Review of Out Of Saul~Paul

[Ebele Ekelobi]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Out Of Saul~Paul" by Ken Bangs.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Out of Saul~Paul by Ken Bangs is a novel about a historical figure known as Paul of Tarsus. The novel begins with a riveting description of a facet of the Greco-Roman war that is relevant to the story. We meet the father of the main character, Belarus, a brave soldier in the Roman army and one who fights valiantly and receives Roman citizenship as a reward. After his stint as a soldier, he settles in the Jewish community and marries a Jew. As a result of an uprising, he and his pregnant wife are forced to move to Tarsus. On arrival, they have a son and name him Saul. In the story, we see that Saul is very bold and stubborn as an adolescent. After that, the story switches mainly to that of another popular historical figure, Jesus of Nazareth, as the events of his life will shape that of Saul from that point onward.

Ken Bangs did a good job on several points in this book. Firstly, the beginning is very detailed, as it describes a setting and events that most readers are not familiar with. The characters are written in an authentic manner that helps the readers see themselves in the characters. War stories or pieces tend to be very long or monotonous, but the chapters of this book are none of those, which is really impressive. The world-building and character descriptions continue throughout the book, and as it is a historical novel, they help the book move at a suitable pace. I loved that I found no error in the book; it was certainly exceptionally well edited.

However, I would say that the time jumps within the book were very erratic. I have background knowledge of the subject matter of this book, so it wasn't as disorienting for me. Other readers who are new to the subject would be at a disadvantage because there is no system or explanation for the time jumps. Also, too much of the book was spent talking about another historical figure, Jesus of Nazareth. I understand that he was very influential in the life of Saul, but so many chapters passed with no mention of Saul. I think the author could have juxtaposed the plotlines better. He did a good job with that at the beginning of the book; he should have continued with the technique.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars owing to the fact that it is a very interesting historical piece. I removed one star because of the negative points.

I recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction or historical pieces in general, especially those with Christian backgrounds.

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Out Of Saul~Paul
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[Prosper2000]

Historical fiction isn't my forte, so I'll pas on this one. Also, Saul turned Paul isn't one of my favourite Bible characters. But this is a nice review, though.

[CrossK]

I've only read Saul's story from the perspective of the Bible. It'll be interesting to now read it from an author's perspective.

[Alexander C Schmoock]

Hmm. Paul of Tarsus is a troublesome figure in the Bible. I'm curious to know how the author approaches his story.