The Sacred alphabet's resume

The Sacred Alphabet is a 2009 mystery fiction novel written by Gemma Nieto an was published by the editorial Temas de Hoy Novela.

It is a work which falls within the genre of historical thriller follows the adventures of Victor Lavine investigator to help a religious group to regenerate the power of his alphabet.

Thanks the novel, the reader gains knowledge while it entertains. The author reveals the strange and fascinating history of the Mandaeans, a religious group that barely survives in Irak.

It is a fast-paced action novel of the old-style adventure stories of the last century, but at the same time is different because its mysteries take us to the present, because as a religious philosophy mandeism survives today near the Tigris and Euphrates, in Irak and Irán.

The extensive documentation that Nieto Gemma offers on the Mandaean gnostic sect or on recent archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem is built on solid research.

Contents

-Plot Summary

-Characters

   Good people

   The priests

   Bad Peoples

-Stages

-Keys

-Why read the novel?

Plot Summary

What can enclose the Mandaean language?

Written on the inside of an old vessel, its simple and irregular strokes contain a powerful magic spell. When the mercenary Ahmed Sadoun steals an old bowl of the National Museum of Iraq is not aware of events just to launch. The Abagada, the oldest alphabet still be heard, will release its full force. Only a few men have the knowledge necessary to achieve and the Mandaean priest Zakaria Asgari is one of them.

However, it is the only one that pursues power. Between the walls of his old office in Cambridge, Professor Samuel Sinclair tries to fit the pieces of a puzzle that will elevate him to the top of the academic pyramid. Account with the help of his protegee, the young orientalist Andrea Jacobs, and Martin Crown, the sinister director of the Christian Association of San Juan.

In a race against time, the researcher Victor Lavine opposes their wishes before him trying to unravel the clues that enclose the sacred alphabet.

They will embark on a journey so hectic and dangerous to reach a revelation jealously guarded by the Mandaeans, a Gnostic community whose origins are lost in time. They will walk past the stage of the sect, from the tomb of Absalom to the cave of John the Baptist or the ruins of Amarna, in an adventure that much more at stake than their own lives.

Characters
Good people

Victor Lavine: is the main character of the book. A young man, intelligent and humorous, who works for an Italian company dedicated to the pursuit of art pieces on request. His company has received a strange role which will provide unexpected adventures.

Said Alami, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, will help his friend Victor in all risky undertakings in which is involved, against the wishes of his wife who thought she had married a man more at ease.

Andrea Jacobs. Very well drawn character in the novel with a psychological change that is not available to any writer. The exquisite intelligence of Andrea constitutes a counterpoint to Victor, until the end to form the same team.

Isaac ben Shimon is an octogenarian professor specializing in Mandaeism to help the protagonist in his investigations. One of the best profiles drawn from the novel and the reader feels a great sympathy for him.

The priests

Much of the weight of the work rests on three Mandaean priests, who constitute the liaison between the players and their quest. They are the Ganzebra Zakaria Asgari, and their assistants Basaam Jabar and Naseer Kaleel. Three endearing characters, especially the youngest of them, Naseer.

Bad People
Samuel Sinclair is a professor at Cambridge, of great renown, which aims to gain the perks you'll get if he finds what he considers "the greatest treasure of mankind." He dreams that the Queen of England will become Sir for his historical findings.

Martin Crown manages the Christian Association of S. John with a firm hand, a company dedicated to the study of John the Baptist, but his true purpose is to help Samuel Sinclair in their archeological findings. Martin has the help of two dangerous assassins: Abdul Khaled and Jamal Adi.

Stages

The action begins in the National Museum of Iraq, two days after U.S. forces bombed their capital. The country plunged into the chaos of war, cannot defend all fronts and the thief Ahmed Sadoun takes to steal a small clay pot containing a spell inside and will be the central thread of the story. Later, the main characters in the novel match in the Eternal City, in Jerusalem, and will face in a cave known as the cave of John the Baptist. Finally, the investigation of the investigator Victor Lavine, will shift the action to Amarna, the ancient Egyptian capital of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten.

Keys

There are three things that trigger the search which stars Victor Lavine, followed very closely, sometimes too, by Professor Samuel Sinclair. These elements are:

Bowls

These are three small bowls of clay, the size of soup bowls with Mandaean inscriptions written inside. Containing spells are powerful and owe their strength to the magic of an alphabet, the Abagada.

The amulet

The Mandaeans have an ancient legend associated with the use of gold or silver charms that hang from the neck; one of them, alone has been found in gold, to help priests find their "treasure."

The inscripcions

One of the tracks that causes all the action in the novel are some inscriptions found on the facade of the tomb of Absalom, a monument erected nearly two thousand years ago on the Mount of Olives. Victor Lavine, the protagonist, uses them to advance their dangerous quest.

Why read the novel?

The Sacred Alphabet is a fast-paced action novel, where one engages with the next scene so that the reader cannot stop reading it. She spreads with such mastery of intrigue that always manages to leave a question mark in the air to maintain the narrative tension. About his language, simple and correct, increases the final value of the work and making it affordable to very varied readers. The novel is recommended for all those looking for a lively book, entertaining, readable, with a plot and characters beautifully constructed that also aims to teach the Mandaeans exist and they need us. This is a good adventure story with a social background.