The Godless Man [Paperback]

The first mystery is handled admirably: all the clues are there, and it's one of the more clever locked-room mysteries I've come across in the last few years.

The second mystery is handled nearly as well, though some jumps of reasoning are necessary.

The third mystery, however, disappointed me. I felt there wasn't enough information given up front to solve the mystery. There was some information about the guilty party that seemed to come out only when the detective, Telamon, was giving his solution.

Still, two out of three ain't bad. The characters are well drawn, especially Alexander, and the war scenes are well thought out and written. Much better than the previous Alexander mystery by Mr. Doherty, which did not play fair with the clues. Thanks to this book, I'm looking forward to his next one.

"The Godless Man," the second of the Alexander the Great tomes, seems to lack not only the enthusiasm but the documentation Doherty usually provides to become really thorough. Granted, this is a work of fiction and authors do not have to be historically accurate or even convincing, for, after all, it's the storyline that primarily counts, not incidental elements.

Taking on Alexander the Great is a more daunting task that concentrating on one of Chaucer's pilgrims! Of course, "The Godless Man" is not really about Alexander; instead, it is the story of Telamon, who is The Great's physician. Assisted ably by Cassandra, Telemon must solve the puzzle of a mass murder in the Temple of Hercules in the newly occupied city of Ephesus. And such a quandry, as the denizens of that capital city are not too keen to help the occupying force, concerned with their own immediate problems. They've seen occupying armies come and go and they suspect that the Macedonians won't hang around either!

But Alexander is insistent that these murders (and subsequent ones to keep the plot suspenseful) be solved, for it reflects directly upon him and his abilities to occupy a conquered city.
Telamon, a childhood friend of Alex's, rises to the occasion and some 300 pages later succeeds.

Doherty seems intent, himself, upon a conquering of sorts--to conquer the world of historical fiction. And may he succeed, as he's a delightful writer to read. However, veering away from England seems to lose something in its translations. This book is worth the read, but arguably he should concentrate on his own native shores, or else go beyond what he has presented and work for a more mesmerizing plot. He seems to spend too much time trying to justify what he's doing in time frame in the first place. The subtitle of the book is "A Mystery of Alexander the Great" and is a bit misleading. Probably few historical figures are more interesting than Alexander and Doherty gives little insight (other than to proclaim emphatically that he and Hephaestion were NOT lovers!)into one of the greatest generals of all time. Fans of Doherty (and I am one) won't flee the gates, however. Doherty deserves his praise!