Isaac's Beacon: A Novel

by David L. Robbins

Overview

In the tradition of epic novels like Exodus and Cast a Giant Shadow, Isaac’s Beacon is a sweeping historical tale based on the real events of Israel’s founding—bringing alive the power and complexities of the birth of the Jewish state out of the ashes of the Holocaust.

Bestselling author David L. Robbins, called “the Homer of World War II,” turns his mastery of the historical novel to another defining moment of the twentieth century: the birth of the state of Israel.

Isaac’s Beacon is a small, vulnerable kibbutz on the edge of the Negev. Here, the lives of three memorable characters—an Irgun fighter, a young woman farmer, and an American journalist—collide to shape an epic narrative of love, loss, violence, and courage.

Deeply researched and closely based on actual events, Isaac’s Beacon is the first in a series of Robbins’s novels which will explore the tumultuous, complex history and lasting impact of Israel’s creation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642938296
Publisher:	Wicked Son
Publication date:	08/10/2021
Series:	The Promised Wars , #1
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	511,661
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author David L. Robbins has published fifteen novels. He is also an award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. The Virginia Commission for the Arts has named David one of Virginia’s the two “Most Influential Literary Artists” for the last fifty years.

Editorial Reviews

"Isaac's Beacon stands alongside the great fiction epics of Israel by Leon Uris and Herman Wouk. Robbins has written an instant classic."

Jeff Shaara

"The best historical novels not only illuminate the past, they define it. Isaac's Beacon is one of those novels. Riveting, morally complex, fiercely intelligent, and as empathetic as it is sweeping in scope, Robbins guides readers through war-torn chaos to moments of rare, magnificent beauty. I feel like a better person for having read it."

Dan Mayland

"Isaac's Beacon is a masterwork by a truly masterful writer."

Tom Robbins

"Robbins has written his most ambitious book yet. A beautifully paced and utterly gripping powerhouse of a book. Extremely timely."

Alex Kershaw

"David L. Robbins takes us from Hitler's camps through the British Mandate in Palestine, onto a rocky kibbutz, and into the dangerous Irgun. A profound and pivotal novel of the birth of the State of Israel, with all its adventures and tragedies on display. This is Robbins—historian, humanist, and master novelist—at the top of his game. An epic and timeless work."

William S. Cohen

The multilayered epic includes a wealth of intelligently conceived and richly realized characters. Robbins’ prodigious research infuses their stories—and the entire novel—with impressive authenticity. Insightful and intense, this stirring narrative of courage and cruelty, resolve and romance, also marks the birth of what is likely to be Robbins’ magnum opus. An addictive adventure story.

Jay Strafford

A sweeping historical epic based on the actual events of Israel’s founding, with complex, flawed protagonists forced to find their way amidst the challenges and struggles of pre-state Israel’s most tumultuous years...portrayed with careful adherence to historical accuracy, a sign of the author’s meticulous research. Isaac’s Beacon relates the tale of Israel’s birth in bitterness and battle without sparing the reader any of the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave fighters who made it possible.

The Times of Israel

2021-10-07
Robbins presents a historical novel about the formation of Israel.

During World War II, Vincenz “Vince” Haas is a reporter from Brooklyn embedded with the U.S. 3rd Army in Europe in 1945. As American forces liberate Germany’s Buchenwald concentration camp, Vince meets prisoner Hugo Ungar, who once worked as a plumber in Leipzig. As Hugo regains his strength and comes to terms with his situation, he decides to head to Palestine and encourages Vince to go with him. The decision is easy for Vince, as there will be plenty to report on in the Middle East, but the journey is anything but simple. Robbins also relates the story of a young woman named Éva,who will later take the name Rivkah Gellerman, who made the trip to Palestine from Vienna in 1940. As her boat, which had been stopped by the British, waited in Haifa’s harbor, a ship called the Patriaexploded nearby—the first of many explosions to come. Paramilitary groups, such as the Irgun, will stop at nothing to create a Jewish state; Arab fighters in the region will do anything to stop them; and many rank-and-file British soldiers just want to return to their own homes. The British eventually give up control of Palestine, but it’s only the beginning of the region’s story. Robbins’ telling makes effective use of real events, such as the bombing of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel in 1946 and the execution of Zionist activist Dov Gruner by the British in 1947. The narrative not only incorporates detailed accounts of these happenings, but also deeply explores the motivations of the many people involved in them. Indeed, the book manages to fit in a great deal of history in fewer than 600 pages, although some repetition could have been excised. For instance, Hugo explains to multiple people, multiple times, that he was once a plumber—a detail that has little relevance to the plot. Still, as the main players fight, bleed, and try to make sense of the world, the narrative successfully carries readers right along with them.

A lively work that explores a transformative time in a tumultuous place.

Kirkus Reviews