Customer Reviews

King of Kings

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

. . .novel about the life of King David.

In "King of Kings", the late Dr. Malachi Martin presents a novel based upon the life of King David -- a central figure in both Judaism and Christianity. Dr. Martin was a scholar in Semitic languages and this background shows through in this book.

However, this novel is average at best. Martin takes certain available archeological evidence -- and then from that evidence, constructs an anthropology which may -- or may not -- be accurate, or even reasonable. This is a novel; this is his perogative. However, others may disagree with his interpretation.

The book also suffers in that the enormous majority of the text deals with the early days of David's life. His kingship (which lasted roughly 40 years) is treated only in the final third of the book -- and the seminal events of his kingship are given even less attention. (Bathsheva shows up only after the book is 3/4 finished; the revolt by Absalom is given only a few pages at the end; etc.)

There is also a "re-telling" of elements of the story which go beyond a novelist's "artistic license". I'll provide some examples:

Item: It is strongly suggested that David connived at the murder of Abner by Joab. According to the text itself, Joab killed Abner in cold blood as revenge for Abner's killing of Joab's brother in battle. (Joab's brother, who was a fairly significant character in the beginning of the book just drops out of sight.)

Item: It is strongly suggested that Joab killed Absalom in a blind rage having to do with Absalom's revolt. According to the text, Joab bore Absalom a personal grudge -- and had for years. This dynamic (which makes the killing make more sense) was missing from the book.

Item: It is again strongly suggested that Joab's murder of Amasa was also with the connivance of David. According to the text, Joab had no such order -- and David bore Joab a lasting grudge for the murders of both Abner AND Amasa.

Other readers may notice other examples -- these were just a few which occurred to me.

An enjoyable read -- but not, in my opinion, a really good novel about the subject.

As with many other reviewers of many other items, I chose one star because zero was not an option.
I picked up an old paperback copy of this book at a used bookstore for a quarter. Before I started reading it, I checked amazon for info about the author and the book itself. It looked very promising. I've just gotten to page 15, and I've given up on the book. It is just plain poorly researched and poorly written. For example, Elijah and Jezebel are thought about and spoken of by characters in this book - both before and during the lifetime of David (including David himself) - in the past tense...in other words, as historical persons. Anyone who is the least bit familiar with the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) knows that Elijah and Jezebel lived about a century AFTER the time of David!
I'm usually at least somewhat of a fan of Historical and Biblical fiction, but in this case I'm gonna have to say that if you're curious about the life of King David, stick with reading the stories about him that are contained in the Bible. I have yet to find a decent fictional treatment of his life.

This is a fascinating book. I discovered it at the local library and used to check it out and reread it every couple years because I couldn't find a copy of it. Thank goodness for the internet.

It certainly takes all the liberties that Biblical or historical fiction would imply, but still a great read that makes the story of David come alive.

David is a man, tortured and tested, blessed and reviled, diabolical and divine. You will take every step with him and, right or wrong, you will understand the reasons an outlaw becomes King, and why a King falls from grace. Martin enriches the time-worn story with historical social details. Extra-biblical elements add a swash-buckling excitement to the life of a King you thought you already knew.