Flood: The Story of Noah and the Family Who Raised Him: The Fall of Man Series, Book 2

'Flood' is the latest installment in a series of standalone fantasy novels, so even though the cover lists this as the 2nd book, you can actually start here if you want.Now, what exactly is this book about? Well, as the title suggests, it's a retelling of the well-known story of Noah's Ark; think of it as the Biblical equivalent of historical fiction. The thing is, Noah's story takes up a very small part of the Bible, which leaves an awful lot to McPherson's very vivid imagination.So what kinds of details to we get in this fictional retelling? Dark, almost pitch-black, ones. In the original account of Noah, God wipes out all of humanity save for Noah's family. What kind of world would be so evil that God saw it necessary to do this? McPherson offers a very haunting guess. His is a world where the most-trustworthy person you can find probably deserves public execution; a world where it's unlikely that your parents and siblings will still be alive by the time you're fully grown; a world where demonic entities run rampant, preying on families and young women.It's into this world that we're introduced to our antagonist, the self-proclaimed God-King, a horned man behind the quote in my review's title, a being waging war against both the true God and all of humanity and who has conquered one third of the known world. Despite his massive empire and his despotic goals, he decides to give special attention to the most unlikely of targets: a poor family living in the mountains.What follows is a struggle where two generations of this family contend with the God-King as he does everything he can, using all the military force, supernatural powers and other resources at his disposal, to wipe out everyone around them and push them to their breaking point. Why did this unholy emperor become so obsessed with this family? What's so special about them that they diverted his attention away from his campaign of conquest? What will he do when he finally meets them face-to-face? Let me just tantalize you by saying the answers to these questions are quite horrifying.Now, before ending this, I want to take a moment to mention something that, if left unaddressed, could lead a lot of people to shut the book in disgust and walk away forever. Late in the novel, one of our heroes meets a person who reveals that he was intended to be the savior of mankind but that a bad decision on his part kept that from happening. At first glance, this might seem heretical, but if you read the rest of the book, it becomes clear that what the character meant wasn't that they'd be the actual Savior but that they would have had the honor of being a 'type,' a precursor who, while still an imperfect human with an inborn sin nature, would have symbolized the Savior to come.While my gold standards for Biblical fiction are 'Paradise Lost' and 'Paradise Regained,' this is still a solid, inventive book that, despite being written by a Christian, doesn't shy away from darkness, both the darkness from the otherworldly God-King and the darkness of human nature.

Brennan McPherson's "Flood" is a fictional story woven together in the author's imagination of "What Ifs" relative to Noah's life and his walk with God. The use of violence in telling the story clearly paints a picture of how wicked the world had become since creation. "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." Genesis 6:11The story begins before Noah's parents meet. From the very beginning the scene is set of all the evil in the world as these two characters' lives come together, and the treachery each has survived. From the day Noah is born, his life is surrounded by a quest to stay alive. God has a plan, but it's not an easy journey for Noah. "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:8Noah struggles with belief and faith, questioning how God could allow such wickedness in the world as good people are slaughtered by evil, including his own mother on the day he was born.The premise of this book caught my attention, even though violence and fantastical appearances used to portray the evil characters are not my usual "go to" genres. But as I read I became increasingly eager to see what happens next and how the author was going to get Noah and his family on the ark before the whole world was destroyed.

When Stephen King was asked why he wrote horror, he replied, "What makes you think I have a choice?" Similarly, McPherson writes that that he couldn't imagine the story he tells in Flood being any different, and that's the important thing to remember about this novel, especially for religious readers. McPherson imagines an entirely hostile pre-Flood world in which there is no safety anywhere. He's imagined a demonic, dominant race of beings ruled by an antichrist-like God-King. McPherson has his reasons for telling the story as he did, and they are good ones.Philosophy aside, McPherson has proved himself as a pro of a storyteller in the broad genre of Christian fiction. Readers of CBA books will enjoy Flood, and they'll find familiar themes within its pages. I highly recommend this novel, particularly to those readers. But I also recommend this book to readers who have trouble reconciling a merciful God who is also a holy Judge. You will not be disappointed. You'll be engaged from the first page, eager to see the world Brennan imagines from the "rest of the stories" of Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. And when you've finished, you'll have some takeaways to carry forward in your walk with Christ.

One of those few books I seriously couldn't put down. For anyone who knows the story of the flood in Scripture, be prepared to open your mind up to a whole new world of thought. Yes, FLOOD is a fictional story about real life people and a real life event. This book takes you past the story we're told from the Bible and draws you back in time where you find yourself in the lives of the people in a way I know you can't predict! And it's great! Be prepared to think and allow yourself to be drawn into the lives of these characters. It's fascinating, incredible and mind stretching all at the same time. For me, the story of the flood as found in Scripture is true through faith in the Word of God. But I find nothing wrong with writing that makes you think deeper about a biblical account even though it's admittedly a fictional work. Creative and out of the box? Oh, yes! Also full of surprises that delight and hurt at the same time. Not a "picture perfect" fictional book... which is what makes it all the more enjoyable... in a shocking kind of way. I recommend you read it. Not into Biblical fiction? Doesn't matter! That's the beauty of FLOOD. It grabs you and yanks you right in - whoever you are. There are characters and situations that make for one great story. I'm so glad to have come across Brennan McPherson and his books. This man must keep writing.

This book is a great read and as Brennan say it is a story based on the Biblical story of Noah and some of His and therefore our ancestors, if it gets you thinking about the truth behind the real story then he's done a great job. I love this because it doesn't claim tho be fact but there has been a lot of research done and the characters are very believable starting from the meeting of Noah 's Mum and Dad. Lamech his Dad who's name we know and his Dad Methuselah, His Mum's name is not recorded but She is given the name Adah. Obviously these time were so different to kites and we can never know the reality it's hard enough to fully understand any other life than what we have experienced but we can all dying the love of GOD which had never changed except to grow. This story tells of the times they lived in as good as any i have read unless we are all wrong and the live if GOD even if it will have been played out differently the enemy of still the enemy and GOD is GOD. I found myself challenged in a positive way and aware none of us are perfect save One and the realisation that even Noah want perfect but He discovered His Savour in a hostile and evil world and didn't let go. I'm not sure what the faith background of many of His ancestors was apart from Enoch who was and was then no more because GOD took Him as the Bible tells us. This may not be a tool to a theologians degree but it can help to shape your heart as well as entertain you or out another way that's how i found it working for me. I do recommend this book and any other by Brennan McPherson,v well researched and a joy to read.

Enjoyed this thoroughly! Stretched my imagination beyond what I thot possible. Made me fall deeper in love with the almighty God

Just read this book. Started Friday evening finished Sunday morning! Thoroughly enjoyed it especially as its thought provoking. I've been reading Genesis and this book gives it the 3D effect and let's your mind go deeper. Keep writing Mr McPherson! I've no doubt this book will do the rounds with my daughter's who are in their twenties.

I enjoyed reading a well-known story from an imaginative and different angle, that attempts to answer the question of how a loving and almighty God could be merciful in wiping out the whole world. As the author explains in his note at the end, there is much we don’t know but if he could imagine one such scenario as portrayed by this book, surely there are other ways.At first I had a hard time wrapping my head around things happening in the book, but it all came together in the end. (I had to put aside my own ideas of how the story should go and once I was able to do that, it was much better).It was a good story and I’m very impressed with the author’s creativity and ability in most of the book to keep it being corrupted with religious and “Christianese” overtones; however I think he failed in a few spots (and inserted some more modern Western Christian thinking that didn’t quite jive with the ancient and Old Way) and that lowered the appeal of the book for me.I would recommend reading if you like different approaches to Bible stories and aren’t easily offended. There’s lots in this book that will stimulate deep thinking and possibly shift some paradigms for you.

I found the first book in this series a game changer in my life, though it was in some ways disturbing and filled with strange ideas. This 2nd book in the series, however, just plain got too weird for me and I found myself actually being repulsed by the character of Noah.I'm still going to read book 3 though