Saul gave his daughter, Michal, to David. But when she saves David from Saul, he gives her to Phaltiel, a hateful drunk who shamelessly uses his wives and their servants to satisfy perverse desires.

When Saul dies, troops come to take Michal away. She doesn’t know whether she is going to her death. Did David believe she willingly went with another man? ...

Christians Read: Books Review ( )

I enjoy Bible-based historical fiction, so long as it doesn’t get too romancy. This one pushes the limit for me (hey, I’m just a guy), but the gooeyness didn’t detract from the scholarship and culture. Do be aware that by “culture,” we’re talking about the very tip…royalty in the king’s palace, not us common folk.

Michal, daughter of King Saul and the first of many wives to David, tells the story of David’s rise to political greatness. Michal seldom gets any sympathy votes among Bible readers, so it was fascinating to hear the story from her angle. Other than this fresh perspective, though, I think the book stays pretty close to the Bible’s slant when selecting its heroes and villains.

Culture is indeed the point, where the patriarchal society dominates, where polygamy among the elite is accepted with nonchalance, where Levitical revenge and gory warfare are a way of life. While these morals seem foreign to us today, Havel and Faucheux take seriously their undertaking to write a story based on the Holy Bible “in an acceptable manner, [for] Scripture is truth.”

That conviction may account for the odd omniscient ending. Yet it’s a good story, definitely entertaining. ( )