Author: Marek Halter

Translated by Michael Bernard

ISBN 13: 978-1-59264-158-1

ISBN 10:         1-59264-158-X

Historical fiction has never been so exciting under the expert penmanship of Marek Halter where believable stories unfold at a quick and exhilarating pace. He takes you right into the action of the Wind of the Khazars from the first page on and does not let you down until the last word.

The plot is divided in three parts: the story of the lost tribe of the Khazars: the tale of  Isaac Isaac Ben Eliezer  the Spaniard: his peregrinations in anti-semitic Europe  to reach the Khazar kingdom in the Tenth century. In addition,  the Wind of the Khazars murmurs their legend into the ears of  Marc Sofer, a  Jewish historian and a lecturer in Paris in the 20^th Century. Through mysterious circumstances, he becomes involved in the rediscovery of the Kingdom of the Khazars in Georgia.

The characters created by Marek Halter are very realistic. The opening salvo features little princess Attex, a redhead beauty with emerald eyes, her faithful maid Attania and her older brother Joseph who is about to be bar-mitzvaed and the futur Kagan of the Khazars. He saves his sister from an attack by a tribe called the Petchenegues. Attex grows up to be a gorgeous woman, feisty and independent.

In the same era, Isaac Ben Eliezer, a  Jew, living in Spain at the time of the “conviviensa” or tolerance of Jews,  and also at the time of anti-semitic repression in Europe, is the courrier for a Rabbi who wants to deliver a message to the Jewish Kingdom of the Khazars far far away to the North. Somehow, his path will merge with Attex and they will fall in love. I will not divulge the end of their story so as not to spoil it for the reader.

In a parallel story set in the twentieth century, Sofer is mezmerised by an elusive redheaded beauty with emerald eyes. He begins his research for a story on the Kingdom of the Khazars in various universities. As well, he meets mysterious Russians who will lead him to the actual vestiges of the Khazar kingdom.   The winds of excitement begin to blow until the climax which is worthy of a James Bond saga.

Clever terminology, descriptions of the rugged landscapes of the Georgia and Ukraine are so tangible, you can imagine yourself being there. Settings and characters become alive under the penmanship of Halter.

Readers of the Wind of the Khazars will want to clear their calendar to be able to enjoy the compelling storytelling of Marek Halter. And Michael Bernard did an excellent job  translating The Wind of the Khazars from French to English.