It was an okay read, a bit long but really fascinating. I love the descriptions and the world building and how it's woven into the plot

Pretty good story about a man from the Israelite tribe of Dan. I liked the love story as well. Would definitely be a good movie or series to watch.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Decent if long read. I didn't quite connect with it so struggled at times to follow along, but it was still enjoyable. The narrator did a good job.

I enjoyed this book. It felt like a story filled with history and it was very engaging to me. The narrator was a good fit. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, the narrator and last but not least the author!

The narrator of this book does a great job of telling the story. I liked the detail and descriptions throughout the book of the world and the survival tale they have lived through. The shipwreck, the difficult swim to shore, the descriptions of injuries and caring for others - all very good.

I felt that the love story was slightly under developed - not a slow burn drawn out story of pining for one another that I typically like to read. I do think that the survival story in itself was good - and captivating but the story seemed to wax and wane, as if there was not one main climax point of the plot.

This book was also very long for my listening ears and I would sometimes forget what happened if I had to put it down for too long.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes historical tales of survival in remote parts of the world.

i got around 90% through the book before it was DNFed for personal reasons. I tried something outside of the norm for me, and it didnt end well, no fault of the book itself.
The parts that i did read, were fantastic. I loved how the world was built, and how the story was being told, it just didnt fall in my range of interests

Midnight in Aden on the Arabian Peninsula, the year 878, a sailing vessel slips out quietly, headed toward the Red Sea. On board is a crew of Arabs, Africans, a Gypsy, even a Chinese cook. Also on board are two groups of passengers, both Jewish but from different parts of the world. Their secret cargoes of valuable items are the reason for their stealthy departure.

Allen Childs's historical novel of a time and place that is virtually unknown to westerners will eventually get to that history, based on a partially true but largely apocryphal story of one Eldad the Danite, an African Jew claiming to be a descendant of Dan, one of the ten lost tribes of Israel -- hence the Last Israelite, the surviving Jews being the descendants of the remaining tribes who had split from the Israelites into the nation of Judah prior to the Diaspora.

But first the passengers and crew must go through a survival story -- sandstorms and starvation, shipwreck and sharks, volcanos and earthquakes, pirates and slavers, cannibals and more slavers, fierce fire-worshipping warriors and even more slavery. And the forced separation of Eldad from his newfound love, Adiva.

As I listened to the first half, this survival tale, I thought, where's the history? As I listened to the second half, the historical tale, I thought, well the history is not all that compelling, it was actually more interesting to see what this part of the world was like at that particular time indirectly via the survival story -- plus the character development was better.

Either way, the tale is quite overlong. At nearly 17 hours (nearly 500 pages in print), there is far too much detail, as well as some gratuitous narrative -- for example, the castaways solve their food and water problems just in time for the volcano to erupt, and survive that just long enough for the pirates to catch up with them. Entire chapters could have been reduced to one paragraph ("There is probably fresh water in those caves and we can catch fish -- wait, what's that trembling in the earth?").

There is also a serious problem with mispronunciation, especially of Jewish words and names -- the author must be aghast at how sloppy the audio edition is! And we're not talking obscure words lost to history, we're talking about things that are still commonly used today in Judaism.

Still, it's a worthwhile tale for those interested in this type of history. Having just returned from a trip to East Africa, I found it doubly interesting on that account. I'd really rate this at 3.5 because of the excessive length and audio issues, but I'm going to round it up to 4 because the latter is not the author's fault and it is interesting despite its problems. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of the audio edition.

The Last Israelite is a swashbuckling tale steeped in the rich mythology of the Torah. Utilizing characters from far reaches of the globe, Allen Childs paints a patronizing and deeply problematic portrait of his take on multiculturalism around the Red Sea in the first millennium AD. Childs miraculously manages to strike a tone that is dichotomously ethnicity obsessed while being curiously color-blind.

There are brief, endearing moments throughout the novel where Childs eagerly proves to the reader he did some research by clumsily inserting factoids or terminology pertaining to the era, mercantilism, Judaism, or one the many cultures he attempts to portray. This trivia is interesting, certainly. The reader can feel the authors passion for history, religion, and anthropology, and an almost fervent desire to uncover the Truth, or rather, proof, of his hopes or beliefs.
There is a yearning for knowledge expressed by multiple characters that echos this feeling, though none are as zealous in the text as the author is in the subtext.

When I began the book I was absolutely thrilled for it to be centered around a black Jew, a demographic deeply lacking in literary and cultural representation. Exciting too, was the opportunity to learn about a family of Jews living in Babylon. It was a bit disappointing to read that Eldad has blue eyes, and Adiva has blonde hair. While genetically plausible, the choice by Childs acts as symbolic white-washing of these otherwise nonwhite lead characters. The reason behind this choice becomes clearer as the book continues and the reader is left with the undeniable impression that Allen Childs is deeply racist.

The portrayal of Arab, North African, Muslim, Romani, Chinese, and Indian people in “The Last Israelite” is completely unacceptable. Racist stereotypes are shockingly commonplace in this work of literary fiction - not expressed by racist characters, but rather by the authorial voice in narration. Almost all of the non-Jewish characters are described as lacking in some form of physical or moral purity. The authors fixation on the beauty and virtue of his characters who contain an element of the ephemeral ancient Israeli blood quotient makes for a dull and predictable narrative, with little room for character arc or transformation.

In addition to the overt prejudice flavoring the text, the subplot of romance that develops is so saccharin and one-note that it makes the reader question, has Allen Childs ever experienced romantic love? The sentiments expressed by the lovers are, quite frankly, bizarre, and wholly unbelievable, even in the context of ancient Islamic traditions. I can’t recall a moment where the couple ever disagrees with one another, let alone overcomes interpersonal conflict.
I would complain that Childs cannot write from a woman’s perspective, but honestly, I don’t really think he can write believably from a mans perspective either.

The narration by Robin Bloodworth was mostly fine, though distracting at times in his over-acting. His pronunciation of common Hebrew and Arabic words were atrocious and easily avoidable. He should refrain from ethnic dialects at all costs.

Overall the novel is, I’m sorry to say, mostly drivel. Overt racism notwithstanding, the work is barely entertaining enough to even be offended by. What were the publishers thinking?

This is a great old-school saga - if you enjoy the epic tales of adventure without a ton of internal dialogue and interpersonal drama, you’ll love this one. It also has a nice smattering of Jewish history and culture, which is nice. Even though it’s new in 2024, it still has a bit of the “period typical racial and ethnic stereotypes” among the characters, but that’s to be expected from a tale of travel among multiple cultures in the 9th century.

The particularly nice modern twist is that we do also get the perspective of the female main character, which is also helpful because she and her beloved spend so much of the book apart.

The narration is quite good, especially considering that this style of book has not been as common in recent years, so it is presumably different from what the narrator normally is reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Such an adventure! This was a very unique read for me and challenged me to be paying attention to the audiobook so I could grasp the entire world being built. It truly is an epic journey and I enjoyed reading along the way! Highly recommend!

The Last Israelite
Allen Childs
This tale is based on the true story of Eldad the Danite, an African Jew who asserted he was from the ancient tribe of Dan, the son of Jacob.
The setting is AD 878.
A powerful Jewish banking family hired three Jews, Adiva, her brother and cousin, to secretly transport precious cargo. They are hiding valuables from a arrogant king in Babylon The Jews dress as Muslims for they are traveling far from their home. Their journey begins on a Red Sea sailing vessel. They are not the only passengers on board the ship, there are two African’s also traveling. One of the African men is darker skinned and has blue eyes; Adiva is attracted to him just as he is to her. The African’s speak a from of Hebrew that comes from the sacred texts. The dark-skinned man is Eldad, he is from the tribe of Dan. The other African’s name is Saul, he is from the tribe of Asher. Eldad is on a mission to transport an ancient book, written in a lost language, which allegedly reports his people’s story back to the time of the Patriarch Abraham, to be read by a learned scholar. He is as enthusiastic in his quest as he is in his enthusiasm to know Adiva better and pursue the attraction that grows between them. A terrible gale threatens the mission of both groups, shattering the ship and leaving them all on a few desert islands as their only asylum. Eldad promises to return to Adiva as he leaves the island in search of a way to survive. Adiva is captured by pirates and slavers. Eldad faces cannibals, famishment and imprisonment. But there is hope, a sharp Jewish family offers the only spark of hope for Eldad to be restored and brought back to his people.
While Eldad the Danite is known to us as a historical figure, there aren’t a lot of details. The author used his creativity to fill in the details of his undertaking, illustrating the vivid world and intricate backgrounds that frame Eldad and Adiva. Eventually they arrive at Adiva’s home, Baghdad, the center of Jewish world. The rabbis refused to believe Eldad’s story. He is unfamiliar with the rabbinic traditions that have developed over the years when the tribe of Dan was missing. He must convince them he and his tribe are part of the Israelite nation even if they have been missing for over a thousand years.
This is an amazing tale. I prefer to think most of it is true. The author has obviously spent much hours researching the story of Eldad.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

While starting out on a promising hook - strangers onboard a ship in the middle of the Red sea, each clearly having more on their mind and carrying secrets than they first let on - as an audiobook, I found it hard to keep up with the context and set-up of the characters and their backgrounds. This could very well be a personal issue as I am not very well acquainted with any of the cultural backgrounds and histories surrounding this adventure. It left me a little confused and pondering who was who and what had been said about them a lot of the time, missing what happened next. I would very much like to read the novel in print, as I believe the set-up would be much easier to grasp.

love a good historical fiction and this was no different. So entralling and captivating. Very immersive. Great narrator.

Thank you Bartleby Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book!

Interesting story but a bit long for me. Set in 878 AD, I found it confusing with the names and places they went. The love story was deep and moved very fast after they just met. I picked this book because I wanted to learn more about the twelve tribe of Israel and what the last Israelite was all about. I did learn a bit about lost tribe. Eldad, the Danite, and his lost tribe. The journey these people took and their struggle to survive made it worth the read.

The Last Israelite AUDIO by Allen Childs is the retelling of the story of Eldad the Danite around the year 900 AD. First, let me say, although it was interesting and well-written, it was far too long. Eldad was an African American Jew of the lost tribe of Dan, before Jews were known as such. He was traveling the Red Sea with the son of his teacher, Sol, an Asherite. Their adventures were many and varied. The original comes from a tome purported to have been written by Eldad, himself. Opinions vary on that as on the veracity of the tale. The quality of the story is not diminished. It is an excellent saga and Childs has done it justice.

Robin Bloodworth is the narrator and he reads so slowly that he makes a long story even longer. I listened at 1.25x speed, which I never do and it was still a little slow. He did have a good voice, though, and gave the story the personality it deserved.

I was invited to listen to The Last Israelite by Bartleby Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BartlebyPress #AllenChilds # RobinBloodworth #TheLastIsraelite

I think that the premise was interesting however the delivery was lacking somewhat. I can defiantly see why people would love it however, i found it a very long book and had large sections that I struggled to continue with - had i not been listening to it in the car I probably would have turned it off. I think part of this is down to the narrator (this is personal preference) I had to speed him up as his speed and tone of voice just went straight through one ear and out of the other I didn’t feel like I could grip the words and be invested.
The other thing is that there is a LOT of description, I know exactly what the author was imagining but I didn’t need to know every single detail – I didn’t feel as though I was left to imagine or create anything for myself. From this book I have learnt that I prefer historical fiction from the female POV.
Overall I enjoyed Eldad and Adivas love story and I think the book has the potential to be very interesting as a series. I do think it would have been more engaging if it was about half the length and focused on a couple of plots per book. I am not Jewish, reading other reviews i think if i had more knowledge previous to reading the book i would have connected with it more.

I listened to the audiobook and I think the first half of this book was very good- lots of adventure, strong characters, and plot movement. The second half drug on and I’m not even sure if I could articulate what happened. If I were Jewish would I have liked this better? Maybe. But there was very little context for a non-Jewish scholar.

Also, the romantic interactions between the main characters were not pleasant. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the listening, but I found them cringworthy.

My opinion with the reader is that the tone of the book was not jiving with the setting. There was good voice distinction between characters, but only the Indian had an accent which came across as a bit mocking. I think a reader with a bit more gravitas would have suited this novel better.

I’m sure that many people will find this book enjoyable and informational, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I tried something outside of my norm and gave this a shot. The storyline is intriguing and it mostly held my interest throughout. The first half was very long, technical, and historical. It did pickup in the second half, but it took a long while to get there. The book as a whole is just too long in my opinion. I did enjoy the jewish and hebrew elements and the overall story. Overall I'd say a 3.5 star read.

I enjoyed this audiobook immensely. The story moves at quite a pace and at times the relationships are quickly made, but I guess given the circumstances that fits with the narrative quite well.
There is driving determinism which I always enjoy in a story, and some lovely historical details here and there. The clash of cultures is apparent although could do with a bit more exploration as it does impact quite markedly on both the stories and the characters within. The reader was great and it was ultimately an enjoyable listen thankyou

Thank you so much to NetGalley Storm Publishing and Allen Childs for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for The Last Israelite coming out July 15, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by the author. I was intrigued by the subject matter. I love historical fiction. I really enjoyed the narrator. I thought he did a great job. However, this book felt very long to me. I think it felt like listening to a history textbook. There were times where I wasn’t as interested in the story. It felt very dry and I wasn’t paying attention very well. It’s just hard for me to get into very long books. I would prefer a tighter story, but I liked it. I would check out other books by this author. I do really enjoy the subject matter.