Biblical / royal epic
The Shepherd They Feared
THEY ANOINTED A SHEPHERD. THEY FEARED THE KING HE BECAME.
The second series of The Kingdom They Asked For — David's rise from anointing to Hebron. The shepherd boy, the giant, the fugitive years, and the king who was anointed but not yet crowned.
The Books
READ IN ORDER
Every title in the series, in reading order. Choose how you enter.
The Story
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Before he was Israel's greatest king, David was the young man a king could not stop fearing.
He begins with sheep. Then comes the oil. The giant. The songs. The victories. And eventually the attention of a king who realises the people are beginning to love someone else.
The Shepherd They Feared follows David before the throne: shepherd, musician, warrior, fugitive and reluctant centre of a struggle that will tear Saul's household apart.
David's rise is extraordinary precisely because he does not begin by taking power. Power begins moving toward him. Soldiers trust him. Crowds sing his name. Jonathan loves him. Michal becomes entangled in the politics surrounding him. Samuel has already anointed him. And Saul notices everything.
What begins as favour turns to suspicion, and suspicion becomes pursuit. David is forced from court into wilderness, caves and exile, gathering around himself people who have also been pushed to society's edges while repeatedly facing opportunities to kill the king hunting him.
The series asks what kind of man David becomes during the long distance between being promised a crown and being permitted to wear it. Because Saul fears that David will become king. David must decide whether that fear will be allowed to make him one too soon.
Reader Promise
A military character epic about calling, restraint, friendship, jealousy and the long road between being promised a crown and being permitted to wear it. Saul saw a shepherd. Then Israel began singing his name.
The Characters
MEET THE PLAYERS
Protagonist
David
A shepherd, musician, warrior and fugitive on the long road between being promised a crown and being permitted to wear it. He gathers the broken at society's edges while a king hunts him.
Antagonist
Saul
Israel's first king, whose jealousy curdles into pursuit as the people begin to sing David's name. He fears the shepherd will take his throne — and will let nothing stop him.
Antagonist
Goliath
The Philistine giant who defies the armies of Israel from the valley of Elah for forty days. His challenge demands a champion no soldier dares to become.
Supporting
Jonathan
Saul's son and David's closest friend, whose covenant of loyalty is tested by the king's madness. He loves David even as his father hunts him.
Mentor
Samuel
The prophet who anoints David in secret at Bethlehem, setting in motion the spirit's departure from Saul. His silent choice shifts a kingdom's future toward the shepherd.
Love Interest
Michal
Saul's daughter, given to David as the king tightens his web of politics. She becomes entangled in the very court intrigue that divides her father from her husband.
Supporting
Abigail
The wise woman of Carmel who steps between David and bloodshed, calming his wrath with her courage. Her discernment wins him a place among those who might keep him safe.
The World
The Kingdom
A land torn by dynastic tension and royal violence, where the crown is blood and the blood is throne.
Locations
- The Palace
- The Vineyard
- The Battlefield
- The Temple
Factions
- The Crown
- The Prophets
- The People
Artefacts
- The Crown
- The Vineyard
Terminology
- The Crown
- The symbol of royal power, held by blood.
Loved this world?
ENTER ANOTHER
The Shepherd They Feared is one doorway. There are many more.
The Ones She Could Not Find →