This is a jim dandy of a mystery set in modern day Israel, featuring Elijah, a scholar of ancient languages and texts. The written word. He doesn’t much care about the content. He is into scripts, and their wiggles and serifs and forms and handwriting styles of the ancients. He is also a student of the various conquests of Jerusalem, the history of this ancient city.
He is a modest guy, living a modest life, hoping to get tenure at the university where he teaches. He is called into the office of his superior and given a special assignment to assist an outside source in authenticating a manuscript which the person wishes to buy.
It turns out to be a manuscript of the Kabbalah, which is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought that originated in Judaism. Traditional practitioners believe its earliest origins pre-date world religions, forming the primordial blueprint for Creation’s philosophies, religions, sciences, arts, and political systems.
As Elijah examines the manuscript, which is a photocopy, and declares the original to be authentic, the potential buyer sends him to look at another example in Hong Kong. There, he discovers a discrepancy in one line. He also is the target of attempted murder. Egad. This career of studying ancient scripts can be downright hazardous to your health!
After looking at a couple more manuscripts, and finding differences in that same line, Elijah figures out that these different lines make up a code. And that the guy who has hired him is out to change the world by occult and magic means, using the code found in the manuscripts.
We are introduced to Nash’s equilibrium point, which is a solution concept of a non-cooperative game involving two or more players, in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has anything to gain by changing only his own strategy. How this applies to our rabid manuscript collector and the idea of the redemption of the world, is one of the great threads of this plot.
I love the way this book is written, its structure. Each chapter opens with a different conquest of Jerusalem, starting with the British conquest in 1917, and moving backward in time and in the history of the city. At the end of the book, we see the relevance of these to the entire story.
A fun thriller, if that is not a contradiction in terms, fast-paced and just packed with great material about the Kabbalah and Jerusalem.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Customers who read this book also read
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
Gilbert G. Brandt
History and fiction join forces
Reviewed in Canada on July 6, 2018
Confessions of a Reviewer
A good read but confusing at times.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2014
