“Don’t you understand? Everything we know about the ancient world is on the verge of staggering change.”
In the wake of a discovery that rocks the archaeological world, three strangers meet for the first time in the mountains of central Switzerland. Under a cloak of secrecy, they’ve been gathered together by a ruthless billionaire whose goal is to harness unspeakable power by unearthing an artifact more ancient than civilization itself.
Their mission soon finds them on the chase of a lifetime. From the Great Pyramids of Egypt through the wilds of Antarctica, they circle the globe on the heels of a mystery thousands of years in the making, pursued by forces intent on their destruction, proving once and for all that there are some mysteries in this world too dangerous to be solved…
For in the dark waits a terrifying menace.
This book has a solid premise, relatively interesting characters, and a great hook, as well as a neat take on the question of who built the pyramids of Egypt. Three men use archaeology, religious doctrine, and math on a quest to find an ancient artifact.
It has two notable female characters, both of whom are confined to the Love Interest category. Before you get the wrong idea, the book has no romance, only thoughts about the “girl back home” and “what could have been.” One is a scientist who appears a few times, briefly, and does no apparent science. The other’s profession is either unclear or I missed it. She might appear near the beginning, but if she did, she was so empty I forgot about her as anything other than a name.
The story remains an artifact hunt to the end, but falls down when it leans on the crutch of mysterious dreams. Though it continues to have the characters use clever clues throughout, the story also uses what is essentially magic to explain the mystery. The rabbi is able to see things because Faith and Magic (or something like that), where the archaeologist is skeptical and can’t see it.
Though I found the book generally entertaining, the writing style was a little off for my tastes and I didn’t care for the religious slant to the tone. Folks who enjoy Dan Brown would probably also like this story, so long as you don’t mind mysticism filling some of the gaps.