You can listen to a interview with the author at VFTB.
Posted on 01/06/2012 12:22:13 PM PST by ml/nj
Speculative Biblical Epic by Brian Godawa
The beloved story of Noah re-imagined for a new generation. This is the tale of an ancient world submerged in darkness. Fallen angels breed giants and demigods that enslave mankind. Noah, a tribal leader, has been prophesied to bring an end to the rule of these “gods” and save humanity from coming destruction. But Noah is a broken hero, a defeated warrior, short on faith and long on remorse as his wife and son are captives of these dark forces. To rise against this supernatural evil and rescue his family he will need his faith restored and the backing of an equally supernatural army.
While this book is a speculative retelling of the Biblical Noah (we are not told much about him in the Bible), it is based upon historical and biblical research into the time period as well as other ancient Sumerian and Hebrew literature. All the fantasy elements in the novel are drawn from biblical images and concepts interacting with their ancient Mesopotamian culture. Several appendixes at the back of the book provide an explanation of some of the concepts such as the divine council, the Nephilim, Leviathan, and the ancient Mesopotamian Cosmography in the Bible.
The text quoted above is author Brian Godawa's own synopsis of his novel Noah Primeval: Chronicles of the Nephilim Book One. This link will take you to the reviews at Amazon. I don't think I would rate it quite so highly as seems to be the general Amazon consensus.
My initial interest in the book was entirely based upon discussions I am sometimes involved in concerning these seemingly mysterious verses from Genesis Chapter 6:
These verses briefly interrupt the introduction of Noah and the events of the Flood.1. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,
2. That the sons of G-d saw the daughters of men that they were pretty; and they took as wives all those whom they chose.
3. And the L-rd said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.
4. There were Nefilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of G-d came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men of old, men of renown.
5. And G-d saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6. And the L-rd repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7. And the L-rd said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the birds of the air; for I repent that I have made them.
Godawa mostly does as he suggests filling in the blanks with battles between the fallen sons of G-d, their progeny, and human worshipers on one side; and Noah and other human worshipers of the true G-d [El-him] on the other. I thought some of this was silly; some predictable, and some quite interesting. But amongst the 269 pages which tell this story there are these two quite separate paragraphs
Anu [a fallen god] concluded his tirade with a plan. "But I bring new hope and change. I want to undo the separation, to erase the distinction between creatures. I want to make all things into One." Anu bent down and looked at one of the jars of fetuses on the shelf. "By combining my seed with human seed, I will fundamentally transform humankind. I will create man in my image rather that El-him's image. I will give man his proper destiny. I will make man into a god."
This just pops up out of nowhere on page 193. The ancient evil god Anu would seem to have a modern analogue!
So I was on high alert for more of this as I continued to read. Here is the second excerpt from page 208:
Emzara's [Noah's wife, taken prisoner by Anu] heart had bled for her son [Ham] from the day he was take from her. [Ham was born in captivity and raised mostly apart from Emzara to become a high priest in Anu's realm.] She did not hold it against him. How could he know the goodness that was hidden from him. She had taught him of El-him as best she could with the few visits she could get throught the years. But what chance did she have with a system of idolatry that controlled his every waking moment from the education he received to the entertainment he imbibed?
So it would seem that Godawa intends his book not just to be about the time of Noah and the Flood, but of our own day too. And for me at least, this added significant value to the book.
The appendices at the end of the book run nearly 100 additional pages. I've only skimmed these so far, but I haven't noticed anything political (in the modern sense) in them.
ML/NJ
Lots of opinions on the “giants in the land” before the flood, but there is nothing to confirm anyone’s opinion on the topic. We’ll find out someday, if we care by then.
One of the problems with this is that if the nephilim were one of the reasons to wipe out all living creatures, where did the “giants” in the promised land in the days of Joshua come from?
You can listen to a interview with the author at VFTB.
This is only "Book One." Based upon the way it ends, I think that Godawa might deal with this question when the time comes.
ML/NJ
This sounds like what may have influenced Tolkein and any number of fantasy writers.
ML/NJ
I’ve glossed over this at VFTB. Sooner or later I’ll listen to the interview.
...and there were Giants in the land who had come to the City of the Atlanteans to do battle.
But the Falcons of the City of the Atlanteans were waxing strong and defeated the Giants of the East............
http://www.greatauthorsonline.com/antediluvian
Antediluvian
by R. P. Nettelhorst
Set in a high-tech world where much of the solar system has been colonized, Noah Benseth’s family is part of the ruling dynasty of the Solar Union, which governs the warmer inner planets. The Outer World Federation, or Outworlders, controls the worlds from Jupiter and beyond. Coveting the warm worlds of the Solar Union, the Outworlders begin a war of conquest.
As his family defends their home, God pays a visit — because of hatred and selfishness, civilization will be destroyed; only Noah and his family will be spared.
This is the story of Noah and the Ark like you’ve never read it before...
Madeleine L’Engle has a book that deals with the subject. It’s part of her “A Wrinkle in Time” series.
http://www.amazon.com/Many-Waters-Time-Quartet-Bk/dp/0440405483
The text seems to answer your question by stating that this is not the only time that these gaints were upon the earth. And it is suggested that they are called by differnet names at differnet times.
So I was curious about the Godawa's use of "box." Sure enough I looked up "box" in my little Hebrew-English Dictionary and the first listing I found was tevah. So then I went to the Oxford English Dictionary and looked up "ark," and it seems that the first meaning of this word is "box."
ML/NJ
The scriptures testify to the Nefilim’s presence before and after the flood.
If, ancient witness to the ability of the “GODS” to fly is accurate, a flying Ark can be surmised to being the mechanism that provided the “in those days; and also after that”.
The “Book of Enoch” was quoted in the scriptures and read by the early church. It is quite explicit in details as to the world at that time.
Bookmark
Yes, that’s always been a question for me. I’ve seen three possible explanations.
1. The giants were included with the “beasts” taken aboard the ark. This is the most ridiculous one, since it would contravene one of the purposes of the flood in the first place.
2. Some of the giants survived the flood somehow, but not aboard the ark. This, I think, is also far-fetched, since it also seems to contradict passages in the Bible about Noah and his family being the only survivors.
3. The post-flood giants were made again by the same method as the pre-flood giants. This seems more reasonable, except that it would seem to make the flood unnecessary if destroying the giants was a main purpose of it. Also, it wouldn’t explain why more giants weren’t just made again after David & co. exterminated the post-flood giants.
This question still puzzles me. I’m actually formulating a novel involving the Nephilim, but in a totally different setting from this guy’s, so I’m going to have to come up with a way to explain this :)
Since this isn’t one of the “main and plain” issues, and definitely not a salvation issue,
I just treat it as a matter of curiosity.
Yes, the ark wasn’t so much a boat as it was a big floating wooden box. God was the rudder.
Someone created a model of the ark based on the Biblical measurements, in a long rectangular shape, and they found after testing it that it was a very good shape for enduring rough seas, so long as you don’t need to steer or propel the ship.
Maybe Noah/Flood/Giants aren’t real, but a fanciful story.
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