Hope you enjoyed reading Pillar of Fire. This is the place to share your thoughts and ask some questions. The comments section below is all yours.
601 B.C.
The Babylonians have come and gone, leaving Jerusalem plundered, weak, and broken.
The power-hungry Elders in the city council have banished and murdered the prophets. Anyone foolish enough to voice their support for the prophets has been labeled a "Rekhabite," a dissenter, a traitor—worthy of death.
In the midst of this turmoil, Jonathan the blacksmith has moved his family from Sidon to Jerusalem, bringing with him knowledge of the new alloy, steel. Torn between heeding his wife's warnings and a fear of not providing for his family, Jonathan becomes a pawn in the hands of the Elders and Laban, the captain of the guard.
Aaron, Jonathan’s crippled son, receives a blessing and a promise of healing, and is told that he will save the life of a prophet. When he is hired by the oil-merchant Lehi, Aaron’s life changes forever.
So begins the first volume of The Promised Land series—a sweeping epic, telling of the incredible beginnings of the Book of Mormon.
11 comments:
With "Day of Remembrance" hitting bookstores next week, I figure there's going to be some readers out there who are going to want to read the earlier volumes in the Promised Land series. I only read the first three volumes at the end of last year so I thought I'd share my thoughts about these volumes as well.
I have to preface this by saying, these are the first books I've ever chosen to read because I knew the author (David Woolley coaches two of my sons in soccer). I can't say how much that has colored my opinions, but I can say that it was a particularly cool experience to be able to read a book and talk with the author and ask him questions as I went along. I really should apologise now to Dave for the unedited comments that I blurted out in conversations or e-mails with little or no thought for his authorly sensibilities. The flip side of that is that I can pretty much write what I really think here, because there isn't much I could say now that would be any kind of surprise to him!
I really liked Pillar of Fire. I had no idea of the political climate in Jerusalem at the time of Lehi and I learned SO much in this book. I loved getting to know Jonathan's family and I particularly enjoyed Ruth, Aaron and Elizabeth's experiences with the spirit and the beginnings of their conversions. Miriam and Mulek also quickly became favorite characters. Zadock was fully established as the character you love to hate.
It was fascinating to imagine the life of Lehi and his family, pre-leaving Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon record really only tells us a tiny bit about their lives before they leave -- I enjoyed Dave's interpretation of how things might have been. I love Orson Scott Card's "Stone Tables" for this same reason -- I am intrigued by the author's ideas about how a historical character may have been feeling in a given situation and I am able to accept and enjoy that without worrying about if its truly historically accurate or bringing it up in Sunday School as gospel truth!
I am a big fan of the chapter notes -- I'm one of those people who keeps a bookmark in the back of the book so I could read the appropriate chapter notes at the end of the appropriate chapter. I know, we all know where my daughter gets her OCD from ... But I really did enjoy the learning that came with those explanations in the chapter notes. As much as I loved the entertainment of reading a novel, I also loved the added bonus of being able to learn new things I'd never heard of or considered before. I was impressed by the amount of research that had gone into writing this book.
So I thought Pillar of Fire was a very good book. Anyone else have an opinion?
It has been years since I read the Promised Land series I wish I was like Francie and had the chance to read the first three books last year. I can't remember too many details (due to my bad memory) but I do remember that I loved them! Every book left me wanting to read more. I'm so excited that number 4 is available! Now I just need to get a copy to New Zealand!!!
Francie:
Nothing you say will ever suprise me, so let it all hang out. I'm tough. Thick skin. Level headed. Just try to be fair. And if you can't be fair, then lie and say good things.
Lisa:
Sorry about the major distance thing. If only Joseph Smith had taken the saints to New Zeland. Bummer. Maybe you could hook up with Francie. She just moved to the US from New Zeland a few years ago. I think she and her family go back every now and then. Isn't that right Francie. The two of you could start the Promised Land Book Club New Zeland Branch.
So are you going to re-read all the books? Sorry about that one. You really can step into book Four fairly easily. It seamlessly retraces most of your major footstpes (plot lines) so you will get right back into the swing of things relatively quickly.
David G. Woolley
Dave:
Lisa is my extremely discerning cousin, who discovered your books way before I did. She's the one loaning them out to all and sundry in NZ and preventing further book sales, remember ... :)
Yes, I told her I would try and get her a copy of Day of Remembrance. We just need someone heading down under to play courier because postage is ridiculous!
I read this book a few years ago, then read the first three again when I received the 4th for Christmas. You took m e by surprise again with Lehi's horse, Beuntahyu. I laughed out loud the first time I read it, and chuckled again the second time through. Thanks for taking the project seriously, but allowing some humor into the stories.
Hello, can anyone tell who painted the "Pillar of Fire" front-cover picture? Thanks!!
The front cover of Pillar of Fire was done in two parts. An actor played Lehi and his photo was taken as he appears on the cover. The rest of the cover was art work done by the graphics design department in house at the publishers. Then the two parts were merged digitally to produce the cover.
Thank you for your quick response. Is there any chance that I can get the photo in High Resolution? I work for CES in Brazil and would love to use it in our national convention. Thanks!
Hi Bruno:
I'm not sure I have a high resolution (or any resolution) of the actual art work. I'll check. However, the publisher, Deseret Book/Covenant (Covenant is one of the publishing arms of Deseret Book) would have the original art work. If I can't help you, I'm sure you could contact the art department and inquire about that. They could email you a file with permission to use it.
You can send them an email using this form:
http://www.covenant-lds.com/contact
You can call them at this number: (801) 756-9966
The mailing address is:
Covenant Communications
920 State St, American Fork, UT 8400
Thanks David! I'll wait to see if you have the file. If not, I'll contact DB. Thanks again.
my email is fernandesbma@hotmail.com
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