This trilogy includes Gods & Kings, Song of Redemption, and The Strength of His Hand. It is a Biblically-based, but fictionalized account of King Hezekiah of Judah. I was skeptical when I first picked it up, as I’ve read many novelizations of the Bible that haven’t been very good. (Some of Francine Rivers’ works immediately come to mind.) However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Austin bases her books on the main events in the life of King Hezekiah, the prophets Isaiah and Micah, and the countries of Judah and Israel. Of course, she adds characters and plot-lines and re-arranges the order of events, but overall, she stays true to the themes that come out in the biblical story of Hezekiah. I especially liked how she wove the words of scripture into the story. Sometimes when authors quote scripture in a novel, it seems as if someone said, “Insert scripture here,” so they picked some random verse to fill in. With Austin’s books, the use of scripture as dialogue seems genuine and flows well with the story.

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