SCORPIONS ASCENT
by Hollisa Alewine
In Alewine’s YA drama set in ancient Israel, a young teenager must find and rescue his kidnapped father against considerable odds.
Although he’s only 12 years old, Tzakhi is already an expert horseman, as well as a skilled desert tracker and fighter. He yearns to live a life of adventure as a horse trainer for Israel’s King Melekh Shlomo, or as a soldier or scout. However, he’s destined to soon follow in the footsteps of his father, Nachshon, the chief metalworker and “mind of the king…when it came to preparing weapons of war.” When Tzakhi comes of age, he’s expected to “pass into the fires as an apprentice,” learning to transform raw copper and iron into useful tools—a life-path he abhors, but one his father insists he must follow. Then disaster descends upon the family when Nachshon is kidnapped by “man-stealers,” who whisk him away, leaving hardly a trace behind. Because Nachshon is a keeper of “iron secrets,” this has always been a possibility, as many rivals seek his esoteric knowledge. As this riveting novel goes on, Tzakhi realizes his father’s guards are going about their investigation all wrong, and that he, himself, may the only tracker capable of finding him: “The only soldiers still here don’t know how to track or survive. The other men who live here and could pursue, won’t. A band of raiders big and powerful enough to steal the king’s chief mine steward is nothing the men here would risk pursuing without a detachment of soldiers.” Relying only upon “ancient desert-craft,” the youngster sets out on his own to locate Nachshon, although he’s sure to encounter a band of jackals that will try to keep him from his goal.
Tzakhi is a memorable protagonist who’s shown to be wise and brave far beyond his years; he’s also endowed with a precocious sense of the life he’d like to lead, if only he were given the chance. Alewine, in an author’s note, admits that his work of historical fiction takes some considerable liberties and “does not rise to the academic standards of history, archaeology, Biblical criticism, rabbinic literature, linguistics, or even metallurgy.” Be that as it may, she undeniably brings a distant time to vivid life, making its particular cultural concerns emotionally relevant to modern readers. As the kidnapping of Nachshon is an inherently political act, it can only be elucidated by a nuanced account of the complex politics of the age, which the author provides with an accessible clarity. The novel as a whole is relatively brief—fewer than 250 pages in length—and the plot marches along at a pace that’s initially brisk and then nearly breakneck. As a result, the tension mounts at a fast clip, and the author creates an atmosphere that’s thick with suspense. Readers won’t be able to help but cheer Tzakhi on in his quest to recover his father and maybe win a chance to craft his own fate. Overall, this is a captivating work of historical fiction, rendered with keen intelligence.A powerful and compelling work that’s packed with action and intrigue.