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    Palace of Darkness: A Novel of Petra
    Unavailable
    Palace of Darkness: A Novel of Petra
    Unavailable
    Palace of Darkness: A Novel of Petra
    Ebook313 pages6 hours

    Palace of Darkness: A Novel of Petra

    By Tracy Higley

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In an ancient city carved from stone, one desperate young woman searches for peace—in the calm before the Romans attack.

    In AD 106, a single mother can be certain of one thing—destitution. So Cassia and her six-year-old son flee to Petra, seeking refuge in the loving arms of family.

    But the great stone city is not what Cassia imagined. And family cannot be trusted. When a secret reveals her son’s true bloodline, the boy becomes the target of a royal conspiracy. He’s snatched from Cassia’s grasp.

    In her darkest hours, Cassia finds herself surrounded by followers of the Way, a subversive new religious group whose disciples are frequently sentenced to arenas with starved lions and blood-soaked sand. Why would they seek out more danger by helping her? And what kind of religion gives freely and asks for nothing in return?

    Roman soldiers soon surround Petra, immersing the city in panic and further endangering Cassia’s son. She realizes he cannot be saved by human efforts alone. Her only hope lies with the followers of the Way . . . and her willingness to trust their One True God.

    Reading Group Guide Included

    “Higley’s meticulous research enhances readers’ understanding of the daring lives of the first Christians.” —RT Book Reviews, of City on Fire

     

    “If you liked Francine Rivers’ A Voice in the Wind, you’ll love Palace of Darkness! It grabbed me from page one and never let go.” —Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateSep 16, 2014
    ISBN9781401687519
    Unavailable
    Palace of Darkness: A Novel of Petra
    Author

    Tracy Higley

    Tracy L. Higley started her first novel at the age of eight and has been hooked on writing ever since. She has authored ten novels, including Garden of Madness and So Shines the Night. Tracy is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Ancient History and has traveled through Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy, researching her novels and falling into adventures. See her travel journals and more at TracyHigley.com

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    Reviews for Palace of Darkness

    4.5/5

    7 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      What a wonderfully rich and descriptive book! Petra is nothing less than enthralling. T. L. Higley’s detailed description of the area of and around Petra was so vivid that I was compelled to Google some photographs. I found that her verbal illustrations were spot-on. The writing is beautiful and the story is interesting. Cassia is a strong character as she faces a new land, new people and danger around every corner. She is not sure who to trust, but she forms strong bonds with the local Christians.There is a light romance with Julian. He has a difficult decision of whether to follow God’s leading or the woman he loves. Queen Hagiru’s evil plans are truly frightening as she calls upon demonic powers to help her achieve her goal to present her son as King, but the awesome power of God is evident all through the book. This one is certain to end of in my top ten favorite books this year.
    • 5/5
      Petra: City of Stone by T. L. HigleyFirst, I would like to thank the author for the complimentary electronic version of the book, this is my first time to read T.L.Higley.The book begins with Julian leaving Rome because of religious persecution and the next chapter is about Cassia who has left Damascus with her son Alexander because of the death of the father of her son, Aretas. Cassia knows that Aretas is from Petra and wants to find his family.Julian and Cassia meet at the Nymphaeum Fountain in Petra where Alexander and Julian quickly become friends. Julian also meets Malik at the fountain; Malik plays an important part in the lives of Cassia and Julian.Cassia is robbed and attacked the first night in Petra and awakens to find herself and Alexander under protective care of Malik and his followers. It is here she finds that her son is the grandson of the king, Rabbel and heir to the throne. Alexander's father was the estranged son of Rabbel. Rabbel's first wife, Gamilath, Aretas' mother died; King Rabbel remarried and had a son with Hagiru.Cassia takes Alexander to the Royal House to see the King but his wife, Queen Hagiru, refuses to let them see him because she said the King was unavailable; later the King comes into the room and does acknowledge Alexander is his grandson. Hagiru is upset because she thought her son, Obadas, would be the heir to the throne. The King leaves the room and Hagiru tells Cassia her son would be raised by them and she should leave Petra. Julian finds Cassia injured and takes her to Malik. From there the story is based on trying to get Alexander back to Cassia and the finding of Christianity for Cassia. I liked this book and the history of Petra was evident. I thought it would be more on archaeology but found it is based on Christianity. My major is Anthropology/Archaeology and I always have an interest in this subject. I read somewhere that Petra:City of Stone is a book for adults but would highly recommend it for young Christian adults. This is a good book for a book club for a church group or one interested in history. Some tag words I found are Jesus, one God, sandals, amphitheater, death, sacrifice, suffering, strength, stone sculptors, power of Jesus, figs, triclinium, incense, siq and gods which bring you into the time era of the book. Some historical names are Petra, Damascus, Jerusalem, Nymphaeum Fountain, Temple al-Uzza. Petra and Paul of Tarsus. Faith and love are two words used quite a bit. Jesus is very involved with the characters in the book and the reader could sense that with feelings. At one point the "faces" are described as peaceful and there was singing from the Christian group.I found the last chapters of the book more powerful and emotional as Cassia and others try to rescue Alexander from the evil Hagiru. The book definitely has history and encouraged me as the reader to do more research on Petra. Check out some sites on the Internet for more information. I did find T. L. Higley (Tracy) on Facebook. She has traveled through Greece,Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Italy to research. I look forward to reading more of her books.