The Forbidden Book
A Novel
"Watch out Dan Brown and Umberto Eco! Here's a real esoteric thriller written by some real Illuminati who know the real thing and aren't afraid to let the secret out. Sex, magic, politics, and mystery. The Forbidden Book is a gripping, exciting, and illuminating read." Gary Lachman, author of Turn Off Your Mind
"This is a really excellent bookgripping, thoughtprovoking, mysterious, deep and resonant with esoteric knowledge. It keeps you turning the pages in a most compelling way. I couldn't put it down." Graham Hancock, author of the international bestsellers The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, and Heaven's Mirror
This gripping pageturner has something for every fan of occult fiction: a murder mystery set against the conflicts of Islam and the West with symbolism, alchemy, and magic fueling the action. The evocative setting of Venice and the Veneto dominates the plot, along with vivid scenes in Santiago de Compostela, Provence, Washington, and the Vatican.
The Forbidden Book delves deep into esoteric knowledge and practice, thanks to Guido Mina di Sospiro's extensive knowledge of Catholicism and Joscelyn Godwin's authoritative studies of the western esoteric tradition. Underlying the fastpaced action, the reader will find a profound treatment of moral and political dilemmas, the conflict of religions, and the frightening possibilities of the occult.
Joscelyn Godwin is a composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult. He is the author of the first complete English language translation (1999) of one of the first illustrated printed texts, the incunabulum Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (1499). He teaches at Colgate University.
Guido Mina di Sospiro is an award-winning, internationally published novelist born in Argentina, raised in Italy, and educated in the United States. A graduate of the University of Southern California, he lives in the Washington, DC, area with his wife and their three sons. He lives in Washington DC.