by Paul Newman
First published 2015
Alan King celebrates his 25th birthday in London when a mysterious package arrives. Inside lies his inheritance: a handwritten grimoire left by his father, an archaeology professor who vanished eight years ago at an Iraqi ziggurat. Alan studies advanced experimental physics and trusts his scientific training. The magical text before him challenges everything he believes about his father and reality itself. The grimoire contains instructions for summoning archangels, written in medieval style but unmistakably in his father's handwriting. Alan struggles to reconcile his rational worldview with this occult legacy. The book's contents disturb him further when he discovers Lucifer's name at the top of the summoning list. Alan must decide whether to dismiss the grimoire as his father's delusion or accept that his disappearance connects to forces beyond scientific explanation. The choice forces him to confront not only his father's true fate but his own understanding of what exists beyond the laboratory.
Genres: adventure, mystery, fantasy, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Iraq, London
Period: 25th Birthday
282 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform