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54th out of 417 books
—
325 voters
No Unhallowed Hand (The Work and the Glory #7)
As this volume opens, it is a time of great sadness and of uncertainty. Having lost their beloved prophet, the Saints witness a series of power plays by those who would use the opportunity to further their own interests. It is not long, however, before the Lord's purposes are made apparent and the Twelve take their rightful position as leaders of the Church, with Brigham Y...more
Paperback, 656 pages
Published
February 1st 2007
by Deseret Book
(first published October 15th 1996)
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I read the first six volumes a few years ago, and became very engrossed in the story of the fictional Steed family. Unfortunately forces combined that didn't allow me to finish the last 3 books until this month. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them; perhaps because this has been my primary source of church history. Sad, but at least Lund does an excellent job with endnotes for each chapter delineating which portions were fact or fiction and expounding on the facts for those (like me) who don't reall...more
I originally read this book as a teenager. At that time I was obsessed with the series. I thrilled over every character relationship, I wondered what would happen next, and I fervently hoped that the Steeds were real people.
I decided to re-read this book to see if I still liked it 10+ years later. I picked this book because as a teenager I'd read the first 6 books every time a new addition to the series came out, and I'm still a little bit sick of them.
At first this book got on my nerves a lit...more
I decided to re-read this book to see if I still liked it 10+ years later. I picked this book because as a teenager I'd read the first 6 books every time a new addition to the series came out, and I'm still a little bit sick of them.
At first this book got on my nerves a lit...more
I was somewhat resistant to the idea of reading these books - I didn't take the time to really see what they were all about, I just assumed that since they seemed so 'trendy' at the time, they would probably be 'light' reading or even 'corny.' I was SO wrong... and I'm SO glad that I realized that if my mom was enjoying them so much and recommending them to me, they must be worthwhile.
This series, along with the Kent Family Chronicles (by John Jakes, about the United States), made me fall in lov...more
This series, along with the Kent Family Chronicles (by John Jakes, about the United States), made me fall in lov...more
I am currently on the 7th book in the series and have read the series once before. My family history follows the Mormon church from the Kirtland period through to the present. I enjoy the author's notes at the end of each chapter which clarify which events are from real history and which are the author's device. It has been helpful to me to understand the history of the Mormon church through the perspectives of characters living at that time.
Although I didn't feel as connected to this book as the last, it was still a great work of historical fiction. I really like the association of the women that is included in this book. The Relief Society is formed and the women answer the call to help in so many ways. I also just like the every day associations he creates. The walks in silence, because you don't always have to talk. The simple acts of kindness that mean so much, etc.
One of the things I appreciate in this novel is the coverage of...more
One of the things I appreciate in this novel is the coverage of...more
This book has many important lessons in it, I have found it to be inspiring, happy, and very devastating. It starts off with the saints still recovering from the tragic death of their beloved prophet and friend Joseph Smith one of the greatest men to ever live. This book has inspired me in many ways but I have to say my heart was overwhelmed with joy when Kathryn and Peter and Will and Alice were married, I never really liked Jenny Pottsworth at all so I was very happy at the news of the young c...more
This book takes place during the aftermath of the martyrdoms of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The church and many individual members are going through difficult and trying times. The Steed family doesn't escape trials and must deal with the prospect of separation again as the saints prepare to leave Nauvoo. I enjoyed this book just as much as most of the others in the series. No one thing stood out to me as exceptionally good or bad. I felt many of the same feelings the characters felt especially with...more
The United States of America is the country founded by seekers of freedom from oppressive governments. But did you know the Mormon Church, born on April 6th, 1830 in New York State, was forced with violence from New York, to Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, and ultimately west across the plains and over the Rocky Mountains—because of their beliefs? The governor of Missouri actually issued an official declaration that all Mormons were to be driven from the state or exterminated. It has always been...more
Jan 07, 2013
Angie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
lds-authors
I've got to hand it to Elder Lund--he's given all of us the opportunity to delve into this important time period of church history. Many times throughout the series, I've rolled my eyes a little at the predictable ways the characters react to various announcements and rumors, but I don't think Lund was aiming to make every reaction interesting: his goal was to make them historically accurate. All the historical detail, the characterization of certain characters, work together to transport us bac...more
This is another wonderful book in this series. The church is trying to decide what should happen after the death of the beloved prophet Joseph. For quite some time, there is peace from the church's enemies and Nauvoo prospers. They continue with the building of the temple in Nauvoo. The Steed family continues to grow. Finally, the mobs come back and want to push the saints out of the state. The saints decide they need to leave for the Rocky Mountains. This definitely gave me a new appreciation o...more
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Finally, I'm coking to the end of this series! I've certainly enjoyed it and the journey has been worth it but...oh the saccharin narrative! Oh the unbelievably SWEET family! I felt that the blending of the family with the historical timeline in which they were living could have been handled a little more masterfully and objectively. With the exception of Joshua, who's is the only truly interesting character throughout the series, the characters seem wooden, perfect, too good, and their relation...more
My brothers friends would run in and out of our house, while I just sat there and was glued to this book. Mostly likely there thoughts were we on a Friday night would you be home reading. And was they would run by I would hardly notice there were once there standing feet away from me just moments ago. "Mom, I'm already on page 300." I said one the third day of having the book in my grasp.
This was a wonderful book. I got so caught up in it. There were time I would find my eyes misty as the Ste...more
This was a wonderful book. I got so caught up in it. There were time I would find my eyes misty as the Ste...more
Book 7 picks up the day after book 6- Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith have been martyred in Carthage.
There is a lot of confusion, mostly about what will happen to the Church now that the prophet is dead. The anti's believe that without Joseph Smith, there will be no Mormon church. Brigham Young and the rest of the twelve apostles come back from their missions just in time, as Sidney Rigdon was attempting to convince the Saints that he was to be called as "Guardian of the church" and would "build u...more
There is a lot of confusion, mostly about what will happen to the Church now that the prophet is dead. The anti's believe that without Joseph Smith, there will be no Mormon church. Brigham Young and the rest of the twelve apostles come back from their missions just in time, as Sidney Rigdon was attempting to convince the Saints that he was to be called as "Guardian of the church" and would "build u...more
Although this book provides some insight into the final Illinois years for the church, I felt like it was mostly setting up the characters for the next volume. From this perspective it seemed a little contrived. The contention between the leaders of the church during this time and who had the authority (keys) to lead the church was interesting. I think many of the stories are well known but putting them into context and chronological order helped me to better understand what occured and why.
For the exodus coming up so fast, it sure took a long time telling about it. So happy that Ben was able to serve in missionary-like capacity. I definitely have my favorite characters (Ben, Nathan, Lydia Matthew, Rebekah) and my can't stand (Savannah, Catherine, Melissa). There also those I think I would like a lot more if it weren't for the narration (Jennifer Jo, Alice). Some parts of this book seemed very redundant to me, and so much focused on the family and not Church History. I think it is...more
Same review for all nine books (which I read in the years 1999 and 2000). I really enjoyed this series of historical fiction which tells the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The author does a great job of creating a fictional family who knows everyone. This allows the history to be told in a way that can be more interesting than a history book, while preserving historical information.
By book 7 I started to get a bit tired of reading the same thing but it is still excellent reading and story telling.
This entire series is wonderful. It takes a fictional family and places them in the middle of the story of the Mormons (the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and moves them through the early history of the LDS Church tell the story of the growth of the church as well as the growth of the Steed Family. I learned a lot and it put a lot of things into context for me as wel...more
This entire series is wonderful. It takes a fictional family and places them in the middle of the story of the Mormons (the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and moves them through the early history of the LDS Church tell the story of the growth of the church as well as the growth of the Steed Family. I learned a lot and it put a lot of things into context for me as wel...more
Gerald Lund does a wonderful job of researching Church history and remaining faithful to the events that happened -- but his cliches and repetitive dialogue, unbelievable characters, and storylines that bog down in too many characters made finishing the series a teeth-gritting chore. But the three stars are for all I learned -- it was maybe worth it.
You'll see from my reviews that I felt this whole series went downhill, fast. I like the history part of it, so I gave up reading about the Steeds and went to Church History.
The Steeds really started to BUG.
That being said, I told my father's side of the family that I did not love these books and now I'm out of the will.
The Steeds really started to BUG.
That being said, I told my father's side of the family that I did not love these books and now I'm out of the will.
view all 6 comments
Not Lund's best writing but still an enjoyable read. A fictional story intertwined into the early history if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's interesting how they persevered all the struggles of those days.
I got a little annoyed with the style of writing he chose for Alice Samuelson there at the end but even that couldn't stop me from straight up crying the last 50 pages. And I don't cry when I read books. WOW!
Love all of these books that deal with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the history of the beginning of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Lets you live it through a fictional characters eyes.
I read all of these books in one summer. Some I like better than others and I never made it through the last two. I just got tired of reading "She/he sobbed convulsively" and "If he/she noticed, he/she made no sign."
I LOVE this series. If you're not reading it because it's church fiction or it's a fad, you're only hurting yourself. I learned SO much about the history of the Mormon church from these novels.
Even though this is the 7th Volume in the continuing saga of the Steed family, it has some informative historical background and a couple of surprise incidents that kept me reading.
The more you read this series the more wrapped up in it you get. Like the other books, a great church history lesson and appreciation of what life was like back then.
Oct 28, 2009
Angie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
church-history,
lds-fiction
As the exodus west starts I found the books in this series getting a little too much. There was too much "happily ever after" and the last books are missing the edge that the first books had. I enjoyed the stories of the courage and trials of the early saints, this was just a little too "happily ever after" for my taste.
I have learned so much about Church history through this series--small things I wasn't aware of. I find my own testimony and respect for the early pioneers deepening.
This was my least fave of the series. I don't know if it was slower, or if the series is so long I was getting tired of it.
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