Dead Sea Rising

I have always enjoyed novels by Jerry Jenkins. His best-selling Left Behind series was riveting, and more recently, The Valley of Dry Bones earned a recommended read from me. However, I found his latest book, Dead Sea Rising, to be a mixed bag. There are three storylines in this first book in the Dead Sea Chronicles series — present day suspense involving archaeologist Nicole Berman and family, a Vietnam-era thread focusing on Nicole’s father Ben, and an ancient tale detailing the history of Abraham’s father Terah. Just what all these have in common I never figured out. The book leaves the reader with some big cliffhangers. And therein lies the rub — I never felt like I was getting anywhere in any of the stories. Short chapters show more alternate between the three, and they are easy to follow, but I was frustrated by the lack of forward motion. Modern-day characters were appealing, and I was genuinely interested in their difficulties. The Biblical account? Not so much. Biblical may be stretching it a bit too. Terah’s story involves a good bit of what-ifs and some pronouncements from God that sound like something He would say, but are not actually found in the Biblical record. Terah is a thoroughly despicable character and cartoonish in my opinion. This portion of the book did make me want to dig into what the Bible has to say — a definite positive.

I hate to be so negative, but I really had a hard time with this novel and am not sure I am invested enough in any of the stories to read the next book, Dead Sea Conundrum. To be fair, there are many positive reviews on Amazon. Be sure to check them out.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Worthy for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

Archaeologist Nicole Berman is getting close to a biblical discovery that could change history. But someone is dead set on stopping her from uncovering the truth in Dead Sea Rising by author Jerry B. Jenkins.

Though it's very rare that I do this, I combed through the endorsements in this book, trying to pinpoint the genre beforehand. A couple of the endorsements refer to this novel as a thriller.

I've enjoyed other novels by this author and was intrigued to find out this one has split timelines that alternate between chapters. It includes a storyline about Terah, a familiar name in biblical history. However, although the blurb calls this book a "heart-stopping adventure," the story itself doesn't have the action to match that, and I don't show more think it's on the thrilling level of a thriller.

The developments surrounding Terah seem dragged out, not always moving the plot forward, and I found him to be despicable. It's one thing to read about a depraved character, if he's complex. But since Terah is not only depraved but comes off as weak, willfully ignorant, and buffoonish, I found it hard to keep reading about him.

I also found the modern-day storyline to be on the slow side, and I guessed the guilty party within the first few pages. Still, it was interesting to find out the motive much later on.

Perhaps the rest of the series will tell if the whole Vietnam War thread in this book is crucial to the overall story arc or if the thread's twist is more or less a red herring that lengthens this novel without factoring much into its outcome. In large part, this book felt to me like an extended setup for a following book, and I think its story could have been told in fewer pages without losing anything significant.

Nevertheless, I do want to find out more about the crux of the matter—Nicole's archaeological mission. So I plan on continuing the Dead Sea Chronicles when Book Two comes out.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. show less

Archaeologist Nicole Berman stands at the brink of a world-changing discovery, if only she can obtain the necessary permissions for a dig in Saudi Arabia. But someone is out to stop her before she ever leaves Manhattan.

Meanwhile, in 2000 BC, Terah, a trusted advisor to King Nimrod, launches an impossible plot to save his newborn son, Abram.

Short chapters alternate between the present-day emergency involving an attack on Nicole’s mother and the ancient tale of Terah and his family. Dual plotlines unfold, offering some unexpected surprises along with some truly cringe-worthy moments. While the characters are reasonably well-drawn, they aren’t compelling and Nicole’s character-driven story often falls short on action.

There’s a show more puzzling aspect in the ancient times storyline dealing with the author’s use of “mile” and “feet” as units of measurement rather than the expected “cubit.” It’s a choice that seems at odds with the 2000 BC setting for Terah’s story.
Of greater concern, however, is that the overarching purpose of the narrative seems to be to set the stage for future stories in the series rather than to tell this story. With so many questions left unanswered, the dangling, unresolved plot points are likely to leave frustrated readers feeling dissatisfied. show less

Like so many of Jerry Jenkins books, the first sentence drew me fully into the story and kept me there until the last page. This is definitely a book that I found hard to even set down.

This is an unusual book in that you have multiple story lines that weave together and create an amazing story. As always, the words of Mr. Jenkins are so beautiful, yet concise, and you end up feeling as though you are a part of the story yourself.

Nicole Berman is the main character and she is an archaeologist who is hoping to be called to a dig in the Middle East when a family situation forces her focus away from this. Her mother has fallen but it's not clear how or why and this creates a mystery in itself. Her family is close and I love seeing the show more dynamics between her and her parents.

The different stories, even though they are in different time periods, do come together with purpose and make for an interesting read, in my opinion. I also like the fact that we see real-life dilemmas in these characters lives that we, ourselves, might have to deal with. It was interesting to see them wrestle with the needs of their family versus the wants of their hearts.

If you enjoy a good story with mysterious aspects as well as taking you on a roller coaster of emotions, then you are going to love Dead Sea Rising! I absolutely loved it and can't wait for the next book of this series. I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.

*This book was provided to me by Worthy Publishing. I received a copy of this book to review but I was not financially compensated in any way. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my observations while reading this book. show less