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.




Friday, February 28, 2014

Killer of Killers hero doesn't use guns

Guns. Who needs them? People who want (or people who might need) to kill, obviously. Trent Smith, the main character in Killer of Killers, wants to kill. He wants to kill killers, though. Only killers, be clear about that. (Thus the title of the book!) But Trent Smith does not believe in using guns. In fact, there is a point in the story where he makes the comment, "Guns and knives...weapons of cowards."

To Trent, using a gun is the method of a coward. Knives, too. It doesn't mean Trent wasn't trained in using weapons. He is considered an expert with several weapons, actually. But his preference, and his specialty, is empty hands, and that point is also made clear when his antagonists do some research on him. You see, Trent Smith, (not his real name, btw,) is a master sensei, a tenth degree black belt in Ju Jitsu. And master senseis who are tenth degree black belts in Ju Jitsu are also known as Judan.

It takes a special person to become a Judan. It takes decades of constant training, commitment and dedication to the art. Look at it this way. For every 100 black belts in Karate, there is only 1 black belt in Ju Jitsu.

So the top ranking black belts, the tenth degree black belts, the Judan, which Trent Smith is, are very rare. Very rare, indeed. And when you combine that with the Japanese art of combat and killing--Budo--then you have a very lethal fighter who doesn't need guns or knives. All he needs, and all Trent uses, are his bare hands. And with his bare hands, he can kill quickly, meaning he can deliver an instant death, or he can kill slowly, meaning he can deliver a painstaking, torturous death.

Being a master of Budo Ju Jitsu, also means that Trent can deliver a death a year later from when he delivers a Budo strike. Or two years later. He can also blind you, put you in a coma, give you cancer, and cause a wide variety of other ill results. He can also reverse the effects. All Budo masters are trained to cure whatever ill effects they caused. It's not fiction. It's all in the art. But you have to be a master. And Trent Smith is the best. He is the greatest martial artist in the world. Period. See for yourself. Buy your copy today!

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