Meaghan Wilson Anastasios

The Emerald Tablet is not my usual reading fare, but I enjoyed it. Written by Melbourne author Meaghan Wilson Anastasios who has a career in archaeology in the Mediterranean and the Middle East behind her and now uses her expertise to work as a researcher for film and TV, the novel has been described in a Saturday Age review as pure escapism in the mould of Dan Brown or Indiana Jones.' But though I think the flawed main character has the same kind of charisma as Harrison Ford, I think The show more Emerald Tablet is infinitely better than anything by Dan Brown on which I confess to having wasted my time.

The book begins with a well-constructed introduction that includes all the central characters, alludes to the quest that drives the narrative, and provides just enough of the geopolitics of the 1956 Suez Crisis to bring the reader straight to the story: what is this mysterious tablet that is wanted by all the superpowers converging on the Middle East? Yes, it's a reworking of an ancient theme: similar in concept to The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter series et al, The Emerald Tablet is a quest for a power that in the right hands can protect the world and in the wrong hands would destroy it. The emerald tablet, hidden somewhere in the Middle East, is thought to hold the secret of alchemy, which is not, historically, (as most people wrongly think) about the transmutation of metals i.e. from lead to gold, but was aimed at the production of the fabled ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, which really had nothing to do philosophy but was supposed to bestow spiritual wealth and immortality. (See The Sceptical Chymist at The Logical Place if you want to know more about this.) In this novel, it's the possibility of nuclear knowledge in the wrong hands that makes the quest credible for a 21st century reader, and it's the chemistry between Ben and Essie that makes for interesting reading.

Anastasios builds a complex character in Ben. Like his mansion, he is a handsome edifice that had seen better days. He's obviously beddable, but not suitable for long term commitment because he's built for adventure. As Fiona soon finds out. She's despatched by page 53, berating herself for being sucked into his vortex and calling him out as a self-destructive narcissist. She agrees that she'll be safer leaving him, but not in the way that he — in the frame for murder, in a country that wants a culprit rather than justice — means it. Fiona's indignant departure sets up the possibility of romance between Ben and Essie, but previous betrayals muddy the waters and maybe there's a Book #3 before they resolve things one way or another?

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/08/07/the-emerald-tablet-benedict-hitchens-2-by-me... show less

Move over Indiana Jones.

Dr Benedict Hitchens renowned archaeologist’s life ambition is to find the final resting place of Achilles and prove his theory that Achilles was a real person.
Ben is tall, blond with rakish good looks. Hearts will be broken on his journey.

I dare you not to fall for this broken ant-hero! I know I did.

Wherever Ben goes trouble soon follows and at times even his credibility starts to be questioned leaving his career in tatters. Ben is forever searching for the next show more big discovery. He makes some bad decisions and runs with his heart rather than his head.

The story moves around from 1955 back to 1938, pre war Greece with the threat of war looming over the quiet Greek island, with flashback of the years between. This style of narration may be off putting to some although as the story progresses the date changes become easier to adapt to.

This moderately paced adventure drama lends itself to both the Historical Fiction genre with the inclusion of the effects of war and the German invasion on the small Greek island, with Ben joining the Resistance Movement, and the tumultuous history between Turkey and Greece and Contemporary Fiction genre as Anastasios describes the people, their way of life and the vivid village street celebrations and feasts. Don’t pass this up just because you don’t read historical fiction.

I would love to see this on the big screen it has all the elements of a Hollywood hit.

The Honourable Thief is an epic adventure of love and loss, greed and cunning, obsession and danger.

The story although fictional was inspired by real events. show less

The structure of this novel turns it into demanding reading. It chops backwards and forwards across multiple time frames, designed to show the reader how Benedict Hitchens is brought low, but in actual fact disrupting the flow of the story. The time frames bring with them a number of plot strands with issues that did not always resolve.

The final chapters of the novel read like an episode from an Indiana Jones movie and for me did not sit comfortably with the Benedict Hitchens I met in the show more first part of the novel. And then the final element of where Achilles' shield ends up is just pure foolishness. show less

"Read" as an audio book on a road trip. Entertaining, but no classic. Weaves a little Turkish history into the Gallipoli story of Australian cannon fodder from World War One. I found out at the end that the novel is based on the screenplay from the movie, rather than the more common reverse. I haven't seen the movie, but will look forward to it.