Author: Steve Berry
What if I tell you that parts of the Library of Alexandria has survived throughout the ages? What if I tell you that some of the ancient texts have been saved from the library's destruction in the 4th century? What if the texts contained in the library will change our understanding of history and religion? Will you continue to keep the library a secret or open it to the world?
The idea that ancient texts found in the Library of Alexandria can correct the mistranslation/misinterpretation of the Old Testaments is the premise of this book's plot. Unfortunately, the author has written a spy thriller involving a conspiracy without expanding more on the pseudo-archaeology aspect of the research done. In my opinion, he's trying to write it like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but falling a bit short.
However, a great credit to the author for including a Writer's Note on the research he has done, which many authors failed to do. He gives clear references to the materials he collected and the places he visited. He indicates the specific chapters where a particular description is either researched or invented.
The theory that the Bible has been mistranslated and that archaeologists have been digging at the wrong sites is not new. I have vaguely heard of it before and it's good to know from the author that Kamal Salibi theorised and even mapped out towns in Saudi Arabia to biblical ones. Sadly the author said "the Saudi government did in fact bulldoze entire villages... ...(and) refuse to allow any scientific digging in Asir."
I am intrigued by the author's suggestion that the mistranslation is politically-motivated. It's definitely a new angle of interpreting the history of the most-contested piece of land.
