Introduction

Ancient prophets had the key to benefit humanity. Jason Bryden, the archeologist, wanted to use the key to unite the Christian churches in the United States. Things went wrong, and they wanted Jason dead. A trail of death soon followed as Jason pursued this goal. The Viceroys of God, a story unrestricted by space and time. From the ancient world to faraway places, Jason sought the wisdom of how to use the key. The Viceroys of God are stories within a story that everyone knows but yet never told before!

Following his debut novel, The Eurasians (2017), Don Peter delves into his fascination with religious history for a thriller heavy on biblical lore and light on adventuring. (BlueInk Review)

 

The main story

The Viceroys of God is a story toggling between the past and present. The introduction started in ancient Arabia, where traders and Christian missionaries talked about a messenger’s emergence. Later, back into the modern age, readers learned about an archeologist cum part-time lecturer, Jason Bryden, searching for clues in the Arabian Desert.

Jason’s employer, the enigmatic Emperor Constantine Foundation, interrupted Jason’s research in Jordan as Jason sought the magic bullet, an ambiguous revelation from byzantine mythos, which Jason believes could unite all Christian faiths in the United States. Jason’s superior, Dr. Adam Clark, condemned the trajectory of Jason’s work. For Dr. Clark, Jason’s mission is going nowhere.

 

Stories within story

The clues that Jason sought will bring Jason pondering about the ancient prophets and their mission. To unite the Christian churches, a prime motivation for the Emperor Constantine Foundation, his bosses must accept the extremity of the viceroys of God. This dilemma caused friction between Jason and his superiors.

As the story’s main plot intensifies, readers will be bumped along seven sub-stories. It began with ancient Arabia, followed by the Neolithic period, ancient Sumer, ancient Egypt, Pompeii, ancient Maya, and the last chapter covering the Thamudian era in 2000 years before Christ.

Many of the sub-stories seemed familiar to you, dear readers, as you heard about it repeatedly in churches, synagogues, and mosques. However, if you follow these sub-stories carefully, you will find them quite different from what you all heard in your Sunday schools. Did Noah carry all the animals of the earth in his ark? Which pharaoh did Moses encounter, what happened in Pompeii, and why did the Mayan civilization collapse?

 

The plot continues

In the meantime, back in Maryland, Jason discovers a mentor was killed in a mysterious accident, while another close friend soon meets a distraught end. There’s also a slow-burn romance between Jason and blonde beauty Mary Townsend. Meanwhile, a former ISIS assassin aims to take Dr. Bryden off the playing field for good.

Jason’s champion is mysterious Senator Rosemary Kimmel, whose motivations are opaque. Simultaneously, Jason also tangled with a Russian with a mysterious past and a compromised FBI agent.

 

The novel central conceit

The “magic bullet,” as BlueInk Review puts it, seems irrelevant if readers focused their attention on the main plot and twist of the book. However, it is the piece of Jason’s finding that ties all the stories together. One must try to consider the romance, thriller, and suspense in this book as secondary. BlueInk described the “cast is solid” and “it is a shame” because “the novel’s central conceit is vexing!” The “central conceit” is the stories within the story.

 

Conclusion

I would say The Viceroys of God had its uniqueness, either entertaining or upsetting my potential readers. My novel’s theme emphasizes the similarity of all human beings, irrespective of their religious, racial, political, and cultural differences. Those are the ingredients Jason sought to unite people.

The problem is human beings like to talk about the difference rather than the standard value. During the Neolithic period, homo sapiens propagated the difference rather than focused on the principle that bound humanity. As the world became civilized, the diverging values became more complex, thus creating disunity and bloodshed.