The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman

From the Publisher

"Fasman's fast-paced tale is almost all plot... These characters are better drawn than those in The Da Vinci Code." —Newsweek

Jon Fasman's dizzyingly plotted intellectual thriller suggests a marriage between Dan Brown and Donna Tartt. When reporter Paul Tomm is assigned to investigate the mysterious death of a reclusive academic, he finds himself pursuing leads that date back to the twelfth century and the theft of alchemical instruments from the geographer of the Sicilian court. Now someone is trying to retrieve them. Interspersed with the present action are the stories of the men and women who came to possess those charmed—and sometimes cursed—artifacts, which have powers that go well beyond the transmutation of lead into gold. Deftly combining history, magic, suspense, and romance—and as handsomely illustrated as an ancient incunabulum—The Geographer's Library is irresistible.

"A brainy noir . . . [a] winningly cryptic tale . . . a cabinet of wonders written by a novelist whose surname and sensibility fit comfortably on the shelf between Umberto Eco and John Fowles." —Los Angeles Times
"One of the year's most literate and absorbing entertainments." —Kirkus Reviews

The Washington Post - David Liss

The Geographer's Library, by Jon Fasman, absolutely falls into the category of the arcane thriller, but it is a much more interesting and creative book than many of those making up the marketing wave on which it will no doubt attempt to ride. Yes, the story features obscure books in forgotten tongues, secret brotherhoods, exotic locales and clever puzzles, but Fasman comes across as a novelist genuinely interested in unraveling the convention of the thriller, and he gives his tale a delightfully and successfully postmodern flavor. And rather than presenting obscure knowledge as valuable only because it gets you things, he is far more interested in showing how physical things lead to knowledge.

Publishers Weekly

A young reporter is caught up in a deadly centuries-long treasure hunt in this puppyish but brainy debut, a thriller steeped in arcane lore and exotic history. When Paul Tomm, a reporter for the Lincoln Carrier, a small Connecticut newspaper, looks into the demise of Jaan Puhapaev, an elderly academic found dead in his cluttered house, nothing seems out of the ordinary-until the pathologist performing the autopsy is himself killed in a freak car accident. Various locals and acquaintances offer reminiscences of the late professor that suggest P hap ev was an extremely complicated (and perhaps dangerous) character. Tomm's discoveries lead him to a lovely young woman, a network of international smugglers and hidden alchemical libraries. Appealing more to the intellect than to the emotions, the book is slowed by the catalogue-like descriptions of precious objects that close many chapters, while the protagonist, however likable, is often too naive to be entirely credible. Still, some deft plotting and lively writing bode well for the author's future literary endeavors. Agent, James V. Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic. (Feb. 7) Forecast: Fasman's novel may ride the coattails of The Da Vinci Code, though it has more in common with Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason's Rule of Four or Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind. Seven-city author tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Esteemed professor Jaan P hap ev has been found dead in his Lincoln, CT, home, and Paul Tomm-the somewhat feckless new recruit on the local paper-is asked to write an obituary. No obit has ever led to so much trouble. As the coroner succumbs to a hit-and-run, Paul discovers that the anonymous call reporting P hap ev's death was made from a pay phone and that the professor's fortresslike office at Wickenden University (Paul's alma mater) is stuffed with books written in obscure languages but clearly unrelated to his work. Even with the help of a former professor and his detective nephew, Paul is slow to tease out what has happened-and he's completely undone by what he finally discovers. Paul's investigation alternates with various exotic and seemingly unrelated tales, starting with the theft of a sack of artifacts from the home of al-Idrisi, the king's geographer, in 1154. An end-blown flute, a pack of cards, a rough-edged coin-all these and more are sought out in far-flung locales and procured through generally bloody confrontation by shadowy figures who eventually coalesce into a brotherhood connected to P hap ev. The ultimately supernatural aspect of the brotherhood didn't quite work for this reader, but otherwise this debut tells a terrific story-it's gripping, intelligent, and beautifully wrought. Recommended for most collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/04.]-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Mistaken, concealed, and assumed identities proliferate agreeably in this deftly paced debut thriller about a young reporter's accidental involvement with an elaborate history of international intrigue. After graduating from a tony Connecticut liberal-arts college, Paul Tomm is hired by a local weekly newspaper and draws the assignment to write an obituary for Jaan Puhapaev, a reclusive Estonian academic, and a seemingly unlikely murder victim-as is the local coroner who examines the professor's body. Acting on information provided by his own college mentor (ineffably urbane Professor Jadid), joining the latter's policeman nephew, Paul meets effervescent music teacher Hannah Rowe (Puhapaev's neighbor and friend), falls for her, then uncovers evidence of the dead man's collusion with globetrotting jewel thieves. But there's much, much more to the story, as we learn in juxtaposed parallel chapters that tell the story of an Arabic geographer-librarian commissioned by a 12th-century Sicilian monarch to map the entire then-known world, and of numerous invaluable objets d'art formerly possessed by the geographer (al-Idris), since sought by an expanding criminal cadre that has focused its energies on a legendary alchemical text (the Emerald Tablet), and whose searches had led to the late Puhapaev's doorstep. It sounds maddeningly complicated (and will indeed test the most seasoned thriller-reader's wits). But Fasman is equal to the daunting task, shifting at smartly judged intervals from Paul Tomm's ingenuous pursuit of the truth to murderous quests for a pair of golden flutes, an ivory box in which the breath of an Estonian poet is "stored," a deck of gorgeously hand-painted playing cards, andother treasures that lead toward the figure of sinister Russian naval commander (or spy, or perhaps smuggler) Voskresenyov, who surely cannot be as old as it seems he must be. Shades of Dan Brown, Edward Whittemore's Jerusalem Quartet, and Milorad Pavic's Dictionary of the Khazars: one of the year's most literate and absorbing entertainments. Author tour. Agent: Simon Trewin/PFD

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