The Bible of Clay by Julia Navarro
Hmmm. A very interesting book. Yes it is another in the Indiana Jones, archaeological adventure genre, but this book is very different. There is far fewer guns and explosions than many in this growing genre. In fact, you will need to keep thinking as you read, or expect to have to re-read large passages. This book is actually three stories, each one a strong plot for its own novel, but carefully interwoven to build a complex plot that doesn’t depend on action for its tension.
The book opens with unknown archaeologist Clara Tannenburg standing up at an international conference claiming that Abraham was actually the first of God’s prophets to dictate Genesis, and she knew where to find the clay tablets where the scribe recorded the message. Enter an international ring of art dealers who specialise in stolen ancient artifacts. Enter a young priest who has heard the confession of a man about to commit murder. Enter a group of Nazi death camp survivors determined to wipe the name Tannenburg from the face of the earth. Place the excavation site near ancient Ur, currently south of Baghdad in late 2002.
Navarro is a very talented writer who builds tension with great skill. She does not reveal the motives of her various groups until well into the story. She simply reveals the hatred, the anger and the suspicion and gradually reveals the motives. At the excavation site itself she placed a series of assassins and thieves all watching each other and wondering who and why they were there. She places the climax of the story in the days before the invasion, and uses the underlying suspense to sweep the story through to the eventual conclusion.
This is a book that needs to be read in a few sittings with plenty of time available. But with the Christmas holidays in sight this would be a good acquisition now to read then.
