Premonition (City of God Series #2) [Paperback]

Randall Ingermanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003

An extraordinary stone box was recently discovered in Jerusalem---the bone-box of 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.' This is his story . . . It's the year A.D. 57 and Jerusalem teeters on the brink of revolt against Rome. James, leader of the Jewish Christian community, has an enemy in high places. And two very strange friends . . . Rivka Meyers is a Messianic Jewish archaeologist from California, trapped in first-century Jerusalem by a physics experiment gone horribly wrong. Ari Kazan is her husband, an Israeli physicist slowly coming to grips with his Jewish heritage---and with a man named Jesus he was raised to hate. With no way back to their own century, Rivka and Ari seek their niche in this doomed city of God. Ari applies his knowledge of physics to become an engineer, a man of honor. Rivka feels increasingly isolated in a patriarchal culture that treats women like children. She knows what's coming---siege, famine, fire. At first, her warnings earn her grudging respect as a 'seer woman.' But when one of her predictions misses, the city scorns her as a false prophet. Rivka knows that an illegal trial and execution awaits James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. Can she prevent this disaster? Will James believe her 'premonition'? Or is Ari right that Rivka's meddling in history will only . . . make matters worse?

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An extraordinary stone box was recently discovered in Jerusalem—the bone-box of "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." This is his story . . .

It’s the year A.D. 57 and Jerusalem teeters on the brink of revolt against Rome. James, leader of the Jewish Christian community, has an enemy in high places. And two very strange friends . . .

Rivka Meyers is a Messianic Jewish archaeologist from California, trapped in first-century Jerusalem by a physics experiment gone horribly wrong.

Ari Kazan is her husband, an Israeli physicist slowly coming to grips with his Jewish heritage—and with a man named Jesus he was raised to hate.

With no way back to their own century, Rivka and Ari seek their niche in this doomed city of God. Ari applies his knowledge of physics to become an engineer, a man of honor. Rivka feels increasingly isolated in a patriarchal culture that treats women like children. She knows what’s coming—siege, famine, fire. At first, her warnings earn her grudging respect as a "seer woman." But when one of her predictions misses, the city scorns her as a false prophet.

Rivka knows that an illegal trial and execution awaits James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. Can she prevent this disaster? Will James believe her "premonition"? Or is Ari right that Rivka’s meddling in history will only . . . make matters worse?

About the Author

Randall Ingermanson is an award-winning novelist with a Ph. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley. His first two novels, Transgression and Oxygen, both won Christy Awards. Dr. Ingermanson lives with his wife and 3 daughters in San Diego, CA. Link to his website from www.zondervan.com/author/ingermansonr

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310247055
• ISBN-13: 978-0310247050
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,104,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Randy Ingermanson was both the class nerd and the class clown. He is the award-winning author of six novels and has been teaching fiction for a number of years. He is known around the world as "the Snowflake Guy" in honor of his "Snowflake method" of designing a novel. Randy earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of California at Berkeley and worked for many years in San Diego as a computational physicist. He teaches fiction at writing conferences across the country and sits on the Advisory Board of American Christian Fiction Writers. He also publishes the world's largest electronic magazine on how to write fiction, the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine. Randy's first two novels won Christy awards, and his second novel, Oxygen, earned a spot on the New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age" list.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Struggles of Faith, November 30, 2003

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Premonition (City of God Series #2) (Paperback)

Not many writers can switch genres successfully. If you've read Ingermanson's previous works, you know that he dabbles in sci-fi, suspense, and futuristic thrillers. Knowing that this book was a sequel of sorts to "Transgression," I was surprised to discover Ingermanson's skill with historical fiction.

The story follows Rivka and Ari, two modern day adults thrust into a first century world via a wormhole. (This part of their tale was told in the first book, so a new reader might want to go back and read the first book as well.) The daily life and work of Jerusalem, AD 57, is brought into vivid focus. The struggles and cultural barriers are drawn clearly.

The heart of this novel is Rivka's place as a seer woman. Due to her knowledge of history, she is able to forewarn the citizens of Jerusalem about upcoming events. When, however, some of her "predictions" miss the mark, she is accused of being a false prophet, and her husband Ari loses his place of honor. As the story delves deeper into the turmoil and corruption of the day, Rivka and Ari must face the consequences, good and bad, of their premonitions.

Although the story is slower paced than his other works, "Premonition" keeps us turning the pages by showing us realistic characters facing very contemporary struggles of faith. The last fifty pages are beautiful and heart-wrenching. If you have an interest in messianic Judaism, this book is a must. If not, "Premonition" will stir your soul.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sympathetic Yet Critical Appraisal, July 4, 2008

By 

Benjamin - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premonition (City of God Series #2) (Paperback)

Randall Ingermanson is to be commended for the diligent work that has gone into putting together a somewhat elaborate and at times believable work of historical fiction. I have read through the series and recently finished Retribution, yet I was unable to give Premonition more than three stars for the following reasons (don't worry, there are no real spoilers here):

Pros: The plot is captivating, as many have pointed out. Ingermanson knows how to throw in a twist here and there and to keep the pace of the events relatively arduous. There seems to be a nagging problem to solve at the end of almost every section. He develops most of his characters with smoothness and many of them grow on you so that you care about what happens to them. Even one of the 'villains' evolves with a bit of depth and it is notoriously difficult to create a realistic and workable villain. I also like the way in which many of the historical facts are interwoven skillfully in the story and, of course, much of the cultural differences are played out with flair. Ingermanson has an interesting touch with that aspect. However, this brings me to the other side of the coin...

Cons: Historically speaking, the work is sketchy. In his attempt to create an elaborate setting for Messianic revisionism, Ingermanson relies too heavily on post-Second Temple rabinnical writings and far too little on the Biblical information. Historians who spend most of their time on this subject these days recognize that the rabbinical works that were compiled a couple of centuries after the events in which the story takes place are often enough not so very reliable because they are written with post-70AD (not to mention post 135AD) polemical concerns in mind. They can be of some help in reconstructing life before the destruction of the Temple, but it takes a rather sensitive and cautious student to make his way through and even some of the most respected historians, like Jeremias, have fallen far short. Unfortunately, Ingermanson is influenced by precisely this kind of work.

Even though I have a healthy sense of the Jewishness of the early Church in Jerusalem and have studied the literature on the subject, I found that, in developing the characters of those in the assembly of the Jerusalem Church, particularly historical figures--like James, the brother of Jesus, and Paul--this is where Ingermanson breaks down the most. Again, in relying upon the voice of more provocative and liberal studies, he ignores the Biblical account of the same period. The Christians in Jerusalem are, for him, essentially unaltered Jews who accept Mashiach as their Rabban. There is hardly a noticeable difference between them and the Orthodox Jews around them. They attend the Temple sacrifices, celebrate Jewish feasts and festivals, including Passover, circumcise their children, worship in the traditional Jewish manner, repeat the usual Jewish prayers to "HaShem" at the circumscribed times as though ignorant of the exemplary prayer of Christ ('The LORD's Prayer'), treat their women with the same diffidence as every one of their neighbors, bear a great hatred of their enemies, encourage a very personalistic and mystical religion contrary to much of Christ and His Apostles, and generally carry on as though they hadn't heard much about any 'New Covenant.' Even the teachings and the writings of the Apostles are neither discussed nor circulated and the believers in Jerusalem seem decidedly ignorant that a canon has been in the process of formulation as well as Gospels being written. All they know is Torah and even that is so extremely rare in their mouths that, beyond the Shema, it might as well not exist. Even the scribes among them never reason from Scripture when discussing religious difficulties. They argue from emotion and personal convictions or from confusing visions and personal revelations from "HaShem" which everyone seems able to tap into.

Ingermanson never allows his Christians to witness of their faith to any of their neighbors. They wouldn't dream of converting anyone and seem to accept unbelieving Jews as basically on the same path. In fact, even though the couple of Christian tsadikks are exceptional men (while certain leaders are lunatic fanatics and murderers), Ingermanson spends far more time extolling certain Rabbinical Jewish sages as the pinnacle of faith in GOD or developing them into virtual super beings with the most miraculous prayers and profound insights into the "Other Side." The Christians seem in many cases a rather desultory step down from the epic wisdom and power of the Judaic stalwarts and many of the followers of Christ are almost without interest in His teachings on righteousness and the love of one's enemies. They have the hardest time struggling just to feel anything beyond what a decent unbeliever experiences in his moments of triumph.

There are a few other difficulties... including Ingermanson's insistence on demonizing the Romans at every turn (whom he paints rather one-dimensionally) and repeating ad nauseam the fiction that the Jews in Jerusalem at the time had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Christ, whatever the Scriptures might say about it. There is also his insistence on writing the script for GOD and drawing rather less than knowledgeable conclusions as he engages certain theological and philosophical conundrums. To be fair, the reader should appreciate that Ingermanson is not well studied in either of these fields and it is quite impossible to write a good novel without trying to resolve thicker philosophical dilemmas. Nevertheless, though he makes the attempt with more ability than the usual novelist, he too often stumbles over himself in contradiction and empty rhetoric. Somehow, this makes certain of his characters more believable and realistic while others are more stilted and inconsistent.

All in all, the books were enjoyable to read and at times even gripping or emotionally moving, yet they contained too many speed bumps along the way that threw this reader off (and sometimes were a little infuriating when favorite historical persons were abused or maligned and distorted). It was particularly saddening to find so little to connect with in Ingermanson's early Christians, even with a full appreciation of the Jewish culture that they surely grew up with and took part in, yet reinterpreted and some cases altered or resisted and abandoned. There was never any seeming cognizance of other Christians around the civilized world, many of whom (according to Scripture) sent money to Jerusalem to aid the Church there during the drought.

Biblical history takes a distant back seat in these works, so if that consistent perspective is what you're hoping for, you will be disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PREMONITION -- a hint of things to come, January 27, 2004

By 

Dr. Ransom "www.FaithFusion.net" (Mideast America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premonition (City of God Series #2) (Paperback)

In Randall Ingermanson's first-ever novel, Transgression, backslidden Messianic Jew Rivka Myers found herself tricked into a dark closet, in the basement of a physics building in Jerusalem. It was difficult to get back, because it turns out there was a wormhole in that closet, built by somewhat of a mad scientist.

Physicist Ari Kazan wound up chasing Rivka and the other scientist into the wormhole, and into 1st-century Israel . . . Rivka met a Palestinian prostitute, and the scientist wanted to kill the Apostle Paul, and Ari got stung by wasps. . . . It gets kind of complicated.

I generally like complicated fiction, so I loved Transgression. But now, with the first installment of Ingermanson's new follow-up trilogy out, called Premonition, he deprecates himself a little, almost shrugging off Transgression as if a grade-school essay.

"You don't have to read Transgression to enjoy Premonition," Ingermanson says in his foreword. (Good thing, too, because at this point Transgression is almost darn near out of print.) "In fact, I recommend reading Premonition first because . . . it's a better book." [Ellipsis his.]

Because we're dealing with time travel and if you aren't careful the story can get contradictory, I'll go ahead and contradict the author by suggesting you read Transgression first anyway -- assuming it ever gets back into print and you can get a copy. It makes the time travel seem a little more plausible. While Premonition is better, I don't know how easy it would be to pick it up while being blind to the events of the real first novel.

(Example: some people can read The Lord of the Rings without reading The Hobbit first -- I did. But then, during LotR I didn't have a clue who Balin was . . . no idea whatsoever. Therefore the same situation goes for Premonition.)

Randall Ingermanson seems to be a major genius. He likes to talk about physics occasionally, although judging from his descriptions in his first novel Transgression he has no idea how to build a wormhole in your basement closet -- or what it feels like walking through. (Is it cold? Clammy, dusty? Are their any cool sound effects, or CGI light ripples?)

Transgression was the precursor to Premonition, and now Ingermanson must have gotten tired of the physics anyway, and grabbed hold of about four or five alternate Ph.D.'s at once: Biblical history, Hebrew and hermeneutics, some archaeology, a little architecture, and a pinch of ancient midwifery, just for flavor.

And before I go on I'll make one thing clear: this author isn't too shy. Nothing in Premonition is overly detailed or prurient; don't misunderstand. But if you're a teenager you're bound to learn all kinds of things you never knew as soon as Rivka begins delivering babies in ancient Jerusalem. Exclamations may range from "augh" to "ungh," to "eawwrgh," to "Hey-whoa! I didn't know that" from any teenagers out there, especially males.

Based on the details on that subject and everything else, any readers may get the impression that Ingermanson does have a wormhole in his basement closet. Perhaps he sneaks in there late at night, "transgresses" dimensions to 1st-century Jerusalem and learns about things like Temple architecture or Hebrew midwifery; I don't know. There's no proof for this, and I don't want to start any rumors here.

Either way, his research is impeccable. From the very beginning of the novel you get some great diagrams of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, the Temple Courts and such, to the point where you wish the book came spiral-bound so you could Xerox the front pages for easy reference later in your reading. In addition to the maps you get a Glossary and a directory of historical persons in the back. Then there's a list of books, too -- Ingermanson blows the secrecy on many of the materials he read for research, making it all seem so easy . . .

It's not. And what's even better is the book doesn't even read like a great big pile of historical research. Premonition is a wormhole to the souls of the past. When reading it, you are there, with people you grow to love. The author gets into the characters' heads and stays there, switching between Rivka and Ari at first, and then adding more even from the natives: Hana, Baruch, and then historical persons like the High Priest.

It would be difficult to summarize The Plot because there really isn't a single one. But Premonition isn't like the Left Behind series; Ingermanson weaves about 10 subplots all together. The title comes from Rivka's foreknowledge of events which earns her a reputation in Jerusalem as somewhat of a prophetess. Before blundering through the closet wormhole, she had read a lot of history books and has much of the material still up in her head.

Meanwhile, Ari is finding work as well. Having two centuries of advance physics knowledge helps land him a job as an independent contractor/mechanical engineer. That eventually pits him against the high priest, which isn't much fun. At the same time Rivka is also forced to get involved in history, saving the life of King Agrippa's sister, and then she enters Jerusalem politics as well, flowing even more with history and helping to maneuver other men into the position of High Priest. . . . It gets kind of complicated.

With this level of "predictability" one might think Ingermanson would fall into the Infamous Left Behind Event Predictability Trap. Nope. Rivka and Ari can't really change history. Whatever they do just happens to fall in step, right alongside. History is alive and well, the story twists are many and so are the "Oh NO!" moments you will always get in a good novel.

Finally, everything has settled down enough for an ending that comes all too soon. That ending is only the second of Premonition's two minor disappointments. The second is the real spoiler that's given on the novel's back cover and even in the Amazon review (which may not be the author's responsibility anyway): "But when one of [Rivka's] predictions fails, she is scorned as a false prophet."

Oh NO! That makes everything completely predictable when you get to that part in the novel. This is it, this is it, she's not right about that prediction, no, Rivka, come on, don't do that! But alas, because of 14 words on the book's back cover, we have a premonition of her failed premonition.

Regardless of that, as well as some pervasive (and informative!) midwife-related details, Premonition is something to behold. Rumor has it the intrepid Ingermanson has already burned through the second trilogy installment, Retribution. . . .

This is going to be good, I can tell.