Ancients: An Event Group Thriller (Event Group Thrillers) [Hardcover]

David L. Golemon (Author)

Book Description

Series: Event Group Thrillers | Publication Date: August 5, 2008

Reminiscent of the works of James Rollins and Matthew Reilly comes the latest in an action-packed series about the nation’s most secret agency---the Event Group

Ten thousand years before the Roman Empire marched great legions across the known world, there was a civilization dedicated to the sciences of earth, sea, and sky. In the City of Light lived people who made dark plans to lay waste to their uncivilized neighbors using the very power of the planet itself. As the great science of their time was brought to bear on the invading hordes, hell was set loose on Earth. And the civilization of Atlantis disappeared in a suicidal storm of fire and water.

Now history threatens to repeat itself. The great weapon of the Ancients has been uncovered in the South Pacific, and it is being deciphered by men of hatred---by an evil once thought banished from history. Again, the black swastika of hate is rising. Their plan is to attempt to control and direct the most destructive force this world has yet to see, a weapon that would make nuclear arms pale in comparison. The world starts to tremble under the power of the ancient science. The seas rise, the earth cracks, and entire cities crumble to dust as the evil plan mapped out thousands of years before takes shape.

The Event Group, the most secret department of the United States government, staffed by the most brilliant men and women of science, philosophy, and the military, must take the lead and try to stop the power of the Ancients. With a presidential mandate to discover the truth behind the myths and legends of history, the Event Group fights to ensure that mistakes from the past are never repeated. Headed by Colonel Jack Collins, the Group must face its most dangerous assignment ever: to find the lost trail of the Ancients and unearth the missing key before the new Reich. Can the most secret federal service of the United States track down the lost trail that will lead them to the lair of this secret power? Or will the world explode in a chain reaction that began more than eleven thousand  years ago? The Event Group is the world's only hope as they search and battle for the lost power of the Ancients.

Heart-pounding action combines with historical adventure as the Event Group discovers that some myths never die. . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Golemon's so-so third Event Group thriller (after 2007's Legend), the shadowy U.S. government organization specializing in paranormal assignments, led by military maverick Col. Jack Collins, must stop the descendants of 2,000 children who survived the sinking of Atlantis 11,000 years earlier from seizing a key that will enable them to manipulate the tectonic plates of the earth's crust. After Collins's team finds a map of the lost continent during a raid on a mansion in Katonah, N.Y., the Atlanteans retaliate by slaughtering the FBI agent working with Collins as well as Event Group members manning the storage facility where the raid's spoils were being studied. The formulaic fight scenes, betrayals and 11th-hour rescues are on a par with the implausible premise. Even the dramatic conclusion will leave many readers unaffected. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Golemon’s third novel in the Event Group series proves to be his best yet. The Event Group is a secret military organization that specializes in the retrieval and study of ancient technology. The premise this time is elaborate: more than 10,000 years ago, the citizens of Atlantis developed a weapon so powerful that it destroyed their civilization and led to the story of Noah’s flood. The device they used is now in the hands of a society that traces their lineage back to the dynasty of Caesar. Colonel Jack Collins and his team must stop the group from using the superweapon and unleashing massive devastation. The resulting tale is a mix of the James Rollins action-heavy adventure, the military gadgetry of Tom Clancy, the pacing of the television series 24, and the conspiracy theories devoured by fans of the radio show Coast to Coast AM. For no-frills adventure fans with a taste for over-the-top plots. --Jeff Ayers

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312352646
• ISBN-13: 978-0312352646
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #537,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and raised in Chino, California. I come from a family steeped in military history, from the Civil War through to Vietnam. I have raised three great children, Shaune, Brandon and Katie Anne. After spending many years in Loveland, Colorado, I now make my home on Long Island, New York.

Novels; EVENT, LEGEND, ANCIENTS, LEVIATHAN, PRIMEVAL (July 6, 2010) and in 2011, LEGACY

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dismaying effort, September 2, 2008

By 

Colin P. Lindsey (Manchester, NH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancients: An Event Group Thriller (Event Group Thrillers) (Hardcover)

This is the third book by Golemon and I wish I could say that he is getting better with every outing. I thought that the first book "Event", about an hostile alien incursion in New Mexico, was surprisingly good for a first novel. I didn't have high expectations for "Event" when I started it but I thought it was a great deal better than most of the James Rollins/Clive Cussler style adventure examples out there by the time I finished. I actually really liked the book on balance and would give it four stars. I enjoyed many of the action scenes especially and I decided to keep a watch on Golemon to see if he was a writer that was going to get better and carve out a name for himself.

The second novel, "Legend", brought back the cast of the first novel for an adventure in the Amazon, racing against criminals to procure a wonder substance from undiscovered Incan ruins. The novel unfortunately wasn't quite as good as the first; it stretched my credulity and suspension of disbelief a little too far for me. It was however a good read and worthy of three stars.

This latest book, "Ancients", is a disaster. It was bad in many ways, but I'll focus on the biggies and try to make my comments serve as constructive criticism. The antagonists in this novel were evil ancient Atlanteans who have a secret sonic weapon that can cause massive seismic damage. These antagonists were one-dimensional, alternately stupid or shrill, and so irrational they were just not believable. The protagonists were the same group from the previous two novels but instead of developing these characters even more they came across a little wooden and robotic. There was a missed opportunity to add layers of character development here. The plot didn't feel plausible, especially the part where the Atlanteans had been around as a homogenous group for so long and were pulling all the strings of power in the world. If they had that much power and wealth it didn't make sense for them to pursue their goal of world dominion. They already had it. The science really bothered me too; diamonds the size of beer kegs and crystal power just weren't believable. The biggest problem with the book though was that the proof-reading was non-existent. However, I don't blame Golemon for the poor copy-editing. St. Martin's press, the publisher, must be trying to cut costs or something because there were far too many typing and grammatical mistakes in this book. When you shell out full-price for a new hardcover I believe you have a right to expect there to have been professional copy-editing done. The lack of it in this book was extremely distracting and alienated me to the point that I may not purchase any more books from this publisher. Overall this was a lackluster and seemingly rushed effort by an author who isn't living up to his promise. To the author, whom I would like to see succeed and whom I believe has strong potential to do so, I would suggest taking a little more time with plot development and character development, but especially focus on creating intelligent, resourceful, but most of all, believable, villains. You'll do very well in this genre with more plausible plots, good character development, and interesting villains (like Farbeaux from the first two books). Over the top action is just meaningless special effects without these attributes. To the publisher I'd say you had better hire a copy editor if I'm going to pay $25 for a new book, otherwise I'll not be buying books from St. Martin's Press again.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Make it Stop!, August 24, 2008

By 

Juanita A. Floyd "Life is too short to read b... (Leesburg, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancients: An Event Group Thriller (Event Group Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Bummer. This book started out like a 5 star winner and quickly devolved into a 2 star "will it ever end" kind of book. Some of the worst editing in recent memory makes this tedious to read. The plot has a lot of potential but then slides into a formulaic approach that just goes on and on. It's a shame since the first 2 installments from this author were very readable. Maybe if he gets a new publisher or a better proofreader things will improve in the future.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where was the editor?, August 25, 2008

By 

Jo Burke - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancients: An Event Group Thriller (Event Group Thrillers) (Hardcover)

I was so looking foward to reading this. But by page 190 the lack of editing became so distracting I could not continue. It's not just typos, but lack of verbs and nouns that leaves you to guess what should have been there instead of being able to get into the story. I felt I was reading someone's first draft where all the sentences have been jotted down quickly without thought of placement or continuity.