SYNOPSIS
Speculative Biblical Epic by Brian Godawa
It Takes a Man of Giant Faith to Face the Giants of Canaan.
After four hundred years of slavery to their Egyptian oppressors, Israel has escaped into the desert and are prepared to enter the land of Canaan that God had promised them. There’s only one problem: It’s crawling with giants. And these giants are the Seed of the Serpent, linked to the nefarious Nephilim before the Flood.
Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, have the faith to face these monsters whose murderous idolatry defiles the land. But first, they must take the land across the Jordan River to establish a bridgehead to launch their invasion.
But this land is the territory of King Og of Bashan, the last of the mighty Rephaim giants who worship the goddess of war, Ashtart. And Ashtart has plans to annihilate Israel with an evil occultic army.
The War of the Seed is climaxing in this first of two companion novels, including Caleb Vigilant.
Speculative Biblical Epic by Brian Godawa
You’re Never Too Old to Take on Giants.
In this companion volume to Joshua Valiant, the story of the conquest of the Promised Land of Canaan continues. Moses has died, the Israelites stand poised to invade Canaan. Their first target: The impenetrable mighty walls of Jericho.
But God has been preparing a pagan harlot named Rahab to help Israel. They soon discover through prophecy that she is a crucial link to God’s plan of redemption for the Seed of Abraham. And she has fallen in love with an Israelite warrior whose child she bears.
Unfortunately, the Anakim giants of Canaan have also discovered Rahab’s identity and have sent assassins to take her out.
Now Joshua and Caleb must protect Rahab at the same time as they assault the Anakim stronghold and face the tallest, most ruthless of all giants: The brothers Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai. Worse yet, the patron deity of the Anakim is the storm god Ba’al. They’re going to need the archangels real bad or they haven’t got a chance.
This is what the War of the Seed has been building towards.
Chronicles of the Nephilim is written in the mythic genre of The Lord of the Rings and Narnia, blending fantasy and mythopoeia with history to retell the Biblical narrative with a fresh perspective, while staying true to the original spirit of the story.
CHARACTERS
Joshua
The assistant of Moses, leader of Israel. Joshua is a man of blood, sweat and earth. A true gibborim warrior of discipline. Because of his leadership in battle against the Amalekites, he soon becomes the proxy general for Moses over all the armed forces of Israel. He is driven by a passion for Yahweh’s law and holiness. So much so that he has little tolerance or compassion for the failures of others, until he comes face to face with his own darkness of soul.
Caleb
Joshua’s elder, and truest friend and ally. A Canaanite adopted into the tribe of Judah, the only other spy, along with Joshua, who trusted Yahweh would deliver them against the giants. Caleb is Joshua’s foil. He is a warrior of heavenly art and freedom. Where Joshua trains hard with brute fighting techniques, Caleb studies the Way of the Karabu, an angelic fighting style of beauty and dance. He has the whip sword called “Rahab” handed down through Jacob to his clan. He struggles with his identity as an adopted Israelite, which is why he falls in love with the convert harlot Rahab. But she is betrothed to another man and carries his child. Will love be Caleb’s downfall or his redemption?
Rahab the harlot
The owner of an inn and brothel in Jericho. Because of her disillusionment with Canaanite culture, she converts to Israel and becomes pregnant by a warrior of the tribe of Judah. She soon discovers that she has a prophesied importance in the lineage of the Seed of Abraham, but cannot accept it. She feels unworthy because of her dark past. Can Yahweh truly atone for such heinous sins? Especially one secret that she is sure will rip her out of her privileged status if ever uncovered.
Arisha of Banias
This is a young woman through whose eyes we experience the heart and soul of Canaan — as well as its darkest underbelly. Born and raised to be a nymph for the clan of Sereim at the foot of Mount Hermon, she seeks to free herself from the enslavement of the Satyrs who control her people. She soon embarks on a journey through Canaan that will bring her face to face with far more heinous evils than she ever imagined existed. Will she find salvation from the evil she seeks to escape? Who is this mysterious tribe she keeps hearing about called “Habiru?”
Moses
The leader of Israel. He has become impatient with the sin of God’s people. He has forgotten his own weaknesses and where he came from as an insignificant man with a stuttering problem. He has lost his sense of Yahweh’s grace. One big mistake wrought of pride will keep him from forever entering the Promised Land and force him to deal with his flaws.
Neferhetep (Moses’ Wife)
Og of Bashan
Last of the Rephaim, ruler of the sixty cities of Bashan, place of the serpent. He is a giant king of close to thirteen feet tall, whose alliance with Sihon in the Transjordan is mere pretense for his plans of total conquest. When he discovers Joshua is coming his way in order to enter Canaan, Og plans to wreak total destruction upon his Israelite nemesis with an army of giants backed by the dark forces of Ashtart, goddess of war and Molech, god of the underworld.
Sihon of Heshbon
Ruler of the land of Moab where the Israelites have to cross over the Jordan to get into Canaan. He is the first obstacle in Moses’ way, and he is an ally of Og.Though he is not a giant, his people are very savage warriors who dress up in wild attire to strike fear into their enemies.
Ahiman, Sheshai, & Talmai (Sons of Anak)
These are the fiercest giants all the land from the Anakim clan. They live in the city of Kiriath-arba, the grave site of Abraham, with whom their people have a blood feud. Ahiman is the tallest at 15 feet and the mightiest warrior, but not too sharp of mind. Sheshai is the middle one whose political cunning ensures their ambition, and Talmai, the youngest, has a violent temper not to be trifled with. And the worst thing of all is that they are hunting Rahab in order to hit the Israelites where it would hurt them the most: Thier promised seedline.
The Archangels
The four archangels of the throne of Yahweh. Mikael is the prince leader, strong, responsible yet not without a good sense of humor. But like the bigger brother, always has to “break it up” when the other archangels bicker. Uriel is the talkative one, a bit rascally, and witty. Gabriel is whimsical and energetic, always ready to jest. Raphael is the quiet one, more cerebral. But all of them are the mightiest warriors of Yahweh’s heavenly host. And their goal: To bind Ba’al and Ashtart into the heart of the earth in order for God’s people to inherit the land of Canaan.
Baal
The most high storm god of Canaan. He is the patron deity of the Anakim and has been building his palace in the far regions of the north on Mount Sapan, a new holy mountain for the assembly of gods to meet. This is a cosmic source of power that the archangels are not prepared to face when they hunt him down to bind him.
Ashtart (Ashtoreth)
Goddess of sex and war. Ashtart is the patron deity of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. She has a plan to use a secretly developed deep sorcery to conjure up an enemy against the archangels the likes of which they have never faced. Will they bind her or will they be consumed by her occultic army of the living dead?
Molech
God of the underworld, the abomination of the Moabites. He loves little children, especially when they are burning on his sacrificial altar. This one is so despicable even Ashtart is disgusted with him. But he has plans for protecting his interests in the land of Canaan.
Lilith
Lilith is the succubus who protects Gaia, the Mother Earth Goddess with her two little demon girls, Lili and Lilu. She has a long history as an enemy of God’s people, going all the way back to Enoch. Her world tree now resides in Bashan near the Seirim tribe. (See the Story Art section for pictures of the Seirim and their Satyr leaders)
Horus of Egypt
One of the high gods of Egypt. Half humanoid, half falcon. He travels to Canaan to warn Ashtart that the Israelites are coming their way, and she should be very afraid. After all,their god had destroyed the gods of Egypt with plagues and then disarmed their army by drowning them in the Red Sea. Egypt has been decimated as a world power. And now Yahweh is coming on a swift cloud to Canaan.