Plagues and Papyrus

Plagues & Papyrus, Christine Dillon

I have long been a fan of Christine Dillon’s Grace series. They are a six-book fiction series, set in Australia in the 1990s. Dillon weaves bible storytelling, evangelism, and realistic life challenges into believable stories with likeable characters. The whole family enjoyed them, teens and adults alike.

In recent years, she has been writing a Light of Nations series, all set in Old Testament times, and five of a potential 15 are published. I have read many books of a similar genre over the years, some I loved, others opened up biblical times in more detail, and others prompted me to open my Bible and check them for accuracy. Biblical era fiction can prompt different responses in people, and Christine has addressed that directly in this blog post.

I was keen to turn to Dillon’s Plagues and Papyrus, set in the events of Exodus 1-17. Kheti and his family have farmed papyrus along the Nile for generations, with Hebrew slaves as part of their workforce. He is confident in his gods and in the mighty Pharaoh. But his beliefs are challenged as the river turns to blood, his crops fail, and financial ruin threatens. The Hebrew God wants his people released from slavery. What will Kheti, his family, and his neighbours do - will they heed the warnings or try to continue in their own strength? Would the God of the Hebrews even welcome any Egyptians into his chosen people?

Dillon’s bible storytelling skill is again apparent. She weaves scriptural accounts and promises into the narrative. She has made the plagues last about eight months, and presents a realistic picture of what it would have been like to experience them as an Egyptian. She has used slightly different names for key characters (e.g., Mosheh for Moses, so that readers familiar with the biblical spelling might approach it differently). A believer is likely to come away with more insight into the Exodus account. An unbeliever would hopefully have questions about this Elohim who has such power and caused such destruction to save his people.

If you like quality biblical fiction, this is a great read. If you are uncertain about the genre, this just might convince you that it can be very good.