WISE MEN

An Egyptian man is forced to travel to Palestine as a spy for the Roman Empire amid rumors that a prophecy of a Messiah has been fulfilled in Smith’s debut historical novel.

Khefren is a scribe in Alexandria, and according to his own typically self-effacing description, he’s “very, very ordinary.” He lives a reasonably comfortable life with his wife and two daughters, but his life really isn’t his own, as he’s little more than a servant to Roman Gaius Duccius Aquila, a tribune who hails from one of the most powerful families in Rome. Aquila notices an Ethiopian in town and, suspicious of his motives, compels Khefren to spy on him; the man turns out to be Shabako of Meroe, the court astrologer for the king of Kush, who’s on his way to see Persian friends in Palestine. Aquila takes this for evidence of a conspiratorial collaboration between Jews and Parthians against Rome and orders Khefren to accompany Shabako to gather more information. In a spirit of humble resignation, astutely and often comically captured by author Smith throughout the novel, Khefren complies: “I’d been sent on this journey with the understanding that I would betray the confidence of anyone who gave it.” Khefren’s journey is a perilous one—his life is threatened first by pirates, then by assassins—but the greatest danger he encounters comes from the Romans he serves. The author skillfully combines historical rigor and dramatic suspense with a light, humorous touch. He also broadens the story beyond mere political intrigue; while in Palestine, for example, Khefren learns more about the Judaic monotheism he finds perplexing and ends up searching for the new king that people say has come to deliver them from their earthly bondage.

A rare novel that’s as riveting as it is historically astute.