A riveting, monumental novel about the life of the brother of Jesus Christ--hypnotic in its power and imagery, awesome in its conception and dramatic invention. Brothers is the story of one of the most evil yet fascinating characters in modern fiction--a man whose lust for power knows no bounds, and it is about the force for betrayal--the Judas--in every person. Brothers relates, in the first person, the ruthless story of a man who has purposefully killed off the tenderness and compassion within him. It tells of his careful, scrupulously executed rise to vast influence in Judea, and of the transference of his insatiable lust for domination over all living creatures to another dimension: the realm of myth. Simultaneously, as the novel unfolds, we watch his growing preoccupation with his brother, who was given away to a childless couple as a baby, and has become a self-appointed prophet wandering the countryside.

Stunning in its intensity, compelling in its depiction of cruelty as well as compassion, Brothers combines the fascination of our own historical wellsprings with an enthralling tale about a man whose revenge on the entire human race must match the blind rage and fury in his own heart.