Historians and historical novelists have their favourite periods. Ancient Rome, the Crusades, the Tudors for some. Early Christianity, the Mongol conquests, the Napoleonic wars for others. Imperialism, exploration, World War II for others still. British author David Gibbins, for one, has turned his attention to Atlantis. Troy, the Old Testament.
Pyramid by David Gibbins 437 pp. 2014 Headline paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 625 baht
All their books assert that they are works of fiction. In the final pages, however, they tell the reader of the extensive research put into them and in many cases visited the sites themselves. Their imaginations were used mainly to fill in the blanks in lieu of verifiable documents.
The premise of Pyramid under review isn't a new one. That even with tens of thousands of slaves, over a period of decades, it is unlikely that the multi-tonne blocks of granite used to build the pyramids were pushed and pulled across the desert from the quarries. How else, then?
Giving the Egyptians credit for being extraordinary engineers, Gibbins has them constructing subterranean canals from the Nile River, via the quarries, to the pyramid sites. Barges floated them the distance. Special hoists did the rest. We are told that the canals have dried up and are tunnels now.
Of all the Egyptian rulers, the author maintains that Aknaten was the greatest Pharaoh, as unlike other Egyptian rulers he only believed in one god.
A parchment is found in which Moses praises his wisdom, for the Hebrews also believed in one god. Even if called Jehovah rather than Ra.
Gibbins takes a leaf from Clive Cussler, both featuring archaeological teams. Yet they have the opposite view of treasure hunting. To Cussler, it belongs to the land where it is found. To Gibbins there's only one place for it: the British Museum. You be the judge.
Gibbins belongs to the What-If school, where history approaches science-fiction. But keep in mind so did Jules Verne. And didn't he get it right more often than not?
Homeland, Saul’s Game by Andrew Kaplan 341 pp. 2014 Harper paperback. Available at Asia Books and leading bookshops, 395 baht
Makes good sense
Though I have little time for scriveners who throw Muslim terrorists into the plots of their novels for no discernible reason than to spruce up their thrillers, I wholly approve of books focused on suicide bombers and the like. For they are a menace. A clear and present danger.
Authors needn't tax their imagination for stories. Nary a day goes by in which the media doesn't provide us with factual accounts of their outrages and atrocities. Those who don't accept their message are infidels and don't deserve to live. Reproducing at a prodigious rate, they are becoming the majority in democratic societies where numbers determine governments. Apprehensive people advocating plugging this loophole in democracies are labelled racists (as those opposing Communism are labelled fascists). Writers turning our attention to the threat are unable to offer a solution. More than often many suggest war.
In Homeland: Saul's Game Yank scribe Andrew Kaplan takes us on a roller-coaster ride through the Middle East. The years 2008-2009. His literary creation, carried over from previous thrillers, is Carrie Mathison, CIA operative extraordinary. Single, 30, not above bed-hopping, she's top in her wok and chews out her superiors in her reports when deserved.
Carrie's weakness, never admitted, is that she isn't a good judge of character and has been betrayed several times. (When she finds out, she reacts with extreme prejudice). Losing men in ambushes on "secret" missions puts her under suspicion of being an enemy mole.
Of al-Qaeda terrorists, Al Nazari heads the CIA's global Most Wanted list. From Kaplan's description he's a combination of Abu Nadal, Carlos "the Jackal" and bin Loony. Behind evil plans against the West, he constantly evades capture.
Cries for Jihad erupt from a billion throats when a US missile strikes a school and scores of students die. But it was aimed at a mosque frequented by terrorists. Photos and films of the carnage appear in the Arab media. In view of America's electronic proficiency, might it be an accident on purpose?
Carrie's hunt for Nazier takes her to Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq. Along the way, she learns that it was the mosque hit after all. The bodies of the children are largely (not entirely) faked. Meanwhile, DC is playing cover-up. In her report, she takes the US media to task for sensationalising enemy propaganda.
A former foreign correspondent much of what the author says makes good sense.
