The Last Ember

by Daniel Levin

Book Overview

Jonathan Marcus, a young American lawyer and former doctoral student in classics, is summoned to Rome for a case and stumbles across a message hidden inside an ancient stone fragment. The discovery propels him and UN preservationist Dr. Emili Travia into a coldblooded modern plot to erase every remnant of Jewish and Christian presence from Jerusalem's Temple Mount, in the process redefining history itself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594484600
• ISBN13: 9781594484605
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Last Ember

Daniel Levin, Author The Last Ember Riverhead Books, ISBN 978-1-59448-872-6 Fiction-mystery, thriller, suspense, history, conspiracy 415 pages September/October 2009 Review for Bookpleasures Reviewer-Michelle Kaye Malsbury, BSBM, MM Review Daniel Levin, author of The Last Ember, is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA) Roman and Greek civilizations and Harvard University Law School. (Inside cover, 2009) Background for this book comes from his clerking for the Supreme Court in Israel where he was part of the research and legal teams charged with prosecuting those who performed illegal excavations in Jerusalem and Rome. (Insert) He practices international law and lives with his physician wife in New York City. For more information about this special author please log on to his personal web site at [...]. The main character of this book, Jonathan Marcus, shares many parallels with the author in that he is also an expert in Roman and Greek history with a law degree working for an international firm charged with defending the excavations of some unscrupulous and devious people with tentacles that criss-cross the globe and are backed by terror monies. Mr. Marcus' firm does not know of this dark secret, but soon gets caught up in the fray. Mr. Marcus is called back to Rome, from New York, where he meets his ex-love interest, Dr. Emili Travia. Dr. Travia and Mr. Marcus are on opposing sides of this important case. She works for the U.N. as a preservationist. Dr. Travia believes that Jon has become a different man than the one she met and fell in love with seven long years ago. Back then he was passionate about archeology and preserving history. Now he is defending those very things that he knew were wrong during his more passionate days. Jonathan is out to prove Emili wrong. Together they piece together a tale of international intrigue that began as Mr. Marcus doctoral dissertation and ended up as a major plot to unearth and smuggle the "Tabernacle Menorah" out of the Temple Mount where it is suspected to have been hidden for the past two-thousand years. The plot takes many twists and turns as various characters attempt to follow the clues and historical data to their logical conclusions. Many people lose their lives trying to locate this international religious treasure because those with darker interests in this historic relic will not stop short of actually having it. It is impossible to know who is on the take and part of this massive deception and who Jon and Emili can actually trust to help them determine if the clues and historical data actually lead to the location of the "Tabernacle Menorah". It is a race against time. Jonathan and Emili narrowly miss being killed themselves, but their romantic bonds end up stronger than ever before because the circle of trust is so small and they must be able to count on one another to get to the right people who can help thwart this dastardly plan and save the "Tabernacle Menorah" from falling i

Can't wait to see the movie

I found The Last Ember to be a really terrific read. Daniel Levin's debut novel is a thriller full of intrigue, stretching from Jerusalem to Rome and interspersed with biblical history of the Temple Mount that will be of interest to both Christians and Jews. The book addresses current issues of historical revisionism, archeological politics and terrorism. I can't wait to see the movie!

FINALLY, A RIVETING (AND YES, THOUGHT-PROVOKING!) TRUE INTERNATIONAL SUSPENSE!

FINALLY! Some amazing international suspense for August! Yesterday afternoon I was hoping no one would bother me so I could finish!! I loved not just The Last Ember's pace and exotic locales (Jerusalem! Gaza! Abandoned warehouses outside Rome!) but I also loved how the novel kept me THINKING. After all, the novel's premise confronts historical revisionism, following a villain that is physically destroying Judeo-Christian ruins in Jerusalem to deny the past. How timely. I googled some of the issues, and learned that that same destruction is actually happening beneath the Temple Mount! As described in the novel, the U.S. Congress really is trying to stop it. The unlikely protagonist, Jonathan Marcus, an antiquities lawyer for questionable clients, and the heroine - a UN preservationist, Emili Travia -- have romantic chemistry that's more than cardboard cut-out. AND, I thought the novel's theories about an ancient spy plot to confront Roman revisionism was not just riveting, but believable. The sacred artifact they are searching for actually DELIVERS, and this book carries a theme more thought-provoking than I ever would have expected from a book this gripping. THIS ONE WILL GLUE YOUR BOOK-CLUB MEMBERS TO THE PAGE.

Thought-provoking theme served up thriller-style

Beyond my expectations, this debut had me hooked. In an era of "24" we're used to lots of firepower (literally) to compensate for meaningful plot, but in this book (though, too, taking place in only a day and night) archaelogical mysteries, ancient religious disputes and legal puzzles serve up a thought-provoking theme about historical revisionism long after its finish. The double-tiered ancient and modern conspiracy was well-executed and the historical background actually enhanced plot twists that were --even to my jaded eye -- admittedly more clever and unpredictable than the other genre suspense books. I'm sure many others will compare this with Dan Brown but this novel's depth sets it apart (and may disappoint some looking for merely quick pacing at the expense of a thoughtful plot). This novel walks and talks like a thriller, but there are real ideas here, particularly the fragility of the past and how "history is written in fire, but to save it takes only an ember." Most important, in the best tradition of historical thrillers, I'd no idea how much I learned until the last page was turned.

Brilliant Debut Novel!

Daniel Levin's debut novel, "The Last Ember," is fast-paced, well-written and entertaining. The fact that he combines three of my interests (forensic science, antiquities and archaeology) is almost icing on this perfectly created cake. Levin's protagonist, Jonathan Marcus, is an archaeologist turned lawyer who comes to Rome to prosecute a case. To his surprise, one of the defendants is a former colleague, Emili Travia, from his archaeology days ... and she is trying to present evidence that a particular artifact has been stolen. This artifact is rather familiar to Jonathan, as it is part of his set of studies concerning historian Flavius Josephus. Throw in a corpse preserved inside a Corinthian column, international terrorism, smuggling and religious jurisdictional issues in the Middle East ... Levin has created a book with numerous layers and subplots that come together artfully at the end in a completely unexpected result. I am delighted to recommend this to fans of the numerous genres represented in this review. Levin has created a sure-fire bestseller with this work. (Review based on uncorrected advance proof.)