Customer Reviews

The Days of Peleg

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't like thick books with big words. They are too often nothing more than the ramblings of an author who is trying - but has not yet succeeded - in collecting his thoughts. In this case, however, the page count is fully justified.

"The Days of Peleg" packs what appears to be a lifetime of historical, philosophical, and theological study into a surprisingly concise and easy-to-read narrative. Concise? Yes. The length of this book is not due to repetition or incompetence but to the vast scope of the work - Saboe simply has a lot to say. And it's worth hearing. All of it.

You'll probably enjoy this book more if you do a bit of research regarding "out of place artifacts" before you begin. And a familiarity with the first fifteen chapters of Genesis will help as well. But even without prerequisites... well, if you've got the time, Jon's got the book.

Jon Saboe has produced an incredibly gripping, entertaining and imaginative book with The Days of Peleg. If you are into reading about ancient technology (such as the Baghdad battery, the Antikythera Mechanism, and Macchu Picchu), then this book will delight you. Jon paints a picture of the ancient world that is familiar and yet somehow completely original. Neanderthals with geothermal heating systems; Chaldeans with bioluminescent commercial signs; Mesoamericans with chronometric water towers. None of these things are beyond credibility, as Saboe's ample research and end notes show, but to weave them into a story, as Jon does, is brilliant.

The characters themselves are memorable and even likable. You begin to feel yoursefl concerned with the fate of the characters and the book is definitely one you'll look forward to reading any spare moment you have.

It reads like a motion picture, one of the funnest books I've ever read.

The book is not perfect. My only criticism is that when describing some complex scenery or series of events, Jon Saboe sometimes lost me in the description, and I wasn't able to fully visualize what he was trying to explain. This is a small issue and doesn't take away from the readability or flow of the book, since it only happens a few times. My suggestion would be for the author to pretend he is explaining the scene to a blind man, which is what the reader is in a sense.

Overall, this book was comforting, fun and exciting. I cannot wait until Jon's next book. Buy it now if you can, you will be happy with it.

The current ruling paradigm in the industrial world is that we modern humans are the most intelligent creatures ever to have roamed the earth. After all, we came about through a gradual increase in organized complexity, and our ancestors were certainly not as capable thinkers as we here today. But there is a minority group who think differently. They have collected evidences from around the world showing that someone in the past was actually more technologically sophisticated than the majority archaeologists would lead us to believe. Of course, in order to not be too fringe, these individuals attribute the artifacts to extraterrestrials. The Days of Peleg provides another angle. What if humanity is actually in decline? What if we modern humans are only a shadow of what used to be? The novel explores this possibility in a way in which none other has that I can remember. It takes the physical evidences along with the accounts our ancestors handed to us and weaves them together into an adventure that peers into an epic period in the history of man. The story is excellent, and the writing is well done. The characters are quite memorable, and the journey they undertake while circumnavigating a new globe is one of excitement and contemplation. It is a book that is certainly difficult to put down, and one that will have you thinking for some time after it is placed on the shelf.

The mobility and ingenuity of ancient humanity is something we moderns seriously underestimate. Since the beginning, civilizations have explored, mapped, and commercialized the world far beyond their borders. This novel envisions what that would have looked like as Peleg, a Sumerian cartographer, sails aboard the exploration vessel "Urbat" on a journey spanning years, continents, and cultures. In the still-forming world soon after the flood of Noah and the scattering of nations at the Tower of Babel, civilizations and religions are arising that will determine the course of human history to this day. The mission of the Urbat and its crew is to discover, contact, and categorize these societies for trade and the sake of knowledge itself, a worthy and honored calling in the culture of Peleg and his shipmates.

The journey offers a fascinating look at ancient cultures and lands such as Easter Island, pre-Inca South America, and Africa. Ancient technologies about which we are still learning today, like the Antikythera mechanism, are also introduced in the narrative. Along the way the crew learns more about the catastrophic flood and scattering and how different peoples have reacted and adapted to their spiritual causes. The author deftly turns a long and potentially tedious voyage into an epic sea story punctuated with landward adventures worthy of Indiana Jones.

In a parallel narrative of events back in Sumeria, a war of religious worldviews imperils the foundation of the Urbat's mission of discovery. The materialistic and objective quest for knowledge is challenged by the rise of mystery religion, changing forever the world to which the explorers will return, if they return at all. As they struggle across miles and years, Peleg makes spiritual discoveries of his own, learning of the existence of the Creator and his promise of the Zer-ah, the Seed who would crush the head of the Serpent.

The story is full of memorable characters, especially Thaxad, a Sumerian MacGyver, Peleg's youthful friend Serug, and Inanna, the mistress of mystery. The biblical Shem appears in a major role as Peleg's spiritual mentor and guide to the true history of humankind. Other characters in the lands Peleg visits make brief but generally enjoyable appearances as enemies or friends. It starts a little slowly as the reader is initially immersed in a totally new culture (at least for most of us) but builds momentum throughout the journey of discovery.

As one long fascinated by ancient lands and the difficult to explain OOPARTS (Out Of Place ARTifacts) found around the world, to me the book was a delicious potpourri of culture, religion, and technological exegesis. Mr. Saboe's understanding and exposition of the Zer-ah is an important and often neglected foundational aspect of both Jewish and Christian theologies. If one gets the promise of the Seed, key passages of the Old and New Testaments are clarified. This is the greatest contribution of "The Days of Peleg," even though it is a novel. I am blessed to have read it and eagerly look forward to John Saboe's future literary contributions.

Until the last century, the world had no memory of the Sumerians. Before that time, most scholars and skeptics mocked the very notion of high-culture in Mesopotamia as described in the Bible, declaring that only roaming bands of nomads inhabited the areas and that their cities were mere villages, if they existed at all.

It's not easy to wrap people, places, events that we have only clay tablets of (and sometimes just crumbling fragments of) into a modern, plausible story, but Jon Saboe has done just that.

He has done a great job setting up the times and signs of the ancient Sumerian culture - as a reader, it almost felt like I was there 4000+ years ago and watching the events unfold. The mythology of Sumer can be quite confusing at times, but putting them in the context of a story such as this greatly helps make them understandable. Many of the ancient 'gods' and forms of worship came directly from Shinar/Sumer (Ishtar = Easter, for example), and the story made it easy to see how the longer-living people could be seen as 'gods' by the rest of the population which was dying at younger and younger ages.

Also, how he linked in and weaved together so many of the OOPARTS (Out Of Place ARTifacts) was quite a challenge that he achieved very well. From the ancient sea-maps to the Nazca lines, cave-drawings and hot-air balloons, there seemed to be very few of the OOPARTS left out. People have been creative in every age, while technology and accumulated knowledge has always ebbed and flowed.

The underlying search for and requirement of 'The Source' and the search/reason for humanity's decline ran the length of the book and neatly kept the plot/storyline together, even over the course of the 600+ page book.

Similarly, the author tied in many memorable arguments for the necessity of a Creator and intelligent design, all very-well integrated into the discussion between the skeptical Peleg and the Founder Shem. The 'shipbuilder-builder' description is one such example.

I really liked Thaxad (who I picture almost as an ancient Mr. Spock) and Serug (perhaps as a Chekov?) - both were very enjoyable characters who gave both depth and humor to the book.

A very minor piece I felt that was missing was an explanation of exactly why the climate was rapidly cooling after the Flood. However, I can see that the characters within the book probably didn't know why and therefore he didn't elaborate.

Michael Oord, a meteorologist, (cited in the back of the book) gives the proof/evidence that the Ice Age could only have occurred after the Flood when the oceans were very warm and the landmasses were cooling. Glaciers don't just move on their own, and mere long-lasting cold temperatures cannot cause a runaway climate condition such as an 'ice age' -- there must be massive amounts of evaporation, and that means large quantities of warm watervapor passing over cold landmasses.

Lastly, I felt Peleg's "ending" (the character) was lacking something because most of the book was from his perspective until he's finally captured in the Citadel. One more closing scene of him in his home/quarantine might have done the trick. However, the last scene the reader directly sees of Peleg is his acceptance of the Seed, which likely was intentional.

With that said, this was by far the best piece of ancient 'Biblical' fiction I've read so far -- who would've thought that old Bible stories and ancient Sumerian mythology could be re-written as a Sci-fi novel?

I'm already looking forward to his next book!


My Books: The Time of Jacob's Trouble, Endeavor in Time

This epic novel is at once a hybrid of top class science fiction and Biblical/historical fiction.
It is full of action and adventure while also a philosophical work with a deep spiritual message.
It traces the exploits of Peleg, a descendant of Shem and an ancestor of Avraham Aveinu, the founder of the Hebrew Nation.
Peleg lives in Babylon where he is commissioned by Reu-Nathor, High Minister of the Citadel to be the Chief Cartographer of the Urbat, which is to explore the world to look for the source of life.
The Urbat travels to such exotic locations as the Pacific coast of South America where they encounter the pre-Inca peoples, Antarctica, West Africa where they encounter the Fulani and finally come across a settlement known as the Haganah inhabited by the community monotheists, persecuted by Sargon (Nimrod) as 'Gutians'.
Haganah is the Hebrew for defence and this community serves as the defence of the creed of the true G-D, Yaweh. They are ruled by Noah's son Shem, who teaches Peleg (who is his descendant) about the onew G-D Yaweh, and the seed or Zerah that will produce the Messiah.
Where I (As a Jew) digress form the author is the idea that the Zerah will be born from immaculate conception i.e without a father, which in my opinion destroys the idea of the seed, but I respect the author's theology.)
Peleg defies Sargon's daughter Innana, on whose character many ancient female deities where modelled such as Aphrodite in Greece Shing Moo in China, ,Astarte in the Levant and Hecate in central and northern Europe, except in Arabia, where she was changed into a male deity known as Allah on whom the Islamic god is modelled.
Innana's pagan theology represents what today takes the shape of post modernism/secular humanism and aspects of the New Age movement, based around a hatred of the concept of Yaweh.
Through a rich, colourful and exciting narrative the author outlines his view of creation and the truth that there is a creator.
He draws on Christian and Jewish hagiography including the Jewish Midrash, as well as ancient Sumerian legend.
Seldom has a work, which at least partially falls into the Science Fiction genre, reflected such a strong theological and philosophical base.

The end of the book takes us to the time of Abraham and his battles with the five kings, to rescue his nephew Lot, followed by his historic meeting with the King of Shalem (later Jerusalem) Melchizedek.
According to this account Shem is buried in the caves of Amud in Israel.
The book is an important defence of the Judeo-Christian world view in a most unusual way.
Slowly from seeming at the beginning more in the Science Fiction class, the pieces fall into place as a religious and historical work.
In some ways it is reminiscent of CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia in it's use of science fiction fantasy to spread the word of G-D.

Jon Saboe has certainly constructed a modern day epic for our generation. His use of detail and imagery in the creation of this story is nothing short of astonishing. Without giving away too much of the storyline, Saboe has reconfigured the way we think about ancient man (our ancestors) and their capabilities in science and mathematics. Unlike modern scientists who like to "assume" that ancient man was a primitive being, Saboe beautifully illustrates the possibilities of their innovation through their inventions, advanced understanding of astronomy, chemistry, along with their passionate quest to learn about the world about them (all based on factual archaeology and research). If Saboe were to have stopped there he would have still pulled off a great storyline. However, he offers the reader so much more in the sense that he incorporates universal laws and ideas that has and will ultimately impact all of us, which makes the story that much more sophisticated and thought provoking. One of the major themes that I specifically took away from the book (without giving away the metamessage) is that our modern understanding of evolution and where we come from is seriously flawed. Saboe uses logic, history, and science to illustrate that modern human beings are actually capable of far less than their ancestors because we are simply copies of a copy of a copy etc. As a result, we have become mere shells of what we once were.

Please pick up a copy for yourself or buy one as a gift for someone else. I bought 3 to give to others and I can reassure you that it will be time well spent.

The Days of Peleg, by Jon Saboe, is a massive tome, and that's the wrong way to start for a tome brings thoughts of boring reference material, and The Days of Peleg is anything but boring.

The author warns you right at the beginning he's going to do something unusual, he's going to immerse you in a different world view. He builds a image of our ancient world based on the narrative from the Torah and Jewish Midrashim, blending it together with history, archeology, and ancient oddities that have been discovered.

We meet his main character, Peleg, in ancient Babylon, the Babylon after the fall of the Tower of Babel, a flourishing civilization of academies where, as the Midrashim teach, people don't age! (For we are before the time of Avraham avenu.) However, people are beginning to die, a new experience for society, and the academies are trying to figure out what in the world is going on.

The first third of the book is spent in Babylon, as the academies debate reality and prepare research teams to travel the world, a 10 year mission (when old age is a foreign concept, decade long travels are...normal.) This opening segment is intriguing, but with the number of foreign concepts presented takes a while to absorb. In some ways this is a sad thing for us, as it brings the realization that our world view is remarkably tied to current societal and scientific assumptions, and these are not so in line with traditional sources.

The second third of the book is spent on Peleg's travels. We journey with Peleg around the ancient world, encountering ancient civilizations or the seeds of them in their early days. Again, following the words from the Torah and the Midrashim, these civilizations are all dispersed from Bavel and/or the time of Noah. All mankind is related, separated by only a few generations. In this section, the author weaves a very engaging tale, excitement and adventure, danger and escape, while tying in links to ancient mysteries that befuddle current science (my personal favorite is a reference to the massive statues on Easter Island).

The final third of the book brings Peleg's return to Babylon. It's a time of turmoil, Nimrod and Tamuz are on the rise. Knowledge that contradicts the propagated world view of the leaders is no longer welcome. Here we find Peleg interacting with people we know of from the Torah, Shem, Eber (sons of Noah who maintain the knowledge of G-d), and even Terach and a young Avram. Escape, chase, capture are the focus of this time.

The author does an incredible job of bringing these times alive, and bringing these historical figures to life. He places us in a world that we know from the Torah and Midrashim, but never spend the time to imagine how it could be alive according to the words of those Midrashim. Near the end of the story, we encounter the biblical Abram and the war of the kings, and pass through Shalem, the early Jerusalem, truly bringing these times to life.

But, while sourced on the Torah and Jewish Midrashim, in the final third the author brings his own religious world view. And that view involves the main character learning and adhering to a theological concept from Christianity. Parts of the midrashic based story are adjusted to support the development of this position and to lay a historical Midrashic groundwork for Christianity, and we end with the main character suddenly making a major mental shift to a very Christian position.

In summary, I found the book to be very engaging and interesting, and an exciting story at the same time. Truly enjoyable and a book you can't put down once you get into it. For the size of the book (huge), the price is excellent (it's softback). However, the theological concepts in the final third of the book prevent me from recommending the book to a Jewish audience. For a non-Jewish audience, I would strongly recommend it as a compelling world view that you won't find in traditional sources.

The author does a great job of taking scholarly and biblical research and turning into a can't-put-down story.

. . . and one which thoughtfully examines an unusual premise. Even if one disagrees with the premise (or would state that premise in a different manner) this book offers a unique perspective. I greatly appreciate the author's kindness in providing me with a signed copy.

NOTE: I am deliberately trying to AVOID "Spoilers"

"The Days of Peleg" is a novel of huge scope and ambition. In the eyes of this reviewer, Mr. Saboe does a very good - but in some places, not quite outstanding - job of fulfilling this ambition. It is obvious that the author has drawn on many sources, in both the Jewish and Christian tradition, and has integrated the plot of the story well into both what we know of the history of the times and in the chronologies of Genesis. I also see arguments which would have been clearly understood by St. Augustine, by St. Thomas Aquinas, and by C.S. Lewis, among others. (Indeed, St. Thomas proposed an "Argument from Design" for the existence of God.)

The novel begins about 100 years following the Tower of Babel. The lifespan of humanity is growing dramatically shorter, and ships are sent out to explore the unknown to determine if a reason for this decline can be found. Peleg, mentioned in Genesis as a direct descendant of Shem, signs on as a chief cartographer for one of the vessels. During his 12 year voyage, Peleg encounters many societies and civilizations all originating back to diluvian times. He returns home to discover that many things can change in 12 years! In the fourth and final section of the book, attention is shifted toward Abram, Peleg's great++ grandson and his early adventures. All in all, several main characters are fleshed out rather well, especially Peleg, his friend Serug, Inanna, and Shem.

However, there are a couple of fairly gaping plot holes - at least to my way of thinking. The author has a annoying habit of dropping characters completely out of sight - even well-developed characters. I don't want to spoil the novel, but this does happen several times - in the end, to the great detriment of the story. Also, the suggestion that the cult of Inanna, which becomes the cult of Ishtar, became the foundation for virtually every female moon-cult or fertility cult throughout the world is, for me, anthropologically stretching it a bit.

Finally, just as an end thought, I found it interesting that the author has repeatedly used non-canonical Jewish and Christian material to provide background and backstory for this novel. In so doing, however, there is one tradition common to both early traditions, which was neglected. This tradition suggests that Shem and Melchizedek were one and the same person. Such was the belief of some of the Early Church Fathers, and such was the belief of some of the rabbis, who, in the 1st Millennia of the Christian era, identified the two as being the same individual in preparing the commentary in the Targums, which go so far as to suggest that indeed it was also Shem/Melchizedek with whom Rebekah consulted prior to the conception of Esau and Jacob. Certainly not a major point, but one which did interest me.

Again, overall, a worthy effort. This book should profitably be read by persons on all sides of the Genesis debate.

Four stars.

Having just finished The Days of Peleg, I am scouring the internet looking for more works by Jon Saboe. Unfortunately, I have not found a sequel or prequel or anything else to satiate the hunger for more of his unique writing.

Sadly, the current culture is out of touch with much of history and specifically biblical history. The misinformed mindset of ancient mankind being boorish and ignorant is exposed as propaganda in Jon's book.

The Days of Peleg seamlessly links the history of Genesis to well researched information found today so well that you can practically follow along with the story in Genesis 10-14.