The Magicians of Mazda

Publisher Synopsis

720 CE. A fleet of boats dock at the port of Sanjan in Gujarat. They carry eighteen thousand frightened souls fleeing the cruelty of Iran's Umayyad Caliphate. Chanting prayers in what sounds like Sanskrit, the high priest consecrates a sacred fire to thank their god, Ahura Mazda, for leading them to a new home and to hope. A mysterious substance is used to spark the flame, but few know of its miraculous provenance.

Centuries later, Parsi scientist Jim Dastoor is abducted from his Seattle laboratory and whisked away to Tehran. The Ayatollah believes Jim is the key to uncovering the ancient relic known as the Athravan Star, and his men will do anything to possess it, even murder.

From the ancient ruins of Persepolis to the Taliban camps of Afghanistan, from the womb of an Udvada fire temple to the icy mountains of Kashmir, from the dreadful coffin cells of Tehran to the deathly calm of Diu's Tower of Silence, Jim and his historian wife, Linda, are sucked into a terrifying chase across vividly changing landscapes.