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Summary: The Best Series I've Ever Read
Review: After reading this series I can definetly say Bodie Thoene is one of my favorite authors! This series is incredible! You won't be able to put them down! With very real lovable characters Bodie Thoene portrays the harsh realities of what went on during World WarII. The books center around Elisa Linder, a half Jewish violinist living in Vienna, and John Murphy an American reporter. You'll feel the joy and pain these characters and others go through, and you'll get romance, action, and education along with it!
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Summary: I read this entire series last spring. Great stories!
Review: I had never heard of these authors and didn't know what to expect when I started this series. I was very pleased to discover how well written and historically correct they were. They appeal to both young people and adult readers. I work in a high school/middle school library and have found that once someone reads one of the Thoene books, he/she are hooked! The character development is great also--very real people and I appreciate the moral/Christian response of the characters.
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Summary: A MUST READ, MUST BUY!
Review: I have only recently been introduced to Bodie Thoene, but I became an instant fan with Vienna Prelude. Some of the twists in the book had my mouth dropping open. In the world of espionage, you don't know who to trust and who not to--these books brought that alive. They are written about a time before even my parents were born, and it's mouth-droolingly interesting to see what could have happened in this totally foreign world. I've never read anything like these and am in the process of buying all of Thoene's books. I'm even buying for my mother and telling everyone else about them. OUTSTANDING READ!
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Summary: Everything you could possibly want a series of books to be..
Review: I just finished reading the final book of the series this morning and I am already missing my old friends. This is the third time I have read the series and I am still in love with the characters and the beautiful stories that Bodie Thoene weaves together. There is a mesmerizing blend of intrigue, love, danger, faith, good and evil and I have found my faith challenged once again by the strong values held by the heroes of these stories. Bodie Thoene is sometimes brutally honest in her depiction of the terror and inhumanity of Hitler and his Nazis, but I never had the idea that she was being senselessly violent; there was a reason for every move that everyone of these vividly-drawn, realistic characters make. There is also a woderful balance to the books. It is not what I would call "Christian fiction." To me, these novels are so beautifully written and crafted that they would stand proudly beside some of the best literature of the 20th century.
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Summary: Am I the only one to criticize these books?
Review: I'll say that the books are interesting. They definitely have that in their favor. However, I have just finished reading some of the other online reviews for the Zion Covenant Series, and it seems that everyone loved them instantly, without finding anything to criticize about them. Well, I'll give you a more critical opinion to help guide you in your book purchases: If you DON'T care for books in which....
1. ...the characters are very stereotypical;
2. ...the authors take great liberties with the thoughts, words, and actions of actual historical figures and make them say and do things that you know they never did, or would have done;
3. ...the main characters are great pals with the actual historical figures, and are rich, are beautiful, are witty- in short, have absolutely everything they need to accomplish the story and aren't very believable;
4. ...the plot isn't believable;
Then, these books might not be just right for you. Yes, the books are very interesting. The plots aren't very believable, but they are interesting. The history contained in them is written well, and the books are worth reading for that alone. Unfortunately, these books are more of the same historical fiction in which overall unbelievability prevails, and that spoiled the books for me. Now, if you are not picky about having great people in history meddled with (for example, at one point in the third book Winston Churchill gets involved in a plot to kidnap the heroine, because she would be so exceedingly valuable as a spy for the Allies), and you don't worry about the other points in my list either, then you probably will like the books. For reading for amusement, they are fine. But if you want really great historical fiction, I wouldn't suggest the Zion Covenant.
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Summary: BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT! YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED!
Review: I'm 14 years old. I started reading the series about 6 years ago and i haven't put them down since. I have read these books about seventeen times EACH, and every time, i find something that i missed before. They are the most wonderful, realistic books i have ever read, and coming from a great Christian author makes them even better! I spend half my life in the exact valleys which the books take place in, and everywhere i go i can see Murphy, Elisa, Theo, Rudy and many others walking in the old streets with me. These books are FULL of adventure, romance, and history, and with all my heart i urge you to buy the and read them, they are a treasure which will last you the whole of your lives.
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Summary: Am I the only one to criticize these books?
Review: If you start reading this series, you will not be able to put the books down! Against the backdrop of pre-WWII Europe, the Thoenes create characters that are true to life, and that you can't help but root for -- or against. These books are incredibly well-researched and well written, and a great investment of your time and money. You won't be disappointed!
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Summary: This Series Makes History Live!
Review: This series is about pre-World War II Nazi Germany. It makes history come alive as it describes Hitler's driving passion to conquer the world, and England's passiveness in allowing Hitler to have his way. The books tell the story of the Lindheim family, who were rich Christian Jews. Elisa, a violinist in the Vienna Orchestra, is forced to hide her Jewish ancestry from her friends as anit-Semitism continues to rise and is torn away from the man she loves when he becomes in the Nazi cause. Theo Lindheim was a World War I hero for the Fatherland of Germany, but soon his friends and fellow officers began to turn on him and finally had him arrested and put in a Jewish concentration camp. Throughout the series, the Lindheims help many Jews, especially children, escape the wrath of the Jew-hating Nazis. The series is written in an easy-to-read manner, yet you come away knowing more about history than you even realize. You will probably come away hating Prime Minister Chamberlain and his spineless actions, despising Hitler for his inhumane persecutions, loving Winston Churchill for standing the right, and laughing and crying with the Lindheims as they experience joy and tragedy. This series is a must for any lover of historical fiction.
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Summary: Must Read
Review: Vienna Prelude is the first book in an amazing series. The characters are intriguing and Thoene's ability to show the struggle of the Jewish resistance in pre-WWII Europe is incredible.
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