Biblical History on Speed

by Chris Scott

What would writers do without historical mysteries? If there were no lost civilizations, no hidden gospels, no suspicious deaths of kings, many would be out of work. Fortunately for readers who love to ponder such “what ifs” while enjoying thrilling, if improbable action, there is a vast supply of unknowns waiting for authors like Steve Berry. Berry has, in only a few years, unearthed the missing Amber Room, reinstated the Romanov dynasty, exposed the Fatima prophecies and tackled the Knights Templar, producing a string of best sellers that put him in a class with—dare it be said?—Dan Brown himself. Berry’s latest entry, The Alexandria Link (Ballantine Books, $25.95), does the genre proud, cramming more action into 462 pages than any reader has a right to expect.

What would writers do without historical mysteries? If there were no lost civilizations, no hidden gospels, no suspicious deaths of kings, many would be out of work. Fortunately for readers who love to ponder such “what ifs” while enjoying thrilling, if improbable action, there is a vast supply of unknowns waiting for authors like Steve Berry. Berry has, in only a few years, unearthed the missing Amber Room, reinstated the Romanov dynasty, exposed the Fatima prophecies and tackled the Knights Templar, producing a string of best sellers that put him in a class with—dare it be said?—Dan Brown himself. Berry’s latest entry, The Alexandria Link (Ballantine Books, $25.95), does the genre proud, cramming more action into 462 pages than any reader has a right to expect.

At the center of this story is the mystery surrounding the fate of the great library at Alexandria, once packed with the accumulated knowledge of the ancient world. Debate continues about what—or who—destroyed it; what’s known is that the library had completely disappeared by the eighth century. But did some of it survive? And could the knowledge it held change the modern world? Berry, of course, says yes. His protagonist, Cotton Malone, a retired Department of Justice secret agent (in thrillers are they ever really retired?), is reluctantly drawn back into the hunt when his only son is kidnapped. Malone is soon dead-center in a scheme that threatens to shake the foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike.

Whereas Dan Brown could muster only enough conspiracy to sink the Catholic Church, Berry has found a deeper, more obscure mystery that could undermine the Old Testament, the revealed word of God that has shaped conflict and faith in the Middle East for thousands of years. If a copy of the ancient Hebrew text could be located and compared with the oldest version currently known, a post-Christian translation, accepted truths could be destroyed. Rumor has it that such a text resided in the library at Alexandria.

So Cotton Malone and his compatriots must thread their way through the usual cast of evil industrialists, corrupt politicians and cold-blooded killers who have spun a web of lies across the world. The plot can be confusing. As one character observes to the president of the United States (yes, he’s in it too), “[W]hat you have, Mr. President, is a mess. I’ve only been involved for a day or two, but I have no idea who’s telling the truth.” But if The Alexandria Link at times seems a writer’s exercise in how many plot twists can be squeezed into a single book, Berry can ultimately be forgiven. In the end, he delivers not only a satisfying resolution but an author’s note in which he carefully explains which plot elements are fact and which are fiction, providing some real enlightenment. For connoisseurs who enjoy their history lessons served fast with a heaping side of gunplay, this is the new standard. Berry will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers on February 13 at 6 p.m.