A Clash of Steel — Createspace

Whilst Jonathan Steel, a metallurgist, is examining the Spear of Christ in a laboratory, near to the Vienna museum where it is normally housed, a group of terrorists break in. After a vicious fight some of his team are killed or wounded and the terrorists escape with the Spear. The central character, Jonathan Steel, becomes an immediate suspect of the Vienna police, and to clear his name he embarks on an international hunt for the culprits and the Spear. He is aided by two companions: cameraman Lee Pulbrook, ex-CIA agent Erol Hallends, and a girl he encounters en route - Lisa Kokoschka. Knowing that Hitler had coveted and finally acquired the Spear at the beginning of World War II, they travel to Germany, and encounter a violent Nazi group who they believe wanted the Spear for devious political reasons. The trail takes them to London, Damascus, and on to Lebanon, where posing as a reporter, Jonathan meets Michel Aoun, leader of a Christian party that has tied up with Shi'ite Hizbullah, led by General Nasrallah. Tortured and almost killed, Jonathan escapes with the help of a strange cloaked character, who has masqueraded as an ultra-orthodox Jew. As the story progresses we meet some of the historical figures who have coveted the Spear and the Sabre of Uthman and it becomes clear that their quest has become part of a much larger international scenario involving Israel, America, and the Middle East. The plot of the book is complex, with many twists and surprises and is full of paradoxes that need to be resolved. The implications of the story impinge on current political and religious conflicts, played out against a background of advanced nano-technology employed in the fight against terrorist activities. Running through the story is a steamy affair that Jonathan has with an Austrian, green-eyed blonde, who he falls desperately in love with. Finally centring on Haifa, in Israel, the climax of events takes place against a backdrop of a mysterious surprise encounter.