alcohol, drinking, & being drunk; Andreas fights his desire to drink. A few scenes set in taverns; a few mentions of women who frequent taverns aren’t nice. Andreas is accused of visiting a prostitute (untrue). Violence: war (not graphic); a scene where a man is burned at the stake (barely detailed); a scene where a man is badly beaten (barely detailed).

A Favourite Quote: “God has sheltered us here for hundreds of years. I don’t see that ending now.”
“Nowhere do the Holy Scriptures promise us safety from violence,” Constanza said. “Perhaps the Lord is stirring us to set our eyes on the rest of the world…. That’s what happened in Jerusalem. God may choose to prove our faith through persecution, then disperse the gospel wherever the Catholics scatter us.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: For hundreds of years, these rocks had shut out the rest of the world, and with the alpine snows, sheltered the Vallense doctrine from Catholic influence. Their light shined here while darkness overshadowed the rest of Christendom. This mountain defile, sculpted by the Creator himself, gave the Vallenses their place of worship, in stark contrast to the overelaborate cathedrals of his religion.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “If you were in right-standing with God, I’d tell you to pray.”
Andreas tried to think of a prayer for a situation like this—a Catholic prayer. One came to his mind. Preserve us in our hour of need—
He stopped. Why was he praying a Catholic prayer to save his anti-Catholic friend from Catholics?

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for promotional purposes. I was not required to write a review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.*

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great read. It’s set against the backdrop of early, primitive believers and them being persecuted for their faith. The author did a great job making these characters have depth and telling a story that inspires, causes the reader to weep and gather appreciation for believers who had to live their faith even in the face of death.

[Joseph Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal book the characters jump off the page as each one draws you into their lives! I loved this book for its history and excitement! I laughed and shed a tear. What a great book a must read!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm hovering between three and four stars.

What I loved:
~ I loved that Speckhals tackled some little-known history. He obviously did a tremendous amount of research and poured that into the story well.
~The story was interesting and kept my attention most of the time.
~ I think this gave a valuable look at the fact that Martin Luther was not the first to challenge the Catholic church. There were believers in Jesus all over the place.

What I didn't love:
~ I never really felt emotionally connected to the story. I mean, I wanted to see Andreas find Jesus. I wanted to see what happened. However, I never felt emotionally invested in the characters.
~ I never really felt immersed in the history. Everyone talked like I do (other than the phrases in other languages, and there weren't enough descriptions of the setting to make me really feel like I was in a historical setting.
~ At one point, I truly felt like the author stopped writing a story and pointed his fingers at his western Christian readers. Perhaps it was just me, but he went on for a while about how comfortable the Christians were and unwilling to reach other to others. Valuable? Yes, but it felt more like a sermon to the reader than to the people in the story.

Bottom line: Yes, I would recommend this book to others. I think it would be a valuable resource for homeschoolers studying this era.
Would I read more by this author? Yes, I would.

Content notes: This book was very violent at points and described that violence more than I would have liked. There is a priest who has lustful intentions toward a young woman. There are mentions of drunkness, whore houses, and other mentions of sin in passing. In anger, a priest says "I damn you to hell".

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gripping historical fiction that follows a banished monk in his efforts to regain standing in the Catholic Church by spying on the Waldenians. This novel encourages Christians today to hold fast the faithful word and challenges what it means to follow Christ. I can’t wait to read the next one!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one… once I reached a certain point in the story, it was hard to put down! I’ve not read much about the Waldensians, so I it was great to read a story based on them and get an inside look at what their life and culture could have been like. The characters in the story were great as well. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to find out what happens next!

[Susan A · Rating 1 out of 5]

There’s a good reason this novel is essentially self-published by the author. The writing is artless and simplistic, the stock characters shallow and one-dimensional, and the plot contrived and predictable. However, a far worse sin occurs in the representation of the Waldensian people’s religious beliefs and practices. Speckhals alters their faith to promote his own modern-day brand of evangelical Christianity. I am of Waldensian descent from the region of the Piedmont he writes about. I have two bookshelves and a file cabinet drawer filled with references about Waldensian history – only a few of these books, ones written in the 1800’s, appear in his reading list.
Let me set the record straight about how Waldensians are portrayed in this novel: Waldensians historically practiced the sacraments, but they believed the sacraments were worthless if delivered by a sinful Catholic priest, and many were corrupt and sinful in that time period. Unlike the assertions made in the book, they partook of bread and wine, and sometimes fish, during the eucharist, which was performed by one of their own. They confessed their sins, asked God to forgive them, and even did penance, guided by one of their pastors. All Waldensian pastors (called barbes) were itinerant and were not stationed in a community church, neither did they marry, because they could not support a family. Barbes pretty much lived on alms, taking vows of poverty like the Apostles. So the wooden churches and the budding romance between the heroine and the hero, who becomes a Waldensian barbe, deviate far from authenticity. Waldensians had no physical churches, as depicted in the novel, until the Reformation; they held worship services at night, in secret, in a believer’s home. Waldensians never used the term “born again” to refer to themselves or to a conversion to their faith. Dring the mid 1400's most Waldensians were. descended from generations of "heretics" and not to new conversions. Until the Reformation, they believed in good works along with faith as the path to salvation. (And to this day the Waldensian Church in Italy is noted for its good works and social programs.) They were pacifists until the mid-1600’s; the scenes where more than 100 Waldensian men battled Catholic mercenaries would not have happened in 1458. Waldensians certainly drank wine and ale, as did everyone in that time period, and were not the teetotalers portrayed in the novel. The Inquisition did not operate in the quick and superficial overnight manner as described in the book; inquisitors took months and even years to bring heretics to trial, sentencing and execution.
Many heretical Christian faiths existed in Europe during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, almost all of them rebelled against the corruption of the Catholic Church of the times. It's a shame the author misrepresented the Waldensians (the only heretics to survive the Inquisition) for his own religious purposes. There is so much very rich history about these people, which he totally ignores or distorts, that I'm saddened to think that readers (and other reviewers) would believe this is an accurate portrayal. Speckhals should not have given the Waldensian name to his concocted religion and people; because of this, his novel is pulp fiction at its worst.

[Lydia Willcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have very mixed feeling about this book.
To start with, there is SO MUCH about Heretics of Piedmont that is very good. When I first heard about it, I was super excited, because this is a part of history that NEEDS to be represented more. And I was thrilled that someone was finally doing it.
Well, there really is a lot of good I can say about it. It's certainly a very gripping story, and I liked the writing style. But more than that, I was extremely impressed with how well the author tackled some of the topics. Catholicism was not whitewashed, at all, and I think the portrayal of the monks and the papal system was one of the best things about this book. That really impressed me, especially as it's so seldom treated right in any modern book.
Andreas, the main character, was really well done. I was very invested in his story, and I liked seeing most of the book through his eyes.
The plot was excellent. Andreas' journey was soo good, and I loved the mix of slower-paced and suspenseful. The climax scene and the suspense in it was top-notch, and I was really concerned about the outcome for a bit there! Again, I really appreciated the depiction of the Catholic mercenaries and the terrible persecution the Waldensians suffered. We need more books like this.
It was very well researched, and in certain areas really brought the story of the Waldensians to life.
The twist about Andreas was one I never saw coming, and it definitely blew me away with how clever it was! I love that kind of thing in historical fiction, especially when it has a good explanation for why it could actually have happened and that makes it realistic (trying to be vague here XD). But I really loved that!
The romance was really good - I loved Constanza, and I appreciated how clean it was and how it really wasn't a major part of the story. Also, I liked that Constanza stopped her thoughts even heading in that direction while Andreas was unconverted. That was really good.
There were also some other themes which I really liked and appreciated.

Based on those things, it could have been a 5 star, because it's really important to have books about this and written like this and it did a really good job.
But there were some things, especially in the first half, that drove me crazy. I actually took notes while I was reading, and while I'm not posting everything, these were the main things.

~The Waldensians' theology is portrayed as Arminian. This is historically inaccurate, to say the least, and really disappointed me because it feels like an injustice to the Waldensians to represent them as believing what they did not believe. And I think there may have been other things that weren't accurate, either.

~While I appreciated the message of honouring your parents even as an adult, I think it went too far in that a character basically ignored what she strongly believed to be a call to mission work (not preaching, but doing various acts of service on the mission field), because her parents disagreed. In other words, submission to parents was placed above following conscience and obeying a call to mission work - especially as the parents had no valid reason for her not to go, and she knew it.

~A converted character disguises himself as a priest and speaks words a priest would speak

~It wasn't terrible, but the violence towards the end was a little more than I'm comfortable with. Not gory or anything, just described a little too well. That's more of a personal thing though.

~The book was set in the 1450s, but lacked a good historical feel. It actually started out really well, but as it went on the dialogue became more modern and also characters had modern accents? That really didn't make sense... And there were things like the characters rolling their eyes, or just generally doing things or behaving/speaking in ways that felt out of place in the time period. It wasn't all bad, though, and he dialogue flowed well regardless. It honestly wouldn't have bothered me much if it hadn't been yet another thing to pull me out the story when it was already frustrating me. XD

~And then the part that really ruined it for me - The Waldensian characters really acted badly towards the main character. From the moment he arrived in the valley, and before that, it was as if they were launching an attack against him, and not in the right way. One of the main characters - a preacher - rolls his eyes in Andreas' face when he (Andreas) speaks of a belief he holds to. Other characters mock him, laugh to his face, make jokes at his expense, and generally treat him like an idiot for believing what he does. A character training to be a missionary treats him the worst of all, not even wanting to associate with him, even travel with him. And yes, that and some other parts get better, and also some things are addressed, but then again the characters who addressed it were doing the exact same thing and continued to do so at east in part...? They really didn't come across as having any humility; every single character either treated him with open hostility or condescending superiority. They also seemed to expect all he needed to make him convert was to watch them, and he was stupid for not changing at once. It just didn't make sense... and was also a very confusing mix of good and bad, in that I did appreciate how clear the distinction was shown to be, and how they weren't prepared to whitewash Catholicism for his sake or act as if it wasn't a big deal. That was very good, and something we need more of in fiction. But I think it really just ended up going too far the other way and I honestly couldn't bring myself to like almost any of the supposedly 'good characters', at least not until later. Especially when they virtually shunned him, or at least acted as if they were doing a very great favour in even speaking to him -- when he hadn't done anything to warrant that kind of behaviour? Like I said, it got better, but the first half really drove me crazy and really their way of witnessing to him was... pretty terrible all round.

So... I honestly don't know. I liked it, I did. But it also drove me crazy. It really impressed me. And it also really bothered me. So... I don't know what to think about it. I doubt I'll read the next book... but I just don't know. I really appreciate what the author is doing by writing these books, and I really want to like them, but... I just don't know if I could really recommend it as Christian fiction.
2.5-3 stars because of how much I did enjoy it in parts, and all the good things it does have going for it. Still deciding if I want to give it a full 3 stars or not.

[Ryan Jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of the Waldenses is fascinating and Speckhals does a great job at bringing that to life. This is the first of three of a series, the first of which begins in 1458. I come from a line of French Waldenses and Huguenot and have journals that have been passed down that illustrate the sort of persecution experienced in this novel. Although I can find little about Speckhals own theological tradition, I suspect he is some form of Baptist given some of the liberties taken in the text, such as the emphasis on baptismal immersion, along with the absence of paedobaptism.
I enjoyed this first volume so much I began the second immediately.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent historical fiction novel. Speckhals presents an engaging story that stays true to the time period. Having done some reading on the history of the Waldensians, I found the characters relatable, the story compelling, and the historical time period reflected accurately. While the beginning of the book may seem to move slowly, the climax and ending is gripping. There were some unexpected plot twists that made things interesting as well.
All in all, a tremendous read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I will be ordering the remaining books in this trilogy!

[Jeremiah Friedli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This aspect of prereformation history captured my attention the day I learned about it in school. Well before Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to a door in Wittenberg, Germany, a sect of Christians in the Italian Alps rejected the papist church and held true to the Bible. The author skillfully weaves fictional elements into this fascinating era with rich characterization, authentic conversations about the Bible and religion, and...spies!

[Barbara Keigher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting novel.
The slow change of the main hero to the true truth was well done.
But parts were a little too slow for me, but nevertheless, I am glad I read it.