The Leper Messiah: A Fictional Look at the Early Life of King David

Sometimes we just need a dark page-turner. The Leper Messiah is that book. This grand adventure follows one of the greatest heroes of the western world, David, and draws the reader deeply into the ancient world. The David Code: Unlock the ancient secrets of Egyptian mysticism and the Hebrew desert world. For the Ark of the Covenant, the powerful voice of the Rose, and King David's adventures as a young boy.....are all cloaked in the robes of the Leper Messiah.

A Haunting Journey to Destiny

A Fictional Look at the Early Life of King David

Toronto, Canada – One of the most prominent names in the Bible is that of King David, who is a significant spiritual figure in the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The story of “David and Goliath” has become one of the most recognizable tropes in our culture.

The Leper Messiah, by Robert M. Levinson, takes a dark, often mystical walk through the life of this iconic figure. Levinson’s book explores the forces, both human and magical, that molded a shepherd boy into a king destined to unite the tribes of Israel.

This is not a religious book. It’s a work of historical fiction that reimagines the life of King David on multiple levels. In Levinson’s telling of the story, the reader gets a strong and realistic sense of David as an ordinary young man trying to survive and find his way through his violent and unpredictable world a thousand years before the birth of Christ. When he kills the giant Goliath, it is not the clichéd showdown of popular culture, but a stealthy attack during a nighttime scouting raid. After being banished by King Saul, he succumbs to violent, murderous – and very human – rage.

There is also a deep undercurrent of mysticism born of the dominant Egyptian culture of the time, complete with recurring sacred scorpions as guardians of the chosen one. The author’s nearly stream of consciousness style shifts the story seamlessly through time and space to achieve a dark, dreamlike ambiance in the book that reinforces the mystical aspects.

The role of strong women in the life of David is an important subtheme. David’s mother, Nitzevet, who is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament, is one of the most powerful characters in the book. At key moments she is there to shield and protect her son and make sure his destiny is fulfilled. Then there is the supernatural and dazzling Rose, who appears at key times to rain destruction on anyone or anything daring to threaten the future king. In a sense, these women stand as a metaphor for the power of the feminine in today’s world.

"The title alone makes you want to grab the book, run home and start reading. And once you start reading, you'll be glad you did. This is an imaginative, unique read."
Patrick LoBrutto, editor of the Dune Novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin  Anderson.

While The Leper Messiah is not a religious work, the title is a nod to several religious ideas. In many traditions, David is seen as the Messiah, the true king of the Israelites; the New Testament Messiah, Jesus, is a direct descendent of David. And in some interpretations of the Talmud, the Messiah can be seen as both leper – absorbing the pain and sorrow of the world – and as conqueror of that world.

The Leper Messiah is like an archaeological expedition come to life, exploring the life of King David in intimate detail on both historical and spiritual levels.

The Leper Messiah, ISBN 978-3-77302-274-6, 2016, Tellwell, 364 Pages, $15.99 Hardcover, $8.99 Paperback, $3.99 on Kindle at Amazon.

About Robert Levinson, author of The Leper Messiah

 

Rob Levinson is arguably as interesting as any character in his epic story about the early life of King David. He was born in a Gypsy clan in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and in an odd reversal of the doubtful legends, the Gypsies gave him up to an orphanage. His adoptive parents raised him in a tradition of literature and introspection, and encouraged his early talents as a writer.

As a young man Levinson explored the world, running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, surviving a scorpion bite in the Negev desert, and winning a camel-hair robe from a Bedouin in an arm-wrestling match.

Working on a kibbutz in Israel, he was inspired by Mount Gilboa, where King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed. Levinson decided to sharpen the literary skills he began in his childhood, and over the course of ten years of research and work produced The Leper Messiah.

In writing his book Levinson wanted to explore the largely untold part of David’s story; “It wasn't the mighty King David I sought, but rather the outcast, the troubled one, the desperate David who filled me with wonder. Who was he as a young child? As a young man? How did his home life shape his character? The slingshot years were the ones I wanted to bring to life, not the overblown stories and clichés.

A sequel is in the works.