Making History

Bronze Age satire saturates this kooky offering from Parker (The Long Game) about a “colossally stupid” despot who coerces a bevy of academics into rewriting history. Ordered to alter the past or die in prison, the professors, including the tale’s narrator, a linguist, begrudgingly pull together an elaborate origin tale about ruler Gyges being descended from an “ideal race of philosopher kings.” To lend credence to the fabula, POWs by the tens of thousands are sent to excavate a fake ancient site outside the Aelian capital. The intention is for this farce to bolster Gyges’s greatness and garner public support for a war with a neighboring realm, whose denizens are portrayed in the forged chronicles as “nomadic cannibals,” but the discovery of a seemingly real ancient text, The Book of Kings, throws a wrench into those plans. While trying to assess its authenticity, the professors discover that it depicts as real everything they have just invented. Throughout this elaborate shenanigan, Parker pokes copious, sometimes over-the-top fun at academia. There’s very little by way of action, and some readers will be disappointed that the only female character is courtesan Nine White Hairs, who provides the ending’s twist. Still, this equally wacky and brainy novella packs a punch. (Sept.)