Category: Age of the Kingdom Series

I was not prepared for what I got when I gave Quest for a King to a company which offers feedback to authors (for a fee). I never talked to the reviewer; we only corresponded through email, but from the tone and content of the review and counsel I received, I’m pretty sure the reviewer was a female recently graduated from a decidedly secular university.

One thing that gave it away was that she said she wasn’t sure who to root for: Israel or the Philistines. In fact, she had to look up Philistines on Wikipedia! She didn’t know ANYTHING about them.

Continue reading How To Research 3,000-year-old Historical Fiction (part 1) 1 Comment

I recently was notified that Exile of the King, the second novel in the Age of the Kingdom series, has won the Gold Medal for Adult Fiction at the Christian Book Awards.

Quest for a King, the first novel in the series also won this award, so I praise God for this blessing.

The Age of the Kingdom series follows several families through multiple generations during the time leading up to and during Israel’s united monarchy 3,000 years ago. Quest and Exile cover the years prior to King Saul through his death in battle.

The series will continue with The Eternal Kingdom, which traces the first half of King David’s reign, and the fourth novel, yet to be named, will cover the second half of David’s reign.

There will either be five or six novels in the series, depending on whether the reign of Solomon is given two volumes.

Quest for a King and Exile of the King are available now and can be purchased here or at Amazon.com or your bookstore can order them from Ingram.

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Exile of the King, the second novel of the Age of the Kingdom series, is now available to order as of December 1, 2023. This book picks up where Quest for a King left off – right after David kills Goliath. Will Azel desert his post to follow David into exile? Will Jeriah remain loyal to King Saul and can he avoid being caught up in the king’s obsessions?

Here’s what some have said about it:

“After reading Quest for a King, I couldn’t wait to continue the riveting sequel in Exile of the King. If you love to read well-researched historical books that bring scripture alive, this book does not disappoint! I didn’t want to put Exile of the King down ‘til I’d read the whole book!”

Ruth Arthurs, MSW

“I loved this second installment in the Age of the Kingdom series. Gary Ivey takes the Biblical narrative of the emerging Kingdom of Israel and makes it come to life with a book that’s hard to put down. Can’t wait for the next volume of this saga!”

Bill Barley, BS, JD, Pastor, Living Stone Church

“In Exile of the King, Gary Ivey once more shows us the difference between reading the Bible and living the Bible. The author has an uncanny ability to bring the Bible’s outsize characters to life by surrounding them with credible characters and interactions that we can recognize from our own lives.

“The Bible’s tales have always been timeless, but now they are made both timeless and immediate through the unswerving use of vivid detail. David’s years in the wilderness, while spanning a few chapters in the Bible, are here given their due as the backbone of an entire novel.

“The brotherhood of Jonathan and David, Saul’s erratic temper, the sacking of Ziklag by the Amalekites, and the final battle with the Philistines in the Jezreel Valley, are all well-known biblical events that we can now remember as if we had lived through them. The details in Exile even extend to the day-to-day details of the characters’ lives:  the food they prepare, how they dress, and the chores they perform as part of their day. All of this draws the reader in and makes this book extremely hard…if not impossible…to put down.”

Brett Goldberg, BA, author of A Psalm in Jenin

Check Amazon.com or my “Shop” page to order a signed copy.

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