Comes Rushing Like a Raging Fire by Rick W. White is a Christian adventure novel that tells the story of the fictional Webber Lee, who has written a novel about his experiences at an American biblical archeological expedition in Egypt.

The story begins in an Egyptian army camp, and it's somewhat unclear who's talking. Whoever they are, they muse about the causes of the Israeli-Egyptian six day war.

In chapter two, Webber Lee finally introduces himself, captain/owner of an air charter service. He is traveling with Nirvana Stample, daughter of the American evangelist, Dr. Maitlin Stample. Nirvana's name raises the first red flag, as an Christian evangelist is unlikely to bestow upon his daughter the name of the Hindu afterlife.

Webber and Nirvana are nursing wounds from a fight the day before, the origins of which are unclear. The interesting setting soon falls apart as character after indistinguishable character is introduced.

And so within four chapters, the book jumps around in time and place, introducing a number of characters. There's absolutely no clear idea of what's happening, which characters are important and where the book is leading. The book becomes only more convoluted as the plot develops, exploring the causes of the six day war.

White prides himself on providing cultural details about the setting and time period, with every Egyptian word, every detail of Egyptian archeology painstakingly outlined. This epitomizes the classic mistake of over reliance on research, where beginning writers load their works with factual details about the historical setting, while overlooking basics such as plot and character development.

Historical fiction works best when authors craft a setting and combine it with good storytelling. White would do well to check out authors such as Louise Erdrich, Elizabeth George Speare, Graham Salisbury, Richard Peck, and Theodore Taylor.

In his next effort, White should rein in the details on his setting and focus instead on telling a good story.

iUniverse, 2003: 0595302033