Jennie’s Review

Wandering the streets of the First Friday ArtWalk in KC, I happily spied a table with books. After a brief conversation and a suggestion from the author himself, I chose this book.

I followed the author’s advice and skipped the epilogue until I finished the novel—a decision I’m glad I made since I knew very little about the history behind the story or King Nebuchadnezzar himself.

The book opens with a man awakening with only fragments of memory, haunted by the sense that he was once a beast. As dreams and visions begin to surface, pieces of his true identity slowly return, and watching that transformation unfold is fascinating. Interwoven with his journey are chapters that step back into the past, giving readers a rich foundation of the people, events, and circumstances that led to this mysterious awakening.

Told at a steady, page-turning pace, the story blends historical fiction with touches of fantasy and myth, creating a fresh and engaging take on a well-known historical figure. Even as someone unfamiliar with the source material, I found myself completely drawn into the world and eager to see how the past and present would ultimately connect.

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Book Summary

Lu has only ever remembered being a beast. But a sudden awareness of his human likeness begins to convince him otherwise. Now he is having nightly dreams and visions of another life. He sees not just a man, but a King. One so grand and successful that he thinks he is a god, and built a seven-story golden statue in his likeness to show it.

Unaware of whose life he is watching, he sets about doing what he wants to do, becoming a vigilante in a time of lawlessness. As Lu slowly regains his humanity, he starts to build a following around him, all while his visions seem to be getting closer and closer to reality. Then the fateful day comes when people in his dreams are suddenly in his presence.

In those moments, everything comes back, and he remembers who he is and what happened to him. Now there is an impostor on the throne, as well as a curse over the kingdom, and the matter must be dealt with. Whatever happens, a great many things are about to be reconciled, and the entire kingdom will be changed forever.