The Weird of the Wanderer

When an archaeological dig in Armenia uncovers the undisturbed tomb of King Balthazar of ancient Moxoene, the find is extraordinary enough—but among the relics are a Smith & Wesson revolver and Victorian coins, impossible anachronisms that hint at something stranger still. Within the tomb lies a cache of thirty-four papyri, and the story they tell defies all reason.

The papyri are the records of Nicholas Crabbe, a young student of the occult who, while attempting to summon Egyptian immortals near Cyprus in 1899, found himself flung across centuries. His account reveals that he has lived before—as Odysseus, wandering among the gods of Greece, and as Balthazar, one of the three Magi who followed a star to Bethlehem. He has descended into Hades, walked among the Olympians, and carried Helen of Troy from the underworld to make her his bride.

Written in Rolfe’s characteristically ornate and erudite style, this singular fantasy weaves classical mythology, early Christian legend, and occult speculation into a strange and dazzling tapestry of past lives and immortal wandering.