"History is nothing but the lies that are no longer disputed."

That quote by Napoleon Bonaparte aptly sets the tone for this terrific piece of speculative historical fiction by Raymond Khoury. EMPIRE OF LIES may be categorized as a thriller, but it is a “what-if” scenario of the highest order. By making just a few tweaks to the annals of world history, Khoury has created an outcome that shows us a world that is both instantly recognizable and simultaneously foreign and horrifying, and will provide readers with much food for thought.

A heavily tattooed mystery man appears at the bedside of Sultan Mehmed IV in 1682 Istanbul. He advises Mehmed on how to go about his future conquests, beginning with the knowledge that his faith will not be enough. The result of this advice is a siege of Vienna in 1683, the outcome of which will change world history in the blink of an eye. The actions (or non-actions) that are taken set off a string of new historical events that eliminate everything we know about our current world history.

"Khoury has managed to put together a novel that is a brilliant mix of speculative historical fiction with a dash of murder mystery/crime and sci-fi thrown in.... EMPIRE OF LIES deserves to be talked about in book clubs, online chat groups and even the classroom."

We return to modern-day Paris, or Shawwal, AH 1438 --- which translates to the year 2017. You see, the nation of Islam is the most powerful world leader, and not only is the Islamic calendar now the norm, all of what was Europe and the Middle East exist in completely different realities. The Paris we see is not the “City of Lights” but a dirty, mostly lower-class and crime-addled city that is peppered with various mosques and religious locales. Russia is a power, but not nearly as forceful as what they were in our reality. The biggest change may be in the United States, which is now a fully Christian country not letting in immigration of any kind. Overall, the cohabitation and interdependence of different faiths have given way to mass conversions to Muslim tradition.

The characters we follow are Kamal Agha, an officer in the Paris police force known as the sultan's secret police. His brother, Ramazan, is an anesthesiologist working at a Paris hospital. His wife, Nisreen, is a devout Muslim and civil rights lawyer who is not a big fan of Ramazan and his politics or police affiliation. Very quickly, all of their worlds will be thrown into disarray when a strange new patient enters the hospital. Nude and tattooed from head to toe, he eventually gains the confidence of Ramazan and confesses that he is a time traveler who has come from a different reality --- our reality. When he describes what our world looks like, it sounds not only quite foreign but also not very pretty. He blames most of the problems in his world on the Americans. They are depicted as strong-willed people who try to change the rest of the world and make them more like they are, while losing sight of how decadent and sick their society has become and how this has begun to affect the world balance.

Violence hits with tragic results for Ramazan and Nisreen's family. The mysterious man just disappears during a shootout with the authorities. Kamal and Nisreen are thrown together, and even though they are philosophically different, they need to work as one to change things. They are able to use the same incantation as the tattooed man and go back in time, eventually to the year 1683, as they attempt to make adjustments that will impact their current reality and make it better. The trouble with time travel, as we all know from movies and science fiction, is that any changes will in fact create a new reality for the time travelers to return to, and those changes they sought to enact might end up destroying everything in the process.

Khoury has managed to put together a novel that is a brilliant mix of speculative historical fiction with a dash of murder mystery/crime and sci-fi thrown in. He ticks all those boxes, and the result is a suspenseful and awe-inspiring work that asks readers to check their brain and any prejudices or preconceived notions at the door, and just let this book wash over them like a wave of new knowledge. EMPIRE OF LIES deserves to be talked about in book clubs, online chat groups and even the classroom. Well done, Mr. Khoury!