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A review by amibunk
Thy Gold to Refine by Gerald N. Lund
4.0
My original rating would have been 4 stars, but my re-read rating this year is right about a 3.5 stars.
Probably the biggest gaps in knowledge that I have in my Church's history come during this time period so this book is a much needed resource for filling in the missing information I have.
Looking back this novel, and the next installment in the series, are probably some of my favorites. The Steed fictional family hasn't grown so large as to be somewhat unwieldy and the timing and pacing of these novels feels the smoothest.
The trick with these books is to remember two things. First, remember what is fictional and what is taken from actual accounts. Mr. Lund does a solid job at the end of each chapter delineating between truth and make believe. Second, the reader needs to keep in mind that these novels were created with the purpose of showing the sweeping history of the beginning years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; NOT because the author has high literary ambitions. So while the writing is decent, I must overlook any failings and keep the true purpose of Mr. Lund in mind.
Probably the biggest gaps in knowledge that I have in my Church's history come during this time period so this book is a much needed resource for filling in the missing information I have.
Looking back this novel, and the next installment in the series, are probably some of my favorites. The Steed fictional family hasn't grown so large as to be somewhat unwieldy and the timing and pacing of these novels feels the smoothest.
The trick with these books is to remember two things. First, remember what is fictional and what is taken from actual accounts. Mr. Lund does a solid job at the end of each chapter delineating between truth and make believe. Second, the reader needs to keep in mind that these novels were created with the purpose of showing the sweeping history of the beginning years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; NOT because the author has high literary ambitions. So while the writing is decent, I must overlook any failings and keep the true purpose of Mr. Lund in mind.