There are Vatican scholars. Then there are novelists who research the Vatican library to give the plots of their imaginative religious stories the aura of authenticity. It turns out that the lay writers usually pen more interesting books. Less authentic, yet more believable.
A case in point is Dan Brown. His tales about Jesus, more fiction than fact, are taken at face value by his multitude of aficionados. The Da Vinci Code, about Jesus' family fleeing to France after the crucifixion, have sold at least as many copies as Harry Potter.
Brown's subsequent literary works are all bestsellers. Vatican scholars advise that they be taken with a grain of salt. Readers don't dispute this, but say so what, we enjoy his version. They particularly like Robert Langdon, the ongoing protagonist.
Origin isn't set in the Holy Land or ancient Rome but contemporary Spain -- Bilbao and Barcelona. The plot is an update of the centuries-old theme of a brilliant scientist creating a monster/machine that has the unplanned ability to think for itself.
In our digital age it can hack any and all computers, learn every secret possessed by enemies, national security becomes meaningless. "Winston's" is AI (artificial intelligence) won't permit its destruction. Can our hero outwit Winston before evil people steal it?
The subplot has Spanish priests discussing how to keep religion from being replaced by technology. Holy Mother Church lost battles with Galileo and Darwin. But science fails to answer why are we here and where are we going?
True to form, Brown and his ilk seek millennia-old secrets to provide truths to still unanswered questions. William Blake's obscure writings are explained to us. Vatican scholars think Dan Brown is out of his depth. Be that as it may, they do read him.
The author informs us that new religions keep springing up and are gaining adherents. One has a rival pope. Declaring them heretics out of hand is simplistic. What if anything they have to offer mankind ought not to be discarded?
100 fateful years
There are long wars and short wars. The longer the better to the military for it means rapid promotions and new weapons. In peace, waiting around, boredom. War settles nothing permanently, except to the battlefield dead. After an interval, war picks up again, often with some change of sides.
The 100 Years War lasted 114 years. The 30 Years War was pretty long. The Crusades went on for centuries. Does the Cold War count? The 20-year Napoleonic Wars certainly does count. Interestingly, Napoleon was in his native Corsica during the French Revolution -- playing island politics.
Escaping the wrath of the winner, Napoleon fled to the mainland. The rest is history. And numerous histories about his deeds have been written and are still being written. Along with Joan of Arc, he's a national hero. Self-proclaimed Emperor, master of Europe, it took the continent to bring him down.
British historian Richard J. Evans now riddles Napoleon's iconic image in The Pursuit Of Power. Far from worshipped in his lifetime, Evans' research portrays the figure as hated, both in France and abroad. A hard taskmaster, Napoleon conscripted soldiers who didn't feel it their patriotic duty to join his Grand Army, most perishing in Russia. He overtaxed. The reader is informed of the cultural, economic, political changes -- country by country -- between 1815 and 1914. Birth and death dates are given of each individual mentioned, as well as statistics of every event.
Keep in mind that as names, dates and places are thrown at us, that this is history, not a historical novel.
Credit is given to those in the 19th century who travelled on camels, exploring and adventuring, through Africa and Central Asia, then led suffragette movements in their respective countries. A number of their books are still regarded as classics.
Imperialism and socialism flourished. Germany was determined to get its place in the sun. Nationalism was spreading. World War I would determine who would triumph. Or, would it?
