Synopses & Reviews
The deadliest document ever written must be found.
And time is running out.
It has long been rumored in academic circles that a sixteenth-century monk named Eisenreich took Machiavelli several steps further, writing a masterplan for world domination so dangerous the Pope had him killed to suppress it. But Eisenreich's text, On Supremacy, survived. Some scholars even believed the Third Reich had a copy. But when the bullet-riddled body of a young girl is found in Montana and "Eisenreich" is her dying word, it becomes terrifyingly clear that not only is the document real someone is planning to use this explosive piece of history in the late twentieth century.
This deadly document is at the heart of The Overseer, a chillingly authentic, compulsively readable thriller of global intrigue and political conspiracy that follows a desperate search for a fabled manuscript, one with frightening modern-day implications. Beautiful, troubled government agent Sarah Trent is given just enough information by her covert office to begin digging into the murder of the young girl. Her search takes her to Columbia University and a brilliant young political theorist named Xander Jaspers, who agrees to help her. But neither Xander nor Sarah fully understand the dangerous situation into which they've been thrown. For On Supremacy has fallen into the hands of a cabal intent on using it as a blueprint for ripping apart society as we know it and creating a new world order out of the ashes of the old.
The cabal, led by a coldly intelligent mastermind called the Overseer, begins its campaign of terror. As the acts of terrorism assassinations, bombings, the collapse of the grain market go off like clockwork, Sarah and Xander realize the only way to prevent total chaos is to find another copy of the manuscript and uncover the identity of the Overseer and so the race is on.
This intelligent, full-throttle thriller is the extraordinary literary debut of a young political theorist, author Jonathan Rabb, who asks: What if such a sophisticated and dangerous sixteenth-century document resurfaced at the turn of the millennium? Would it be the most thrilling discovery of the twentieth century...or the most terrifying? Read On Supremacy at the end of this provocative novel and judge for yourself.
Review
"[An] intriguing debut thriller....Using an innovative conceit that combines imaginative brainwork and stirring action scenes, Rabb has given us a thriller worth remembering." Publishers Weekly
Review
"[A] reasonably interesting, though overlong, thriller....In a book, say, 75 pages thinner, Rabb's intriguing odd couple might have been enough to carry the day." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] far-fetched tale...but so intelligent and skillful is the telling that one gladly suspends disbelief....This is a highly sophisticated and diverting thriller, a superior entertainment." The Washington Post Book World
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"The Overseer isn't clever enough to carry most readers through a long plane trip. In fact, the whole thing is downright preposterous." Charles Salzberg, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"[A]n exciting, well-written debut novel, but accepting the conceit that a manuscript could contain the secrets of world domination is as difficult as believing those get-rich-quick schemes so prevalent on late-night infomercials. But what the heck: in for a penny, in for a pound. Read and enjoy." Booklist
Review
"[A] slick and readable thriller from unusual material....Rabb has created a scenario that is frighteningly plausible in many ways, and Trent and Jaspers, in their efforts to save the world, are both heroic and human." Library Journal
Synopsis
The international thriller for the turn of the millennium: an intelligent, nail-biting, full-throttle chase that will make this the Summer of Eisenreich all over the world.
Eisenreich. It's long been rumored in academic circles that this 16th-century Swiss monk went Machiavelli one better, writing a masterplan for world domination so explosive, so dangerous, the pope had him killed to suppress it but On Supremacy somehow survived. A few believe Hitler had a copy. The search for the manuscript is a holy grail for some, a wild goose chase for most. But when a bullet-riddled young gift shows up in Montana, and "Eisenreich" is her dying word, it becomes all too clear that not only is the document real, someone is using it.
Government agent Sarah Trent is called in and given just enough information to start digging. Her search takes her to Columbia University and a brilliant young political theorist named Xander Jaspers. Even before they understand the urgency of the situation, the Overseer's cabal begins its campaign of terror. Air traffic control screens suddenly go blank. Bombs explode at the National Gallery. The grain market teeters on the verge of collapse. Sarah and Xander realize that the only way to prevent the impending global chaos is to find the manuscript, and one violent encounter on the streets of New York proves that the Overseer intends to stop them. The race is on, from the United States to the major cities of Europe and back again, with the Overseer always one deadly step ahead.
This extraordinary debut novel is the subject of bidding wars all over Europe, with rights already sold in Italy, Germany, and Holland.
About the Author
Jonathan Rabb has a B.A. from Yale and an M.Phil from Columbia University in political theory and taught at Columbia College for three years, specializing in early modern political thought. He had the idea for The Overseer while on a Fulbright fellowship in Germany. Rabb lives in New York City.