Customer Reviews

Marduk's Tablet: What If the Legend Is True?

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Marduk's Tablet is an engaging novel of suspense built upon a foundation of archaeological discovery, but author T.L. Higley has a much grander purpose than mere entertainment behind her writing. The book is billed as fiction for the mind and soul, and Higley seeks to challenge readers with the spiritual truths of God. This spiritual depth actually adds to the story, in my opinion, but some readers may blanch at the sometimes overtly Christian message that lies at the heart of the novel. In one sense, I think readers should be aware of this facet of the story going in, but in a larger sense those who are turned off by Christianity or who are rarely exposed to the tenets of Christian faith are those who might benefit the most from this novel and should not be turned away at the gates. In any case, the religious aspect of the writing certainly takes nothing away from an exciting, action-packed story of historical mystery and modern-day suspense.

Marduk was one of the primary gods of ancient Babylon, and a recently discovered Marduk-related tablet is suspected of containing secrets of great healing power. 31-year-old graduate student Emilie Nazarro has a close association with the tablet; indeed, her father discovered it and became obsessed with deciphering its ancient writings - until he disappeared with the tablet when Emilie was 13 years old. His body had been found the following week, but the tablet had not been seen again - until now. To Emilie's great surprise, an associate of her father, Thomas Fitzwater, not only has the tablet, he wishes to hire Emilie to translate it for him. While she views the tablet as the reason for her father's ignominious death and worries about finishing her graduate studies, Fitzwater will not take no for an answer, telling Emilie that he is dying and needs to see if Marduk's tablet can somehow heal him - Emilie, he says, is the only person he feels he can trust. In short order, Emilie arrives at a dig site in Ashkelon, Israel, to begin working on the translation of Marduk's tablet. Little does she know that others plan on using her to steal the tablet out from under the noses of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Nervous and unsure of herself by nature, Emilie eventually makes a few friends but has a hard time figuring out whom to trust. One of the workers at the dig, Jack Cameron, makes a royal pest of himself, continually watching and approaching Emilie and thus causing her to suspect him as a potential thief. Her boss Dr. Herrigan is also very strange and has his own secret agenda. Another stranger, Sheldon Gold, makes a very bad first impression on Emilie but quickly repairs the damage by taking her out and showing a lot of interest in her and her work. Other characters weave in and out of the story, as Higley deftly juggles a number of little subplots without ever losing her focus.

Margaret, an older woman working at the dig site, sort of takes Emilie under her wing, and she is most responsible for awakening a sense of spiritual curiosity in the book's non-religious protagonist. At the same time, Emilie is pumped with New Age philosophy by her roommate Jenn and experiences vivid dreams about Marduk and ancient Babylonia that suggest the idea of reincarnation - but she eventually begins to follow Margaret's seven signposts of religious faith as she seriously ponders spirituality and Christianity for the first time. Rather than look for truth only in the past, Emilie begins searching for truth in the present and future. It is this nascent faith of Emilie's that helps to sustain her as she is played like a drum by those after the tablet and betrayed by the very individuals she thought to be her friends.

There is more than one conspiracy at work in these pages, and Higley does a wonderful job of developing each of them in turn. Her main characters are strong and well-constructed, and one never knows just how to judge any one of them until the story plays itself out all the way. The Christian subtext is very noticeable and, on a few occasions, seems to slow the story down, but the message is presented in a very effective, nonjudgmental fashion and does have a direct bearing on the story of Marduk's tablet itself. Inspirational as well as exciting, Marduk's Tablet makes for a great read for those inclined to seek the higher truths of this life.

Rich with history, intrigue and thoughtful prose, Tracey Higley creates an intriguing character in Emilie, the daughter of a dead archeologist accused of stealing an ancient tablet supposed to have healing powers. When the tablet appears years later and Emilie is the one chosen to translate it, it seems everyone wants a piece of the tablet--and Emilie. With more twists and turns than most country roads, this seeker sensitive novel probes the thinker's path to faith through the eyes of a kind hippie-turned-Christian named Margaret who gives out kindness and truth in equally generous doses. From ancient Babylon to present day Israel, this book is a thrill from cover to cover. I look forward to reading her backlist and future titles.

Excellent novel and fast paced. Biblical adventure with Babylonian historical background that parallels with the book of Daniel. Modern detective story with a bit of history. Excellent

T.L. Higley is one of my all time favorite authors.
This book, Marduk's Tablet, held my interest from start to finish.
If you love historical mysteries, you'll love this book!

I happened upon this book in a clearance pile in a Christian bookstore. It was cheap and looked pretty interesting, and I saw that it included some archeology (which I love!) so I figured it was worth a shot. I barely put the book down. I was really looking for a historical thriller to fill my void after reading Angels and Demons and The Last Cato, and this really worked. As a Christian, I am usually disappointed with Christian fiction (though thankfully, I've found many exceptions lately) because of how cheesy it is. The stories come off as preachy or with a protagonist that is as two dimensional as a piece of paper. I really liked the characters, and was generally surprised with the twists and conspiracies. The Christian message did have a few cheesy moments, but most of it was very natural and beautifully done. The pacing was fantastic - just when it seemed like the action would lull, something else would happen. The romance worked, the history worked, the Christianity worked - great read! I would highly recommend.

Took me a while to get to this one. Glad I didn't over-look it!

Poor author. I suppose trying to fit everything through a very narrow "christian" point of view, which includes a great deal of both ignorance and fear of all other ideas, does make story telling a bit difficult. Still with some basic skills it might be done.

For example it would be nice if an author could really build characters before committing them to paper, or if she knew how conversations really happened, or even how people think, before putting them through their paces it would have helped a great deal.

One climactic fight scene has the main "bad guy" just hanging around waiting until one of his two would-be victims makes up her mind whether or not she will climb back on to a parapet from which he had recently pushed her. He just kind of waits around while she talks to her "partner" then communes with "god" about whether or not it is a good idea to regain firm ground.

The author's timing is non existent, the action scenes, the dating scenes, the conversations, all of it, do not fill the time allotted to them, nor are they appropriately "weighted" between short off hand interactions and those that are integral to the plot. The clumsy misdirections do not misdirect.

Half finished dialogue, giant leaps in the definition of various relationships and the changing fortunes of the unbelievably amateurish "international thieves" involved in this most unlikely of plots does not make it "fast paced" it makes it choppy and disjointed.

Add in a heroine who spends a great deal of time leaping around from place to place and person to person, like Chicken Little's dumber little sister, and you would have the makings of a first rate comedy, if the writing was better.

Still, its also supposed to be about travel right? Showing the reader new places through this incredibly narrow and invasive religious belief? Don't get your hopes up. In this incredibly rich place where the unlikely tale is set, you do not get to know a sight, sound, smell of any of it. In a place where the food is incredible and the choices vast, you get to go to a side street and eat ribs and apple pie. You know there IS a beach and that it is hot. You know the dig is sectioned off into a grid, and that there is a middling US type hotel near by that houses the volunteer archeologists, and there are other US hotels mentioned by name.

The cherry on the sundae had to be when the author just about breaks her arm patting herself on the back for knowing the Nebuchadrezzar spelling of the king of that name, but then shoots any credibility she might have had by stating that it was the "correct" translation of the more commonly known Nebuchadnezzar. With the most minimal research she would have discovered that the first (with the "r") is most likely the Babylonian translation of the name, while the better known "n" is almost certainly Aramaic. Neither more 'correct' than the other.

Regardless this one last insult to any reader's intelligence did nothing to rescue the book.

I can only hope it made her happy to write it.