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.




Tuesday, March 31, 2015

What About Game of Thrones and Turn?

I was relieved that both Black Sails and Walking Dead made a come back for me, but what about Game of Thrones and Turn? They're both resuming this week, and I've gone through ups and downs with them as well. Not so much for Turn, since it's only had one season so far. Can't really go through ups and downs in one season.

I liked Turn in its first season, and I liked how it ended. I wasn't so thrilled with that British officer being so cruel to everyone, but that was the worst of it for me. I did like the duel between him and the mc, whose name I already forget. We'll see how the second season fares. I do like historical fiction, and Turn is set in America during the Revolutionary War.

Game of Thrones, another historical fiction has been around for a while now, and I forget how many seasons it has under its belt at this point. I like it and I don't. I thought the killing of the mc Stark in the first season was BS. It was another example of stories taking a turn that I didn't agree with. But it had enough going for it to keep me watching. I can't stand that blond queen Denaris or whatever her name is. She's immune to fire or can't be burned or whatever and wants to be queen. Can't stand characters like that.

But again, it has so much going on, it's as if two or three things bug you it doesn't matter, because there's four or five other things going on that don't. GOT is like that. Overall I keep watching, even though I don't really like the story, the characters or the events that take place. You have all these despicable characters, and you love it when they get killed, like that boy king Joffrey or whatever his name was, but then when good guys get killed like Stark and then Stark's son, you think it stinks.

We'll see how it goes. Bottom line is if you watch it, I guess. I wonder if the writer even cares if the audience likes what they're watching. Or reading. Maybe he only cares if you paid for the book, or for the HBO service. I guess it's the $$ that's the bottom line. That's all.

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