Faith of My Fathers (Thorndike Christian Historical Fiction) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Lynn N. Austin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2008 | Series: Thorndike Christian Historical Fiction

King Manasseh and his friend Joshua were nurtured together in the faith of their godly fathers. But anger toward God smolders in Manasseh's heart after his father's unexpected death, and his insecurity makes him easy prey for the false claims of sorcery and divination. When Joshua stands up for the truth, the battle lines are drawn, and Joshua must flee his life of privilege. Unable to understand why his boyhood friend has turned against him, and why he must stand alone in the face of such opposition, Joshua comes perilously close to losing his faith. Can Joshua rescue the faithful remnant from Manasseh's persecution? Has it all gone too far...or will he rediscover his father's God? Faith of My Fathers is a riveting story of intrigue, deception, danger, and suspense.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Austin capably weaves her intertwined threads and creates believable characters in conflict with themselves and with each other." -- Historical Novels Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won three Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 521 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (July 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141040823X
• ISBN-13: 978-1410408235
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,970,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time, has won four Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing 4th book!!!, June 30, 2006

By 

Kimberly - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (Chronicles of the Kings #4) (Paperback)

Faith of my Fathers is the 4th book in Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings series. After King Hezekiah's death, his son Mannasseh becomes king at age 12. Fear grips Mannasseh's heart as he begins to question God as to why his father died when he faithfully served God. Years later, as he goes to visit his mother's grave in the cemetry he comes upon a man who calls himself a "priest" and begins to accuse everything Mannasseh has grown up with and had been taught. The accussations make Mannessah call upon the prophet Isaiah and his palace adminstrator Eliakim--Mannessah's boyhood friend Joshua's father. During their conforntation King Mannessah accuses Eliakim and Isaiah of conspiring aganist him, using Isaiah's own prophecies aganist him. Eventually Eliakim and Isaiah are executed leaving Eliakim's family in great danger. Joshua and Mannasseh, once best friends have become bitter rivals. Joshua must now find a way to flee Mannasseh's terror while keeping his family safe.

I found this book to be the best out of the first four. And since they keep getting better and better I am guessing the fifth and last book to be more amazing! Lynn Austin does a wonderful job depciting the terror of Mannaseh's reign. He is simply insecure and believes everyone is plotting aganist him. Instead of turning to Yahweh he starts turning to the stars, mediums, etc. for answers. He even begins promoting orgies for worship and sets up Asherah poles and places for women to "offer" themselves to the idol goddess. I have never shed a tear in the first 3 books of this series but the beginning of the book when Eliakim and Isaiah were being falsely accussed and then executed drew a tear from me. It's amazing to see how even when confined to the darkness of a prison and facing death the next morning, these two men trusted God to the very end. I also found it exciting to read about Joshua's plans and such for smuggling himself and his family out of the country. Especially near the end he decides to smuggle the ark of the covenant and Mannasseh's brother--Prince Amariah to Eqypt.

With a host of new characters and some old ones as well this is definatly worth the read. I'm looking forward to reading "Among the Gods" and hope Lynn Austin decides to write more biblical fiction in the future. :-)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith and faith filled!, July 17, 2007

By 

Wolfe Moffat (Franklinville, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (Chronicles of the Kings #4) (Paperback)

I've been nothing less then impressed with this series since book #1. And after book #4, "Faith of My Fathers," I'm still highly impressed. Taking the story of Manasseh, Lynn Austin seemingly took it, and split it into two parts. And she was quite clever with the delivery. Some might assume that this came to an abrupt ending, leaving the reader clueless. If you know your Bible, there's nothing clueless about it. This is what I'd call the II Kings version of the story. Yet in The Bible, Manasseh's story continues in II Chronicles. And it worked that way with a lot of the kings. In a lot of cases, most of the kings we read about in The Bible concerning The Northern and Southern Kingdoms were split into two different sections, II Kings, and II Chronicles. From Jehoshaphat, to Joash, to Amaziah, to Jotham, to Hezekiah, to Manasseh! ALL THESE KINGS and more were split up into the two sections. Ok, there's the Bible history lesson! What about this story? Read on!

Ahaz, Manasseh's great-grandfather, was one of the most worthless kings in all of the history. And Manasseh wasn't too far behind him. He was the son of one of the greatest kings to ever reign, Hezekiah. If you don't know the whole story and read this, you'll wonder if anything good ever came out of Manasseh. Lynn Austin, being the author, and better yet, the voice of reason, gives Manasseh a reason to be bitter, and to do what he did. But Austin gives Manasseh a childhood friend in Joshua, who's as clumsy as an Ox! His nickname is Ox. But something happens. And from nicknames to nonsense, there is a reason that these two former best friends are now bitter enemies. King Manasseh is nothing but a master of disaster, and he raises hell throughout the land! He has people executed, and he destroys what he father put together. Joshua wants nothing more then to get even.

If you're wondering if some of the things in this are extreme, they are indeed. What's worse, they really happened. But the good news is that certain people didn't forget the faith their fathers held so dear. I think that's where the title comes from. Because when times get so tough, the question is simple. Are we going to run to God, or run away from God? I'd personally suggest not running away from the great Yahweh! But I think when things get tough, you want to be a rebel just as much as Manasseh. But what do you do? Where do you turn? And for the record, by the time THIS story comes to a close, he still has a chip on his shoulder.

But there is one final installment, and it happens to be "Among The Gods." I think it should be pretty good. That's probably going to be Lynn Austin's II Chronicles part of this story. I already know the end, but I can't wait to read her novelization of it! She's a great storyteller. So far, I have yet to be disappointed.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars historically awesome series, August 24, 2006

By 

D. hart "d beau hart" (goldsboro nc) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faith of My Fathers (Chronicles of the Kings #4) (Paperback)

ms austin is the first female author i,ve ever read, but after reading this series on the kings of judah it's completely opened my mind to all writers;the only regret is she didn't continue on with more books in the series.