Area 51: Legend [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Series: Area 51 | Publication Date: March 30, 2004

FROM THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON TO THE MISTS
OF AVALON—THEY WERE THERE.

NOW THEY ARE OUR ONLY HOPE.

They were born on a planet in the spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. In a bloody revolution they became known as “godkillers”—two humans who led a revolt against the deathless race, the Airlia, and a plan to breed human foot soldiers for ceaseless intergalactic warfare. Now Donnchadh and Gwalcmai are on their way to a planet called Earth, where the Airlia have forged a foothold in the land of Atlantis. For a man and a woman who have lost everything but each other, an incredible journey through history is about to begin.

Spanning centuries and epochs, they will travel from the teeming streets of ancient Rome to Pharaoh’s bloodied pyramids to the realm of King Arthur. Sustained by the mysterious technology of the Airlia, Donnchadh and Gwalcmai must safeguard one extraordinary golden grail, a heavy, bloodstained sword called Excalibur—and each other’s lives. For while an unquenchable evil struggles to take hold of the planet, they are the watchers, waiting for the moment when humankind can wage its last battle for survival.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Established Area 51 fans definitely will enjoy this exciting installment, and newcomers will find much to enjoy, too. "
--Booklist?

From the Inside Flap

FROM THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON TO THE MISTS
OF AVALON?THEY WERE THERE.

NOW THEY ARE OUR ONLY HOPE.

They were born on a planet in the spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. In a bloody revolution they became known as ?godkillers??two humans who led a revolt against the deathless race, the Airlia, and a plan to breed human foot soldiers for ceaseless intergalactic warfare. Now Donnchadh and Gwalcmai are on their way to a planet called Earth, where the Airlia have forged a foothold in the land of Atlantis. For a man and a woman who have lost everything but each other, an incredible journey through history is about to begin.

Spanning centuries and epochs, they will travel from the teeming streets of ancient Rome to Pharaoh?s bloodied pyramids to the realm of King Arthur. Sustained by the mysterious technology of the Airlia, Donnchadh and Gwalcmai must safeguard one extraordinary golden grail, a heavy, bloodstained sword called Excalibur?and each other?s lives. For while an unquenchable evil struggles to take hold of the planet, they are the watchers, waiting for the moment when humankind can wage its last battle for survival.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dell (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440237254
• ISBN-13: 978-0440237259
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #186,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Series

More About the Author

Robert Doherty is the pen name of NY Times bestselling author Bob Mayer who has over 40 books published. He has over three million books in print and is in demand as a team-building, life-change, and leadership speaker and consultant. Bob graduated from West Point and served in the military as a Special Forces A-Team leader and a teacher at the JFK Special Warfare Center & School. His latest books are Warrior Writer: From Writer to Published Author, Wild Ride (co-written with Jennifer Crusie) and the episodic series Chasing The Ghost. He teaches novel writing and improving the author via his Warrior-Writer program. He is the Co-Creator of Who Dares Wins Publishing focusing on the non-fiction of excellence and military non-fiction and military fiction (thriller, romance, science fiction). He lives on an island off Seattle. For more information see www.bobmayer.org or www.WhoDaresWinsPublishing.com

He has the bestselling Area 51 and Atlantis series published along with Psychic Warrior.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Too Much Time On Their Hands, April 27, 2004

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Area 51: Legend (Mass Market Paperback)

14,000 years ago on another planet far away, the human population revolted against their Airlia overlords and managed to free their planet. Unfortunately, it was a Pyrrhic victory, the war left few alive, and the planet's ecosystem dying. Now a small number of the survivors launch themselves into space to find other Airlia ruled enclaves and save the inhabitants, who are being groomed for a titanic battle between super-races.

Two of these travelers, Donnchadh and Gwalcmei come to our own planet, where the Airlia have established the city of Atlantic, and the human inhabitants are still too primitive to mount any resistance. Their plan is to continually disrupt Airlia plans until the time was right for the final revolt. It would take the full 14,000 years, and this book is the story of most of them.

In one sense this is a typical 'aliens founded the earth' book. Doherty manages to attribute most of the Middle East's history to the machinations of Donnchadh and Gwalcmei and their opponents. Atlantis, Pharaohs, Moses, Druids and King Arthur, all become part of a vast, slightly paranoid puzzle. This book ties together the many threads that led up to the original Area 51 story - sometimes by stretching the historical truth, sometimes by fabricating things wholesale.

Doherty's style manages to keep this from becoming tedious, although I'm not sure I want to ever read any more about Donnchadh and Gwalcmei and their adventures. The book covers such a long period of time and so many events that the narrative sometimes gets thin, but, overall, interest gets maintained - I've certainly read worse in this genre. Since this is a prequel, it's not absolutely necessary to have read the other books in the series, but not knowing the future erodes the rational behind some of the actions in this volume.

In any case, it's quite readable, as it the entire series. I still find myself irritated occasionally by a plot that requires humans to be perpetually lagging intellectually. But if you are going to have alien super-races you are going to have to accept the existence of guileless humans. As long as we zap them in the end, I guess it's all right.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mostly a Rehash of Earlier Books, April 7, 2004

By 

Therefore I Am (Silverton, ID) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Area 51: Legend (Mass Market Paperback)

I was very disappointed with this installment of the Area 51 saga. 80% of the book is nothing more than rehashed accounts already given in previous books. Many are word-for-word retellings. Frankly, the only substantially new information I found was (a) the Exodus, (b) the fall of Jerusalem and (c) greater detail concerning Arthur & Merlin.

I was further disappointed when the author failed to expand on storylines that could have used it. The attempt to build a deep space array at the Twin Sisters was pretty much glossed over and the interaction between Aspasia's and Artad's shadows/minions didn't even start until about page 200. Also, if it didn't happen at Atlantis, the Middle East or England, this book doesn't talk about it.

I could have easily skipped this book. It's the first I've read in the series that I wish I'd waited for it to appear in my local library. Doherty usually has a vivid imagination and his ability to associate the legends and legendary history of our planet with the Airlia storyline has been exceptional. But this book offered nothing new---no new insights into history, no new artifacts, no new insights into the Airlia, no new insights into the Guides, Ones Who Wait, Shadows or Watchers. I was very disappointed.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Area 51: Legend, May 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Area 51: Legend (Mass Market Paperback)

Some people are writing reviews about this book who don't realize this is a prequel to the other Area 51 books. He is attempting to explain how everything came about. I thought it was a very good book. The first book in the prequel is Nosferatu.