Sarah is a retelling of the Bible story of Sarah and Abraham as told through Sarai as a viewpoint character. Sarah is also the first volume of the Women of Genesis series. While it may be odd to find this novel reviewed here, the large number of religious themed gaming products may make this novel a worthwhile read for those looking for better sense of settings and invoking of religious themes.

Except for the brief forays into her sister’s story (Qira, her sister, marries Lot and we get a retelling of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah), the story focuses on Sarai’s coming around to the God of Abram and the couple’s love. Not a bad retelling, and rich with psychology, this book makes me rethink how I’ve viewed the otherwise static characters in the Bible.

With Card’s retelling, you get a better sense of where these stories took place and what type of characters these people are better then in the Bible. You can see why Qira hates the desert tribal life, and how Lot and Abram are at peace while tending the flocks. Sarai makes an interesting viewpoint character, and strengthens the role of women as perceived through the Bible lens. A difficult choice, but that what makes this book compelling.

Admittedly, not everyone will want to rush out and grab this book, as the tone was almost too preachy for me to read. I liked the conflict between Sarai’s original religious background and how she grew to trust Abram’s God, but not at the expense of cutting all religions down in a dismissal line.

Overall, Sarah is a solid book dealing with characters that have lived in some bad times, and while it’s not hard to like the characters, Card allows too much of his religious viewpoint into the telling to make this book more accessible to those outside his faith.

As first book in a series, the preachy tone may keep some readers away from the other volumes. I’ll see how the second volume fairs before dismissing the series out of hand.

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