MAGI APPRENTICE

In Hendrickson’s work of historical fiction, based on the Bible, a young soldier is entrusted with astrological charts that foretell the birth of Christ.

In the year 6 BC, Master Vinda-Farnah, head of the Magi Astronomical Sect, departs Babylon for Jerusalem, convinced that all the signs point to the imminent birth of the “Creator’s promised champion,” the world’s messiah. He travels with sacred star charts of incomparable prophetic value. It’s a dangerous journey, as the Parthian Empire from which he departs exists in a state of conflict with the Roman Empire he plans to enter without any permissions or protection; the complex political context is lucidly fleshed out by the author. Along the way, he’s intercepted and murdered by an assassin sent by another Magi, Master Dvandas, an adviser to Parthian emperor Phraates IV, a rival who wishes to possess the charts himself. Before he dies, Master Vinda-Farnah receives word from a “heavenly messenger” commanding him to entrust the charts to a man named Rassan, a newly minted officer in the Parthian emperor’s garrison who was dispatched to prevent his journey. Master Vinda-Farnah communicates the divine message before he dies, which moves Rassan deeply; per the Magi’s instructions, he’s instructed to deliver the charts to Master Daraya-Vous in Babylon. Rassan not only endeavors to deliver those charts—he becomes an apprentice Magi as well, fulfilling a longstanding desire to pursue a more meaningful destiny. Master Dvandas will stop at nothing to get hold of those charts, however, even if it means murdering Rassan himself.

Hendrickson’s command of the source material is remarkable; the rigorous research he’s conducted, which he details in a prefatory note, is admirably meticulous. While remaining true to the Biblical material, he also painstakingly reconstructs the political intrigues of the time, as well as the cultural context they occurred within. In the interstices of the historical record, he invents a story that combines the religious and supernatural with a serious reflection on the challenges faced by the Magi masters who eagerly anticipated the birth of their messiah. But for all its theological and historical veracity, the novel is considerably less convincing as dramatic fiction. The author tends to resort to soap-operatic melodrama of the kind that leans toward sentimental formulae and thin characterization. Master Dvandas, in particular, is a shell of a character, a pastiche of comic-book villains who sinisterly rub their hands together as they concoct their evil designs. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Rassan, whose unalloyed goodness and decency rob him of all psychological complexity. His bottomless earnestness is matched by the bloodless quality of the author’s prose. Here, Rassan eagerly reflects on the mission he was assigned by Master Vinda Farnah: “Ever since the man placed his hands on him and charged him with his dying words, his eyes have somehow been opened to newer and higher things. He always felt that the Creator would make known what He wanted him to do with his life.” This brew of maudlin sentiment and stale clichés grows tiresome quickly.

An intelligent historical reimagining that fails as dramatic literature.