[.ca] Voice In The Wind (ISBN 1886463166)

sensual and moving spiritual tale:
Francine Rivers is one of the best authors of Christian fiction, and this tale of romantic love and spiritual struggle in the face of deadly adversity is a real treat to read. This is the story of a believer named Hadassah in the violent, decadent ancient Rome of the first Christians, and her triumph over fear of persecution as she has the courage to stay faithful to God. Good love story here too. Moving scenes. Read it and pass it on. David Rehak author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

good book:
this was an amazing book. i read it a few years back but its still very memorable and it's still on my 'rainy day for when i'm not feeling so hot' rereading list. its really very well written and insprirational. i'm more of a spiritual person rather than a religious one but that can be ignored in this instance. this book can be read not only by people who are very religious, but by anyone who has some belief system that they feel is important and worth standing up for (there is of course an emphasis on christianity, but the struggle hadassah faces can transcend religion and can become personalized).

WOW!:
wow. iv been looking for a good, wholesom christin book for a while, when my friend recomended it to me, and i read it, it was completly blown away!!! the story of a young girl, torn away from the only life shes ever known, and entering a roman house as a slave, with only gods love the consule her, is a book, that i have already added to my library of favorite books. i am in the middle of readding all of Francine rivers other books, i hope they all as good as this one!!

AMAZING!:
AMAZING,AMAZING,AMAZING!!! Francine Rivers is definately at the top of christian fiction! If you haven't read this book, I HIGHLY recomend it! No matter what you're looking for in a book, you'll get something out of this. If you're into romance or are simply looking for a good read, you'll enjoy it! For me personally, this book challenged me as a person. Francine Rivers writes with such an honesty, I can't really describe it, but she captures the essense of man and his need for a higher purpose and really the heart of the Christian faith as well. Hadassah, while quiet and dealing with her fears throughout the book, is really the strongest character of the story. Her unwavering faith is really the centerpiece of this story, and her beautiful humility seems to outshine everything else. A few of the other more "flawed" characters really served to point out how I am so much more like them then Hadassah and really got me thinking. This is a very touching, fascinating, inspirational book, and I don't know how someone could read this and not sense a need in their life to change, to be a better person, to be more like Hadassah. For whatever reason you feel like reading this, you DEFINATELY should. I HIGHLY recomend this book!!!

"Feel Good" stories:
An avid fan of historical fiction, I must say that while I am impressed with the historicity Rivers provides, I was displeased with the pervasive, American evangelical (almost charismatic) interpretations of cultural "things." Many of Rivers characters are good and fairly believable and her historical facts seem well researched, accurate and detailed. However, the philosophical style and interpretation of people and events seems inconsistent with the perspective of a Jewish girl in the first century (or anyone of any other culture, as there were many in the book). It might have been much more believable if Rivers had succeeded in thinking a little more outside the box and less like a modern American. I wasn't sure if she was trying to make a point about the similarities (ie: moral degeneration) between American culture and ancient Roman culture...? I was also disappointed by the frequent, direct quotes from scripture-especially from "books" that may not have been in wide circulation at that point in time. There are places that also seemed slightly preachy. Some of the "miraculous" happenings (more in book 2) were also a little unbelievable. When I first read this book I didn't know that Rivers was a romance author (outside of my usual genre). A consistent and slightly disappointing theme in the entire series was the good "Christian" girl winning over the bad pagan boy with her virtue. In modern terms: missionary dating. It might have been more realistic if Hadassah had a few character flaws. Her emotional/spiritual/mental battles are little bit weak and she always makes the "morally correct" decision. I would have liked to see some deeper grapping with the life-and-death issues, some sincere mistakes, deep doubts etc. I didn't find it very romantic or realistic, it was difficult to relate with Hadassah on many levels because of her flawless character, but Rivers has definitely crafted a "feel good" story with good endings for all of the likeable characters.