Voice of the Ancient

The King's Men, Book 1

By: Connilyn Cossette

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross, Leah Horowitz

As the eldest son of a Levite and a Philistine, Avidan is torn between his duty to his family legacy and the desire for something more. When Ammonites attack the city of Yavash-Gilead, he takes the opportunity to fight with his cousins for the newly crowned King Saul. But when one of the cousins goes missing during the battle, Avidan stays behind to search for him in hopes that he's still alive.

Keziah is the daughter of one of the most powerful clan chiefs in the territory of Manasseh. On the brink of a forced marriage to a loathsome man decades older than her, she has no choice but to run. Dressed as a boy, she takes her horse and heads for the south, hoping to find sanctuary with her mother's family. Battling to survive the dangers surrounding them, Avidan and Keziah make a pact to travel together. As Keziah's true origins are revealed and Avidan's search for his cousin becomes increasingly futile, they must not only rely on each other to stay alive but learn to trust the true and eternal King of Israel to guide their every step.

With impeccable research and award-winning writing, bestselling author Connilyn Cossette brings to life the first years of King Saul's reign.

©2023 Connilyn Cossette (P)2023 Recorded Books

I am not God

I really needed the reminder, like Avidan did, that I am not God, I don’t know the end of my story, or that of my aging parents, but I need to, and can, fully trust that God’s heart for all of us is good. I’m so grateful for how the author deals with real issues, especially in the dysfunction in families, Thanks for your themes of hope, courage and redemption!

Never stop telling the deeds of G-d

Connilyn has become one of my favorite authors and I’m pretty picky. As a messianic Jew and a Bible teacher myself, I tend to be a hard sell.

But I have throughly enjoyed all of her books so far. She does a beautiful job of taking you into the places of our ancestors and telling the stories we’ve heard many times with a new perspective.

This one like her others does something different than many authors, and it may be why she is one of my favorites, she weaves the thread of previous characters you fall in love with and carries bits of them throughout the next books. While still making each book completely able to stand on its own for the readers who haven’t read her previous books.

The story itself with war, kings, arranged marriages, villains, heroes, daring escapes and a stallion tugs your heart and keeps you turning pages with excitement!

The thing that stood out to me most is the reminder to “ Tell the stories!” As a minister in these times, I am finding an amazing amount of younger people who know nothing of the stories of G-d. They like Keziah have heard half truths or nothing at all about G-d and His amazing, wonderful works. - Tell the stories and Tell them often!

Avidan and Keziah

Avidan should never have been at the battle. But if he hadn’t he would never met have Keziah. The 2 decide to travel together. She is looking for her Mother’s people for protection and he is looking for his 15 year old missing cousin.

She has a magnificent horse. We hear a lot about this magnificent stallion. He is a Christian and tells stories from the Torah. It’s been a long time since the people they meet have heard these stories. They love the stories. Avidan also introduces Keziah to God.

There’s action, humor and light romance. This is one of my favorite authors of Biblical fiction. Always well researched. Outstanding narrator. Highly recommend.

Wonderful storytelling

I really enjoyed this book! It kept my interest as the story unfolded and I loved the characters. I would highly recommend!

Good!

Overall great story! Highly suggest listening to it. The voices were great and not overwhelming

Good story

I love the author. I love biblical books that are also well written. The narrators are great as well.

We Swam Beneath Rainbows

Avidan (Avi), Zevi, Gabriel (Gavi) and Shalem (Shay) are the next generation, the sons of Shoshana {book: To Dwell Among Cedars}, her brother Lukio/Demon Eyes/Nathan {book: Between the Wild Branches} and their Hebrew kin that adopted them in Kiryat-Yearin, their sister Amina. Zevi had come back with Nathan, who adopted him giving him the gift of family as he himself had been given. The boys grow up together. "The Wedding Gift" is a prequel story about the boys, their relationships as children and sets the perfect stage for this story. Hopefully this story will also be on Audible soon.

Saul is anointed King by the prophet Samuel, and has called upon the children of Israel to fight in their first war under his leadership. When Zevi and Gavi decide to answer the call, Avi goes too, rebelling against his father's direct and very clear instructions not to go. Shay, the youngest, stealthily follows them until they catch him, shortly before going into battle. So they hide Shay in a place they think he'll be safe, then go on to their first real experience of war. When they get back, Shay is missing and Avi sets out determined to find him.

Keziah and her horse Surra are on the run from a marriage to an abusive man. She's disguised as a boy, in a slave's tunic. Wasn't sure how Connilyn would deal with this particular issue, but it's expertly handled with no political overtones at all.

I'll just say that "we swam beneath rainbows" is an apt description of Keziah and Avi. The scene that explains that saying and the retelling by Avi of the story of Lot from Genesis19 are just 2 of many powerful reasons this book is well worth the listen/read. Surra makes me want a horse and the breakdown of the beginning of King Saul's reign and how YAHUAH/YHWH actually felt about it is completely on point.

Narration was fantastic! I can't wait for the stories about Shay, Gavi and Zevi. I'm also hoping Connilyn writes 1 about Keziah's cousin Rahzul the Rechabite. Would love to see more of the Rechabites fighting styles and camels in this series. Excellent!!

The construction of the story

The research, the reader’s interpretation and execution. There were x’s When I was caught up in the drama and feeling as though I was close by the site of action.

Well written

I Loved the Biblical perspective . And the romance was very low key which I also liked

Captivating storytelling

Went in to this story wondering how long it would take before I was bored or completely lost…boy was I wrong!! The story was fiction of course but so artfully woven with Biblical true stories - so well done that I found myself going back many times to listen again to them being told and taught to the tribes. I am so excited to see where this series goes and also to start listening to other books by this author.