CompleteMartialArts.com - Hittite Warrior (Living History Library)
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List Price: $13.95
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Manufacturer: Bethlehem Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9781883937386
ISBN: 1883937388
Label: Bethlehem Books
Manufacturer: Bethlehem Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 237
Publication Date: 1999-04
Publisher: Bethlehem Books
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Studio: Bethlehem Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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In ca. 1200 B.C., Uriah the Hittite leaves his conquered homeland and, following his father's instruction, seeks refuge with an old family friend, eventually finding himself in a great battle between the Canaanite forces of Sisera and the Hebrew forces of Barak.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Cleverly written
Comment: "Hittite Warrior" tells the tale of a young noble Hittite, Uriah, who is orphaned when his land is overrun by the mysterious and savage Sea People. Escaping to the south, Uriah comes to live with a family in Tyre, then under the domination of Egypt--the perennial enemies of the Hittites. Though he scorns writing and ciphering of the Tyrian traders at first, Uriah quickly learns to appreciate their skills.
However, the gruesome, child-devouring cult of Moloch is alive and well in Tyre and eventually, Uriah and his Hebrew companion Jotham run afoul of the priests and are forced to flee to the wilderness, having saved young Jabin who was meant for the sacrifice. There they become entangled in the battle between Sisera of Harosheth and the Hebrews under Barak and the prophetess Deborah. How Uriah comes through this battle and which side finally claims his loyalty is the key conflict of "Hittite Warrior."
This is exactly the kind of book I would have enjoyed reading as a kid. Heck, even as an adult, I had a great time with it. I found the characters to be complex and well fleshed-out. The plot was interesting and kept you guessing. I especially liked the first person narrative style--something that's not often seen these days. I thought it brought an intimacy to the character of Uriah and helped display his cultural quirks. The author clearly did a tremendous amount of research and I appreciated how she tied all the ancient stories, myths, and archaeological detail together with the record from the Scriptures.
Some other reviewers have complained about the writing style. While the prose is occasionally awkward, it is certainly no more so than that of the Harry Potter series and it did not dampen my enthusiasm for this book, nor stunt my reading speed in any way. Simply put, this is a great book for kids 10 and up--my own will be reading it when they're old enough.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Fiction
Comment: An excellent resource for learning ancient history and the Old Testament. Really shows how wicked the Canaanite peoples were and why God commanded that the Israelites not be influenced by them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Comment: This is an amazing book. It almost beats my Harry Potter books it's so good! I finished it yesterday at the DENTIST, of all places. You see.....I had to take it with me everywhere I went. I really like to read about this time era....it interests me so much. I would rather read this book again than watch TV. If you interested in reading it.....take my word for it....it's GREAT!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Generally fairly good, but the ending needed work
Comment: Hittite Warrior is an original book set in the thirteenth century BCE. It is perhaps the only childrens' book in print in which the main character is a Hittite, by name Uriah, who flees his crumbling kingdom and ends up with family friends in the Phoenician city of Tyre. Kidnapped by Israelites from the interior, Uriah gains a unique insight into the two-sidedness of the war that follows.
Sadly, this so far fun read stumbles and falls when it reaches the ending. Inexplicably, the book abruptly changes direction and the ending simply does not make sense in conjunction with the rest of the story, perhaps because the moral behind the book didn't fit with the plot with the plot; Uriah's actions made little sense and the Hebrews' less. It wasn't terrible - it had a good message about forgiveness - but it very badly needed streamlining with the rest of the story, and the characters' motives could have done with much more attention. For me, it just seemed too implausible and somewhat soured my experience of the novel, which was a shame.
The characterisation of this book was competent, although some of the characters felt a little lifeless. The writing strategy was equally competent - a previous reviewer has correctly pointed out it's occasional clumsiness, but by in large it keeps the book going. This book's real strength and driving force was it's plot, which was full of adventure, action, and fascinating descriptions of civilisations neglected by history. Overall, a just about worthwhile read for anyone under the age of 13 or so.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good book, very bad end
Comment: This book is set at one of history's defining points: the old, civilised states of Egypt, Phoenicia and Hattusas are crumbling beneath the advance of younger, stronger peoples; the Achaeans (a.k.a. the Philistines) and the Hebrew tribes. The main protagonist is a young Hittite noble, Uriah, who, having fled his ravaged nation, flees south to settle with friends in the Phoenician trading city of Tyre. He is forced to help in the kidnapping/rescue of a child that has been designated for sacrifice, and ends up joining with the Hebrews, among whom he also makes friends. However, as the Hebrew people move into Phoenician territory, Uriah feels that his loyalties lie overall with the Tyrians, so he deserts the Hebrews to join the much smaller army of Egyptians and Canaanites gathering against them. However, despite their best efforts, bad weather causes the defeat of the Canaanites. Uriah barely escapes.
All this high quality writing is, however, squandered. The skillful character development, good plotting and unbiased account of the different peoples is thrown away so that the author can convey some envangelical rubbish to us. Basically, Uriah suddenly decides to go BACK TO THE ISRAELITES, the people he's just been fighting, in search of some spiritual guidance. The Israelites promptly accept him, a man that had previously despised him has his opinion of his IMPROVED by his betrayal and gives his blessings for Uriah to marry his sister. Typically, Uriah then looks at the stars, and decides he wants to convert as well. Right.
Anyway, this is basically a well researched, well written book with a very biased ending that ignores the rest of the book.
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