Roshani Chokshi (2019)

Synopsis:

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance. To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts:

An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive.

Synopsis from the Author's Website

Review: Limited Audience (L)

Overall, I actually really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of references to mathematics (including a plot point I used in my first novel that never got published, I see you Fibonacci Sequence), references to the bible and the Rosary, and a diverse cast of characters.

However, all good things must come to an end and this one ends in homosexual relationships, premarital sex and heresy.

Specifically, the book mentions "babel fragments" descended from the biblical Tower of Babel that give its users the ability to "Forge". However, the most heretical aspect is in the storyline of Enrique. His brother is going to the priesthood and so he says that "God made no mistakes in crafting our hearts", which is true, but Enrique uses that as permission to engage in homosexual activities. Here the author is missing the point of those words and Catholic Social Teaching. We are all equal in dignity and deserving of the love of God, but people that are experiencing same-sex attraction are called to live out chastity according to their station in life, just like everyone else is called to live out chastity. As in, outside the sacrament of marriage (between a man and a woman), single people should refrain from having sexual relations. (this also includes things like petting, necking, etc.)

I teetered between limited audience and morally offensive so I leave it up to your judgement. The author tries to relay catholic teaching, but is lacking in formation. I would say it is not purposefully heretical, similar to how 70% of catholics nowadays do not believe in Christ's real presence in the Eucharist, and for that reason I made it limited audiences. There is a same-sex kiss and references to pre-marital sex, but there are no actual sex scenes in the book.