My father, once the man who did not want to be king, now the king whom nobody wants, thinks that David has stolen my love from him. I have only one answer for that:
I am here.
And whatever the people have forgotten of Saul,
I remember everything.
The testament of Jonathan, son of Israel's first king. A hero of Israel's war to throw off Philistine domination, Jonathan lives an agony of divided loyalties: between his conscience and the ferocious decrees of the prophet Samuel; between his marriage and a forbidden friendship with a beautiful Canaanite priestess; between his father and the charismatic David, destined to take the throne.
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Reader Reviews
“I started the book on Saturday night, put it down at 1am and didn't get out of bed on Sunday morning until it was finished. Ward creates a richly developed character in Jonathan, the son of Saul and our narrator. The story follows Jonathan's divided loyalty and struggles to see the will of God in the actions of men. Though the Bible tells us how Jonathan's life ends, Son of Saul is a masterful story of the journey.”
— William Lief
“This book is beautifully written. The tragic lives of Saul, Jonathan and David are intertwined as they battle through a very bloody age in the Bible. The internal struggle between God's will, filial duty and Jonathan's own personal and sensitive beliefs are well balanced and help the reader to feel deep sympathy for this fairly small character in the Bible.
I am not a lover of war, but it is something that is built into mankind. This novel represents a balanced look at man's everlasting need to battle to cling and protect their homeland.”
— Dorothy Schock
”Ward is able to take what is already a fascinating story and make it into a page turner. The characters in the Saul/Jonathan/David saga are larger than life figures, but Ward is able into their thoughts and dreams and give us real people, making the personal conflict among them very believable at a human level. But he doesn't neglect the spiritual aspects of the story, and especially how they view Yahweh, and the religious conflicts they experience. I was impressed with his ability to paint a vivid picture of the land and the local people, and especially his ability to bring ancient warfare to life. It's a tribute to his abilities that, even though we know how the story comes out, we want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Highly recommended.”
— Corbet Clark
“A must-read!
This novel masterfully interweaves history, philosophy, and spirituality with stunningly powerful narrative. Ward pretends at nothing: his richly descriptive language brings to life every aspect of this testament without sacrificing historical integrity; the intrigue is in his characterization of the spaces between, the words unspoken, and the tales yet untold.
This is historical fiction at its finest.”
”Arthur Ward’s historical novel brings into sharp focus the ever-pertinent question of the nature of the divine as perceived in the Hebrew tradition. The suspicion that divine will is arbitrary is examined obliquely by Ward, whose skilful portrayal of landscapes, weaponry, battlefield tactics, and human relationships suggests that the operations of the divine will have to be seen in both the particular outcomes of individual lives and against the grand canvas of human history. Thus, the agonies of King Saul who no longer enjoys divine favor have to give way to the blessings of the new favorite, King David, because ultimately, is not the individual but the inexorable working out of interventions in history that need to be comprehended in order to grasp the significance of one’s own life. Ward’s crafting of this tale is evocative and gripping, filling out the human story behind the Hebrew remembrance of history. Both scholars and clergy will benefit from the masterful story-telling that lends color to the compressed Biblical text, making possible a continuing journey into complex and paradoxical narrative that still inspires.”
— Vijendran Sathyaraj
Reader Reviews
“I started the book on Saturday night, put it down at 1am and didn't get out of bed on Sunday morning until it was finished. Ward creates a richly developed character in Jonathan, the son of Saul and our narrator. The story follows Jonathan's divided loyalty and struggles to see the will of God in the actions of men. Though the Bible tells us how Jonathan's life ends, Son of Saul is a masterful story of the journey.”
— William Lief
“This book is beautifully written. The tragic lives of Saul, Jonathan and David are intertwined as they battle through a very bloody age in the Bible. The internal struggle between God's will, filial duty and Jonathan's own personal and sensitive beliefs are well balanced and help the reader to feel deep sympathy for this fairly small character in the Bible.
I am not a lover of war, but it is something that is built into mankind. This novel represents a balanced look at man's everlasting need to battle to cling and protect their homeland.”
— Dorothy Schock
”Ward is able to take what is already a fascinating story and make it into a page turner. The characters in the Saul/Jonathan/David saga are larger than life figures, but Ward is able into their thoughts and dreams and give us real people, making the personal conflict among them very believable at a human level. But he doesn't neglect the spiritual aspects of the story, and especially how they view Yahweh, and the religious conflicts they experience. I was impressed with his ability to paint a vivid picture of the land and the local people, and especially his ability to bring ancient warfare to life. It's a tribute to his abilities that, even though we know how the story comes out, we want to keep reading to find out what happens next. Highly recommended.”
— Corbet Clark
“A must-read!
This novel masterfully interweaves history, philosophy, and spirituality with stunningly powerful narrative. Ward pretends at nothing: his richly descriptive language brings to life every aspect of this testament without sacrificing historical integrity; the intrigue is in his characterization of the spaces between, the words unspoken, and the tales yet untold.
This is historical fiction at its finest.”
”Arthur Ward’s historical novel brings into sharp focus the ever-pertinent question of the nature of the divine as perceived in the Hebrew tradition. The suspicion that divine will is arbitrary is examined obliquely by Ward, whose skilful portrayal of landscapes, weaponry, battlefield tactics, and human relationships suggests that the operations of the divine will have to be seen in both the particular outcomes of individual lives and against the grand canvas of human history. Thus, the agonies of King Saul who no longer enjoys divine favor have to give way to the blessings of the new favorite, King David, because ultimately, is not the individual but the inexorable working out of interventions in history that need to be comprehended in order to grasp the significance of one’s own life. Ward’s crafting of this tale is evocative and gripping, filling out the human story behind the Hebrew remembrance of history. Both scholars and clergy will benefit from the masterful story-telling that lends color to the compressed Biblical text, making possible a continuing journey into complex and paradoxical narrative that still inspires.”
— Vijendran Sathyaraj