The Forbidden Book

This is a really excellent book — gripping, thought-provoking, mysterious, deep and resonant with esoteric knowledge. It keeps you turning the pages in a most compelling way. I couldn’t put it down.
—Graham Hancock, author of the international bestsellers The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Heaven’s Mirror.

In the sure hands of Guido Mina di Sospiro and Joscelyn Godwin, The Forbidden Book is many things at once: murder mystery, meditation on religious extremism, and a complex but invitingly deep introduction into the esoteric. I don’t think I’ve encountered as original a book as this in a long time and I’m confident it will resonate with readers everywhere.
—Mitchell Kaplan, co-founder of Miami Book Fair International, president of Books & Books, 2011 recipient of the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community by the National Book Foundation.

Watch out Dan Brown and Umberto Eco! Here’s a real esoteric thriller written by some real Illuminati who know the real thing and aren’t afraid to let the secret out. Sex, magic, politics, and mystery. The Forbidden Book is a gripping, exciting, and illuminating read.
—Gary Lachman, author of A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult, Jung The Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung’s Life and Teachings, The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World.

A harrowing tapestry of esoteric mystery, unseen history, and the search for inner knowledge — The Forbidden Book is the thinking-person’s adventure yarn.
—Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America and editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin.

Much more than simply a captivating adventure with a generous dose of love, intrigue, sex, and violence, The Forbidden Book provides an introduction to alchemical-magical practices of the late Italian Renaissance, a spiritual tradition that persists surreptitiously to this day. The authors, in possession of a deep understanding of – and sympathy for – esoteric Hermeticism, successfully weave pearls of occult wisdom into the fabric of their book, creating a compelling story-within-the-story that is all the more genuine for being based on an authentic early seventeenth century alchemical text. This is a book rich on many levels, with multiple layers of meaning and interpretation, from the riveting action-packed twenty-first century fictional narrative to deep insights into the ancient and enduring perennial philosophy. Indeed, The Forbidden Book is itself a modern incarnation of the ‘forbidden book’ which forms the central theme of the novel. Read it closely!
—Robert M. Schoch, author of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders, Pyramid Quest, and The Parapsychology Revolution.

Co-written with Joscelyn Gowdin: