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Such a great story about Wwii ( )

Exciting historical fiction. Beautifully written about a particularly painful time in history. Looking forward to reading book two. ( )

I've just started into this series for the second time and found it just as readable as the first time around 5 years ago.

The story is spread across Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland during the reign of Nazi terror. I studied the in-depth history of the two world wars at school so found the book was well researched and remarkably accurate historically. The main characters are a Jewish family who become involved in smuggling documents and moving Jewish people out of the kill zone.

I wouldn't describe this as an overtly Christian book. It has some faith discussions and some of the characters clearly have a strong faith in God. There are even Gospel principles and themes at times, but this is not present throughout. The discussions also seem to have a Catholic rather than an Evangelical flavour, probably due to the cultural context. There are also questionable scenes in relation to the various romances that occur--nothing especially graphic, but just worldly suggestions and thinking that could have been handled more appropriately.

There is no swearing in this book. There is violence and some scenes of torturous conditions and death in a concentration camp. There is an attempted rape. The details are not explicit but were borderline at times.

Even though each of the books in this series is long, they can be hard to put down as I have discovered before! I recommend this series, but it might be better to approach it from an historical novel perspective rather than as a Christian book to avoid disappointment.



( )

He opened the door of the Packard. "There is no way to change it. No stopping it." He stepped aside for Elisa to get into the passenger seat. "There are those who will stay -" he looked at Sporer- "and those who will die." He let his eyes linger not on the woman but on the little child. Then will a sad smile, he looked straight at Elisa. "And there are those who will run away."
"Are you finished?" Elisa asked, tears brimming in her eyes.
"With you? Yes." Otto drew himself up. "Heil Hitler," he said bitterly.

Elisa Lindheim performs with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the name Elisa Linder and very few know her secret - that she is half Jewish. They only admire the transcendent music that she is able to coax out of her violin. The way it makes them forget about the war, the ugliness, the infernal greediness of Adolf Hitler. But Hitler has not forgotten about Vienna, he has it square in his sights. Elisa and all those that she loves are in his path.

Vienna Prelude is the first in the Zion Covenant series by the Thoenes. Even though I have a penchant for WWII fiction, I was not sure if I would enjoy the book. I think it's one of the best specimens of Christian fiction that I have read. Perhaps the life-and-death big issues of war make the religious passages feel more natural. If I had a fault to find, it was that it seemed as if nearly every male in the novel instantaneously fell in love with Elisa and carried a torch for her. But the Thoenes had a plan and I should have just trusted them. The story did sweep me along and I do have my eyes set on the next installment. ( )