The Alexander Cipher

I have recently discovered another book from the historical fiction category. Called The Alexander Cipher,  it tells the story of where Alexander the Great might have been buried. The story revolves around Daniel Knox, an archaeologist working as a diver for Hassan al-Assyuti, a barbaric shipping tycoon. He is still in continuous search of the Alexander tomb when things start escalating quickly as he finds Hassan raping a young woman. He beats him and leaves him bleeding while he hit the road.

He decides that it is safer to leave Egypt, but the quest for finding Alexander seems to be his only chance for staying alive. He finds shelter in a friend’s house and starts to work with him on a new construction site where  an Alexandrian catacomb has been discovered. But the problem is that he is not the only one haunting for the treasure.

There is another group called Dragoumis which is after the body of Alexander the great. And even if they are all hunting the same goal, each one has different motivations.

For Knox, it is his ticket to staying alive. For the Dragoumis group is the mobile for a Macedonian war which could lead to the independence of Macedonia. And there are other characters involved. Elena Koloktronis, famous archaeologist, wants to get revenge on the Dragoumis for the death of her husband, Pavlos. Gaille Bonard is just a collateral victim, but as she discovers the magnitude of the possible discovery she realizes that this might be the opportunity of her lifetime. And there is also Ibrahim Beyumi for whom this discovery means honor. His saying is that the proffet ordered to save your blood, honor and goods. So his purpose is a holly one. And in the end there is Mohammed el-Dahab, father of a girl with leukemia, whose sole motivation in discovering this site is to obtain money for a transplant.

In this quest for the body, there are people who are able to kill for their purpose, and victims are to appear. Although at some point Daniel appears to be the bad guy, at least in the vision of Gaille, he then washes his honor by clearing to her the entire truth. His honor leads him to saving lives from spilling. He tries to stop the Dragoumis from stealing the body, and he almost got himself killed.

The cipher in the tomb is a very well hidden message which Gaille somehow manages to decipher. And her intelligence and strong character makes Daniel fall in love with her. Actually, his name is only mentioned as Daniel in the book when she talks to him, or at least this is what I have noticed.

There were also some inconsistencies that I have remarked. One of them is the fact that at the beginning of the book, Mohamed reminds his daughter Lyla, who died two years earlier, but then throughout the book his only fight is to get money for the transplant to save her. Or maybe it was just my understanding.

Overall, the book is very exciting. And I am always glad to read a historical fiction when I have the opportunity (see People of the book). As part of a four volume series, this is the first book in the story of Daniel Knox. Will try to find the other ones as the story had caught my attention. So, waiting for the next volume. 🙂

© picnicontheshelf, August 20, 2018