I’ve been picking up the Hebrew Bible in between novels over the past year. Most of the books so far have been very dry. With the exception of Genesis and the first half of Exodus, much more of the Books of Moses are spent enumerating procedures and regulations around animal sacrifice and the eventual Temple in Jerusalem than I would have thought going in. Joshua is also a pretty dry account of Israelite conquest without much narrative. So I was pretty surprised when the book of Samuel sucked me in.

Samuel covers the emergence of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah under Saul and its climax under David. Most everyone in the West is familiar with the story of David and Goliath, but the rest of Samuel continues to be compelling and engaging. There’s enough political intrigue and action to fit right in with A Song of Ice and Fire.

I knew Tolkein drew from his religious background in his writing, but I hadn’t appreciated how liberally Tolkein had borrowed from this part of the Bible for The Lord of the Rings. The Numenorean kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor correspond closely to Israel and Judah. Aragorn directly mirrors David in a dozen different ways.

I don’t think I’d recommend the whole Bible to everyone. But if you’re interested in an engaging story that’s influenced, either directly or indirectly, most every fantasy author of the past century, pick Samuel up.