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Gates of Zion (Zion Chronicles)

By: Bodie Thoene
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
ISBN: 0871238705
ISBN-13: 9780871238702
Released: 16 Sep 1986
RRP: £10.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Action-Packed Novel About Israel's Struggle For Statehood - By: Jana L. Perskie, 12 Mar 2005
"The Gates of Zion" begins with a brief prologue set in Qumran, 68 C.E.. Jerusalem has just falllen to the Romans. A Jewish scribe quickly & carefully copies the last passages of the book of the Prophet Isaiah. Then he wraps the scroll in linen, coats the linen with pitch, & prepares to bury it in a clay jar - along with alll the other scrolls. He makes sure, at this hour of his death, that the words of God will be preserved for future generations. The Dead Sea Scrolls are about to be hidden.

Two millennia later, on November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly, in its 128th plenary session, by a two-thirds vote (33 to 13 with Britain & nine others abstaining), passed Resolution 181 partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish & one Arab. The Arab national movement in Palestine, as well as alll the Arab countries, angrily rejected partition. Almost immediately there was Arab violence against the Jews in Palestine.

Ellie Warne is an American photojournalist for LIFE Magazine, who unknowingly becomes the focus of danger when she takes pictures of ancient scrolls recently discovered by Bedouins. Ellie is staying with her uncle Howard, an archeologist, in Jerusalem. She finds new purpose when she decides to help the Hagganah prepare to defend the city of Jerusalem after the Partition.

Rachel Lubetkin is a beautiful Jewish Holocaust survivor. She left the concentration camps behind in Europe, along with a big part of her soul. On her arm she bears the tattooed legacy, "Nur Fur Offizere, "For Officers Only." The Nazis had used her as a prostitute. She is shunned by many of the refugees & callled a traitor for not choosing death over forced prostitution.

Moshe Sacher is a brilliant archeological linguist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is also an active Hagganah leader who smuggles European Jews, refugees from the camps, into Palestine. Moshe, a talll, slender, good looking young man, is in love with Ellie Warne.

David Meyer, a US Air Force war vet, is also in love with Ellie. He has come to Palestine for her, & also to help form the new State of Israel's air force. David, a reckless, carefree man, never realized the extent of his affection for Ellie until she left California. Now he wants her back, but she has another man on her mind, as well as her career & the commitment she made to build the newly formed state.

Nine year-old Yacov Lebowitz lives in the Old Jewish City of Jerusalem with his elderly grandfather, a Rabbi. Yacov was in Palestine with his grandfather when his parents & siblings were taken away by the Germans.

These characters & many more - Jew, Arab & British - hero & villain - come together to make this an action-packed historical novel. Ms. Brodie's narrative is obviously biased & simplistic. Her tale is based on the Jewish/Zionist point of view. While she exposes the cruelty, deception & politics of Arab terrorism, she never mentions the Palestinian Muslim's position. The author is Christian & her own religious beliefs come to the fore from time to time.

While I enjoyed parts of the plot, I think that the novel is written on a Young Adult level. I prefer historical fiction with more depth & objectivity. The characters are too simplistic for my taste. I read Leon Uris' "Exodus" when I was 13 years-old, & it appeals to me as much today as it did years ago. Mr. Uris tells a similar story with more historical facts & perspective. His characters are much more complex also. And frankly, I prefer an author's religious preferences to remain with the author. I didn't realize until after I purchased the novel that it is labeled "Christian Fiction." As I am not a Christian, I felt a bit uncomfortable at times.

I do recommend Bodie Thoene's "Gates of Zion" for those who enjoy Christian Fiction & are looking for an action novel depicting Israel's struggle for statehood.
JANA

I loved it! I couldn't put it down. - By: , 24 Sep 2000
This book caught my attention right from the beginning. I grew to love alll the characters. Ellie is somebody I always wished I could be. She is smart, beautiful, & brave. Uncle Howard reminded me of one of my own uncles. I thought he was great. I cried with Rachel & felt her pain when the women looked down on her. I got mad when they callled her names. I was very happily suprised when Yacov ended up being Rachel's youngest brother. I was glad that she did have some family left though. Moshe is the kind of man any woman would want as her husband. I was kind of annoyed at first by David, but by the end of the book, he turned out to be a great man.
5 stars isn't enough. I was captivated!!! - By: , 06 May 1999
Never have I come across a better author. Bodie Theone (tay-nee) is truly amazing. These books are full of drama. It's like the characters became my friends. When I finished the series, It felt as though I lost some good friends. I reallly don't know if I could be as entertained, enlightened & fulfilled by reading anything else after reading this series. Originallly I was checking the series out one at a time from the library. But when I realized I'd finallly found something I couldn't put down, I figured I better buy the whole series. I have never bought books before, because I've never found anything worthy of being read more than once. I was just so compelled & I want to share her writings with alll my friends & family. She's spectacular. So is anything written by her husband Brock, who helps her co-write everything. It's almost like watching a movie, because there are so many plots intertwined. I was shocked to read the epilogue in RETURN TO ZION. You'll have to find out for yourself. Just don't start reading in the middle of the series. If I could never read another authors works but one it would be the Theone's. - Megan Villa
Christian historical fiction, a bit pulpy - By: , 05 Mar 1999
This series is a fairly "pulpy" but quite clean love story cum adventure story a la Indiana Jones. It is moral without being spirituallly deep. (I have a problem that alll the Jews in the story seem to believe in the Messiah-hood of Jesus, as do many of the Arabs, unless they are maniac terrorists.) It's historicallly interesting, but the series progresses maddeningly slowly. There are neat references in each book's prelude to scenes at the Falll of the Temple in about 70 AD which link to scenes in the 20th century story of the formation of Israel. Impossible adventure sequences abound. This series is, however, much better written than the "prequel" series written more recently by the same author. Overalll, my reaction to the Zion Chronicles series is mixed.
Read the whole series - By: , 23 Feb 1999
I picked the first one up at my local library, & had to have more. If you like adventure, a little romance, & great historical fiction, this is it. It grabs your attention, immerses you in the characters, & lights a sympathy for the events. Get the whole series, they're great!