Noah is one of the greatest heroes in the Bible.
And Noah: Man of God is the book you’ve finally been waiting for. While Noah: Man of Destiny was an origins story and Noah: Man of Resolve his coming of age story, the final installment of the The Remnant Trilogy portrays a Noah that will be more familiar to readers. Essentially, Tim Chaffey and K. Marie Adams have finally come to the tale related in Genesis 6-9.
What this means for readers is that there are already major spoilers. The authors faced a difficult task of keeping the story fresh and interesting, even though we already know most of the major plot points.
For example, if you’re familiar with the Flood account, you know that only eight souls make the trip aboard the Ark. This necessarily requires us to say goodbye to some of Noah’s friends. I’m happy to say that the authors do this in a way that is satisfying, consistent with the Bible’s narrative and which underscores the increasing wickedness of the pre-Flood world. Of course, three of those eight souls were Noah’s son’s wives. They manage to pull off these plot points without turning the book into Seven Brides for Seven Brothers [sans four), so kudos for that.
Fortunately, the beginning of the book left us on a bit of a cliffhanger from book two, which I compared to The Empire Strikes Back. Just as our heroes had to resolve the issues of Empire in the first half of Return of the Jedi (because you just can’t leave your buddy as a wall decoration for a slimy gangster), the events of Book 2 required a bit of resolution in the first third of Book 3, so that the authors could get down to the business of moving the plot toward the Biblical account.
That’s not to say that we leave the Serpent Cult of Nachash, its high priestess Naamah, and the evil kingdom of her father King Lamech behind. There’s some shades of Game of Thrones to that particular family drama. The book ends poised to give us the expected grand finale of the building of the Ark and the coming of the Flood itself.
This book is more supernatural than the previous books. In addition to visions, we have prophetic dreams that don’t involve schematics, cherubim and divine intervention. This book also shows God’s providence at several points, underscoring the fact that even amid the chaos, God is in control. Contrasting to this is a plot point involving a Satanic miracle, reminiscent of Pharaoh’s magicians.
As before, features at the end of the book help to clarify where artistic license was used, where the plot borrowed from other parts of the Bible, and where the story elements reflect exhibits at the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. It also includes a list of animals used in the series, correlating their “pre-Flood” (within the novels) and modern names. Frankly, that would have been nice to have before now.
My only complaint about the book is that I wanted it to go further into the narrative than it does. I did enjoy “Noah’s zoo,” and the accounts of building the Ark and everything else the book presents to flesh out the Biblical narrative, but I definitely wanted it to go further than it does.
Even so, I heartily recommend Noah: Man of God.
From the Bookwyrm’s Lair,
Tony Breeden
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author as an advanced reader copy (ARC). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255[…] : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising
