Western Wall

There are presently five books in the Dax Hunter Files, with Book#6 due for release at the end of May. Readers often ask if each book is a stand-alone story, or whether they should be read in sequence. Ignoring for a minute the urge to make a few extra sales, I have to say that each book builds materially on the last—and I’m not simply referring to the evolving circumstances of a handful of key characters. Besides the two main protagonists, Dax and Apple, there are several characters who span four or more books, where new, emerging scenes cross-reference events that were described in earlier books.

By way of example, here’s an excerpt from Book#2, ‘A Banner of Knights’, where Saul Fischel, a young undercover Mossad spy, witnessed an historic event that had taken place during the 1967 Six-Day War:

Silhouetted in one of the parapets of the Old City wall, Saul was an easy target. As the bullet ripped into his forearm, he dived for cover.

For the people of Israel, the iconic moment was surely a sign from Yahweh: the young man who’d reached the Western Wall was the nephew of none other than Dov Bela Gruner—the lionized hero of a nation.

After making meaningful contributions to Books #4 and #5, it pleased me immensely when Scott E. Townsend agreed last year to co-author Book#6. Here’s a corresponding scene, set fifty-nine years later, taken from our forthcoming book:

“You’re such a luddite,” chuckled Avigail, elbowing her husband. “That’s how global businesses work these days. Not only is your grandson employed in the world’s most secure industry, but he gets to work and live in Israel—one of the world’s safest countries.”

“My dear, we need to be wary of thinking that way,” Saul chided gently. “Ezekiel 38:11 warns us not to be lulled, and I quote: You will say, ‘I will invade a land of open towns, I will fall upon a tranquil people living secure, all of them living in unwalled towns and lacking bars and gates’.” 

“Saba, do you really believe in all these prophesies?” asked the grandson.

“David, David. I was eight years old when Israel celebrated its national rebirth and homecoming. That was prophesized.

“With my own eyes I saw Sergeant Dov Gruner reach out and touch the Wailing Wall during the height of the Six-Day War. In that one simple act he reclaimed Jerusalem, our most holy site, for the first time in almost nineteen hundred years. That was prophesized.

“Have you seen all the materials that are being amassed by the Temple Institute in preparation for the rebuilding of the Third Temple? This too was prophesized,” said Saul.

“So, to answer your question, yes, I do believe in the prophecy of the Ezekiel 38-39 War.”

“Is that the same as the Gog-Magog war?” asked David.

“Yes, it is,” nodded Saul.

[Archive photo from Wikipedia]