I’ve been reading the Hebrew Bible in between novels over the past year. Most of the books so far have been very dry. The Books of Moses after the Genesis and the first half of Exodus spend much more time enumerating procedures and regulations around animal sacrifice and the eventual Temple in Jerusalem than I expected. Joshua is also a pretty dry account of the 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 inspiration from his religious background, but I hadn’t appreciated how liberally Tolkein had borrowed from this part of the Bible for The Lord of the Rings. The rise and fall of 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 most every fantasy author of the past century — either directly or indirectly — pick Samuel up.