For three thousand years, the world's most dangerous treasure has been lost. Now the code that reveals its hiding place is about to be broken ...
Sam Grant is a disgraced ex-SOE soldier and an adventurer by trade. But he has a secret: six years ago, a dying archaeologist entrusted him with his life's work - transcripts of mysterious writing found in a hidden cave on Crete. Deciphered, it could lead to one of the greatest prizes in history.But the treasure is as dangerous as it is valuable. The CIA wants it; so does the KGB.Helped by a brilliant Oxford professor, and a beautiful Greek archaeologist with her own secrets to hide, Grant is plunged into a labyrinth of ancient cults, forgotten mysteries and lost civilizations.But time is running out.
The secrets of the distant past may hold the key to the newest threats of the modern world...
Fans of thrillers with an Indiana Jones angle who just can’t wait for the next James Rollins or Steve Berry novel should check out this very entertaining tale. Set in the late 1940s, it features a disparate group of adventurers (including a disgraced British solider, a beautiful archaeologist, and a university professor) who are searching for an ancient treasure that could have important ramifications for the postwar world. As they race from place to place, following clues to the treasure’s location, they discover that key elements of Greek mythology might not be so mythological after all. With a lightning-fast pace, a cast of colorful characters, plenty of twists and turns, and a story that reaches into the past and the future, the novel is sure to please fans of the historical-thriller genre. This is the author’s seventh novel, following his three-volume series set during the First Crusade and three Napoléon-era novels written as Edwin Thomas. It’s a stand-alone, apparently, although readers will no doubt finish this one and immediately begin clamoring for a series. --David Pitt
Description:
For three thousand years, the world's most dangerous treasure has been lost. Now the code that reveals its hiding place is about to be broken ...
Sam Grant is a disgraced ex-SOE soldier and an adventurer by trade. But he has a secret: six years ago, a dying archaeologist entrusted him with his life's work - transcripts of mysterious writing found in a hidden cave on Crete. Deciphered, it could lead to one of the greatest prizes in history.But the treasure is as dangerous as it is valuable. The CIA wants it; so does the KGB.Helped by a brilliant Oxford professor, and a beautiful Greek archaeologist with her own secrets to hide, Grant is plunged into a labyrinth of ancient cults, forgotten mysteries and lost civilizations.But time is running out.
The secrets of the distant past may hold the key to the newest threats of the modern world...
From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Harper's superb historical trilogy set during the Crusades (The Mosaic of Shadows, etc.) are likely to be disappointed by this middling thriller, yet another variation on the Indiana Jones theme. In 1947, the British, Americans and Russians are all looking for the legendary shield of Achilles because it may contain Element 61, a chemical element then missing from the periodic table that could be used in weapons. C.S. Grant, a British adventurer in need of a government pardon, agrees to help recover a murdered archeologist's notebook that may hold clues to the shield's whereabouts. A number of stock supporting characters, including an attractive female archeologist and an elderly scholar, accompany Grant to Crete in search of answers. While Harper offers some interesting discussions about the origins of Homer's poems, some readers may weary of such formulaic plot elements as a slow-motion romance, gunfights, hairbreadth escapes and the loss of a key clue. (Nov.)
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From Booklist
Fans of thrillers with an Indiana Jones angle who just can’t wait for the next James Rollins or Steve Berry novel should check out this very entertaining tale. Set in the late 1940s, it features a disparate group of adventurers (including a disgraced British solider, a beautiful archaeologist, and a university professor) who are searching for an ancient treasure that could have important ramifications for the postwar world. As they race from place to place, following clues to the treasure’s location, they discover that key elements of Greek mythology might not be so mythological after all. With a lightning-fast pace, a cast of colorful characters, plenty of twists and turns, and a story that reaches into the past and the future, the novel is sure to please fans of the historical-thriller genre. This is the author’s seventh novel, following his three-volume series set during the First Crusade and three Napoléon-era novels written as Edwin Thomas. It’s a stand-alone, apparently, although readers will no doubt finish this one and immediately begin clamoring for a series. --David Pitt