Line in the Sand

by Alistair Forrest

First published 2010

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4.0(49)

Around 1000 BC, Dawid of Beth Lechem grows up despised by his half-brothers and mocked because of the circumstances of his birth. Work as a shepherd offers little protection or status, but a prophet’s visit suggests that his life may have a larger purpose. Recruited to gather intelligence in the Philistine city of Gath, Dawid must discover the enemy’s weapons and invasion plans before war reaches the Israelite settlements.

Betrayal leaves him imprisoned and forced into a public arena against warriors bred for combat. His survival brings him into the Philistine court and towards Golyat, the champion later remembered as Goliath. The novel expands the biblical account into a coming-of-age story of espionage, political ambition and single combat. An earlier edition of the same David-and-Goliath novel was published as Goliath in 2010; Line in the Sand became the later canonical title.