Synopsis
History. The one still being made.
The Jerusalem Cycle is a story about our history, about what will be said about us in the future, about what will become our heritage. The Jerusalem Cycle imagines a future for that fabled city. It takes us on a journey from the past to a future just beyond our time, a post-historical biography of a city beset by war and strife that the God seems to have forgotten. The book imagines a statistical probability. Sophisticated computer models have churned out a prediction of sorts. A prediction about the imminent fall of Jerusalem. The fabled city’s end is spoken of as a certainty stalking us. An elderly Jesuit cleric discovers that if he does nothing, the fate of Jerusalem and the Middle East may well be sealed. Nevertheless, he recruits a team of men and women from around the world to help change that seemingly inevitable outcome and put an end to the cycle of war and violence. Cities tied by destiny and history to Jerusalem have unleashed brutal wars against their own citizens. Five thousand years have passed since Jerusalem became a city. With its birth came a proliferation of violence, malignant tumors. For many, hope is dead. The cancerous cycle of war and violence has spread to more than 22 cities around the world. To alter the path of this destruction, the priest has decided to do something very different. He has decided to attack the malignant force from within. Crusaders, caught between thieves and nations, are launched on an initiative too surreal to comprehend. They must stop the Jerusalem Cycle from achieving the critical mass required to cause mass destruction.
Author’s note
Today, more than ever, I realize why I developed The Jerusalem Cycle as a concept and as a work of fiction. The question “Why Jerusalem?” was often raised by those who read my first draft. My reply wasn’t simple or obvious. As a kid in catechism class led by Catholic nuns, my first insight about Jerusalem was its central role in the world’s existence.
Whether it’s because my ancestors lived there or not, I have been fascinated and terrified by the Middle East since learning about its complex history. I believe today, as I did then, that Jerusalem is where history took off – and where it will end. Two years ago, I realized I had to figure out a way of telling my story – a glimpse into what I believe is a likely future for Jerusalem – in a medium that would reach and entertain as many people as possible.
