What do you think?
Rate this book
Highlander #7
Highlander: Zealot
Duncan MacLeod, member of an age-old race of immortal beings, is in Paris helping a friend organize a museum exhibit of ancient cultures destroyed by the Romans. While unwrapping a priceless scroll of the Torah, Duncan remembers Avram Mordecai, a young Immortal who was determined to see the Romans defeated and the lands of Israel returned to the Hebrews. When Duncan meets Maral, a Palestinian delegate to the Arab-Israeli peace talks, he falls irrevocably in love. But as the tense negotiations unfold, Duncan realizes that Avram still lives--and he has not forgotten his holy war. Now Duncan is trapped between an old friend and the woman he loves.
259 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
14 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 17, 2023
The story starts with the fall of Massada in ancient place not yet called Israel, the survivor is Avram Mordecai and he is immortal he gets saved by an already ancient immortal Marcus Constantine who will explain him the rules of the Game.
Warschau 1943, Jürgen Stroop will be clearing the Jewish ghetto for always, a dark page in our modern history. It is here were Duncan Macleod and Avram meet and both man bond and fight together. However the end is awfully and bloody.
Present day Paris - Duncan meets a beautiful Palestinian woman who just wants peace and her people finally stopping war with their neighbors so they can finally start living again. The peace conference is under threat by a group of zealots who are hell bent on stopping peace because they do not believe in it.
For over 2000 years Avram has lived and seen Jews like him persecuted and perhaps he has seen too much and experienced too much. Now he will face off his immortal friends and teacher……….
An heartbreaking tale well developed into the format of the Highlander tv-series where we find our favorite immortal in situations that are fascinating and sometimes historical crossroads. This book does describe the Jewish suffering and has put it into an immortal character.
As always the story of immortals is one of an extended live and vastly more experiences which are perhaps too much too carry on the shoulders of a person.
As always these books are filled with impressive research of historical decors this one is no exception.
It is easily one of the best novels of the series and while part of a fantasy series it does not romanticize any historical situations.
Excellent reading and writing.
Warschau 1943, Jürgen Stroop will be clearing the Jewish ghetto for always, a dark page in our modern history. It is here were Duncan Macleod and Avram meet and both man bond and fight together. However the end is awfully and bloody.
Present day Paris - Duncan meets a beautiful Palestinian woman who just wants peace and her people finally stopping war with their neighbors so they can finally start living again. The peace conference is under threat by a group of zealots who are hell bent on stopping peace because they do not believe in it.
For over 2000 years Avram has lived and seen Jews like him persecuted and perhaps he has seen too much and experienced too much. Now he will face off his immortal friends and teacher……….
An heartbreaking tale well developed into the format of the Highlander tv-series where we find our favorite immortal in situations that are fascinating and sometimes historical crossroads. This book does describe the Jewish suffering and has put it into an immortal character.
As always the story of immortals is one of an extended live and vastly more experiences which are perhaps too much too carry on the shoulders of a person.
As always these books are filled with impressive research of historical decors this one is no exception.
It is easily one of the best novels of the series and while part of a fantasy series it does not romanticize any historical situations.
Excellent reading and writing.
June 22, 2018
Another of the Highlander novelizations, and one that was a good deal more entertaining for me than the last one I read. It managed to keep me enthralled throughout for the most part, and had some really nice flashbacks that made me curious about the actual history that they were based on. For me that has always been one of the reasons I enjoyed Highlander in it's various forms, and I was glad to see it managed to do so here.
I was also glad to see Methos had a bit more of a part to play in this one, as he's always been my personal favorite, and I enjoyed his 'voice' quite a bit. It was well done and had that rather snarky quality to it that was always evident in the series. I also felt quite a bit of sympathy towards Avram, and thought his character was also quite good. No sign of Richie or Joe sadly, but the other characters made the absences less noticeable, and they would have been rather out of place in this story anyway.
One of the better novelizations in my opinion, and one that I will likely read again.
Favorite quotes/passages:
It was obvious the idea still horrified Methos. "Touch her? Are you kidding? The woman had six inches and 150 pounds on me-she came near me, I ran like hell..."
Macleod knelt beside him. "Maybe it's because books and libraries don't last forever?" He put an arm around Avram's shoulders. "A very wise old Rebbe once told me that unless the truth is known, everything your people are, everything they were, will vanish into nothing, like the smoke from the camps. And then the Germans will have won. Maybe someone has to be left to remember them, to make sure it never happens again."
I was also glad to see Methos had a bit more of a part to play in this one, as he's always been my personal favorite, and I enjoyed his 'voice' quite a bit. It was well done and had that rather snarky quality to it that was always evident in the series. I also felt quite a bit of sympathy towards Avram, and thought his character was also quite good. No sign of Richie or Joe sadly, but the other characters made the absences less noticeable, and they would have been rather out of place in this story anyway.
One of the better novelizations in my opinion, and one that I will likely read again.
Favorite quotes/passages:
It was obvious the idea still horrified Methos. "Touch her? Are you kidding? The woman had six inches and 150 pounds on me-she came near me, I ran like hell..."
Macleod knelt beside him. "Maybe it's because books and libraries don't last forever?" He put an arm around Avram's shoulders. "A very wise old Rebbe once told me that unless the truth is known, everything your people are, everything they were, will vanish into nothing, like the smoke from the camps. And then the Germans will have won. Maybe someone has to be left to remember them, to make sure it never happens again."
May 22, 2021
3.5 stars. The denouement brought it down from a 4. Extremely well written, which is not surprising since it's show writer Donna Lettow- her grasp of MacLeod and Methos is absolutely spot on.
It's odd to read this story when the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is going through another apex. In general, the author does a good job of putting this story in context of an extraordinarily complex issue.
It's odd to read this story when the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is going through another apex. In general, the author does a good job of putting this story in context of an extraordinarily complex issue.
February 7, 2016
A good read but does not compare to the series (which was 5 star) Methos (one of my favorite characters) brings it up to 4 stars.
Recommended for Highlander fans
Recommended for Highlander fans
September 24, 2024
The second Highlander tie in novel I've read, and unlike the first one I could finish reading this one.
Unfortunately this novel is very heavy handed in its commentary on the isreali-palestine conflict. And reading this in 2024 . . . I don't go to 20 year old trash novels for insightful commentary on geopolitics, but the way this book handles the subject is fantastically biased, naive, and a touch antisemitic. The near abscence of any kind of insight in to the Palestinian people weakened the story immeasurably but is kind of expected for a 20 year old novel written by a westerner.I wasn't able to turn my brain off enough to ignore all the issues I had with this book and it's lukewarm takes on a conflict the author clearly knows very little about.
One funny moment that sticks with me- a character gets mad at Duncan and says 'you aren't usually led around by your dick.' And I'm like . . . Honey where have you been. 80% of Highlander episodes conflict arises from the protagonist being led around by his dick. The show is 1/3 sword and sorcery/ 1/3 soap opera drama/ 1/3 soft core porn for horny middle aged women.
Unfortunately this novel is very heavy handed in its commentary on the isreali-palestine conflict. And reading this in 2024 . . . I don't go to 20 year old trash novels for insightful commentary on geopolitics, but the way this book handles the subject is fantastically biased, naive, and a touch antisemitic. The near abscence of any kind of insight in to the Palestinian people weakened the story immeasurably but is kind of expected for a 20 year old novel written by a westerner.I wasn't able to turn my brain off enough to ignore all the issues I had with this book and it's lukewarm takes on a conflict the author clearly knows very little about.
One funny moment that sticks with me- a character gets mad at Duncan and says 'you aren't usually led around by your dick.' And I'm like . . . Honey where have you been. 80% of Highlander episodes conflict arises from the protagonist being led around by his dick. The show is 1/3 sword and sorcery/ 1/3 soap opera drama/ 1/3 soft core porn for horny middle aged women.
December 3, 2025
While this book was written in the mid 90s it's story, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, is more relevant than ever these days.
Apart from that, the writing itself was very good, I loved how well the characters were described and could very well imagine this to be part of the Highlander TV series.
There is only one thing in here I do not like and will keep ignoring (I knew this was part of the story, but I was too curious about the book itself to not read it): The death of Marcus Constantine at the hand of his own student.
Apart from that, the writing itself was very good, I loved how well the characters were described and could very well imagine this to be part of the Highlander TV series.
There is only one thing in here I do not like and will keep ignoring (I knew this was part of the story, but I was too curious about the book itself to not read it): The death of Marcus Constantine at the hand of his own student.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 24, 2025
love this series
September 13, 2007
Highlander Zealot is the sixth Highlander novel. It was written by Donna Lettow. Immortals Methos and Duncan MacLeod are visiting fellow Immortal Marcus Constantine as he is preparing an exposition at the Paris Museum of Antiquities.
Flashbacks provide insights and adventures: Duncan, as a member of the French Resistance and fellow "Immortal" Mordecai's first death after killing his own family.
Flashbacks provide insights and adventures: Duncan, as a member of the French Resistance and fellow "Immortal" Mordecai's first death after killing his own family.
Read
August 22, 2008Highlander(TM): Zealot (Highlander (Warner)) by Donna Lettow (1997)
September 22, 2016
A very well written novel based on the cult movie and TV Series. Duncan MacLeod finds himself in between a conflict of interest as the peace talks between two waring nations.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews