M. T. Anderson's 'Nicked' is the story of a young man with a dream

M. T. Anderson’s new novel “Nicked” is the story of a young man with a dream. A literal dream, in which he is visited by St. Nicholas, who gives him a sacred, albeit cryptic mission. “In the dream, the saint told me we cannot wait,” says Nicephorus. “We must leave our nest.”

Because it is the year 1087 and he is a Benedictine monk with “an irritatingly pure and generous heart,” Nicephorus interprets this as an exhortation to go out to minister to those suffering from the virulent pox that is presently sweeping the town of Bari, Italy, where he is stationed. His superiors have different ideas, however.

The abbot believes that Nicholas is “dissatisfied with his resting place” in the city of Myra in Lycia, which is located in modern day Turkey. “Your dream shows us that the saint no longer wants to be trapped, entombed, in Lycia. He wants to be here, in Bari.” Ostensibly concerned with curing the pox, the Barese elite recognize that having Nicholas’ bones nearby could also bring power, prestige and pilgrims with deep pockets to their city.

Nicephorus protests, but it’s of little use. The wheels have been set in motion and it’s his fate to join a motley crew of pirates, brigands and adventurers on board the ship Epiphany. Led by the colorful relic hunter Tyun and overseen by a curt Barese official, they embark on a quest to steal Santa Claus’ bones. Along the way, Nicephorus and Tyun must contend with a host of obstacles, including bratty Venetian interlopers, Greek fire, lascivious nuns, enigmatic mausoleums and the tangled web of medieval Mediterranean politics, before they can pull off this daring heist.

Relic hunting and thievery was a burgeoning industry in Europe during the Middle Ages and Anderson’s story is based in fact, roughly following an outline provided by the real Nicephorus, who wrote a detailed account of the 1087 Barese expedition. In the afterword, Anderson says his goal was to write a historical novel that did more than just show the past as it was, but embodied the spirit of the age. And in the Middle Ages, a good story involved a fair amount of fabulism and fantasy.

Readers may be better served knowing this up front, however, as Anderson’s blending of highly specific, period-accurate details and elements of outlandish medieval lore may otherwise be confusing. Rather than spending much of the book wondering whether there’s going to be an explanation for why the ship's hand, Reprobus, has the head of a dog, one could simply accept that in 1087, your average person would take for granted that dog-headed men exist. (Indeed, Reprobus is in fact based on a contemporary legend, and the race of the Cynocephali appears as far back as Herodotus.)

Anderson is a best-selling author of fiction aimed at children and young adults, and “Nicked” is being touted as his “adult debut.” Though it’s definitely suitable for older and more sophisticated readers, it would no doubt delight a precocious teen. It feels a bit like Michael Crichton’s work, particularly “Eaters of the Dead,” in its rich combination of action, adventure, history and fantasy. It shares a lot with Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle and Umberto Eco’s “Baudolino,” as well, in its precise yet irreverent approach to historical fiction.

There’s much to recommend about “Nicked,” though sometimes its disparate elements can feel a little at odds with one another. Anderson’s world-building is thorough and immersive, though he often seems to linger on small details, showing off what must have been copious research in a way that seems excessively showy. His dialogue is crisp and chock full of brisk banter, but it can be hard to square the entertaining farce of the heist with the sense of real reverence that comes through in short, interstitial vignettes about the life of St. Nicholas.

Toward the end of the book, we discover that Nicephrous is not simply cloistered but closeted, and an unfortunately underwritten queer romance springs up on board the Epiphany. It develops so quickly, you may find yourself flipping back through the book to see if you missed something. With a little more balance in the narrative, Anderson may have been able to better build up to the relationship and give it more time to blossom through the arc of the story.

There’s an argument to be made that the contradictions in “Nicked” are just another homage to the spirit of the time it depicts, where opposing notions such as crass opportunism and true belief could not only exist together but were often wrapped up in one another. While frustrating at times, the sense of disorientation they cause isn’t necessarily fatal, provided readers go in with an open mind — and a little bit of faith.