Product Description

Bestselling author Tommy Tenney expands the extraordinary story of Esther like no novelist has done before. Both a thriller and a Jewish woman's memoir, Hadassah takes readers to ancient Persia (now known as Iraq), into the inner sanctum of the palace and back out into the war zones of battle and political intrigue. This gripping drama of a simple peasant girl chosen over many more qualified candidates to become Esther, Queen of Persia, captures the imagination and fires the emotions of men and women alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2139812 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-15
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio Cassette

From Publishers Weekly
Despite a few glitches, there is much to like about this coauthored novel from Tenney, best known for his nonfiction book The God Chasers, and Olsen, a writer whose work includes screenplays. Esther, queen of Persia, who inspired the eponymous book of the Bible, is a fascinating character whose story lends itself well to a fictional retelling. The novel opens as a contemporary woman named Hadassah receives a letter penned by Esther (also called "Hadassah" and "Star" in the novel) and passed down through her family for generations. The reading of the letter transports the reader back to the Persian Empire (a similar device is used in Bodie and Brock Thoene's Zion Legacy series). Several time periods and points of view make for a slow start, but the pacing picks up when Esther becomes the focus. The dialogue is stiff in places, and some readers will find the use of "G-d" rather than "God" out of reverence rather tiresome. However, from their imaginative fleshing out of Esther's unusual girlhood and preparation for her tryst with the king to the uttering of her famous words, "If I perish, I perish," the authors reinvigorate an age-old story. The sexual tension and violence necessary to the tale are rendered inoffensive for the evangelical Christian market, and a few surprise twists will catch readers familiar with the story off-balance. CBA readers should enjoy this account of one of the Bible's most courageous heroines.
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From AudioFile
Jews celebrate the story of sweet Esther and evil Haman every Purim. Author Tenney spins the story colorfully and creatively, with Aimee Lilly breathlessly delivering the prose. HADASSAH does a nice job of delving into the captive become queen whose Jewish roots must remain hidden until they are revealed to an astonished King Xerxes and his subjects at a critical moment. There is no lack of pathos and pride in the recording, and the story moves along steadily to a clever denouement. A religious audiobook without proselytizing is a bit of a relief. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Tommy Tenney is the bestselling author of many books and his first, The God Chasers, continues to be a bestseller. He spent 10 years as a pastor and more recently over 20 years in itinerant ministry. He has preached in more than 40 countries around the world. He and his wife, Jeannie, have three daughters and reside in Louisiana.  ---------

Mark Andrew Olsen is a talented writer whose screenplays and other writing have provided a wealth of experience from which to collaborate with Tenney on this novel. He and his family make their home in Colorado Springs, Colorado.