Charles Lichtman’s new novel is titled The Sword of David. Like any great piece of spy fiction – it’s got all the elements. Heart-pounding suspense, mega-kick action (with a decidedly crueler, more realistic tone), compelling characters (particularly that of the ‘superior woman’ type), and a good sense of fun in a geopolitical sense.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: https://www.chucklichtman.com/
The adventure in Sword of David spans multiple countries and continents, Israeli Special Forces officer Chaim Klein racing against time to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant. But you can spare Mr. Lichtman any salutations when it comes to Indiana Jones or other, assorted franchise superficiality with respect to the more escapist regards of the read. First and foremost, the book follows in Mr. Lichtman’s line of activism, both as a member of the Board of Directors of Secure Community Network, affiliated with the Jewish Federations of North America, and as Chair of the Security Committee for the South Palm Beach Jewish Federation. As much as it’s a fun and blockbustery exposé of Jewish and Israeli identity, it’s also a rallying cry for peace in a region that has long dominated the international conversation because of the ongoing conflict. Sword of David is one of those rare books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that doesn’t literarily exploit the immediacy of the dispute. Rather, it’s a meditation on a hypothetical outcome that may be a means to solve it. Lichtman knows there are no easy answers here, so again there needs to be an emphasis on the hypothetical.
But he knows a hell of a lot more than most people who consider themselves, for better or for worse, well-versed on the subject. It shows up in his fixation on even the most minute of details in each of the book’s scenes, making the reader feel magically transported to the immediacy of each moment. Take, for instance, the following passage: “The Tunnel was one of the most significant archeological expeditions in Israel, comprising an excavated walkway running under the Western Wall and Temple Mount as it had existed 2,000 years earlier.
The digging caused widespread Palestinian riots that had led to the first intifada, which began in late 1987 and continued for nearly six years. After that, it was rumored but denied by the Israeli government that further excavations continued underneath where the Second Temple sat. Klein was now part of a small team whose job was to explore every inch of that space with a rubber hammer, chisel, and bucket — and to keep his mouth shut about it. Debra entered the women’s prayer section at the Wall, double-checking that she was dressed respectfully. Wearing an ankle-length white skirt, a long-sleeved white top, and a straw hat, with her brown ponytail dangling down her back, she realized that she was not only dressed appropriately but that she also looked very American.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Sword-David-Charles-Lichtman/dp/1637580061
Debra slowly approached the Wall, focusing on its casket-sized beige stones. As she drew nearer, moving with small steps, the Wall seemed to magnetically pull her in close. When she was finally face to face with it, she lightly rested her palm on its surface.” As someone who has personally visited the Western Wall in Israel, what Lichtman evokes perfectly captures my own experience of the place – an area that not only boasts a distinct and pertinent emotionality because of its history, but that brings out a distinct and pertinent emotionality in you as well.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book – and highly recommend it to spy fans, history buffs on the region, and people who just like a good story.
Jodi Marxbury