The Crest (Prophesy Saga)

By: Jerena Tobiasen

Narrated by: James Meunier

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Canada Book Awards, Winner

Independent Press Award 2020, Distinguished Favorite Historical Fiction Series

Next Generation Indie Book Award 2020 Finalist, Fiction Series

A story of war, prejudice, migration, crime, love, and heartbreak. The Prophecy Saga is a fast-moving, intriguing historical tale, spanning more than 70 years.

It begins in the fall of 1914, where friends Gerhard Lange and Otto Schmidt are excited to receive orders to join Germany's battle with France. The two soon learn there is no glory in war. They survive, but return home broken men to work alongside their fathers and restore the farming community they fought so valiantly to protect. The years pass, but war looms once again, and the two families must relocate to the safety of Bavaria.

But war is again unavoidable. Soon, Gerhard and his son, Paul, both find themselves in an army led by a tyrant. Despite the oppression of serving on the Eastern Front, a light is cast in Paul's direction when he encounters the lovely Ilse-Renata Chemiker. As the war rages, Gerhard worries about his family back home and whether there will be a future for them at all.

The Crest is dedicated to those folks who are forced to fight for what they believe in to keep their families and their country safe.

Together, The Crest, The Emerald, and The Destiny tell of the challenges and changes that external forces place on everyday people who must rise above their own expectations to meet family obligations and responsibilities - no matter how reluctant they may be to do so. They provide the listener with an opportunity to consider life from an alternate perspective.

©2018 Jerena Tobiasen (P)2020 Jerena Tobiasen

Interim review

Circumstances right now prevent me from writing an extensive review. I will update my review as soon as I am able.

Interesting story, but I didn’t get a little bit of it.

I was given a copy of this book to review. I listen to military history pretty much exclusively. I thought this was going to be a war story and it’s not. It’s a story OF war. It has brief depictions of combat but the vast majority of this book a tale of life between The Great War and through World War Two. The clever use of multiple people is a great way of showing how the war impacted people of all walks of life. From older military men working in the military on the home front, to farmers, to the young man on the front. It deals with the terrible atrocities of the Red Army in realistic way because the fear of Soviet occupation is always looming towards the end of the book.

Because this book covers so much better in terms of time, places, and points of view; it does jump around quite a bit. You have to keep your ear out for the occasional year being slipped in to help you understand where you are in terms of time lines.

The fall festival part was great in depicting how life was simpler back then and people to pleasure in things that seem so simple and silly these days, but I wonder if it could have been cut for a little more room for details later in the book. At times the events seemed a bit too contrived or simple just so that they could be covered quickly.

I did enjoy the book a lot though. It really is nice to see a book covering a German point of view of the wars and not demonizing them. The German civilians really suffered and that story is almost unheard of.

My one single negative is this: this book is part of a trilogy and it’s called “the prophesy saga” and without giving away to much, it is clear what the prophesy part is about, but I just didn’t get it. The quick flash back at the very end just went over my head. Maybe this will be developed more in a later book? I don’t know. It has no impact on the story and I wonder if I’m missing something.

In summary, if you have ever wondered what the civilians and soldiers of Germany came home to after WW1 and WW2 give this a listen, it really paints a vivid image of what they had to contend with in over to move on with their lives. It also deals a lot with what soldiers suffer with after the sound of the guns have long faded. Both of these two things are often overlook and we would do well to heed these lessons for the future.

The narrator was first class in my opinion. I thought he did an excellent excellent job. Also one reviewer mentions foul language and other then just a few curse words in German there is no foul language. So little in fact that I wonder if they even listened to the book.

Interesting topic, but had to stop listening!

I was interested in the topic, but was sorry to have to stop listening because of the language. A good story doesn't need bad language; it can be implied without offending. I received this audiobook free in exchange for my honest review.