thebeardedpoet's review against another edition
4.0
The core of story centers around events headed toward the rebuilding of the third temple in Jerusalem. Supernatural occurrences leave no doubt that the end times are happening. What happens to various people when these events eliminate all doubt that there is a God and He will do what He will do?
Turtledove runs the scenario with generous character empathy. The book succeeds in portraying sympathetic characters of every persuasion and stripe: atheists, secular Jews, secular Christians, orthodox Jews, evangelical Christians, born again Christians, Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims and so on. Admittedly there are one or two unsavory characters, but they are short lived. Occasionally there are characters who do too much reciprocal thinking, but I could put up with it.
Turtledove does an impressive job of seamlessly weaving through the narrative a tremendous amount of biblical and religious knowledge. I really liked some of his speculative guesses too.
I am sure not everyone will be satisfied with the climax, but I found it thought provoking fiction. That's the wonderful thing about fiction--it postulates "what if" and stretches your mind.
Turtledove runs the scenario with generous character empathy. The book succeeds in portraying sympathetic characters of every persuasion and stripe: atheists, secular Jews, secular Christians, orthodox Jews, evangelical Christians, born again Christians, Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims and so on. Admittedly there are one or two unsavory characters, but they are short lived. Occasionally there are characters who do too much reciprocal thinking, but I could put up with it.
Turtledove does an impressive job of seamlessly weaving through the narrative a tremendous amount of biblical and religious knowledge. I really liked some of his speculative guesses too.
I am sure not everyone will be satisfied with the climax, but I found it thought provoking fiction. That's the wonderful thing about fiction--it postulates "what if" and stretches your mind.
brents's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very unique book, but it is one I enjoyed quite a bit. It's unique in that I'm not really sure what genre I would put it in. It was in the sci fi section of the book store but I wouldn't call it sci fi. You could make an argument that it's fantasy, but it bares little resemblance to almost any other fantasy work. Maybe it's supernatural mystery or alternate history, but it's not really those either.
What it really amounts to is a book that starts with an interesting "what if" premise and throws normal people into very unusual situation and we see how they react as it plays out. In this case the "what if" is what if the biblical account of the end times played out verifiably for all of the world to see, and how would various people from all backgrounds both faithfully religious and secular react as it plays out.
That was enough to get me hooked, but I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people. If you really want a driving plot, action, or traditional protagonists and antagonist you're not really going to find that here. What you will find is some really interesting characters that all have very distinct viewpoints and voices trying to reconcile their beliefs or lack there of with what is happening before their very eyes. As someone who has always loved to speculate, and think of counter-factual theories of historical events I ate this up.
Also I appreciate all the research that Turtledove put in regarding all of ancient history and biblical history here. And I appreciate the way he wrote about the various religious beliefs without either being preachy or mocking of said beliefs. Each religion gets handled both with reverence and sometimes a little skewering without being offensive.
If I had to criticize anything here I'd probably say I found the ending a bit of a letdown. It was fine in the context of the rest of the story, and it makes a point, but I prefer more resolution and less open-endedness. I didn't need an action packed climax. That wouldn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. But what I would have liked was it not to be quite so rushed and just a bit more definitive. However, I will admit maybe definitive answers also don't fit the tone of the book.
In summary I really enjoyed this as an entry point to Turtledove's work. He has so many books and series it's a bit overwhelming to figure out where to start. This is as good of a place as any. I will be checking out more of his work. I would also recommend this to a specific type of reader. Maybe one who is interested in the premise and ideas of books like those of Dan Brown, but are interested in a more thoughtful and less "pot boilerly" story with better writing.
What it really amounts to is a book that starts with an interesting "what if" premise and throws normal people into very unusual situation and we see how they react as it plays out. In this case the "what if" is what if the biblical account of the end times played out verifiably for all of the world to see, and how would various people from all backgrounds both faithfully religious and secular react as it plays out.
That was enough to get me hooked, but I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people. If you really want a driving plot, action, or traditional protagonists and antagonist you're not really going to find that here. What you will find is some really interesting characters that all have very distinct viewpoints and voices trying to reconcile their beliefs or lack there of with what is happening before their very eyes. As someone who has always loved to speculate, and think of counter-factual theories of historical events I ate this up.
Also I appreciate all the research that Turtledove put in regarding all of ancient history and biblical history here. And I appreciate the way he wrote about the various religious beliefs without either being preachy or mocking of said beliefs. Each religion gets handled both with reverence and sometimes a little skewering without being offensive.
If I had to criticize anything here I'd probably say I found the ending a bit of a letdown. It was fine in the context of the rest of the story, and it makes a point, but I prefer more resolution and less open-endedness. I didn't need an action packed climax. That wouldn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. But what I would have liked was it not to be quite so rushed and just a bit more definitive. However, I will admit maybe definitive answers also don't fit the tone of the book.
In summary I really enjoyed this as an entry point to Turtledove's work. He has so many books and series it's a bit overwhelming to figure out where to start. This is as good of a place as any. I will be checking out more of his work. I would also recommend this to a specific type of reader. Maybe one who is interested in the premise and ideas of books like those of Dan Brown, but are interested in a more thoughtful and less "pot boilerly" story with better writing.
remembernavarro's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
metaphorosis's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary:
In the heart of the Holy Land, ancient prophecies begin to come true. But whose prophecies, exactly, and to whose benefit?
Review:
I enjoy Harry Turtledove’s writing, though I’m not really a fan of the alternate history niche that he’s claimed as his particular specialty. Here, he’s strayed from the SFF field into what’s more of a religion-heavy pop thriller with supernatural overtones. It’s a quick, smooth read with strong characters, but it didn’t win me over.
The book is largely set in Jerusalem, and Turtledove does what I imagine he thinks is a painstaking job of presenting all viewpoints fairly. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really pull it off, and the Palestinians get short shrift, coming off as only slightly rounded villains. Most writers do worse, so I suppose we should be thankful that he tried at least, but that’s faint praise. Gender issues don’t always fare better, and while it’s possible to attribute some of these to character viewpoint, the story would have been fine without them. There’s also a tendency to believe that anyone who’s served in the military (especially the Israeli military) is and always will be a noble killing machine. In short, while I don’t know anything at all about Turtledove’s politics, the book fits comfortably in moderate right of center perspective. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but because of nature of the book, the thin presentation of the Palestinian case undermines the entire thing.
The supernatural elements come up mostly toward the end. Most of the book is taken up with an examination of the characters and the political and theological questions they face. To Turtledove’s credit, he faces the political questions head on (if not with perfect balance). That makes it all the more disappointing that he avoids all the theological questions he so carefully tees up. That the end of the book is a cop-out is putting it mildly. He brings us and his characters along with the promise of revelations to come, and then … vanishes into the air. And even then, only the three main Abrahamic religions are addressed. Atheists, Hindus, etc. aren’t involved.
It’s a disappointing book. Turtledove introduces interesting, engaging characters, but then does little with them. While he tries for balance, he doesn’t succeed. Where he raises interesting theological questions, he avoids them in the end. If you’re already to the right on Middle East issues, this book will confirm your views, and you might enjoy it. I can’t really recommend it to anyone else.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
In the heart of the Holy Land, ancient prophecies begin to come true. But whose prophecies, exactly, and to whose benefit?
Review:
I enjoy Harry Turtledove’s writing, though I’m not really a fan of the alternate history niche that he’s claimed as his particular specialty. Here, he’s strayed from the SFF field into what’s more of a religion-heavy pop thriller with supernatural overtones. It’s a quick, smooth read with strong characters, but it didn’t win me over.
The book is largely set in Jerusalem, and Turtledove does what I imagine he thinks is a painstaking job of presenting all viewpoints fairly. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really pull it off, and the Palestinians get short shrift, coming off as only slightly rounded villains. Most writers do worse, so I suppose we should be thankful that he tried at least, but that’s faint praise. Gender issues don’t always fare better, and while it’s possible to attribute some of these to character viewpoint, the story would have been fine without them. There’s also a tendency to believe that anyone who’s served in the military (especially the Israeli military) is and always will be a noble killing machine. In short, while I don’t know anything at all about Turtledove’s politics, the book fits comfortably in moderate right of center perspective. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but because of nature of the book, the thin presentation of the Palestinian case undermines the entire thing.
The supernatural elements come up mostly toward the end. Most of the book is taken up with an examination of the characters and the political and theological questions they face. To Turtledove’s credit, he faces the political questions head on (if not with perfect balance). That makes it all the more disappointing that he avoids all the theological questions he so carefully tees up. That the end of the book is a cop-out is putting it mildly. He brings us and his characters along with the promise of revelations to come, and then … vanishes into the air. And even then, only the three main Abrahamic religions are addressed. Atheists, Hindus, etc. aren’t involved.
It’s a disappointing book. Turtledove introduces interesting, engaging characters, but then does little with them. While he tries for balance, he doesn’t succeed. Where he raises interesting theological questions, he avoids them in the end. If you’re already to the right on Middle East issues, this book will confirm your views, and you might enjoy it. I can’t really recommend it to anyone else.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
colouradeaux's review against another edition
I got 100 pages to the end and could not finish. Oh God does it get boring. It can be summarized as There's so much navel gazing which is a real shame because I am the prime target market for alternative history. People sitting around and contemplating their religion and internal monologues and it's just frustratin. II tried to skim read 50 pages but during that time nothing happened and I just couldn't. There were two big mysteries that weren't intreaguing enough to make new read the last 100 pages and I literally did not care about a single one of the characters. All of them were 2 dimensional and annoying. Real shame to waste nearly 500 pages on this book.
Spoiler
"OH my God Christians and Jews and Muslims all believe different things??!!! Then who's God is right???"taisie22's review against another edition
4.0
When conservative Jews find a pure red heifer and archeologists find the lost Ark under the Temple Mount, it looks like the End of Days might be coming soon. Told in various points of view and by members of the different Abrahamic religions, the newest book by Harry Turtledove is an engaging view of events in the Middle East and religion across the West.
Conservative Christians, devout Jews and Muslims, and secular people must confront a new reality as events progress in this story. While some seem a bit contrived, there's enough scholarly backup from the Bible, the Talmud, and the Quoran to make it all believable. This book leaves the reader pondering the result and wondering if we might ever reach that ending in the real world.
Conservative Christians, devout Jews and Muslims, and secular people must confront a new reality as events progress in this story. While some seem a bit contrived, there's enough scholarly backup from the Bible, the Talmud, and the Quoran to make it all believable. This book leaves the reader pondering the result and wondering if we might ever reach that ending in the real world.
rsoccer70's review against another edition
4.0
A quick and interesting read. Religious fantasy and not a very plausible "alternative history."
brents's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very unique book, but it is one I enjoyed quite a bit. It's unique in that I'm not really sure what genre I would put it in. It was in the sci fi section of the book store but I wouldn't call it sci fi. You could make an argument that it's fantasy, but it bares little resemblance to almost any other fantasy work. Maybe it's supernatural mystery or alternate history, but it's not really those either.
What it really amounts to is a book that starts with an interesting "what if" premise and throws normal people into very unusual situation and we see how they react as it plays out. In this case the "what if" is what if the biblical account of the end times played out verifiably for all of the world to see, and how would various people from all backgrounds both faithfully religious and secular react as it plays out.
That was enough to get me hooked, but I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people. If you really want a driving plot, action, or traditional protagonists and antagonist you're not really going to find that here. What you will find is some really interesting characters that all have very distinct viewpoints and voices trying to reconcile their beliefs or lack there of with what is happening before their very eyes. As someone who has always loved to speculate, and think of counter-factual theories of historical events I ate this up.
Also I appreciate all the research that Turtledove put in regarding all of ancient history and biblical history here. And I appreciate the way he wrote about the various religious beliefs without either being preachy or mocking of said beliefs. Each religion gets handled both with reverence and sometimes a little skewering without being offensive.
If I had to criticize anything here I'd probably say I found the ending a bit of a letdown. It was fine in the context of the rest of the story, and it makes a point, but I prefer more resolution and less open-endedness. I didn't need an action packed climax. That wouldn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. But what I would have liked was it not to be quite so rushed and just a bit more definitive. However, I will admit maybe definitive answers also don't fit the tone of the book.
In summary I really enjoyed this as an entry point to Turtledove's work. He has so many books and series it's a bit overwhelming to figure out where to start. This is as good of a place as any. I will be checking out more of his work. I would also recommend this to a specific type of reader. Maybe one who is interested in the premise and ideas of books like those of Dan Brown, but are interested in a more thoughtful and less "pot boilerly" story with better writing.
What it really amounts to is a book that starts with an interesting "what if" premise and throws normal people into very unusual situation and we see how they react as it plays out. In this case the "what if" is what if the biblical account of the end times played out verifiably for all of the world to see, and how would various people from all backgrounds both faithfully religious and secular react as it plays out.
That was enough to get me hooked, but I can see how it wouldn't work for a lot of people. If you really want a driving plot, action, or traditional protagonists and antagonist you're not really going to find that here. What you will find is some really interesting characters that all have very distinct viewpoints and voices trying to reconcile their beliefs or lack there of with what is happening before their very eyes. As someone who has always loved to speculate, and think of counter-factual theories of historical events I ate this up.
Also I appreciate all the research that Turtledove put in regarding all of ancient history and biblical history here. And I appreciate the way he wrote about the various religious beliefs without either being preachy or mocking of said beliefs. Each religion gets handled both with reverence and sometimes a little skewering without being offensive.
If I had to criticize anything here I'd probably say I found the ending a bit of a letdown. It was fine in the context of the rest of the story, and it makes a point, but I prefer more resolution and less open-endedness. I didn't need an action packed climax. That wouldn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. But what I would have liked was it not to be quite so rushed and just a bit more definitive. However, I will admit maybe definitive answers also don't fit the tone of the book.
In summary I really enjoyed this as an entry point to Turtledove's work. He has so many books and series it's a bit overwhelming to figure out where to start. This is as good of a place as any. I will be checking out more of his work. I would also recommend this to a specific type of reader. Maybe one who is interested in the premise and ideas of books like those of Dan Brown, but are interested in a more thoughtful and less "pot boilerly" story with better writing.
cabridges's review against another edition
4.0
What would happen if the God of the Old Testament, the God worshipped by Jews, Christians and Muslims, turned out to be provably real and the ancient prophecy of the End Times comes true?
Since this is a Harry Turtledove book, you'll find out through multiple viewpoints of lots of different people from all walks of life in different parts of the world whose stories will swirl around until they finally meet up at the end, more or less. And you'll get lots of intriguing concepts and theological ideas to think about afterward.
After a suicide bomber takes out a Tel Aviv bus station, Israelis dig under the ancient Islamic shrine The Dome of the Rock to relocate it for space to build a Third Temple, and find the Ark of the Convenant. Which is floating off the ground.
Then things get interesting.
Turtledove is great at creating different characters with different opinions and motivations and throwing them all at a weird situation, and that style fits eschatological fiction nicely. How would a secular archeologist react to finding the Ark? What happens when the Jews find their Messiah and the Muslims their Mahdi? How would this affect everyone else?
As with his other books, at times I felt almost tired trying to keep up with everyone. But his writing always entertains, he never shies away from the tough questions (even if he doesn't always answer them) and "Alpha and Omega" will definitely get you thinking, whatever your religious faith is or isn't.
Since this is a Harry Turtledove book, you'll find out through multiple viewpoints of lots of different people from all walks of life in different parts of the world whose stories will swirl around until they finally meet up at the end, more or less. And you'll get lots of intriguing concepts and theological ideas to think about afterward.
After a suicide bomber takes out a Tel Aviv bus station, Israelis dig under the ancient Islamic shrine The Dome of the Rock to relocate it for space to build a Third Temple, and find the Ark of the Convenant. Which is floating off the ground.
Then things get interesting.
Turtledove is great at creating different characters with different opinions and motivations and throwing them all at a weird situation, and that style fits eschatological fiction nicely. How would a secular archeologist react to finding the Ark? What happens when the Jews find their Messiah and the Muslims their Mahdi? How would this affect everyone else?
As with his other books, at times I felt almost tired trying to keep up with everyone. But his writing always entertains, he never shies away from the tough questions (even if he doesn't always answer them) and "Alpha and Omega" will definitely get you thinking, whatever your religious faith is or isn't.
beejai's review against another edition
3.0
In this book at one point, three significant world leaders are suddenly killed. Six months after publishing one of those three are suddenly killed? Prophesy? Well, only if you think DT is the hand of God.
OK, now on to my real book review. Pretty much any time Harry Turtledove puts something in print, I pick it up and read it. He isn't the greatest author out there. He isn't even the best alt-history author out there, but he always does have some really good thought experiments. Most of his books revolve around an idea that any lover of history has probably played around in their own mind. What would England look like if they had not stopped the Spanish Armada? (Ruled Brittania) What would life be like for a modern day Jew in Germany if Hitler had won the war? (In the Presence of Mine Enemies) You get the picture.
This book is not alt-history, but it is still a great thought experiment. What if Israel took down the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Dome of the Rock) and rebuilt the Temple in its proper place? He lays out a scenario where Jews in Israel give up trying to play nice with their neighbors, political sentiment swings to the extreme far right, and the next thing you know, construction crews are taking down the third holiest site in Islam that they might rebuild the holiest site in Judaism.
The scenario is definitely an interesting one and HT does a great job of pacing the plot well and keeping the reader hooked. He also shows well the incredible complexities involved when three major world religions all are focused in on the same small plot of ground. A victory for one group always makes losers for the others and HT shows what those might look like. At points, this book is as unbelievable as anything since he wrote about sentient dinosaurs (what if the asteroid missed?) but you ought to expect miracles to occur when religion plays such a key point in a book.
One thing that did not surprise me, but might surprise someone not as familiar with Turtledove, is how unsympathetic or even how unbelievable his characters are. Turtledove is writing about radicals from three different faiths and he makes it very clear he doesn't know the first thing about what they really believe or how they think. He just keeps reverting back to stereotypes. Since I was raised as a fundamentalist Christian, now live in the Muslim world, and have spent decades reading up on God and history I probably know more than the average reader here, but I am guessing anyone picking up this book will see through his stereotypes and poor characterization just as easily.
What really got to me, though, was his absolutely horrible ending. I won't throw up any spoilers, but I will say that I was fighting back a gag reflex at how despicably bad the last 20% or so of this book was. This book really should be a 2, but considering all the anti-Semitic attacks in NYC, the Iranian attack on the US embassy, and Trump's retaliatory strike on that Iranian general, I am bumping it up one star for its timliness.
OK, now on to my real book review. Pretty much any time Harry Turtledove puts something in print, I pick it up and read it. He isn't the greatest author out there. He isn't even the best alt-history author out there, but he always does have some really good thought experiments. Most of his books revolve around an idea that any lover of history has probably played around in their own mind. What would England look like if they had not stopped the Spanish Armada? (Ruled Brittania) What would life be like for a modern day Jew in Germany if Hitler had won the war? (In the Presence of Mine Enemies) You get the picture.
This book is not alt-history, but it is still a great thought experiment. What if Israel took down the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Dome of the Rock) and rebuilt the Temple in its proper place? He lays out a scenario where Jews in Israel give up trying to play nice with their neighbors, political sentiment swings to the extreme far right, and the next thing you know, construction crews are taking down the third holiest site in Islam that they might rebuild the holiest site in Judaism.
The scenario is definitely an interesting one and HT does a great job of pacing the plot well and keeping the reader hooked. He also shows well the incredible complexities involved when three major world religions all are focused in on the same small plot of ground. A victory for one group always makes losers for the others and HT shows what those might look like. At points, this book is as unbelievable as anything since he wrote about sentient dinosaurs (what if the asteroid missed?) but you ought to expect miracles to occur when religion plays such a key point in a book.
One thing that did not surprise me, but might surprise someone not as familiar with Turtledove, is how unsympathetic or even how unbelievable his characters are. Turtledove is writing about radicals from three different faiths and he makes it very clear he doesn't know the first thing about what they really believe or how they think. He just keeps reverting back to stereotypes. Since I was raised as a fundamentalist Christian, now live in the Muslim world, and have spent decades reading up on God and history I probably know more than the average reader here, but I am guessing anyone picking up this book will see through his stereotypes and poor characterization just as easily.
What really got to me, though, was his absolutely horrible ending. I won't throw up any spoilers, but I will say that I was fighting back a gag reflex at how despicably bad the last 20% or so of this book was. This book really should be a 2, but considering all the anti-Semitic attacks in NYC, the Iranian attack on the US embassy, and Trump's retaliatory strike on that Iranian general, I am bumping it up one star for its timliness.