Why are Americans like Paul Johnson beheaded by terrorists? It's nothing new, as Amin Malouf's Samarkand explains. This novel looks at the origins of the Assassins, a terrorist cult that is a spiritual ancestor of today's Al-Qaeda.
Malouf, a Lebanese living in Paris, gives a chilling account of the rise and fall of international terror a few centuries ago. The novel that weaves its spell from the Titanic to ancient Persia, Afghanistan, and what is present-day Uzbekistan. The plot hinges on a search for the manuscript of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyaat, with a few twists and turns.
As someone who has been to Samarkand, I can highly recommend this book.
