Samson, by Eric Wilson

The story of Samson doesn't fill a lot of pages in the Bible, but he is one of the more memorable characters in the Old Testament.  Eric Wilson has written Samson, a novelization based on the 2018 movie about "the original super hero."  I have not seen the soon-to-be-released movie, so I can't speak for it, but based on what I've read, Wilson and the movie's writers seem to have made an effort to capture the essence of the biblical account while humanizing the characters and dramatizing the story.

Samson struggles with his anointing as a judge over Israel.  His eyes wander to the Philistine women and he falls in love with one.  She happens to be a servant of the prince.  When the prince learns of her love of Samson, he recruits her as a spy on Samson, who has proven to be a foe of the occupying Philistines.  Many years later, the prince's own lover, Delilah, is sent for the same duty.  Samson, of course, lets his love of these women cloud his judgment, leading to his downfall.

Samson's story is familiar.  (If it's not familiar to you, go read Judges 13-16.)  Wilson fills in the gaps of the biblical account, putting names and contexts on the bare-bones biblical narrative.  I enjoyed the book, and look forward to seeing the story on the big screen.  Based on the previews I've seen, in this case I bet the movie will be better than the book.

Samson trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=5TXaC3GjuJo


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!