Azimuth: The Final Journey

by Jack Sanger

A royal historian, Kamil, is called to the court of his emperor. He is commissioned to write the history of a famous man, a magus, who lived many centuries before and whose thoughts and deeds influenced all the major religions and moral practices thereafter. The history is to help educate the willful teenage daughter of the emperor, Sabiya. He writes the history and proceeds to read it to her. As he does so he discovers that she is intelligent, provocative and manipulative. Not only that but she realises that this plump, middle aged man has a forensic brain and enlists his support in protecting her against her enemies, who would either kill her or find the means to disinherit her.

So Azimuth consists of two parallel stories like a double helix. The life adventures of the Magus represents one aspect of every chapter and the doings of the court and Kamil’s entwinement in the world of Sabiya, represents the other. The Magus’ story is told in separate adventures, chapter by chapter and each is prefigured in sequence by the esoteric major Arcana cards of the Tarot pack. They, mysteriously, give some inkling of what is to follow but they are cryptic and obscure. At the same time, wrapped round these adventures or tales, the story of the court with its intrigues, devilment, passions and bloody violence, maintains a tense narrative that frames the historian’s readings.


Book Three: The Final Journey. This is the final phase of the Magus’ life. He is recognized everywhere for his power and authority, his wisdom and central philosophy. He is now known as The Magus. There are 22 more chapters but the tales are now melded into a flowing narrative as the Magus journeys with a man of extreme evil to discover the secret of immortality. There are still tales within the overall tale, bloody adventures and disturbing conflicts, as good and evil edge towards a climactic and utterly unexpected conclusion. Who will be victor? Who will gain immortality?

This part of the history of the Magus is read by an older, wiser Kamil to Sabiya’s daughter, Shahrazad. Sabiya is now empress and commissions Kamil to write a third book about the Magus and to read it to her daughter. Again, Kamil is faced with protecting a willful, manipulative late adolescent girl who is at least the equal of her powerful mother in bending fate to her will. But here, instead of threats to the court, he is drawn into the mystery of Shahrazad’s very being and her desire to discover her blood roots. Kamil and Shahrazad embark on adventures that vie with those of the Magus himself in their mysterious, almost magical nature and their chilling danger. Tarot cards occupy their lives even more, though their profound messages are often difficult to interpret until after events have taken place.

And thus The Azimuth Trilogy comes to a close, two narratives ending in the last chapter, each with a conclusion that is spellbinding and unforeseen.

250 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 16, 2012

About the author

Born in India to British parents. came to the UK after the war. Trained as a teacher. Taught for five years. Then a social worker. Then an academic, with M.A. and PhD, becoming a Professor of Management Research and international consultant. Worked/researched in over 20 countries inc. Uzbekistan, Russia, eastern Europe, western Europe, Canada, US.
All this time I wrote fiction privately. In the last decade I have turned to publishing my work, using my varied and challenging experience of cultures as a backdrop. My output is eclectic, under two names; Jack Sanger and Eric le Sange (for genre writing)
I write to challenge, entertain and influence.