Area 51: The Sphinx [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Doherty (Author)

Book Description

Series: Area 51 | Publication Date: February 8, 2000

Are there aliens among us?

Have the highest echelons of power already been breached?

The U.S. government knows--but they're not telling....


For thousands of years it has harbored mankind's greatest secret.  Now someone or something has found the key to...The Sphinx.

No place is safe from alien infiltration. Not even top secret Area 51. Scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte know that better than anyone. Secrets have been revealed. Codes have been broken. A countdown has begun. Using alien technology, a group has gained control of a Star Wars satellite that could engulf the planet in a nuclear fire. With no room for error, Turcotte and Duncan must race to solve an ancient riddle and prevent a global catastrophe.

Joined by a secret band of renegades, Mike and Lisa must travel to Egypt in a frantic search for answers. There they make a startling discovery: the key to the mysterious Ark of the Covenant, a true record of mankind's origins. But the artifact is hidden deep within the inner sanctum of the Great Sphinx of Giza. And Lisa and Mike are not alone in their quest. An anthropologist is one step ahead of them, and aliens close behind, as hunters and hunted race to uncover the secret of the Sphinx. Even if it means Armageddon...

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Are there aliens among us?

Have the highest echelons of power already been breached?

The U.S. government knows--but they're not telling....


For thousands of years it has harbored mankind's greatest secret.  Now someone or something has found the key to...The Sphinx.

No place is safe from alien infiltration. Not even top secret Area 51. Scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte know that better than anyone. Secrets have been revealed. Codes have been broken. A countdown has begun. Using alien technology, a group has gained control of a Star Wars satellite that could engulf the planet in a nuclear fire. With no room for error, Turcotte and Duncan must race to solve an ancient riddle and prevent a global catastrophe.

Joined by a secret band of renegades, Mike and Lisa must travel to Egypt in a frantic search for answers. There they make a startling discovery: the key to the mysterious Ark of the Covenant, a true record of mankind's origins. But the artifact is hidden deep within the inner sanctum of the Great Sphinx of Giza. And Lisa and Mike are not alone in their quest. An anthropologist is one step ahead of them, and aliens close behind, as hunters and hunted race to uncover the secret of the Sphinx. Even if it means Armageddon...

About the Author

Robert Doherty is a pseudonym for a bestselling writer of military suspense novels. He is also the author of The Rock, Area 51, Area 51: The Reply, and Area 51: The Mission.

If you are interested in more information about Robert Doherty, you can visit his Web site at www.nettrends.com/mayer.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell; First Edition edition (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440234948
• ISBN-13: 978-0440234944
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Area 51 The Sphinx- How can R. Doherty out do this one?, February 17, 2000

By 

Jackie J. Osmon - See all my reviews

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

Robert D. has kept up the excitement in this edition. Lisa D., Mike T. and the Russian Yakov are still kept off guard. The Mission and the Ones Who Wait are always a step ahead. Lisa is becomiong more careless and Mike and Yakov are not watching their back very well. This book travels all over the globe and covers many of man's most intrigueing mysteries. In this book you learn the truth behind the Sphinx, but still new mysteries are unexplained. And what new danger has Mars in store for the Earthlings. I can't wait until the next book comes out.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back on track, February 17, 2000

By 

Kevin (DC) - See all my reviews

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

Great book - couldn't put it down. Much better than the Mission (the last book in the series). Area 51 is a wonderful sci-fi series. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. I checked the author's web site - he's got at least 3 more books planned. I worry that he might string it along rather than stick to heart and soul of this great adventure. Mr. Doherty/Maguire/Dalton, etc, please be cautious to not dilute the action!

For those of you who enjoy this sort of "alternate history" sci fi, check out Ian Douglas' Heritage Trilogy (Semper Mars, Luna Marine & forthcoming Europa Strike) - its very much in the same genre.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is really getting good now, June 24, 2002

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

The author isn't going to win a Nobel Prize for literature, but Area 51: The Sphinx has me more excited about this series than ever, which is quite an accomplishment for a series already at least 1400 pages long. There's not much point in describing the plot since this is the fourth Area 51 novel to be released. I must admit the plot has grown quite complicated by now, and I'm sometimes unsure which alien-controlled or alien-influenced groups are which because they are all so mysterious and inscrutable. It would be easy to take the basic premise of alien contact and let the story flop around like a dead fish, with predictable results, but the author has long ago transcended the UFO theme and laced his storytelling with unpredictable twists and turns, continually bringing in fresh new excitement and potentialities of earth's greatest mysteries, such as the fabled Hall of Records beneath the Sphinx, the Ark of the Covenant, and lost cities in the Amazon. I love the way he has brought a Russian Section 4 (read Soviet Majestic-12) operative into the heart of the activity, playing with the trust factor between the American and Russian agents like a literary yo-yo. In this novel, the very fate of the United States rests in the hands of the unlikely US-Russian duo. It is true that the author makes no real effort to tie up any loose ends at the end of this story, but I don't care by this point because I'm already poised to pounce on the fifth novel and keep plunging ahead. The introduction of nanotechnology by the "bad guys," the introduction of the Ark of the Covenant, the inevitable search for the Holy Grail, and even a quick tease about Noah's Ark are just a few of the many things that have me running to Book 5. I can see how some readers might become frustrated with the prospect of a long-drawn out story, especially since much of the "truth" of the events written of here will not become apparent until a later time, but I am perpetually perched right on the end of my seat. If you read up through book three (The Mission) and felt your interests flagging a little bit, I urge you to take a chance on this fourth novel because I think it will more than recapture your earlier interest. Personally, I hope this series never ends.