There was never any substance… any degree of personalization.  So, like an actor that knows his own strengths and writes roles for himself specifically to target them (Cough!  Adam Sandler.  Cough!), I decided to write the questions that I would rather answer, if given only ten of them.  So without any further ado, here they are…

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1 – Do you think there’s a God?
I’d like to think so.  It’s a comforting thought, so long as you get to make one up.
Because let’s face it – if there were a God shop based on current known “gods”, who would most people purchase?  The “angry with the wicked”*, “jealous”**, homosexual-slaughtering, loves-you-but-has-a-fiery-pit-of-damnation-reserved-for-you-forever-if-you-don’t-love-him-back Judeo-Christian God?  Probably not.  If I had to go with a God that exists in current lore, I’d probably choose Bacchus/Dionysus, as he is the god of the theatre, wine, and ecstasy.  Granted, I’ve never cared for wine, but at least Bacchus’ downside has nothing to do with burning forever.

Personally, though, I see God as a good-humored, mostly benevolent watcher.  For this particular case, prayer would be useless, because if your “show” (life) is interesting enough, he’s already watching – and knows what you want anyway.  Of his Godly superpowers, the ability to watch an infinite amount of “channels” at once has definitely got to be (other than his omnipotence) most notable.  (That’s technically why I don’t understand people who subscribe to 100+ channels via satellite or cable – what’s the point?  You can only watch one at a time!  Me personally, I could’ve survived [prior to commercial-free programming like Netflix, DVDs, and Blu-Rays] with only three channels: Comedy Central, the Cartoon Network, and NBC [back in the 30 Rock, Conan O'Brien days].  It must be because I don’t watch sports and generally don’t give a crap about music.  I don’t know – this tangent is getting too long.)

Although other gods are powerful, I like to think the God of the Universe is the only one with supreme power – omnipotence that comes from just being him.  I imagine that every other god in the Universe was created by him, and that their power is dependent upon enough people believing in them (kind of like old Santa Claus movies).  So whichever god has the most people following him, the more power he has to affect the world we live in.  Yahweh and Allah seem to be battling it out the most currently (and let’s face it – they and their followers tend to be belligerent sons of guns), but Jesus used to be popular, Buddha and Shiva still have a faithful eastern following, and Zeus and his buddies used to be pretty badass in the ancient world.

I think the spiritual power struggle actually used to be a bit more even, and perhaps some spirits would even bless their followers with the bounty of their power, granting certain supernatural powers to humans… but that’s just a cool-as-balls premise for a magical story (which I intend to write someday).  But then Yahweh started in with “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”*** and all that ‘I’m the only God!’ business and things started getting pretty cutthroat in the spirit world.

Incidentally, of things I pretty much have no reason to believe in but still do (like God), I also believe in spirits – either original gods with/without power, or the cast-off life forces of people that used to be.  That’s what I imagine the afterlife to be like – you’re finally free of your corporeal form and get to zip all over the world seeing one cool thing after another.  But since that might eventually get boring, I think some spirits might choose to serve living humans and be bound to them.  Others still might rely on the God of the Universe to allow them to be reincarnated as something/someone else – but only so long as they can never (during that lifetime) fully recall what/who they used to be.

I’ve actually thought quite a lot about it.  The idea of God as sort of the “infinite couch potato” doesn’t seem disrespectful to me, either.  Man has forever longed to reach beyond what he could know – to touch the face of God, as it were.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have him be relatable on some level… possibly even interested in watching your “show” as a person?  That’s why I think people that don’t (responsibly) live a Hedonistic lifestyle do a disservice to the Universe, as you aren’t giving God anything cool to watch.  How would you like it if your eternity was nothing but C-SPAN?

2 – Would you ever get remarried?
Only on the off-chance that I got insanely wealthy and wanted to have a devoted hand in raising the perfect heir to my throne… and could have him with either a physically ideal woman who would forever relinquish all motherly rights to the boy, or with a woman raised in the East (where they still – as a society – know how to properly respect a man) that I could manage to keep sequestered from contact with any Western women, who generally poison the minds of any newcomers to America until they’re as jaded and awful as the Western women that live here.  (This isn’t a new revelation, either.  Eddie Murphy was doing a bit about it as early as “Raw“.)

The problem with Western women, generally, is that they are broken.  American society, run by loud-mouthed, feminist bitches, has stolen the essence of womanhood from women. When a woman feverishly chases after the things that are considered to be a man’s purview, she of necessity becomes like the man in order to gain them.  This changes a woman into something manly – not a man, but close enough to bar the interest of any Real Men.  That’s why it’s such a common complaint these days that there are no Real Men left. Well, guess what, manly bitch?  No Real Man will ever be attracted to you!  That’s why your dating pool consists of either spineless sheep (one of whom you will, at one point, trick into marrying your worthless ass) or douchebag pricks who only want to fuck you and chuck you.

Add (to this ludicrous clamor after manly things) a host of mental problems inherent in the feminist American system, and you’ve got the whole package deal of the “shit sandwich” that bitches are trying to sell.  Never in history (from my research) has there been such problems with women having histrionic, bipolar, and schizophrenic disorders.  Add to that – the likely fuck-fest of a sexual history these harridans have had before they’ve decided to “settle down” (emphasis on the settle – as they always see themselves as “settling” for any husband) with you – and you see why Western marriage is never a good investment of a man’s time and energies.  ”Broken” is perhaps a more generous term than these bitches deserve, but I’m benevolent if nothing else.

Also, considering the criminally unfavorable laws that have been passed (and continue to be passed) in America concerning women and divorce, you’d have to have an ironclad pre-nup and an absolute army of rabid lawyers to escape a bad marriage unscathed.  Ergo, why I’d have to wait until I were insanely wealthy.
…which is why there’s a very high probability that I will not ever get married again.

3 – What specific advice would you give your son?
Son, if I’m alive, spend time with me!  There’s a lot I need to tell you, and probably not a lot of time to do it in.  If I’m dead, read this blog!  As I write in it regularly, there is much to be gleaned from it.

For now, though, my primary advice is this: question everything!  Even me!  If someone tells you, “You just need to find the right woman and settle down.  Then, you’ll be happy,” ask them, “Why?  Since we all die alone anyway, why would having someone forever in my life with contrary opinions to my own make life more fun for me?  Or do you just like watching drama, especially when it’s not in your own miserable marriage?  Or is it just that misery loves company?”

If someone tells you that you have to do something merely because their “God said so”, ask them “Why?”  If you never personally meet this God of theirs, why is it any more imperative that you obey him than your own conscience?  How does their God line up with Truth?  If he at any point strays from Truth and human compassion, then why is he worthy of your worship and dedication?

Also, and this is because you’re still young (but probably won’t be by the time you read this), masturbation is your friend!  There’s lots of free porn out there on the internet (I recommend Tiava.com, son.), and there’s no safer way to discover what your own sexual proclivities are than to sample from an infinite smorgasbord in the privacy of your own room (which, hopefully, you remember to lock).

Once you get into the dating world, blowjobs and anal sex are your friends.  Any American bitch that wants you to have sex with her bareback in her vagina is just planning for her future… in which you pay her exorbitant amounts of child support.  Don’t believe her lies that she’s on the pill, or has had a hysterectomy or tubal ligation, or some other such nonsense.  Also, there’s a pretty decent chance (by your time) that if a woman is that open to having sex with you vaginally (and bareback, at that), then she is likely riddled with herpes or some other god-awful STD.

You see, son?  You don’t need any “thou shalt not”s to keep you off of premarital sex when Western women are such whores!  Seriously, though – only Yahweh has a problem with masturbation (look up Onan****).  I’m pretty sure the God of the Universe thinks it’s fine. And tissues never sue for paternity and child support.  I’m just sayin’.

Also, if by the time you reach your late twenties, you start yearning for marriage and a family of your own remember these two things first: 1) Your maximum SMV is yet to come, and 2) Even past president John Tyler had kids in his 60s, so those bad boys in your testes will be there plenty of time after you’ve established your “gilded cage” well enough to attract your choice of ladies!  Keep in mind as well, son, that as scarce as actual ladies (proper prospective mates) are in the West now, it may very well be the same story in the East by the time you begin your search.

Just do your research, my boy.  Make sure your potential mate respects her father – even if she disagrees with him – and does not raise her voice to him (always a good indicator of a lady).  Make sure she is not out of her SMP (18-25, regardless of your age), that her older mother is still slim and attractive (an indicator of good genes), and that the women in her family have not had a history of mental problems or breast cancer (Brad Pitt recently had to learn the hard way that Angelina Jolie’s mom had had breast cancer when Angelina decided to preempt the disease with a double mastectomy.  You do not want either of those outcomes in your blushing bride’s future, son!)

Lastly, use some common sense when choosing a bride (By the way, these are all things I wish someone had told me before I married your mom.).  Don’t marry anyone any shorter than you than six inches – it’ll help preserve the height and dominance of our lineage (e.g. – My cut-off should’ve been 5’10″, yet I married your mom at 5’4″.  That was silly.).  Don’t marry anyone that doesn’t defend you in public – especially in front of her own family!  If she is to be your future bride-for-life, she already should assent that you are the best in her eyes, and that your word is law.  If she shows any variance from those two points, she will defy you through others first, and then to your face later (e.g. – Even when we were dating, your mom would sit silently [silent assent, as it turned out] while that short troll aunt of yours – still unmarried at the time – would poke fun at me.  And when the large troll aunt of yours [the one in Oklahoma] would question my authority, your mom still sat silently.).

I’ve said it elsewhere, son, but marriage is not a democracy.  You alone will and should have complete authority.  Your bride is welcome to humbly give her opinion in private, but if you choose a different course of action, she should happily and graciously submit to it.  A marriage without a lord is anarchy – 50/50 never works!  Someone must have the preeminence, and if your wife insists on 50/50, it is only so she may bring your 100 down to 50, and then cuckold you into a 49.  Then, your rule is at an end, and your marriage will be miserable.

I think it also goes without saying that I would like the opportunity to meet and size up your lady in person before you ask her to be your fiancee.  If I see any deficiency (My eyes are wiser and more experienced than yours, son.), I will be sure to alert you to it.  Whether you take my advice or not is up to you, but if you choose a wife of whom I have not approved, then you will never ascend to my future throne – or even be granted citizenship in Xeresgate.  Only a Father of my line that meets the requirements for citizenship in Xeresgate may ascend the throne when I relinquish it or die.  If none exist at that time, then the kingdom shall perish.  And better that than to have some cuckolded sheep sit atop a lion’s throne, with the harridan that really runs things seated beside him.  That will never happen so long as I draw breath – or after, provided my legal team is as good as I wager it will be.

4 – What specific advice would you give your daughters?
Girls, if I’m alive, spend time with me!  There’s a lot I need to tell you girls, and probably not a lot of time to do it in.  If I’m dead, read this blog!  As I write in it regularly, there is much to be gleaned from it.

For now, though, my primary advice is this: question everything!  Even me!  If someone tells you, “You just need to find the career that best suits you and pursue it relentlessly.  Then, you’ll be happy,” ask them, “Why?  Since the workplace is the man’s dominion, why should I leave my nurturing duties to someone less interested in performing them, while I languish in a weary world of corporations and managers?  Or do you just like watching others having to go through the same flawed system that you chose for yourself, especially when it’s not in your own miserable life?  Or is it just that misery loves company?”

If someone tells you that you have to do something merely because their “God said so”, ask them “Why?”  If you never personally meet this God of theirs, why is it any more imperative that you obey him than your own conscience?  How does their God line up with Truth?  If he at any point strays from Truth and human compassion, then why is he worthy of your worship and dedication?

Also, and this is because you’re still young (but probably won’t be by the time you read this), masturbation is your friend!  There’s lots of free porn out there on the internet (I recommend Tiava.com, girls.), and there’s no safer way to discover what your own sexual proclivities are than to sample from an infinite smorgasbord in the privacy of your own room (which, hopefully, you remember to lock).  Regardless of whether you find that you like them or not, I’d stay away from dildos and vaginal insertables until you’re married – and then only if (hopefully) your husband allows them.  A large part of the modern dowry of a lady is her treasure that has never been opened to anyone else.  Feel free to experiment (safely) with anal play, but only open your vaginal treasure to your husband. After all, he will be paying for it with a life of work… so he deserves it.

Once you get into the dating world, there will be a host of strong, young bastards (far from their SMP) who will be actively attempting to despoil you.  Do not allow this!  Non-masturbatory sexual congress for a young lady is for after marriage, and your SMP is a relatively small window in your youth (18-25), so you don’t want to make the apple rotten before offering it to a potential suitor.  Any American bastard around your age wanting to have sex: A) likely does not realize what you stand to lose by doing so with him, and B) doesn’t care anyway – he just wants to “hump you and dump you” (as the saying goes).  You would do well to avoid nightclubs and bars (as these are the main places bastards like this hang out), but be aware that there are plenty of charming bastards in the everyday world as well.  To be chaste, you must always be on your guard – and I know it’s tough at that age.  Also, there’s a pretty decent chance (by your time) that if a man is immediately open to having sex with you (vaginally or anally), then he is likely riddled with herpes or some other god-awful STD.

You see, girls?  You don’t need any “thou shalt not”s to keep you off of premarital sex when Western men are such sluts!  Seriously, though – only Yahweh has a problem with masturbation (look up Onan****).  I’m pretty sure the God of the Universe thinks it’s fine. And if you know how to manually get yourself off, you’ll be that much better able to assist your new husband if he doesn’t quite do it at first.  I’m just sayin’.

Also, if you’re approaching 25, and you start yearning for marriage and a family of your own remember these two things first: 1) Though you’re approaching the end of your prime, don’t let that fool you into rushing into marriage or sex with the wrong man – only a Real Man will be worthy of my daughters as long as they keep themselves ladies, and 2) There will be plenty of Alpha options for you in Xeresgate… all of whom will know of your relation to the King!  Keep in mind as well, girls, that as scarce as actual gentlemen (proper prospective mates) are in the West now, it may very well be the same story in the East by the time you begin your search.

Just do your research, girls.  Make sure your potential mate loves his mother – even if he disagrees with her – and does not engage in public disagreements with her (always a good indicator of a gentleman).  Make sure he is at least into his SMP (33-43), that he is still slim and attractive (an indicator of good genes and life choices), and that the men in his family have not had a history of pattern baldness, mental problems, heart problems, or other serious health concerns.

Lastly, use some common sense when choosing a husband.  Don’t marry anyone any taller than you than six inches – it’ll help in social situations if even slutty 4-6 inch heels don’t give you a height advantage.  Don’t marry anyone that doesn’t cherish you in public - especially in front of his own family!  If he is to be your future protector, he should already be keeping you close at hand – protecting you from all manner of harm.  He must be a man that honors the Truth, respects the crown, and (hopefully) is a citizen of Xeresgate.  You must be certain that he is a man whose word you would have no reservations about following – for if he is not, then you should not marry him.

I’ve said it elsewhere, girls, but marriage is not a democracy.  Your husband alone will and should have complete authority.  You are welcome to humbly give your opinion in private, but if he chooses a different course of action, you should happily and graciously submit to it.  A marriage without a lord is anarchy – 50/50 never works!  Someone must have the preeminence, and if you insist on 50/50, any man worth his salt would leave you immediately.  Your place is not at his side – it is in perennial support of him and his decisions, and marriage is always much happier if you remember that.

I think it also goes without saying that I would like the opportunity to meet and size up your gentleman in person before you ask him to be your fiancee.  If I see any deficiency (My eyes are wiser and more experienced than yours, girls.), I will be sure to alert you to it.  Whether you take my advice or not is up to you, but if you choose a husband of whom I have not approved, then you will never have a place at court – and your husband will not be allowed citizenship.  My sincerest hope is that you will be the proper Mothers that your mom never was, and that you will always have a place near me at the royal feasting table.

5 – What vocations do you have the most respect for?
The short answer?  English teachers, Shakespearean actors, and military men serving in the front lines of combat.

And yeah, I know the common list includes policemen and firemen – but you know what?  While some of them may give their lives in the line of duty, A) not nearly as many of them do as our boys in combat, and B) a way bigger deal is always made of them than our military men anyway.  Add to that, that I’ve been inside even volunteer firefighters’ lounges in several states, and their off time (which is a lot) in the station generally has them enjoying a very comfortably equipped lounge area – not any of our boys on the front lines can say the same.  And cops these days are getting a little too goose-stepping, pepper-spraying, big-for-their-britches ornery if you ask me.

So yeah… the list stands as-is, and I’ll tell you why.  One of the main things about English teachers, Shakespearean actors, and our front-line military men is that they are all vastly under-appreciated.

No one is more unappreciated by today’s youth (whose texts often look like they were stolen from candy valentine hearts – “U R gr8t!”, and who often make a point of calling people that take the time to correct their lousy English: “grammar Nazis” [Half the time, the idiots misspell it as "grammer", too!]) than the English teacher.  In a world overrun by jargon, colloquialisms, and poetry that doesn’t rhyme (The last one really irks me – there’s a word for non-rhyming poetry, you idiots: prose!), the English teacher fights a losing battle every day, just trying to preserve the integrity of the English language.  You’ve got to respect that, and I most certainly do.

In today’s surfeit of truly talentless actors/actresses (Kristen Stewart, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, and Jonah Hill, to name a few), it’s a rarity to find the few real acting treasures out there: the ones trained in Shakespeare.  If you’ve had the opportunity to see Sir Kenneth Branagh, Brian Blessed, Sir Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall, Sir Ian McKellen, Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, or even Sir Patrick Stewart act, you’ve likely not only had a thoroughly entertained time of it, but have left the hearing of their words as if your intellect has been magically ratcheted upward a few notches.  After hearing how true masters of both the King’s English and the craft of acting handle the average role, going back to standard Hollywood fare is like leaving a succulent filet mignon to feast on canned dog food.  But worst of all, considering the generations that have come up almost reviling their native tongue, the average American moron doesn’t even understand Shakespeare anymore – not even enough to grasp its initial meaning, let alone the intricate, masterful wordplay in The Bard’s texts!  So, do they appreciate Shakespearean actors/actresses?  Fahgeddaboutit!

Most of all, in all seriousness, I think our men on the front lines are deserving of our respect.  Sure, they might not always be fighting “righteous” wars (if there are such things anymore), but they don’t make those decisions anyway.  Your average front-line soldier may be some poor schlub with no other job prospects, he may be a guy hoping not to die long enough to be able to cash in on the GI Bill for college, or he may even be that rare patriot who daily risks life and limb merely because he recognizes the values of the freedoms he’s sworn to protect.  Regardless, these men serve in forward areas, fighting the most bravely for their countries where the casualties and disabled that come away from those places is the highest.  Like the men who fought in Vietnam, they often come home to far less gratuitous fanfare than they deserve.  Worst of all, even in death, their widows and grieving family members run a significant risk of running into those WBC assholes at their funerals!  These men – these soldiers, these selfless warriors – are truly deserving of our respect.

6 – What famous people would you most like to have in your life?
I realize they’re just charismatic commentators on life, but I’d like to have the following comedians in my life – Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Bill Burr, Jim Jefferies, and Anthony Jeselnik.  And by “in my life”, I don’t mean I’d like to live in their basements or anything.  These are the kind of friends you’d like to just be able to get together with every week or two, sit around a private table at a bar, and just shoot the shit with them about what’s going on in the world.  They strike me as very insightful people, that’s all.

Also, if I could choose five actors with which to do the same, they would likely be Sir Kenneth Branagh (my favorite Hamlet ever), Nathan Fillion (just seems like he’d be up for anything), Owen Wilson (same deal as Nathan), Michael Rosenbaum (favorite villain from TV – also a funny guy), and H. Jon Benjamin (have always loved him as Archer – and he’s got that understated sense of humor that keeps you on your toes).

Needless to say, if it was just me at the table with all ten of these other men, well… consider me to have won the Universal jackpot, my friend!

7 – What world wonders would you like to visit before you die?
I actually made this list (dubbed: my “Eternal To-Do List” – meaning: even if I die, I still hope my spirit goes on to visit these places) on June 26, 2012.  I know because I wrote them all down on a card that I brought with me from Baltimore to NYC… and I dated it.  These are the places I’d like to visit (preferably) before I die and be photographed there for posterity.  In alphabetical order (by wonder), they are:

* The Amber Room (Russia)
* Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
* The Baha’i Terraces (Israel)
* Chichen Itza (Mexico)
* Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
* The Colosseum (Italy)
* The Giza Pyramids (Egypt)
* The Great Wall (China)
* Machu Picchu (Peru)
* The Moai statues (Easter Island, Chile)
* Petra (Jordan)
* The Taj Mahal (India)

Feel free to borrow from my list for your own “Eternal To-Do List” – I realize it’s pretty awesome.  ;)

8 – If it were possible to have a superpower, which one would you want?
I think this goes without saying (to anyone that knows me at all), but the superpower I’d choose for myself is the most ridiculously OP, godlike superpower of all time… the ability to manipulate time itself.  For reasons typically too complicated to go into, this would be the time around me – generally outside a reasonable bubble of personal space or contact.

If it doesn’t sound quite so awesome to you, then “Let me learn ya sumthin’…”
These would be the other superpowers you’d inherently gain by controlling time:
* Super Speed – Slow down time around you until you look like you’re moving at anywhere from naturally quick to unnaturally blurry speeds
* Flying – You could create a double-time bubble: stop time in the general world, and speed  up time in your own bubble, which would leave you moving at super speeds atop frozen-in-space air molecules
* Teleportation – Basically, stopping time until you move to a different place
* Martial Arts Mastery – Slow down time enough, and even the fastest martial artist in the world can’t touch you
* Invisibility – Slow down time until you’re too fast to be glimpsed, or stop it altogether – depending on what you need to accomplish
* Elemental Magic – This one would actually take a bit of special effects training, but if you had said training, you could stop time long enough – anywhere – to set up enough effects to make yourself look like a god
* Telekinesis – This one is labor-intensive, and requires a strong memory, but considering you can stop time, you can place things into different spaces (frozen in stopped air molecules) bit by bit until it looks like you’re moving them.  Considering you’d have to reset your original position each time to look like you’re not moving erratically as well, this one would likely be more trouble to mimic than it’s worth.

Now add to all that, that you could personally travel to any point in time (Ever wonder how Earth really came to be?), and even Doc Brown would have to say: “Great Scott!!“

9 – What would you recommend anyone do in order to be considered intelligent?
Well, obviously, the first thing is: Master your damn language!!  I say this to the shame of every so-called English-speaking American, because we (as a nation, not me personally) do not speak English well.  The English we speak nowadays is such a jargonized, bastardized version of the King’s English that most people don’t realize that Shakespeare is written in modern English.  Yeah, that’s right… all you morons that say Shakespeare is “old” English wouldn’t know old English if you heard it!  Hell, even Chaucer’s writings (The Canterbury Tales, et al) were only middle English!  Here’s an example of actual old English, you language idiots… now learn the difference, so you don’t sound retarded in intelligent company.

After you’ve mastered the usage of your own language (and I mean mastered – spelling, extensive vocabulary knowledge, grammar, pronunciation, writing), learn its origins.  The etymologies of words (like history as it relates to language) can be fascinating revelations of deeper meanings and the long-ago power of things now watered-down by modern society.

Once you’ve found the other languages that yours has sprung from, learn them!  Mastering linguistics not only teaches your mind to react to different stimuli – thus making it stronger (like switching up muscle groups or routines in weight lifting), but it also make you into a more cosmopolitan individual… opening up your cultural viability to parts of the world that you may yet to have even set foot on!  And let me tell you, nothing turns an otherwise xenophobic foreign national into a sympathetic Samaritan faster than you speaking (or at least attempting) their own language.

After that, I’d recommend learning to play the piano… especially if you have long fingers.  Translating notes from a musical score’s page to action in your fingers is yet another way to train your brain.  It’s a physical language translation – much like sign language (Which, incidentally, is universal – and also a great thing to learn!), as your action translates into sound.  Train yourself classically on the piano, and you’ve automatically got a high-class skill to show off in the politest of company as well.  So there’s that.

To top it off, I’d learn at least a moderate form of martial arts.  Tae Kwon Do is a fairly basic martial art, and if you learn new ways to move your body, new ways to concentrate, and new ways to become strong, it helps not only your general health but also your state of consciousness.  This, in turn, helps to facilitate the focusing of your mental acuity.

10 – What would you have to have accomplished in your life for you to consider yourself a success?
One word: Xeresgate!  This dream of mine is more than a mere life goal… more than merely something that seems well-nigh impossible.  The dream of Xeresgate is that of a heaven on earth (of sorts)… a utopia where what once was meets cordially with what now is in order to usher in the age of what yet may be.

The city of Xeresgate (though it lacked a name prior to 2006) is my life’s ideal.  It is everything that can be admired in man… everything that any one person could hope for.  It is true freedom – established by Truth, watched over by law.  It is the glory that exists in the brightest mind, made wondrous reality.

Granted, either before (in order to raise the funds for it) or after (in my “leisure” time), I may very well write my first novel, play, movie or television screenplay, or undertake an Emmy, Oscar, or Tony-winning acting role.  But those would either be the means to the end of Xeresgate, or a celebration of the accomplishing of Xeresgate.

Xeresgate, to me, is the legacy of all legacies – an empire built from one man’s dream.  It would be the True moral compass of a future society, the bulwark of a strong nation, and something wondrous enough to make the leap from the pages of fiction to the pages of history.  It is, quite simply, the goal to end all goals.  If I were to build Xeresgate and establish its throne within my lifetime, I would consider myself to be an eternal success.

* – Psalms 7:11
** – Exodus 34:14
*** – Exodus 22:18
**** – Genesis 38:7-10

———

There.  Of course, not every question in life has been answered, but I feel a lot better about what records there now are of me out there in the ether.

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Where was the Amber Room located?

The Amber Room was constructed in Russia. It was created in the 18th century, and located in St. Petersburg.

How was the Amber Room Constructed?

It was made of over six tons of Amber. In actuality, the Amber Room was composed of many large Amber panels, mosaics, and mirrors.  It was truly a beautiful work of art!

What happened to the Amber Room?

During World War II, when the Nazi soldiers invaded Russia, the Amber Room was discovered, looted, and dismantled by Nazi soldiers. The Amber was put into storage. The claims are that the Amber was then destroyed in an Air Raid in 1944, however, historians question this, and some claim that the Amber was hidden somewhere and has not been found.

Does the Amber Room exist today?

Yes, the Amber Room was reconstructed starting in the 1980′s. It is now on public display outside of St. Petersburg.

As you can tell, from the history of the Amber Room, Baltic Amber has always been considered a valuable resource, and is a part of history. At Spark of Amber, we try to make this resource easily available to our United States customers.

Shipping at Spark of Amber is always free, and we carry a variety of wonderful Baltic Amber jewelry, from Baltic Amber teething necklaces to Baltic Amber earrings, and Baltic Amber bracelets, necklaces, and pendants for all ages!

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Hey guys! So good of you to stop by. I’d love for you all to meet the awesome Tom Harris, author of The Amber Room! I met Tom on Twitter, and if you aren’t following @TomDHarris, do it. I’ll wait. Okay, good. Now, pull up a chair and learn a little about the author behind the book.

Bio: Tom Harris is a writer of Young Adult fiction whose tales of adventure and fantasy are always laced with a twist of humour, horror and suspense.

A thirty seven year old ex-publican, he decided to return to University to complete an MA in Creative Writing. Living in Portsmouth, he is a member of S.C.B.W.I (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) the Portsmouth hub of New Writing South and a local writing group known as The Registry Writers. He has also recorded a number of longlisted and shortlisted short stories in national writing competitions in the UK in 2012.

The Amber Room is his debut novel.
He really hopes you enjoy it.
Do I?
Yes, you do, now be quiet, I’m talking in the third person here…
Sorry.
Idiot, you’ve ruined it!

Okay, then! How about an excerpt? Read us something!

THE THRILL:

He sat on the top deck at the front, away from the other school kids at the back who had got on the bus with him. He shielded his eyes, feeling the heat on his face through the glass as the autumn sun peeked out between the terraced houses.

The open staircase behind his seat was his only exit. A blur of sunlight got trapped in his vision as he glanced down the length of the bus to see if he could make a clean getaway when the time came. He could feel the thrill rising inside him like a leviathan.

Four seats back, across from him, sat alone on the double seat was a guy wearing huge headphones, eyes closed, head bobbing. Three seats from the front were a young couple holding hands and giggling; eyes like magnets locked on each other. Second seat from the front was a problem. The middle-aged woman stared at him when he got on and she stared again now. All she had to do was lean across her timid looking husband and…Gotcha!  On the seat across from him was an old lady sucking on a mint she had taken out of a packet that sat loosely in the palm of her saggy skinned hand.

North didn’t like mints, but he was going to steal them anyway.

He caught his reflection in the window. The sight of his jean jacket over his drab black and grey school uniform took him back to the Easter holidays when his parents had bought it for him just before his fourteenth birthday. It was the last thing they would ever buy him, probably…

A bead of sweat seeped down his back sticking part of his school shirt against his skin. He pulled his tie off, rolled it up and unrolled it three times, and put it in his jacket pocket. Through the reflection in the front window, the bag of mints sparkled like pure white diamonds.

Goosebumps gathered on his skin. His legs quivered as if he was tapping along to heavy metal. He rolled his neck, stretching, warming up for the main event. A pile of scrunched up bus tickets had collected on the floor below his seat and he spread them out with the tips of his toes forming the letter M for Mint. He let out a small snort of laughter. ‘Second seat from the front woman’ was like one of those pictures that followed you around the room. He avoided her stare through the reflection of the front window and ran his hand across his cropped black hair as the bus pulled to a halt.

The bus trembled at the stop and a rush of heat smothered his body. He picked at the torn Perrow School crest on the blue cloth school bag that hung around his neck. It was too much of a hassle to take off his jean jacket so he blew cold air down his top. He rocked a little in his seat, full of nervous energy, legs still wobbling like jelly.

The thrill was back.

This was what he had been waiting for. He flexed his fingers and toes and closed his eyes allowing a gigantic yawn to stretch through his body, like he was stepping into new skin. He counted from three to thirty in threes, inside his head.

The bus rumbled on.

North banged his knees together and clasped his hands in a ball, making claws with his fingers like his social worker, Mr Javotte, did at their first meeting this summer.

The old lady yawned and accidentally kicked the old wicker shopping basket by her feet. It didn’t interest him. It was the packet of plastic-wrapped, shining white minty gems that made him shiver. Skeletal fingers on her frail hands cupped the packet. They would snap clean off in a struggle, if she tried to hold on.

Next stop Dark Lane Cemetery.

It was almost time.

The bus pulled to the kerb, slowing down as it approached the stop. When the driver hit the brakes, North jumped out of his seat.

His school bag swung around his chest as his hands moved like lightning and grabbed the mints. The packet came away from the old ladies hand easily. He had been right to fear ‘second seat from the front woman,’ but her reach wasn’t long or quick enough. North dodged away from her with ease. With the mints in his closed right hand he swung down the steep staircase wrapping his left hand around the stair rail. He landed awkwardly but scrambled to the bottom.

The hubbub on the top deck was swallowed up by the noise of school children shoving their way off the bus. North pushed his way through the crowds on the lower deck, as the driver screamed at them. “STOP PUSHING!” He found a gap, his heart beating hard as he lunged for the door. His mind raced ahead, imagining a 3D map of his escape route through the cemetery.

His black school shoes hit the pavement and he sprinted straight beneath the creepy Dark Lane Cemetery arch and into the grounds, feeling the chill of the crisp autumn air on his neck. It was as if the dead were breathing again.

Good stuff, right? Thought so. 

So, Tom… Why did you decide to write in this genre?

I used to write crime, but I just felt restricted by all the police procedure, there is a definitely a system to all that stuff and it needs to be researched as crime readers demand that, but my imagination didn’t want to abide by those rules. YA is where my writing fits naturally. Your teenage years are a time of your life where your senses are heightened and anything is possible, where life can be simple yet extraordinary. We all need hope and imagination to keep pushing on past all the crap in our lives and I love the eternal future of it all, that tomorrow something incredible can happen to any of us – obviously you become realistic as you get older, but don’t we all need to believe that something incredible could be right around the corner! Many of Hitchcock’s movies fit this ethos too; extraordinary things happening to ordinary people. For me, I love the escapism of YA and transporting myself to other places and worlds both in reading and writing.

Can you tell us a little about your next project?

I’ve been outlining the sequel to The Amber Room, which will be called The Amber Antidote – but my next book will be another YA story called Jackie Jones.

Jackie is 14 and a loner, his Mum works 3 jobs, his dad’s a failed professional darts player and his sister has run away.  In his despair, he accepts a mysterious social networking invitation to a country estate to compete for a huge cash prize which could put an end to his family’s money worries for good and bring them back together. When Jackie arrives at Heath Hall he finds that the other contestants not only share his desire to win the money, but also his name.  What starts out as an opportunity of a lifetime turns into a nightmare and a battle for survival ensues as Jackie tries to unravel who’s behind the sinister goings-on at Heath Hall.

Who is your biggest supporter?

Some crazy lady outside my house, who knits scarves and paints pictures of me, she’s so committed she’s beaten a court injunction by rigging up a hot air balloon at the bottom of my garden. Stalkers can be really inventive you know…I’m quietly proud of her actually.

Hey! Wait! She was my stalker fan last week! Oh well. What’s your favorite movie, Tom?

Vertigo, directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock! James Stewart was just the perfect ordinary man in peril. It’s an unconventional love story played out against a murder-mystery where nothing is as it appears to be and no-one is who they say they are. It’s just brilliant. It’s also set in San Francisco and I’ve been a 49ers fan since the Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Roger Craig, Jerry Rice days in the 80’s – so close this year too – stupid fumbles! Jim Harbaugh’s turning it round though. Apologies for going off on a tangent.

Awesome. Hitchcock is the master of suspense. 

Favorite television show?

One from Buffy, Supernatural, Dexter, Luther, Being Human, The Fades, Life on Mars (UK version), The Shield or 24.  So hard to pick one, but these are the cream of the crop for me.

I’m with you on Supernatural. Genius, that show. Crap. I’m interrupting again. Sorry.  

What scares you, besides me?

The clown in Poltergeist and Ninja Moles; numb chucks and worm breath is a lethal combination.

It was fun, Tom. Thanks for stopping by!

Where to find Tom’s work and where you can find Tom himself.

Website/Blog: http://tomdharris.wordpress.com/

FB: http://www.facebook.com/TomHarrisWriterofYAFiction

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TomDHarris

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815613.Tom_Harris

Links to buy the book:

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148214

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Amber-Room-ebook/dp/B007SFPG0O/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1334245308&sr=8-7

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Amber-Room-ebook/dp/B007SFPG0O/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334245388&sr=1-2

Yesterday, the outstanding Boston-based video blog Sleepover Shows released their session with The Low Anthem. The Providence, RI quartet will make a pit stop at The Amber Room at Indianapolis’ Old National Centre on February 8th before heading into the studio for some recording later this spring. The show is part of the southern leg of The Low Anthem’s cross-Canadian tour with City and Colour. Tickets are available for $23.50 via MOKB Presents. Watch the video for “Ghost Woman Blues” below.

Connect with The Low Anthem via Facebook | Twitter

Written by Rob Peoni

Desperate to know the truth about her father’s suspicious dealings, Rachel takes off for Germany, with Paul close behind. Shortly after arriving, they find themselves involved with a cast of shadowy characters who all claim to share their quest. But as they learn more about the history of the treasure they seek, Rachel and Paul realize they’re in way over their heads. Locked in a treacherous game with ruthless professional killers and embroiled in a treasure hunt of epic proportions, Rachel and Paul suddenly find themselves on a collision course with the forces of power, evil, and history itself.
Rating:

I’ve mentioned time and time again that I adore Berry. I think he’s simply fantastic. His books are always so interesting and the pacing is perfect.

That said, this book took me over a month to finish. I have no idea what happened. It wasn’t bad, but there was something about it that stopped me from plowing through it in a weekend.

Berry always does such in-depth research and The Amber Room is no different. There were times when I was reading where I’d have to stop and head to the Internet to read more about a specific person/place or look at images. I love that about his novels; I’m always continuing the research long after the book has ended.

One of Berry’s downfalls is the sheer number of characters he includes in his books. I couldn’t keep track of all the bad guys and a few times I’d wind up confused while reading. I had no idea who was who.

It upsets me to make such a lackluster review. Steve Berry is a really great author who has some excellent books. Unfortunately, this wasn’t my favorite.

But the mystery of the Amber Room lies not in its impressive creation, but its enigmatic ends.  During World War II, Russian curators attempted to remove the panels to protect them from the Nazis, but the old amber crumbled at their attempts. The room was papered over, hidden under dull wallpaper, and the Russians hoped that it might escape Nazi attention.  Sadly, the Amber Room was too famed and valuable a prize to be overlooked.  It was disassembled and carefully transported to Konigsberg, Germany, where it disappeared from the historical record.

There are many theories about what could have happened to it.  Vague reports and wild speculation placed the panels in hidden mine shafts, buried in basements, stolen by soldiers, or even sunk at the bottom of the Atlantic, destroyed in a German submarine. Was it destroyed in Allied bombing?  Stolen by treasure hunters?  Reconstructed in some secret compartment that Geraldo will someday unearth? (Okay, that last one probably won’t happen.) Experts say that it’s entirely possible the amber itself has crumbled into dust, as this fossilized tree resin will deteriorate if not cared for properly. The definitive answer will probably never be known.

While the original can never be duplicated, a reconstruction of the Amber Room was started in 1979 based on original photographs of the famed chamber.  A joint endeavor by Russian artists and German and Russian donations, it was completed in 2003 and dedicated in a joint ceremony by Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a gesture that honored the original Prussian gift and the mutual pride in the project. It now resides again at the Catherine Palace.

The Amber Room has been featured in works of fiction, non-fiction, and film.  If you’re looking for a fictional treatment, Steve Berry’s first thriller was called The Amber Room and the mystery was central to the plot.  For a non-fictional investigation of what might have happened to the room, look up The Amber Room: The Fate of the World’s Greatest Lost Treasure by Catherine Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy.

The Gendarme, by Mark Mustian

The Gendarme

I decided to read The Gendarme because I have a slight professional connection to the author, Mark Mustian. In his non-noveling hours, Mark is a bond lawyer in Tallahassee, Florida and we’ve occasionally worked on the same transactions. When I saw that he’d published his debut novel, of course I had to read it. I went in with admittedly low expectations (sorry, Mark) because, well, I kind of know this guy, so how could anyone I actually kind of know, and especially a bond lawyer, write a great novel? Happily, my somewhat low expectations were exceeded, and then some. In fact, because I know from personal experience what excruciatingly boring documents bond lawyers work on in their professional roles, I wondered more than once while reading The Gendarme how Mark could write such beautiful and moving prose after hours. How did he make this transition? Did he stop in a phone booth to do a Superman-type transformation on the way home each night? Where did he find an actual phone booth in which to do this? I need to figure this out.

 The Gendarme tells the story of an elderly Turkish-American, Emmett Conn, who is having flashbacks to his youth. As a very young man, Emmett served as one of the soldiers implementing the forced migration of ethnic Armenians in a brutal march across Turkey that resulted in the death of over a million people  between 1915 and 1918. Throughout his adult life in the U.S., Emmett has repressed his memories of that time, and even of his original name, Ahmet Khan. It’s an interesting lens through which to see this horrifying period in history. Emmett seems like a nice old guy who would never imagine taking part in the inhumane treatment of others. Or, at least, that’s what he and everyone around him thinks before the flashbacks begin. Memories also begin surfacing of a woman Emmett knows he must have loved, but he has no memory of what happened to her. I won’t tell you how it all works out, because you should really read the book yourself. Let’s just say Emmett goes a long way to find out.  

The Gendarme is a beautiful first novel.

Sarah's Key

I’ve read other reviews that say that the story loses some of its power at the point that the author drops the part of the story being told by Sarah.  I actually had the same thought at that point in the book, but the flaw isn’t great enough to discourage readers.

Never Forget

Sarah’s Key reminds us of the extent of the tragedy of the Holocaust. Though I’ve read a good bit on the Holocaust over the years, the horror of it and the hatred that engendered it continue to be unfathomable to me. The Gendarme was even more of an eye-opener. Although I’d heard of the Armenian genocide, I knew very little about it. Learning more about the events in Turkey made me think of the other genocides that we tend to overlook (Bosnia, Rwanda), but that were devastating to uncountable numbers of people. The fact that these crimes were perpetrated by such diverse groups compounds the horror. This isn’t a crime that only Nazis can carry out — it can happen anywhere, at any time. The next time you hear someone disparaging a group of people in a generalized way, the way that makes them seem less human somehow, and more acceptable to despise because “they’re not like us,” remember that people have used similar excuses for generations to excuse their own evil acts.

Never forget.

Lawyers and Novelists

As an aside, about a year ago I read The Amber Room, by Steve Berry, on the same theory that got me to pick up a copy of The Gendarme. Steve has, or rather, used to have, a law practice in south Georgia (I imagine he’s too busy traveling the world searching for new book ideas to practice law anymore). In an earlier phase in my career, I used to go fairly regularly to Steve’s offices for closings. I had no idea at the time that I was in the presence of a future best-selling novelist. In fact, it never would have crossed my mind. (Sorry, Steve – you just seemed like a regular guy to me.)  Actually, it was reading the FAQ on Steve’s webpage that originally inspired me to try my own hand at writing a novel. In the FAQ, Steve describes the timeline in which he wrote and published his first book. Though it may seem daunting to some, I was actually encouraged to see that it took 12 years of writing from the time he started his first novel to the time The Amber Room  was published. 12 years. I think because my earlier attempts had seemed so… unprofessional, it was encouraging to think that if I kept trying, I might actually improve.  Rather than making me want to jump off the Dames Point Bridge, this gave me a little odd hope that sometimes perseverance really does pay off.

Here’s the direct quote from Steve’s FAQ:

How did Steve get into writing?

 He made the decision to write a novel in 1990.  It was something Steve thought about for years, but finally decided to act on.  That first attempt was long and awful. The second and third attempts weren’t much better.  It wasn’t until the fourth try that he began to appreciate the reality that writing novels is hard.  Steve kept writing for 12 years and produced 8 manuscripts.  Each one was a learning experience and, as he wrote, Steve studied the craft.  His education was one of trial and error.  He attended a writing workshop once a week for 6 years, where the participants would tear apart everything he wrote.  Then he’d go home and put it all back together again, hopefully a little better than before.  Between the workshop, the writers’ group, and writing every day Steve taught himself the craft.  Not until six years into the process was he fortunate to land an agent: Pam Ahearn.  She kept him around for 7 years until May 2002, when Ballantine Books finally bought The Amber Room.  During those years Pam submitted five different manuscripts to New York publishers, each one was rejected, 85 rejections all total, until eventually, on the 86th attempt, the right-editor-at-the-right-time-with-the-right-story was found.  Like Steve says, ‘he may or may not know much about writing, but he’s an expert on rejection.’

 Thanks, Steve, for the glimmer of hope.

Steve Berry is the best-selling author of the Cotton Malone series, a blend of history and suspense that have catapulted Berry to the top of the thriller game. With over 11 million books in print translated into 37 languages and sold in 50 countries, Berry has come a long way from the 85 rejections he garnered trying to break into writing. With Malone, a former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer, Berry has found the winning combination, and his protagonist has made six appearances thus far, starting with The Templar Legacy in 2006, and continuing with The Alexandria Link, The Venetian Betrayal, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Paris Vendetta, and The Emperor’s Tomb, just out.

Previous to the Malone books, Berry penned three other thrillers mixing history and contemporary suspense: The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Third Secret. It’s not just the fans who like his work. Plenty of his fellow thriller writers tout Berry’s novels, as well. David Morrell called Berry’s The Romanov Prophesy “perfect for thriller fans and history buffs alike.” Clive Cussler dubbed The Amber Room “pure intrigue, pure fun,” while Dan Brown found the same novel “sexy, illuminating… my kind of thriller.” Critics also find lots to like with Berry. Reviewing his last Malone novel, The Paris Vendetta, The Huffington Post declared, “Steve Berry gets better and better with each book.” Publishers Weekly termed the same novel a “well-crafted thriller … [that] offers plenty of surprises.”

Steve, thanks so much for coming on Scene of the Crime. Could we start things off with a discussion about how scene figures in your fiction?

I look for interesting places around the world that may not have appeared in other thrillers.  If it is a locale familiar to readers, I try to zero in on particular spots that are themselves unique.  Unfortunately, I’m not able to actually live there (which would be great), but I do usually visit the spot at least once.  After that, it’s books and photographs that help bring it alive.  I’ve found some unique places over the years.  Locales within Copenhagen, Aachen, Antwerp, Paris, London, Rennes la Chateau, Romania, Bulgaria, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Bavaria, France, Austria, Vietnam, and China.

How do you balance history and setting in your books?

History is vital.  Always I look for a connection to the past that still has relevance today.  I research locales carefully, searching for that connection.  Most times, that objective is accomplished by simply being there.  You learn so much more on site than from books or the Internet.  Most of the really cool revelations that have appeared in my stories came from being there.

Did you consciously set out to use your location as a “character” in your books, or did this grow naturally out of the initial story or stories?

It was deliberate.  I wanted that sense of place to come through and, you’re right, the locale becomes, in essence, one of the characters.  This began right off in The Amber Room, where I used the German abbey scenes to set a mood and make that connection.  I continued that in The Romanov Prophecy (Russia) and The Third Secret (the Vatican, Romania, and Germany). When I started the Cotton Malone series, in The Templar Legacy, I kept that practice going, escalating the locales importance.

How does Cotton Malone interact with his surroundings?

There’s always a combination.  My protagonist is the stranger and another character the native.  The protagonist comes with information that the native either does not have, or wants, and, together, they discover what’s necessary.  You have to have this combination or, otherwise, the story will either grow unnecessarily in length or become confusing. Finding this mixture between the characters is the trick.

What kind of international response have your books gotten?

The books are sold in 50 countries and 37 languages around the world, so I receive a wide variety of e-mails.  Nearly all of them are complimentary of my using their homeland in a novel.  Occasionally, I’ll get a criticism that I changed something but, usually that was deliberate to advance the story.  That’s why I include a Writer’s Note at the end to explain deviations.  I’ve never made a horrible gaff as to the locales but I have messed up relative to the use of foreign phrases, weapons, and a really stupid one where I placed captain’s bars on a Navy man (captains in the Navy wear eagles).  In every book I seemed to make at least one embarrassing mistake, but we’re all human and they are fixed for later editions.

Of all your novels, do you have a favorite book or scene that focuses on the place? Could you quote a short passage or give an example of how the location figures in your novels?

I really liked the scenes in the Romanian orphanage from The Third Secret. Those places are horribly real and I tried to depict them as accurately as possible.  Here’s a sample from Chapter 14:

“Children flooded out from the rooms. About thirty, all male, their ages varying from toddlers to teenagers.  They crowded around him, their heads shaven — to combat lice, the nun explained.  Some walked with a limp, others seemed to lack muscular control.  A lazy eye afflicted many, a speech impediment others.  They probed him with chapped hands, clamoring for his attention.  Their voices carried a weak rasp and the dialects varied, Russian and Romanian the most common.  Several asked who he was and why he was there.  He’d learned in town that most of them would be terminally ill or severely handicapped.  The scene was made surreal by the dresses the boys wore, some over pants, some bare-legged.  Their clothes were apparently whatever could be found that fit their lanky bodies.  They seemed all eyes and bones.  Few possessed teeth.  Open sores spotted their arms, legs, and faces.  He tried to be careful there.  He’d read last night how HIV was rampant among Romania’s forgotten children.”

Who are your favorite writers, and do you feel that other writers influenced you in your use of the spirit of place in your novels?

David Morrell, to me, is the best living craftsman today, and I was a Dan Brown fan long before The DaVinci Code. Clive Cussler is another of my favorites as is Robert Ludlum, James Rollins, Frederick Forsyth, Steve Martini, Ken Follett, Sharon Kay Penman, David Hewson, and Lee Child.  All of these folks use a sense of place to the max.

What’s next for Cotton?

On November 23rd Cotton Malone’s 6th adventure comes in The Emperor’s Tomb.  Next year, Cotton comes home for his first domestic adventure.   It’s a great tale dealing with a clause in the United States Constitution that 99.9% of America has no idea is there.

Once again, Steve, thanks for taking time to speak with Scene of the Crime. Good luck with the new book!

For more information on the works of Steve Berry, visit his homepage.

The German architect Johann-Friedrich Braunstein built the first Summer Palace for Catherine I of Russia in 1717. The palace was later destroyed and rebuilt by Empress Elizabeth. From 1752-1756, the court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli erected the new, more lavish residence in the opulent Rococo style.

Empress Elizabeth had expensive taste– this is the same empress whose last wishes were to gild the statues in the palace’s park. Located 25 kilometers outside of St. Petersburg in Pushkin, this palace was also inhabited and subsequently modified by Catherine the Great and her son, Alexander I.

The Summer Palace was greatly damaged in World War II so as a result, much of the palace has recently been renovated or is still in the process of being renovated. Today, it is possible to rent the Summer Palace and in recent years, this magnificent venue has attracted musicians like Elton John.

The Amber Room

Tourists can take pictures in all of the rooms in the palace, except for one: The Amber Room. The Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I presented this gift to Tsar Peter the Great of the Russian Empire. The room was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter with the aid of the Danish craftsman Gottfried Wolfram to resemble a jewelry box.

Tragically and rather mysteriously, the room was “lost” in the second World War. There are many theories and conspiracies about its current whereabouts but as our guide Nikolai put it, “Many stories mean no truth.” For the time being, one can see the reconstruction of this “Eighth Wonder of the World” which was meticulously copied from black and white photographs from 1979-2003.

We had to wear protective slippers. Many of the floors are fragile wood parket.

Gold, gold, and more gold!

Peacock Wallpaper

Phòng Hổ Phách của Piốt Đại Đế
Phòng Hổ Phách (The Amber Room) của Sa hoàng Nga được sử sách mô tả là kỳ quan nhân tạo đứng thứ 8 trong danh sách những công trình nghệ thuật kiệt tác của nhân loại.

Phòng Hổ Phách “nhái” được xây dựng lại và trưng bày trong điện Catherine ở Nga.

Sở dĩ nó có tên gọi là Phòng Hổ Phách vì toàn bộ đồ đạc, vật dụng trang trí trong căn phòng có diện tích rộng gần 4 mét vuông này được chế tác toàn bằng vàng bạc, châu báu. Khi thắp nến để chiếu sáng, cả căn phòng bỗng trở lên vàng rực như đang đứng  trong một khối hổ phách khổng lồ.

Không chỉ có vậy, trong căn phòng đặc biệt này còn có rất nhiều những tác phẩm nghệ thuật quý giá nhất thời bấy giờ của người Phổ (Prussia) và người Nga. Phòng Hổ Phách đầu tiên được thiết kế dành riêng cho vua Phổ Friedrich I, sau đó báu vật này được chuyển giao cho Sa hoàng Nga Piốt Đại Đế (Peter the Great) vào năm 1716.

Đồ tuỳ táng trong lăng mộ vua Tutankhamen.

Tuy nhiên, tài sản của vua Tutankhamen không thể so sánh được với những vua Ai Cập tổ tiên của ông. Khi lăng mộ của những vua Ai Cập trước thời đại vua Tutankhamen được tìm thấy chúng thực sự chỉ còn những lăng mộ trống không. Tất cả của cải đồ đạc tuỳ táng quý giá đã bị những kẻ cướp mộ không rõ danh tính, thời kỳ cướp phá trong nhiều thế kỷ trước đó.

Vậy những tài sản của các vị vua Ai Cập nổi tiếng trước thời kỳ vua Tutankhamen nắm quyền nằm ở đâu trong Thung lũng lăng mộ những vua vĩ đại của Ai Cập cổ đại. Câu trả lời không bao giờ có vì lịch sử đã quan đi từ rất lâu, nhân chứng vật chứng tuyệt  nhiên không còn. Chỉ có thể tin vào những những nhận định được kết luận sau những nghiên cứu khảo cổ của các học giả chuyên ngành.

Một số học giả tin rằng chỉ những thầy tu đảm nhiệm việc chôn cất các vị vua Pharaoh trong Thung lũng lăng mộ những vua Ai Cập  vào giao đoạn đầu Triều đại Ai Cập thứ 20 và 21 (tức năm 425 – 344 trước Công Nguyên) mới nắm được những bí mật về các kho báu này.

Những địa điểm có thể là nơi cất dấu Hòm pháp điển nằm trong một vực khu vực rộng lớn từ ngọn núi Nebo đến Ethiopia. Môt bài toán cực kỳ khó giải đối với các nhà thám hiểm truy tìm bảo vật của nhà nước Israel.

Một số học giả khác lại cho rằng, Hòm pháp điển đã bị những người Babylon phá huỷ do đây là vật thiêng của dân tộc Do Thái. Người Ả Rập đã phá bỏ kiệt tác tôn giáo này nhằm mục đích để dân tộc Do Thái sau này không tìm được nguồn gốc tổ tiên?

Theo Bình Nguyên (Theo Khoa Học Đời Sống)

The Paris Vendetta is Steve Berry’s fifth book to feature Cotton Malone.  As the book begins Henrik Thorvaldsen is consumed with finding his son’s killers and getting revenge for his death.  Thorvaldsen learns that a wealthy British aristocrat, Lord Ashby, was behind the killing and that Lord Ashby is also part of a conspiracy that involves an elite group of ruthless financial experts planning to destabilize the global economy.  That is not enough!  Add to the story a terrorist plot to destroy a European landmark and a legendary cache hidden by Napoleon.

Cotton Malone soon finds himself in a desperate struggle to save not only Thorvaldsen’s life but the lives of unspecting French citizens as well.   The best part of the book is the locale.  I have never been to Paris, but enjoyed reading the book simply for the descriptions of the Paris locations.  This book has all the characters Steve Berry’s readers have gotten used to and reading The Paris Vendetta was like seeing what old friends are up to, only their adventures are much more exciting than the things my “real” friends are up too.

The plot is predictable, with one really unexpected twist (no spoilers here!).  It is a quick read and very enjoyable.  I look forward to reading Mr. Berry’s next book.

Book Details: Published by Ballantine Books (December 1, 2009), 432 pages, ISBN-10: 0345505476, ISBN-13: 978-0345505477.