Will iconic images recorded in the grooves of an ancient vase unite the Holy Land or rip it further apart?

THE VASE

A novel by Mark M. DeRobertis

Muhsin Muhabi is a Palestinian potter, descended from a long line of potters. His business is run from the same shop owned by his ancestors since the day his forebears moved to Nazareth. The region's conflict saw the death of his oldest son, and rogue terrorists are in the process of recruiting his youngest in their plot to assassinate the Pope and Israeli prime minister.

Professor Hiram Weiss is an art historian at Nazareth’s Bethel University. He is also a Shin Bet operative on special assignment. With the help of fellow agent, Captain Benny Mathias, he plans to destroy the gang responsible for the death of his wife and only child. He puts a bomb in the ancient vase he takes on loan from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.

Mary Levin, the charming assistant to the director of Shin Bet, has lost a husband and most of her extended family to recurring wars and never-ending terrorism. She dedicates her life to the preservation of Israel, but to whom will she dedicate her heart? The brilliant professor from Bethel University? Or the gallant captain who now leads Kidon?

Harvey Holmes, the Sherlock of Haunted Houses, is a Hollywood TV host whose reality show just flopped. When a Lebanese restaurant owner requests his ghost-hunting services, he believes the opportunity will resurrect his career. All he has to do is exorcise the ghosts that are haunting the restaurant. It happens to be located right across the street from Muhsin’s Pottery Shop.




Monday, November 28, 2011

Finally Finished Chapter 15

Even though I didn't write as much as I wanted to this holiday weekend, I did, at least, finish chapter fifteen. That's the chapter that includes the battle at Isandlwana. It's a pretty long chapter - thirty pages. And even though the main character of the story, John Dunn, is not in that battle, or even in the chapter, a few of the other recurring characters are in there. And more importantly, I know that enthusiasts of the Anglo-Zulu War will want it in there.

So that puts me on the home stretch of this book. I have to include the Battle at Rorke's Drift, too. That was the big movie they made called Zulu. And one of the supporting characters in this story is the guy who led the Zulus in that battle. His name is Dabulamanzi. He was King Cetshwayo's brother, and he had a rocky relationship with John Dunn. I guess you could even call him one of the antagonists in the story. You see, King Cetshwayo had ordered his warriors NOT to cross into Natal. But Dabulamanzi disobeyed him. I have put together a good sequence of events that explains why he did that.

Is it the way it really happened? Not sure, really, as every reference book I read had no interview with Dabulamanzi about why he disobeyed the king. But there were inferences and speculations, and based on that, my explanation works pretty well, I think. It's historical fiction after all. And that's what happens next. On to Rorke's Drift.

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