New Star ^Featured

Akilah, a highly respected priest-scholar in the Lower Council of Magi society, considers all his  astronomy discoveries well-deserved stepping-stones to a more fulfilling life. But the appearance of an new star challenges his priorities. As Persia totters on the brink of an undesirable king coming to power, Akilah declines an Upper Council position that could turn that tide. Instead, he studies the elusive star that doesn’t appear in any almanac or religious writings. Except Jewish.

When he and his colleagues uncover a few Jewish prophecies linking the star to an eternal king, Akilah becomes a target of Persia’s religious and governmental conflicts. Jailed for crimes he didn’t commit, he must rely on unlikely allies to free himself and reach Jerusalem.

Persia’s purists aren’t the only ones bent on keeping their country free from outside influences, especially Jewish.  As dangers at home and abroad plunge Akilah and his colleagues into three countries’ conflicts and circumstances beyond their imagining, Akilah realizes his knowledge of Jesus could potentially destroy Magi society and its influence on Persia’s government, as well as unseat Persia’s official religion. Untrusting of his Council, a thousand miles from aid, and bound to his cousin in a potentially career-ending contract, Akilah must decide how far he will go to protect what he knows of Jesus—and whether the cost of belief is worth the risk.