Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Into the Unbounded Night
Into the Unbounded Night
Into the Unbounded Night
Ebook342 pages14 hours

Into the Unbounded Night

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

When her village in Albion is sacked by the Roman general Vespasian, young Aislin is left without home and family. Determined to exact revenge, she travels to Rome, a sprawling city of wealth, decadence, and power. A barbarian in a civilized world, Aislin struggles to comprehend Roman ways. From a precarious hand-to-mouth existence on the streets, she becomes the mistress of a wealthy senator, but their child Faolan is born with a disability that renders him unworthy of life in the eyes of his father and other Romans.Imprisoned for her efforts to topple the Roman regime, Aislin learns of an alternate philosophy from her cellmate, the Judean known today as the apostle St. Paul. As the capital burns in the Great Fire of 64 AD, he bequeaths to her a mission that will take her to Jerusalem. There, Yohanan, son of Zakkai, has been striving to preserve the tradition of Hillel against the Zealots who advocate for a war of independence. Responding to the Judeans' revolt, the Romans—again under the leadership of Vespasian—besiege Jerusalem, destroying the Second Temple and with it, the brand of Judean monotheism it represents. Yohanan takes on the mission of preserving what can be preserved, and of re-inventing what must be reinvented.Throughout Into the Unbounded Night, Aislin's, Faolan's, Vespasian's, and Yohanan's lives intertwine in unexpected ways that shed light on colonization and its discontents, the relative values of dominant and tyrannized cultures, and the holiness of life itself—even the weakest of lives.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 1, 2020
ISBN9781646030293
Into the Unbounded Night
Author

Mitchell James Kaplan

Mitchell James Kaplan is the award-winning author of the novels By Fire, By Water and Into the Unbounded Night. A graduate of Yale, he has lived in Paris and Los Angeles, and currently lives with his family in Roanoke, Virginia.

Related to Into the Unbounded Night

Related ebooks

Thrillers For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Into the Unbounded Night

Rating: 3.6923077115384615 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

26 ratings9 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is said that everything is connected and if you read this book you will see that on a whole new level. If you remove on piece of an ecosystem it will impact the whole of it or consider what happened when wolves were returned to Yellowstone. Everything is connected. The books starts with various examples of of these interconnected relationships and how they work by showing the results of studies done by the author and by others. It is very interesting but can get a little dry at times. I will note that I read this book a bit at a time while reading other books. That did not diminish its impact.Mr. Sala shows how keeping Nature in balance is not only vital it is the best thing we could do for our health and the economy. Without an Earth in balance we start to suffer from the loss of that interconnectivity. The book was even updated to include information on COVID. How wild to read about present realities while living them. It is at the same time a book both hopeful and sad because Man is the is the one harming Nature the most but he is also the one capable of investing in Nature and restoring it. And Mr. Sala makes the case that this is the best course for our general health and for the health of the economy. It’s a powerful book and an important read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the year 40 C.E. Aislin lives a hardworking but honest life with her aunt Muirgheal. They live in Albion on what is known as Britannia. When Albion is conquered by the Roman General Vespasian, Aislin is taken hostage and her aunt dies for her village. Used by Vespasian and discarded, Aislin vows vengeance. While wandering, Aislin meets disgraced Roman soldier Septimus. They become travelling companions and Septimus introduces Aislin to the city of Rome. Aislin's introduction is brief as she is thrown on the streets and picked up by Pallas, a wealthy patrician who uses Aislin to beget a son. Aislin delivers a boy, Faolan, who is disabled. Rather than kill her son, Aislin flees with Faolan. While raising Faolan on the streets of Rome, Aislin learns of the best and worst of humanity while finding a true partner in Yohanan.Into the Unbounded Night is a beautifully told story of the lives of several people during the precarious time period of the formation of monotheistic belief systems in the Roman Empire. I haven't read a lot about this period of time and was very impressed by the historical detail that managed to not derail the storyline and characters. The story follows six very different characters through this time. I was most drawn to Aislin's story and found it a little difficult to keep all of the characters in line at points. Aislin was easy for me to relate to despite living so long ago and her life managed to tie together many of the important elements on her own. I was constantly amazed by the ups and downs of her journey, her ability to survive and how she managed to prevail over all those who sought to destroy who she is and the people she came from. I did enjoy the inclusion of Azazel and wish that story would have been expanded upon. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Kaplan’s novel tells the story of a young woman from what is now Great Britain, who encounters the Roman army as they invade her homeland. Through a series of events, she and her acquaintances wind up having a close view of the excesses of Nero and the ugly underbelly of Rome.Kaplan takes a risk by including St. Paul as one of his characters in the story. I was intrigued to see the trial of Stephen, the first Christian martyr portrayed from the perspective of a fictional friend of Stephen. This scene portrayed the trial and outcome differently than most readers are used to. Kaplan decided to take a writer’s liberty with the story and thus left Stephen’s story rather vague. Ultimately, it did not portray a convincing or realistic case of why the Jewish leaders would want him stoned to death. I was disappointed that the intelligent and eloquent St. Paul was reduced to a modern new-age philosopher speaking of a vague new-age impersonal deity-ish. The Jewish leaders are also portrayed as wishy-washy. While I don’t expect a novel to be fully faithful to first-century Jewish and Christian theology, I expected more than this emaciated modern take.He makes Satan into a character in his story and attempts to make him sympathetic—just a misunderstood angel trying to help out mankind. I suppose that is how Satan would describe himself, but Kaplan almost seems to side with him.Perhaps I had the wrong expectations for the story, because while I found it as an interesting portrayal of first-century life—as seen through a 21st century lens—it ultimately landed short of my hopes and expectations.I received a complimentary copy of this book with the expectation I would provide an honest review in return. This is that review.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    To be honest I kept getting lost. It did not hold my attention. Hopefully others will enjoy this but it wasn't my cup of tea. I received this from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for and honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have been lucky enough to do an early review of this book. I will give it four stars because it is an intelligent and very human story. But due to the erratic nature and seemingly all over the place pacing of the story I have to take one star way. I kept telling myself that I wish this book was longer.......way longer. But glad it wasn't in the end. What I would have liked to have seen is a more consistent account of the characters travels to get where they were going. But I can see the editor, doing what editors do, cutting integral pieces out of the mix. I wanted to invest more time in the characters as they grew but I was constantly yanked away from them, put some where else and by the time we get back to them, time has gone by and they have changed. It was very heartbreaking to see how Vespasian was changed by his world and his environment. Nero was as despicable as expected. The end of the Julio Claudian era in Rome was a time of extreme change. From Kingdom to Republic To Empire this story exemplifies how those stages coupled with religious awakenings affected the beginning of the fall of the latter. Overall this a good book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    INTO THE UNBOUNDED NIGHTMitchell James KaplanINTO THE UNBOUNDED NIGHT by Mitchell James Kaplan is an intelligent, dense novel set in the period around the time of Christ’s ministry until a couple of decades afterward when Rome burned under Nero and the Roman Empire began to weaken and fragment. I found the greatest strength of this story was the author’s ability to develop compelling characters whose stories guide us, the readers, into and through the many beliefs and cultures of the time and area. The beginning finds us in Albion, the future Britannia, just as the forces of Vespasian are encroaching on the pagan tribes of the island. The young woman, Aislin, admires her warrior aunt who guides her in the faith of their ancestors who speak to them through the skull of her grandfather. It isn’t long before the Roman forces reach them and thoroughly destroy their village. Aislin is first imprisoned and repeatedly raped by Vespasian, then released. She survives in the wilds she is familiar with and meets Septimus, a dishonored guard from the Roman forces, who has been ejected and abandoned to the forested wilds. Without a common language, they still manage to support and comfort each other as they make their way to Rome. There they are accidentally separated, and Aislin survives on the streets until she is taken in by a hedonistic Roman senator, bears his disabled son which gets her and the baby ejected, once again to make their way in the world. Interwoven with the story of Aislin are the stories of Vespasian; Septimus; Paulus, known to us as St. Paul; and a young Judean scholar, Yohanan. Each story offers the exploration of the many faiths, philosophies and practices of this time and place. The paths of characters cross each other, separate, and recross again. The characters influence each other and open windows on the way these ancient cultures might have impacted each other as well. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, they reveal with compassion the complexities and beauty of being human. I found this book to be captivating and intelligent. I believe the author succeeds in creating a unified story that enlightens and enriches the reader’s knowledge of, not only the period, but also the more universal struggles of our human striving.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Into the Unbounded Night is a captivating piece of historical fiction, set in the mid-1st century AD. A woman of Britannia, Aislin, is the character that ties together all the threads of the story as her life moves from Britannia, under conquest by Rome, to Rome itself, and finally to Jerusalem at the time of its siege and defeat by Vespasian. Kaplan artfully blends the three primary locales and their religious schemes of paganism, Judaism and Christianity into a story that I found hard to put down. I greatly enjoyed this book and I hope that you do too.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Aislin of Albion (Britannia) sees her village destroyed by Vespasian, who then uses her for several days and the abandons her to whatever fate she can get. She meets up with Septimus, also abandoned by Vespasian, and somehow they manage to get to Rome, where these two are separated. At some point she does something to annoy the Romans and ends up in prison housed with a man called Paulus, who talks of his new beliefs in a prophet names Joshua. After she spends time with him - after they leave the jail - she goes to Jerusalem to find a new life meeting up with a teacher named Yohanan, whose thoughts also rile the Romans. Eventually they meet up with Vespasian (this is after many years) who doesn't remember Ailsin but she remembers him and not fondly.There's more to the story but I kept getting lost. I hope others find it more enjoyable.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Enthralling story of Aislin, a Briton, Yohanan, a Jewish copyist and ,scholar, Septimus, former Roman soldier turned fresco painter, and Vespasian, General, later emperor and how their lives intermingle. After her village is completely destroyed, Aislin and Septimus travel to Rome with the idea of revenge in her mind. Thinking she has been abandoned by Septimus, she becomes for a time mistress to an aristocrat after living on the streets. After bearing him a mentally-challenged son, she doesn't want to kill the baby and runs away with the baby. Her life becomes entwined with that of St. Paul with whom she is in prison; she absorbs some of his ideas. Yohanan travels to the Galilee where he and Aislin meet and marry. All his life, Yohanan has sought the Temple treasure, which he finally realizes is more precious than mere silver and gold. He finds and preserves it.The story presented strong characters, which in the course of their lifetimes grew and developed. I was disappointed in this portrayal of Vespasian--his actions towards Aislin and the outcome of his final meeting with Septimus. I wish it could have been the opposite towards the painter. This emperor has always been a favorite of mine. I appreciated the author's treatment of Temple life and ritual. Interesting also was the martyrdom of Stefanos [who we know as Stephen] and Saul's part in it. The New Testament book of Acts does connect Saul with the incident but not to such an extent as here. Themes of the novel treated the nature of love, innocence, revenge, longing, the value of every life.There was a note of fantasy: the legend of Azazel, a fallen Angel [Messenger] and some literary license. Roman history and customs were weak e.g., legionnaires should be legionaries. Since soldiers were not permitted to marry, shouldn't Septimus' wife have been a common-law wife?There was also a pet peeve of mine: two okay's on p. 206 in my copy. I felt odd at the use of It/Its for God all through the novel. Is that mainstream Jewish usage or should it be He/His depending on the part of speech? Highly recommended.

Book preview

Into the Unbounded Night - Mitchell James Kaplan

`_book_preview_excerpt.html}ێG寄idRCM $"%=b<3<3C7ťɧ7fD_3*j , Uqq7˱c^ߴY?~zO|^z֏ xS>fۦnɆ}Zc.voǟ7z W_*>eO-C5m,d]g] ]Qyv ]<ۏUu-~6T1oƫ.P4)_'=fQYc{1|4e7Uc4uo1S?$oWLnoʘ=]]n=kl1[~1]eK9CF^Ň>{nW}: P>5]tE3%FJHO ;qvmc9#來P Z (n97XgnTk6!δ |WdakBZ@l%--,↱˞cNZ)h&{IVbvtjP1>!b.`wMߋ8D4쟋"BT`W-|T - e 8u۱4=ܼ%?Fƭcs},"{w=9>WH]7ٷͷ]SeK2D*1Ϟ#>ð cؙ#$ZtmfW..w5}VL*[BDxuҭb'FOp\SL5fw4DcifFNF^b\hٷe3~GD3^ <{ɷ^8-B #trMwDqE?VKS"9\*-ɵSX;Z 2F(X /,ȕRx:)1s[D?ބ;~x&F<8 E/U B8"@Ŷx?Il.@_6O%LrsXNhWvCowZ,Yi5 `'w:lu}j7hϷzsJ'qCWC7 2Zsk0jчGN 6Z20Vc9TuA˸dXjq@[uè( &~$~8ա;w+DM̀JR&cƢ)e9֯ݝ"5&En!ŢYfu郢)ka=c{WI0r@8}aq>pP9i&F eL0ٔC0З;f Ve ӹ/䕯 Fzʸ&Vh]6;[wNjpeկ.i縃|@B쉯iړ/Ⱦ/av]bC쾞8 $F>+W˗7%x$Mş^6ͳn(˟W_|:8/4Zk”쨖-׀{$WQ-m`1șP社I2mC)D˕*GP#2fAVp40 DŠmzbO,FBUiHfPwnig .%H nrZR:,kܷ#!ONl)9;9˾)|Oojξb'@]oqN\o= qo@D 64puC?쳎ye;]|3l۔y2haJu1dX33; wWS R(8" @AkӅX( vM|U]H5 ƙ4?~ER D#A|©8kx@0@/P^+^)*e6*S o]D=?$rrȤߑfb# K>3p*eF\?R~/!f¦:/A횄p؛{Q(,:  `IH mSGp풦">-zBg}Fn 9JCsF%3|b4ſ{X/j W2u0|,z_H=^M=ӗH/LD:3 ĜƎ7#,lBwM9"p4=6xbWW _4 Ū31#pWp&#G/ LRwh(#8{]״}hM*0=sE)>$qRw?mR>$- 'zhJ!|L=˄}̃ wJM^.Ǘ?~[5'~Y^9Ż 7\JaHVV\+Fӥ u >ed5~h冾NAT[qo YIS 92 ۙ__1wHKlJC9J&]Qq|r$]_6H/)jR[KxX{V'f5V B >8Â_r@q"9ξ銜J!. |Z~aȁ:*`b,iҰ?K"8wQ [ho B(a8GwVBr@v8_ ʀn WY l/"]^(D,VQ#66.ooEܒ!n㡙G*a}\\mU1 b H7帆D@"ij Ã,{tu~\rTCIzPIi'!<ܪhr ]Ri/%-Dz`EsjFmO~ţI]yvsbr{!W 2_M"iIJѲ z7/x._Y#eU\:C;zay2=&4怎J;YiV1+cxMbbePi qbG 5 %Ɍ"vgaˊ,Q&@P7XzJ@hNxuW4edSNQQ5G7XDr?U$|txIDЬ4IA>|]^ @5+ ESԪj!H:˧yc(J&S,SQ,v9JVH"fn̏'ǫ}$T <w=TahZP2Vtct&YnXϲ+"έ2cNg4pZ?dO ΤۿaA}ʹ:./'Qi luiOơ~lދ ?[?B)$wiH圹4n(yVׇ>'qIQJ>6 zܤgyݻub?t[ =Azi/n/?1jp["K]r%]1=4lB ^kdaHAqHVS͑QhUz+$_҇g 1g·M"BVQN =JlΪc8ڧFQw$0Pɥh(70=bwXi}'Ơ&^) 3$B壠:g?bN>&º"<(>)5.Bv]\2ޯhom3PZ a| :JPE+*6sqU5JM)ˡEO׻)[y9))+ܾ)bJ Z3_ʖ49K^0#BIpl7^7죿٘קcȫY"i> 'ft׵4 CL*=1KGȣ+gP,E;Lĸ;LNDl?g9-ZM>J]գ0S#'Lg-ǔ~5/>LHL("ڪ}W+2σN0H^ +DA >ɨZ `(`BĒ1 @4NӺyd @ߨ{CgY _ w23]5j*xJ/8\gQ() v}D;G^ s}||ddtr848^e8;KfaB[Zte<_d# -plX+0.t)ðXδaS*EUo)ѝLdR걙8LS|^ KJmu$ T:Ykrz }b;C*pX|D ǔ]5  gIEcْNT: UtFI~vb\&+Y, ꛢt?Qti?ՑiwQ6wO˴6%c^NQ:)Q$`z*7lQdօw"Ⱥ,ƒm֤{l/75Qіz296a؈n$hrO.@J?w 6c.iH4볢{?rmȣ+2t{ϡaHHtz56yq;xuiwSGl @2>:vB8?ԢRk*ΥoSoIO/QüV2d_xG׶m`#ku 7OEY=$E}tUCm%MKls, iW$Deҹ'vĎpeyK9{q=HAm1eԪ ч_.Cںh$/hL=Rbh;<~Ü/?^;9ۼ-  5H:mlS K$PY 2XR7; p XByq'VK\cqj#s%l{9ku ,ڵ,Bg>xa!!r{^ZCa%AӹH,gQfU뫃 E25IdF uLDk(x0=|XS5ݰgVb; ;wъ=yAN4/}juN("0@jqL[5ʗC:gqCcySx|j܅BnLO=ɦ?XNd#ۆnۙoݱmY6<֋eM?>17c7a-5`;Z& 60jo9/+-*= A.fxd9[kNHyt7 [7nsDG DA/_"+KH\=h,I:J. X$PXN_]6$;" ֗#^1AeHuDwjCnp;uGu>$Id;7 t"=bnKG/Ӓ7`S=hŚhjdC T0\Z.j4A.kzlr{Vr4J$$!0ı ^c P8ZZL1r4rs25vVmխʨlOòƛ=XNG'ʔdlleKYކDBHI葝+W/=/'Dks=HcYm Bgv쑮^t|@kR2@?0 1DcQ:S EO&VRJU5b6X0erU!B<7Rʪ ,JR4(Qc-O kH7^z}Zd3̷ҦA%nc]Ƽ>;C"e,Qs4}UBJq 4"2~gə+WQI,X Ou)1B x_r Y\DNO><3 |)6`O%ut&yZ{** ڱeyE |{˱]gjPVtc>f))F);5Ipge-Z98g.n |̓rsļ Mt!,ljԓשBBU{]jWM\`f8Ro72N&yhzM'xٳpI$-35ړ ap_|N3ԁfSL6.1O CͪYe~r3݊M?ulstDNdb-i IȊ3̓D2-Zx~FiϝR1u8XڎOW"M̟,] sm5Y۱!{b$1ڀjaQ錧f/I3jHWMZU&,tB/9_2=<^ʴ-j Jq{:mLC8Q95 sCwFmwjZmuUSs*U` WS/3_MxpӴryw"5 9935>ċTSVeTy]ɞ2y>NE3R>DUfW f yiM!햇AǾo&#WKhU*v vN[p4vzN\Cpt̒_cnTgh$?[(FM݋ƶgV­uSN":k W6'ok8#?MU6UOgʼnnY1wdnӖ2xV6KsH-oYنuoygy(ZlRz#n ǣ j$cu!⟟ɽ^B\i-$u wTwfs|0~.XgDɷT uP3$@~ίá%SGTsN;C9 O% 7i nZْMYj Ae.){;% f:vVBME5!a]ѕ4D0x>a%H̛ҁjQema扗;w#'nsuhPb7?څ9%gxbdGDcZ_ ב W(?zߏ{Kc;|{:lA<&hLyw> %1Æ9֚\yڕVЕݕ*uφxpuyf\ģxs_V* 5]uT䠓63u-A򧛠cS4Ոtu:|OفlyWj*U}~KkUU0]/ i6ұH8$8֖8=A%@;m cˀ.Kd낶 t0g!F8涩׍mh-pN|ە7/ߊ>U9^Zt.s/\iƔD뱥{ sQȩ]@{̚E6Xsf9^69yA8' P:wk\ ɤtMD6騼eeAgh9apcժWeUg0ђNe 4$rު$hE5XbE~Jn nk+ z߅uۓ Kt܀f!d%'?kC[%xn 0,,٧s'w΢:w#iVEdHśvbV sӹS4]Jw[ VPgcCa!Cy(tuʊy]/(h,)#¥ȥ\L*;hB2fsYT&oϩ.i*F)eMFTԿ]]8U8ègŧ֝SO馱8#[\5Nghn64˵kZcEӿ9*[)Ӗtс4Ś'*G6(t=Kϧ:ܒ6< }]t< g TI1f&ܻEZzbsvk
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1