Before they ever reached Bethlehem, the Magi had to decide whether a star was worth defying an empire.In ancient Babylon, the heavens are supposed to obey calculation.Then Artapan, a disciplined observer of the night sky, sees a light that should not be there.It matches no known pattern. It appears in no trusted record. And before the mystery can be understood, word of it reaches men who know that signs of kingship can move armies, topple dynasties, and turn scholars into political weapons.Mihrdat, a respected Magus who has spent a lifetime navigating the dangerous boundary between truth and power, knows how much one careless interpretation can cost.Wahman, young, capable, and hungry for advancement, sees opportunity—until proximity to power begins demanding a loyalty he may not be willing to give.Then an ancient Jewish prophecy enters their investigation:“There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.”Suddenly the question is no longer merely what they have seen.It is whether they are willing to follow it.As astronomical records disappear, evidence is manipulated, and powerful officials try to turn an unexplained sign into an instrument of empire, the Magi must choose between safety and truth, ambition and loyalty, calculation and faith.To journey west will mean surrendering royal protection and entering a world of dangerous roads, rival kingdoms, uncertain borders—and a search for a king whose name they do not yet know.The Star in the East begins The Magi Trilogy, a sweeping biblical historical epic of political intrigue, ancient scholarship, faith, sacrifice, and the extraordinary journey behind one of Scripture’s most mysterious stories.For readers who love Scripture-rooted historical fiction, the ancient biblical world, political suspense, and stories that bring familiar biblical events to life without rewriting what Scripture says. Read more
