We have become a society without magic, without miracles and without myths; unmoored from truth and drifting listlessly. The Thirteen Fathers is a series of novels that sets an ambitious goal of addressing this civilizational anomie by revivifying some of the oldest myths through prehistorical fiction, adventure and drama – traveling the boundary between the fantastic and realistic in a way that might have been familiar to our forefathers and foremothers.

The first book written and just published is The Toll of Fortune, following the events of the first Indo-Europeans as they emerged from the Steppes of western Eurasia around 3300BC. While this is Klopp’s first written novel, it is actually the third book in the series – two more tales from even further in the past will eventually precede it in.

Over the coming years A.J.R. Klopp promises to shed light on the prehistoric world of our linguistic and cultural ancestors drawing on everything from the most current research to the roots of mythological origin stories. He will examine historical events like the Biblical Flood, the Bronze Age conquest of Britain, and the Varangian siege of Miklagaard. Ancient folklore will be revisited and the most apocryphal stories of legend will be brought to life with a kernel of historical truth.

From Stone Henge to the Pillars of Hercules to the Iron Gates; from the legend of the phoenix to the Fountain of Youth; from dwarf people to Magog the Giant; from Romulus and Remus to the Amesbury Archer, Klopp will demonstrate how the Indo-European expansion owed its success not just to the risky undertakings of violent expansion, but to the creation of oath-compelling tales of derring-do that still inspire us to reach for a future beyond our grasp.

A.J.R.Klopp is a rare breed of renaissance man in our age of specialization, with a diverse educational and professional background. He holds advanced degrees in physics and astronomy – having conducted research in observational cosmology. He is also the recipient of two law degrees, and has practiced as a corporate attorney specializing in mergers & acquisitions and debt financing. He was also a trader on the bond desk at the largest asset manager in the world. Most recently he was head of quantitative bond trading at a Bay Area hedge fund. His real passion is history, especially retracing the steps of our ancestors to the remote past.