I pass books on, this series I pass on, but want them back. The stories are rich and not at all trite. Rich spiritually and historically. Great character development. I especially like the novels that have an explanation at the end of where facts were gathered.

Riviting, well written and insightful. I have read the books of Kings and the books of Chronicles in the Bible, and for the most part, the words and names just slip through my mind as a long ago story. This book makes it very real. Personally, I couldn't help but see the eerie similarities between the Isreal that Hezekiah inhereted and the America that we live in today. Perhaps there is more than just history and entertainment to be gleaned from this book.

This series was incredible. I enjoyed the biblical history that was intertwined with Lynn Austin's imaginative story of some of Israel's kings & their lives. While reading this series, I was also drawn into worship with my God. His love & redemption are lived out by the characters as God's plan for Israel is unfolded. It made me wish I could still go to God's Temple on the Temple Mount & worship him like the Israelites did in their early history!

Good biblical fiction remains faithful to both Scripture and its characters while bringing ancient accounts fully to life. Lynn Austin has done a fantastic job of creating a vivid, insightful, page-turning story that I stayed up all night to finish. Austin has very romantically yet realistically depicted noble Hezekiah, the prophets Isaiah and Micah, and numerous other biblical characters. The heroes (and villains) are fully fleshed-out. The story line never slows as it unravels a tale compiled from numerous biblical texts (with which the author shows herself thoroughly knowledgeable). The backdrop of history and geography exhibit serious historical research.

I'm a fan of biblical fiction, and I haven't found any better than this.

WARNING: Don't even pick up Gods & Kings unless you're willing to commit to the five book series. You'll be hooked until the last page of book five.

As you can probably tell from other reviews, this book was written primarily for religious people, and in particular Christians: the religious Jews are all good, the idol-worshippers mostly villianous. (I knew it wasn't written for Jews since the author spells out the Y-H-V-H Hebrew name of God in a way that no present-day Jew would consider appropriate, and I found one poorly-hidden Jesus reference). I wouldn't say it is as sophisticated or as interesting as good secular fiction, but it is minimally readable - the sort of thing one could read in a dentists' office or an airport, but not really worth foregoing other books for.

I have always been very skeptical of "biblical fiction" because creative license can border on heresy if the writer is not careful, so I reluctantly purchased Gods & Kings the first book in Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings series. Wow, was I pleasantly surprised! Ms. Austin has taken a few meaningful lines of old testament Scripture and brought them to life with believeable dialogue and suspenseful plots that although speculative, do not contradict biblical truths and bring honor and glory to our GOD. The way she describes how the Israelites under the rule of King Ahaz slowly and steadily turned from the one and true GOD and allowed idol worship to appease other nations, it is very easy to see parallels with our society today and it is very sobering! However, instead of leaving us with a feeling of doom and despare, Lynn gives us hope through the young Prince Hezekiah and a handful of faithful prophets of GOD -- it is not too late to wake up America!

I look forward to reading all the books in the Chronicals of the Kings series, and hope she continues to write stories about the old and new testament.

What an awesome storyteller. If you have ever had the pleasure of reading a Francine Rivers novel, you will enjoy Lynn Austin as well. While I meditated on Rivers novels for days and even weeks, I found Austin's stories a bit faster paced and entertaining yet at the same time thought provoking and nourishment to the soul. I greatly enjoyed the first three books and highly recommend them. I am waiting for the fourth and fifth!

You will not put this down, takes you directly to the time and setting of our history! You will LOVE this...all the Kings books are a MUST!!!

I purchased this book as an Amazon recommended read. I was completely SHOCKED how much I loved this book! I picked it up and read it in a day.
It is an inspiring read. I love the dynamic love relationship that develops with Hezakiah and his grandfather, as well as the relationship with his mother. This story will inspired in me a renewed faith!

Sometimes as a Christian you can read bible stories and you gain the historical significance, but this book allows you to relize the personal significance and dedication to God. It was wonderful!

The Chronicles of the Kings series are THE BEST Biblical novels I have ever read. Lynn Austin's writing is so captivating, you won't be able to put the book down! While reading this series, I actually had to make myself not even touch the book before I went to work - because several times I did just that, lost all track of time and wound up arriving late to work!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. It really fleshes out certain Biblical characters and events, enabling you to really feel involved with the Biblical accounts. They become more than just words on a page in a history book - they become living, breathing people that really walked this earth. I was pleased that the author stayed very true to the Bible. I have read novels in this genre before that took great liberties with the facts as presented in the Bible. I did not feel that this was one of those. In fact, the author uses direct quotes from the Bible at all times when the prophets delivered their prophecies! At the front of the book, the author lists the scriptures used to write the story and encourages you to study it more deeply.

This is a well-written, page-turning, true-to-the-Word book that will keep you reading for hours and deepen your appreciation for God's love and grace. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Every now and then, I enjoy "escaping reality" by reading a good Scriptural (and historical) based novel. I purchased the first book, "Gods and Kings" at a discount store, not even knowing that it was part of a series, and could not wait until I found it's sequels! I have read all 5 of the "Chronicles of the Kings" series and I hope that Lynn Austin writes more sequels to this particular series.

I did get a bit confused at Amazon's website while looking for the rest of this series, so I am going to list them here in order for the convenience of future buyers:
book 1 "Gods And Kings"
book 2 "Songs Of Redemption"
book 3 "The Strength Of His Hand"
book 4 "Faith Of My Fathers"
book 5 "Among The Gods"

Another author whose sequel I am eagerly awaiting is Ellen Gunderson Traylor's "Jerusalem The City Of God - Part Two", also set in Old Testament times. These types of books really "take you back in time" to the way that things really were.

My son-in-law had been encouraging me to read this series for some time, so I decided to try it. I imagined it would be slow, but good for the biblical knowledge it held. Well, by the end of the first page I was hooked and could not put the book down. This book gave depth and insight to the lives of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Two totally different men;Godly and ungodly. Although the account was some time ago, our world is really not so different. With each page you can relate to the characters and the life lessons they go thru. It reads like a Joan of Arc or Gladiator movie. I belive Lynn Austin was truly inspired by God to write these books. I am now on book three!

Lynn Austin wove a wonderful story during a very critical time in bible history. You will be taken back in time to a place that comes alive with the struggles of life and belief in God against all odds.