This
novel is a combination of a murder mystery and an archaeological
mystery. The novel had great potential but I have to admit I was
disappointed in it.
The
premise was intriguing. DCI Peele investigates a break in (and later
murder) at an English manor house. In the course of his investigation
he confronts armed burglars and discovers a hidden collection of
ancient disks containing an unknown language. Further investigation
shows these disks are related to the famous Phaestos Disk. Peele and
those he gathers to solve the murder mystery travel to Crete and
other places to understand the origin of the disks and thereby
understand who wants them enough to kill for them.
The
novel is complex. There are many locations visited by Peele and his
group. There are many characters involved at each location. Some of
the characters are double, or maybe even triple, agents so the action
is very complex as well.
I
found out there is a real Phaistos Disk, discovered in 1908 on the
Greek island of Crete. Scholars think it dates back to around 1700
B.C. and the height of the Minoan civilization. The premise of this
novel is that the recently discovered disks may undermine the origin
of the Old Testament. The disks predate Moses and the Exodus. Maybe
these disks show that Moses, or later editors, really stole their
material from an older civilization and just adapted it to Israel and
their Jehovah. If that is the case, then the promise of Palestine to
the Israelites would be bogus.
Peele
and many others in the novel are atheist (or at best agnostic) and
are very critical of Christianity. Several dialogs in the novel
dismiss the possibility of any actual historicity to the Old
Testament account. In this respect, the novel seems to follow in the
foot steps of The Davinci
Code. There is a great deal
of conjecture and surmising by characters in the novel. Seeds of
doubt about the authenticity of the Bible are liberally sown.
There
is no author note indicating which items and events in the novel have
their roots in history. This is a serious oversight by the publisher,
I think. I did my own research to find out the the Phaestos
(Phaistos) Disk is real. I would have liked to know if the story
about the Greek village and its Jewish/Muslim history had any basis
in fact.
The
denouement is long, indicating to me that the plotting was not done
sufficiently so that the average readers could figure out some of
what was going on while reading.
The
novel is from Lion Hudson of England and is distributed in the U.S.
by Kregel, a Christian publishing house. I do not expect all Lion
Hudson books to be overtly Christian. I was disappointed in the
conjecture and surmising that undermined the historicity of the
Bible. There is also the inadequate writing style and a lack of
understanding what Christians and Jews actually do believe. All of
that to say I wouldn't recommend this book.
Clifford
Longley is a broadcaster and journalist specializing in British and
international affairs. He contributes to Thought
for the Day on BBC Radio 4
and appears regularly on The
Moral Maze.
Lion
Hudson (distributed in the U.S. by Kregel), 329 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel for the
purpose of an independent and honest review.
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