Christian Goodreaders discussion

Day of War by Cliff Graham is still available as a free NookBook from Barnes & Noble.

I've been reading it for the past week, mostly because I don't want to lug a hardcover to work with me for the other book I'm currently reading.

Just curious if anyone else had read this retelling or 'filling in the blanks' of David and his warriors (and Jonathan and his army)?

In his Note to the Reader, he references 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11 as inspiration for his retelling of David and his 'Dirty Dozen.' He warns the reader about the battle violence and after-battle pillaging and plundering, although compared to some of the dark fantasy I've read, Graham did an admirable job restraining from gratuitous violence or sex.

He modernized the language (both internal and external) to such a degree that I found it distracting. And he repeatedly lapsed back into passive voice, despite his riveting active voice fight scenes.

I'm approaching the end, whatever that might be, and still not sure how I will rate this. Right now, I'm leaning between two and three stars (mostly based on mechanics and style issues). I should finish today over lunch and I'll know better then.

So, anyone else tried this novel?

Wow, doesn't sound like something I would read. Is it a novel loosely based on those facts, or is he actually using the names David and Jonathan in direct reference to these men from the Bible?

Mercedes wrote: "Wow, doesn't sound like something I would read. Is it a novel loosely based on those facts, or is he actually using the names David and Jonathan in direct reference to these men from the Bible?"

He's actually using the names listed in those two passages. Lots of literary license (i.e. historical fiction filling in the blanks left in the Bible). Almost military historical fiction, but seems a bit too modern (in tactics) to me, but I'm no expert on Bronze Age/Early Iron Age warfare.

Yeah, "filling in the blanks left in the Bible" doesn't sound good to me. As if the Bible needs stuff to be added to it. If it had been loosely based on the Bible story, it would fare better for me, at least I would have consider reading it.
However, it has very good reviews here in Goodreads. Let me know what you think in the end.

Cliff's not filling any theological holes. That portion of the story has been true to Christian thinking (not sure about from a Jewish reader's point-of-view however).

It reminds me of what Peter Jackson did with certain scenes in his movies based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Where Tolkien did not elaborate, Jackson ran with it (off the top of my head, I'm thinking of the death of Boromir or the battle leading up to it).

(view spoiler)[Where the Bible was extremely brief (especially in recounting the death of Jonathan and Saul at Mount Gilboa - see 1 Samuel 31), Graham spent a quarter or a third of his book describing the scenario, the setup for the battle and the gruesome nearly total annihilation of the Israelite army (led by Jonathan and nominally by Saul) by the Philistines. (hide spoiler)]

Oh, ok. Thanks!

Finished the book this morning and went ahead and gave it three stars (although in my written review I'll probably lower it to 2.5 stars). I'm obviously not the target audience (not enough testosterone flowing in my veins).