thepageladies's review
4.0
Children of Sinai is a Christian sci fi historical fiction dystopian thriller all in one! It sounds like there is a lot going on and it may be a complicated read but it really isn’t! The beginning is a slow burn where the author does an amazing job of laying all the groundwork & bringing everything together nicely! There isn't really one religion that takes place here; it has a pretty good mix! The characters are great here! The author created a nice harmony between them! Happy reading everyone!
thereadingchemist's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up!
story set in present day that is dictated by the prophecy of Ancient Egypt? Umm, yes please!
This book was part sci-fi, part apocalyptic thriller, and part historical fiction, which made for an imaginative story full of mystery and intrigue.
John is your quintessential loving father and husband. Everything in life proceeded on it’s mundane course as to be expected until him and his daughters start to have vivid, prophetic dreams.
Following a sudden death, some old forgotten paperwork sheds light on the death of John’s parents. The kicker? This paperwork is worth killing for…and it’s located in his house alongside him and his family.
Reminiscent of Dan Brown, Clarke has written a deliciously addictive story that blurs fact and fiction when it comes to religious historical fiction, which I savored. While the story was a bit of a slow-burn at first as the point of the plot was made clear, I enjoyed being fully engrossed in this story. The plot maintained a relatively steady pace, and the characters were well developed.
I’m already chopping at the bit for the next read.
Thank you to Anne for my tour invite and providing a copy for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
story set in present day that is dictated by the prophecy of Ancient Egypt? Umm, yes please!
This book was part sci-fi, part apocalyptic thriller, and part historical fiction, which made for an imaginative story full of mystery and intrigue.
John is your quintessential loving father and husband. Everything in life proceeded on it’s mundane course as to be expected until him and his daughters start to have vivid, prophetic dreams.
Following a sudden death, some old forgotten paperwork sheds light on the death of John’s parents. The kicker? This paperwork is worth killing for…and it’s located in his house alongside him and his family.
Reminiscent of Dan Brown, Clarke has written a deliciously addictive story that blurs fact and fiction when it comes to religious historical fiction, which I savored. While the story was a bit of a slow-burn at first as the point of the plot was made clear, I enjoyed being fully engrossed in this story. The plot maintained a relatively steady pace, and the characters were well developed.
I’m already chopping at the bit for the next read.
Thank you to Anne for my tour invite and providing a copy for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
stephbookshine's review
4.0
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Children of Sinai is an intriguing mix of religion, sci-fi and apocalyptic thriller.
The main character, John, is pretty much Mr Ordinary except for the recurring dreams he has of climbing a mountain, which leave him drained and exhausted upon waking. His twin girls have their own language, which his wife – frustrated that childcare has interrupted her meteoric career in linguistics – is studying as a private project.
A sudden death, however, brings to light old paperwork which sheds more light on the death of John’s parents, and it turns out that not only was their archaeological work worth killing for, but it still is… and John has the evidence right there, in his family home, with his wife and children.
The unfolding of these events is done at a very slow pace, gradually layering in the clues and tension. Once John embarks on his journey to Israel in search of the truth about his history, this triggers a chain of events that picks up the pace, resulting in attacks, abductions and eventually, possibly, the apocalypse. The author uses the initial slow-burn to lay out a plausible-to-the-layperson groundwork for ‘enlightened powers’ and religious apocalypse, using the science of genetics and mutations to give the story an additional sci-fi feel.
There is a strong religious theme to the whole story, with the re-imagining of the Moses story, Nephilim and evolution vs creation. The story doesn’t favour one religion over another however, suggesting that all organised religions carry elements of truth (distorted over time and tradition) and that there may be a way to unite all of the theories and beliefs peacefully. The real enemies here are the capitalists, for whom world peace means a drop in income, and war/division means profit. So a very timely story too!
Timely in more ways than one, as John slowly comes to realise that his children (and others) know more about events than they should and that they are the path to a better, brighter future for humanity. Anyone else thinking of Greta Thunberg at this point?!
Children of Sinai is a thoughtful story that carries strong spiritual and religious messages. There is plenty of anxiety and action towards the middle and end of the book, followed by tentative hope for the future.
If the sleeping mind was supposed to create dreams to sort out information that hadn’t been resolved, or organized, during waking hours, why was he dreaming of climbing? And not just any mountain, but that same one? The same details, same strange words echoing in his head? Neither mountain nor words meant anything at all.
– Shelley Clarke, Children of Sinai
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2019/09/30/children-of-sinai-shelley-clarke/
Children of Sinai is an intriguing mix of religion, sci-fi and apocalyptic thriller.
The main character, John, is pretty much Mr Ordinary except for the recurring dreams he has of climbing a mountain, which leave him drained and exhausted upon waking. His twin girls have their own language, which his wife – frustrated that childcare has interrupted her meteoric career in linguistics – is studying as a private project.
A sudden death, however, brings to light old paperwork which sheds more light on the death of John’s parents, and it turns out that not only was their archaeological work worth killing for, but it still is… and John has the evidence right there, in his family home, with his wife and children.
The unfolding of these events is done at a very slow pace, gradually layering in the clues and tension. Once John embarks on his journey to Israel in search of the truth about his history, this triggers a chain of events that picks up the pace, resulting in attacks, abductions and eventually, possibly, the apocalypse. The author uses the initial slow-burn to lay out a plausible-to-the-layperson groundwork for ‘enlightened powers’ and religious apocalypse, using the science of genetics and mutations to give the story an additional sci-fi feel.
There is a strong religious theme to the whole story, with the re-imagining of the Moses story, Nephilim and evolution vs creation. The story doesn’t favour one religion over another however, suggesting that all organised religions carry elements of truth (distorted over time and tradition) and that there may be a way to unite all of the theories and beliefs peacefully. The real enemies here are the capitalists, for whom world peace means a drop in income, and war/division means profit. So a very timely story too!
Timely in more ways than one, as John slowly comes to realise that his children (and others) know more about events than they should and that they are the path to a better, brighter future for humanity. Anyone else thinking of Greta Thunberg at this point?!
Children of Sinai is a thoughtful story that carries strong spiritual and religious messages. There is plenty of anxiety and action towards the middle and end of the book, followed by tentative hope for the future.
If the sleeping mind was supposed to create dreams to sort out information that hadn’t been resolved, or organized, during waking hours, why was he dreaming of climbing? And not just any mountain, but that same one? The same details, same strange words echoing in his head? Neither mountain nor words meant anything at all.
– Shelley Clarke, Children of Sinai
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2019/09/30/children-of-sinai-shelley-clarke/
sometimesleelynnreads's review
3.0
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Shelley Clarke for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.
I always love stories that have some aspect of Egyptian history and mythology involved, and I’m so glad that this one did! It’s also really cool to see how an author will combine the modern day world with the ancient world, and I think that Clarke did a great job of making it feel believable. Reading the beginning parts of it, it was interesting to see how John and his wife Jen’s passions really complemented one another even before they ended up falling in love.
One of the things that I’m a little iffy about – only because it’s my own personal preference, not necessarily a fault with the book at all! – was that Jen stopped with her career and passion once she got pregnant. She said something like it was her destiny to be a mom, even though they were being careful with their contraception and all that. Knowing what my mom had to go through when she was pregnant with me, and how she didn’t stop her career and graduating from college after she had me, I feel like why not have both? I don’t know. That’s just me and probably why I don’t have kids. I like that her having the twins didn’t stop her from eventually going back to her goals, at least!
I think that readers that have enjoy reading about ancient history and seeing how it affects the present will enjoy this book. It was pretty fast paced for the most part, and I definitely felt like I was on a journey with John. I liked the instances where the past and the present seemed to follow a similar timeline, almost like a prophecy was being fulfilled again and history was repeating itself. It was really cool!
I always love stories that have some aspect of Egyptian history and mythology involved, and I’m so glad that this one did! It’s also really cool to see how an author will combine the modern day world with the ancient world, and I think that Clarke did a great job of making it feel believable. Reading the beginning parts of it, it was interesting to see how John and his wife Jen’s passions really complemented one another even before they ended up falling in love.
One of the things that I’m a little iffy about – only because it’s my own personal preference, not necessarily a fault with the book at all! – was that Jen stopped with her career and passion once she got pregnant. She said something like it was her destiny to be a mom, even though they were being careful with their contraception and all that. Knowing what my mom had to go through when she was pregnant with me, and how she didn’t stop her career and graduating from college after she had me, I feel like why not have both? I don’t know. That’s just me and probably why I don’t have kids. I like that her having the twins didn’t stop her from eventually going back to her goals, at least!
I think that readers that have enjoy reading about ancient history and seeing how it affects the present will enjoy this book. It was pretty fast paced for the most part, and I definitely felt like I was on a journey with John. I liked the instances where the past and the present seemed to follow a similar timeline, almost like a prophecy was being fulfilled again and history was repeating itself. It was really cool!
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