One of the treasures of reading historical fiction is the way that a talented author is able to bring history and the participants of the time period to life, giving faces to the names read and studied. Mesu Andrews has once again created a rich and vibrant inspirational Christian historical novel. Much like her past Christy Award-winning novel, Isaiah's daughter, her newest release does not disappoint readers. I received Mesu Andrew's book from Waterbrook & Multnomah as part of the launch team for an honest review.
Isaiah's Legacy, which will be available February of 2020, delights the reader by telling the story of a young girl gifted with the ability to understand not only her father who has peculiar habits but also Judah's prince, Manasseh, King Hezekiah's only heir. Meshullemeth, "Shulle", is delighted with her arrival to the royal court and the opportunity to help young Manasseh learn all that he must to be Judah's next king before his father's prophesied death occurs.
It is not long before Shulle is unhappy with the God her father had taught her to love and respect, Yahweh. She is disheartened that Yahweh only gave King Hezekiah 10 years to live. She knows how important he is to his young son Manasseh. Her uncle Shebna has ulterior motives for Shulle, he intends to introduce her to the "starry gods" and the sorcery involved in following them. Shebna threatens Shulle's father, so Shulle must obey Shebna to ensure her father's safety.
Through her womanly wiles and simple love for Manasseh, she marries him and continues to draw him farther from Isaiah's God, Yahweh, and deeper into the world of the starry gods.
As Manasseh grows as a man, and a king, he walks deeper into the world of idols as gods and farther from the love and laws of Yahweh. He learns from the Assyrian King Sennacherib and his son, the crown prince Esarhaddon, brutality, and even more than that both fear and obedience to his past father's enemies. He sacrifices some of his sons to appease the starry gods and assure the Assyrian king's battles to retain his throne. In the end, Shulle finds the one true God, Yahweh, once again after Manasseh's capture and captivity. And finally, Manasseh learns to follow his father's God, Yahweh also.
I looked up passages in Isaiah and 2 Kings to look at the biblical passages that were the basis for Andrews novel. I appreciate how she expanded on the base story, with rich settings and characters to embellish the bible stories and create a rich narrative that readers can enjoy.
I would highly recommend Isaiah's Legacy to any reader who enjoys historical fiction, and likes seeing bible stories become real before their very eyes.
About Me
- Laura Miller
- I am a recently retired high school educator who is learning to spend time doing what I want to do. This is a new challenge in its own sense. It's like walking into a buffet and knowing you can eat all you want and not get full or gain any weight and for once you have absolutely no idea what you want. But I look forward to the journey of figuring it out.
