Publisher's Synopsis
DEATH IN VIRGINIA! The Virginia wilderness in 1585 is a place full of unexpected danger. The expedition of Ralph Lane, under the sponsorship of Sir Walter Ralegh, is searching for gold, silver and, most valuable of all, copper, to fashion the armaments for England's impending war against Spain. It is a land of beauty and brilliance, but also fraught with peril. Indians lurk in the forests, once friendly but now openly hostile towards the explorers. And worse yet, prejudice abounds in these men who seek their fortunes, prejudices brought with them from Europe and England against Elizabeth I's very own metallurgist, Joachim Gans from Bohemia, the first recorded Jew in the New World. The characters are based on actual people who dared the terrors of unexplored America. Reis Courtney, thirteen years old and an orphan when his father is gored by a wild boar, steps forward from the safety of his uncle's farm in Surrey to apprentice himself to the wild-looking Bohemian man. His life up to that point has been a sad and meager existence, with taunting cousins and a mean-spirited aunt. Boldly he seizes his chance for a new life across the sea, though he has many questions about his new master and his strange mysterious ways. This first company of metallurgical explorers soon face many problems in dealing with the Natives (how to antagonize the "Savages" in three easy lessons)-possibly setting the stage for future colonization disaster. There is bold action, dramatic choices, blood and gore adventure with its opposite: philosophical meditations on the meaning of life and how to treat others in a hostile world. Throughout this sojourn Reis learns the value of a human life. His growing admiration for his shunned master leads him to ponder the various ways of absorbing life's often bitter lessons. Another serious theme concerns the suspicion and prejudice against Jews which the English and Germans brought straight to the New World. Reis has heard horrid tales about what Jews believe and do to Christians; he must learn for himself how these people have been slandered throughout history. Terrifying nightmares and recurring flashbacks haunt him. Demons and witches torment him constantly. Are they real or only figments of his imagination? The 16th century was one of great superstition-encouraging people in many countries to dread the intrusion of evil entities into the real world. Trouble occurs when the great Indian Chief, Pemisapan, formerly known as Wingina, turns against them, leading to torture and death. Faced with the choice of giving in to Pemisapan, or sacrificing his apprentice, Joachim must make one of the hardest decisions of his life. What "magic" can he perform to save them all? Upon him rests the fate of the entire 1585 expedition. In JOACHIM'S MAGIC a 13 year old boy learns what real Magic is and how to become a man in a changing world, where tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. A prequel to the Lyon Saga series about the 1587 Lost Colony of Roanoke Island.
