Brock Thoene

He opened the door of the Packard. "There is no way to change it. No stopping it." He stepped aside for Elisa to get into the passenger seat. "There are those who will stay -" he looked at Sporer- "and those who will die." He let his eyes linger not on the woman but on the little child. Then will a sad smile, he looked straight at Elisa. "And there are those who will run away."
"Are you finished?" Elisa asked, tears brimming in her eyes.
"With you? Yes." Otto drew himself up. "Heil Hitler," he show more said bitterly.

Elisa Lindheim performs with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the name Elisa Linder and very few know her secret - that she is half Jewish. They only admire the transcendent music that she is able to coax out of her violin. The way it makes them forget about the war, the ugliness, the infernal greediness of Adolf Hitler. But Hitler has not forgotten about Vienna, he has it square in his sights. Elisa and all those that she loves are in his path.

Vienna Prelude is the first in the Zion Covenant series by the Thoenes. Even though I have a penchant for WWII fiction, I was not sure if I would enjoy the book. I think it's one of the best specimens of Christian fiction that I have read. Perhaps the life-and-death big issues of war make the religious passages feel more natural. If I had a fault to find, it was that it seemed as if nearly every male in the novel instantaneously fell in love with Elisa and carried a torch for her. But the Thoenes had a plan and I should have just trusted them. The story did sweep me along and I do have my eyes set on the next installment. show less

The Twilight of Courage is replete with characters, so many that it takes quite awhile to get into the book because there's a new group of people on every page, and so many that the authors never have time to bestow much depth of character on any of them. I spent most of the book wondering what on earth all these people had in common and whether there would be a plot tying all the subplots together. In the end, most of them engage the reader's interest, and nearly all of them end up coming show more together at Dunkirk in time to be evacuated.

When I looked up some details in curiosity about the story of the French cavalry school resisting the Nazi advance, I found that it took place at Saumur and not at Lys, for the very good reason that the cavalry school was and is located at Saumur. I then discovered that although the story of the battle and the inspiring detail of the young cadets being allowed to go free and the Germans saluting in their honour is substantially correct, the cadets would have been entirely too late for the Dunkirk evacuation. The last ship had sailed more than two weeks before the Battle of Saumur began. It's just as well; I doubt they would have been able to get their (entirely apocryphal) mounts onto the ships. Fortunately, although it's grimly amusing to envision the boys' arrival on the deserted beach, in the actual event they marched south and did not ride west towards the Channel.

It's not as egregious as other deliberate distortions of fact that the Thoenes have perpetrated, but when there's a significant change in the map and timeline for narrative convenience, considerate writers of historical fiction alert readers in the form of an authorial note.

"Rembrandt" the artist who cut off his ear, of course, is just a blatant historical blooper testifying to the editors' carelessness.

The occasional racial or national stereotyping may also be disturbing to some. (E.g. Senegalese troops, whom I believe were the Thoenes' stand-ins for the Algerians who actually joined the defense of Saumur: not well portrayed at all.) show less

I kept hearing about the A.D. Chronicles from several different people in different circles I was in. It seemed like lots of people were raving about them, so I thought I’d give the first book a shot.

Honestly, it took a little while for me to get into this one. I would read a chapter and put the book down (not a usual occurrence for me). This went on for about a week or so before I finally got into the book enough to read larger chunks at once. Once I did, I enjoyed it, it was just a show more little confusing for me at the beginning switching between characters/stories and keeping up with who was whom. I did enjoy the first century setting and having the book relate to Bible stories I am familiar with. It’s interesting to see an author’s fictitious take on characters who were mentioned in the Bible and were around during the time of Jesus.

Would I recommend this to my BFF? Yes.
Would I recommend this to my teen daughter? Yes.

I did enjoy the book, once I finally got into it, but it is not one that made me feel I must immediately rush out and read the next one. So, a solid 4 of 5 stars. show less

Amazon: Struggling under grinding poverty and a greedy overlord, Ballynockanor is the story of a thousand Irish Villages where an English usurper is despised by his Irish tenants. When a stranger crosses the river and enters the village on Christmas Eve, Molly proclaims that he is the herald of freedom and change. Is this quiet man the spark that will stroke the fires of Irish nationalism and bring freedom in a troubled time? Or will he bring the destruction of an entire way of life?

This one show more felt like a cup of Christy mixed in a bowl of Pride and Prejudice with just a dash of Outlander thrown in.
I think the Thoenes write some of the better "Christian Fiction" out there. I liked this one very much, even better than the Zion series. The story line felt nice and self-contained and I don't really have the desire to continue on with the series. Another series is the last thing that I need. But I do feel that I will come back and re-read it at some point. show less