Thievery, Theology, and Thrills (and Romance!)
in Ancient Jerusalem
Readers will delight at this wacky and wicked comedic adventure story set amidst the grandeur and cultural clash that was Israel’s City of Gold in the last times of Jerusalem’s Temple.
The Temple Mount Heist
Part I
In which, in the Jewish year 3797 (a date that two thousand years later would be known as 36 CE), an audacious and delusionary Temple Heist is conceived in Jerusalem for the purposes of Spiritual Growth, Divine Profit, and Eternal Revenge. From two thousand years later, the senior players in the Passion, long dead, watch and kibitz about the action in Jerusalem, while, underfoot, a uniquely unqualified commentator adds undeodorized footnotes in real time. Meanwhile, the Heist Crew and a Logistics Staff are acquired by Haphazard Methods, and these Assorted Personas arrive in Jerusalem. The Heisters—along with several Uninvited Guests—gather at a Dubious Edifice and acquaint themselves with One Another and Herod’s treasure-laden Temple Mount. A Very Important Romance is rekindled, Interpersonal Friction becomes evident, and the plotting of the Heist of the Century (The 1st Century, that is,) begins.
Podcast
Listen to an analysis on the opening episode of The Temple Mount Heist. You can play it right here on the page or download it to listen later.
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The Temple Mount Heist
Part II
In which, Much Progress is achieved on the high road toward Spiritual Growth and Grand Larceny, with the overall Heist Project and Religious Awakening sliding toward their Inevitable Destiny. The scholarly footnotes continue at a torrid pace, revealing perhaps the first fruits of Visionary Forensic Biblio-Archelogy. A great number of Unanticipated Difficulties arise as the group members navigate the clash of Religion, Poverty, Ambition, Anger, Injustice, Greed, Spite—and Love. Yet Wisdom goes begging, thus turning the Heist into a true experiment in Applied Christianity
Author’s Note on Religion, Language, and Anachronisms
This is not a Christian, or a Jewish, or an atheist book. It is a romantic adventure thought experiment about Jews, Christians, the Goddess, scholars, men, and their story. Yet key to me is it is also meant to be an amusing speculative historical adventure-romance—the reader may pick their own experience.
Luckily, for the reader to experience the natural immediacies of the emotions of these genres, I have written the novel in 21st-century English, including its tropes, memes, colloquialisms, icons, glosses, neologisms, objects, symbols, and especially anachronisms.
Despite all this, it is meant to be funny and does not require any prior knowledge of Biblical times and events. The story speaks for itself. Should the reader be interested or want support, there is a great deal of information provided, hopefully unobtrusively. To aid the reader on the geopolitics and the localities of the story, the front matter contains an annotated map of Israel and the story locations, a Temple neighborhood sketch, a painting of the burning of the Temple (noting the location of the Hotel Mikdash as it burns), and a bibliography of more than 200 references. There are also glossaries and scholarly notes, and a key for the reader to choose their ending from several.
For my favorite characters, I have pre-appended some wonderful orienting images of a few driving theme characters: Aphrodite, Goddess of love, war, and sex; Ishtar, Goddess of fertility and sex; Aurora, Goddess of Dawn; and Hecate, Goddess of Crossroads.
About
John D. Gonglewski is a writer of novels and screenplays of adventure, feeling, and thought. He has written seven novels and screenplays, from science thrillers to dramas to speculative historical fiction. From Brightman’s First Law (psychological California detective), The First Laser Warriors (military thriller), The Madonnas of Route 66 (feminist mean streets), Lava Tales (interleaved New Mexico coming of age stories), Zoomies (young adult science fiction), and he is currently working on Part II of The Temple Mount Heist. He has travelled widely around the world, and now lives in New Mexico, where he is currently the a senior liaison for the Air Force in International for technology exchange.
Stay in touch
For updates on new releases, essays, and assorted mischief:
Email:
johndgonglewski.writer@gmail.com
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