[The Antagonists 01] • Masada

An exuberant historical tale which returns to the days of heroes larger than life silhouetted against the desert sky above the rock of Masada. Eleazar ben Yair General Flavius Silva, the antagonists in that brief conflict when the Romans were pursuing the last remnants of resisting Jews, shared the common nobility of men who face impossible odds. Eleazar confronted the overwhelmingly superior military force of Rome; Silva, a sensitive, intelligent man, faced the subtler threat of spiritual physical impotence. Then there is Sheva, a Jewish beauty determined to save her people Jael-fashion; the influential Roman Falco with his two pretty boys; noble Masadians grousing Romans. It all ends with a Roman desert victory entailing their psychic defeat. Within its traditional frame, some convincing commotion the publisher anticipates a strong commercial success.--Kirkus