The Dakota Cipher (Ethan Gage) [Kindle Edition]

William Dietrich (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Fast, fun and full of surprises, Dietrich's rollicking third Ethan Gage escapade (after The Rosetta Key) takes the expatriate American diplomat and soldier-of-fortune home to investigate the Louisiana territory, preceding Lewis and Clark, for Napoleon, who claims it was secretly sold back to France. Accompanying Ethan is Magnus Bloodhammer, a Norwegian berserker who hopes to find Thor's Hammer, a magic talisman of his people supposedly brought to America by Knights Templar hundreds of years before Columbus sailed. With the blessing of President Thomas Jefferson (who asks him to keep an eye out for woolly mammoths), Ethan and Magnus light out for the northwest, where their steps are dogged by vindictive British loyalists, hostile Indians and unlikely disciples of an Egyptian snake cult. The tale twists and turns like a spitted serpent, but Dietrich shows his sure hand as a storyteller, leavening a tale rich in intrigue and impressive historic detail with abundant wit and humor. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Ethan Gage, the expatriate American who starred in The Rosetta Key (2007) and Napoleon’s Pyramids (2008), returns for another adventure. The story, which takes place in 1800, finds Ethan joining forces with a Norwegian, the splendidly named Magnus Bloodhammer, to find Thor’s Hammer, the possibly mythical artifact that, so the legend goes, enables its possessor to control the weather. The quest takes Ethan back home, to America, where he once again follows a twisting path to an uncertain conclusion. If there weren’t already an Indiana Jones, Dietrich’s Ethan Gage could certainly fit the bill: he’s a likable risk-taker who, in his quests for priceless antiquities, has a knack for narrowly escaping near-certain death. Dietrich does an excellent job of creating the historical settings of the novels, and the real-life characters Ethan meets along the way (in this novel, it’s Thomas Jefferson) feel just right—not historically accurate but labored creations but real people. A spirited installment of what promises to be a long-running series. --David Pitt

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 429 KB
• Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; 1 edition (April 7, 2009)
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00245A4ZK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,231 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

I'm a novelist and non-fiction author, with a series on American adventurer Ethan Gage in the Napoleonic era that has sold into 31 languages. My newest novel, a Nazi thriller, is "Blood of the Reich."

I began my writing career as a newspaper reporter in 1973, published my first non-fiction book, "The Final Forest," in 1992, and my first fiction, "Ice Reich," in 1998, completing a first draft on an Antarctic research ship. I share a Pulitzer for covering the Exxon Valdez oil spill while at the Seattle Times and then taught for five years at Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment. While there I authored "Green Fire: A History of Huxley College."

My work at HarperCollins has been historical fiction that ranges from the Roman Empire to my latest tale that ranges from Germany to Washington's Cascade Mountains to Tibet. My Ethan Gage series starts with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt ("Napoleon's Pyramids") and continues on to the Holy Land, America's Great Lakes frontier, the Barbary Pirates of North Africa and (coming) the Caribbean and Haiti. I've also done thrillers for Warner Books (Ice Reich, Getting Back, and Dark Winter, now available again as E-books on Amazon) and non-fiction about the Pacific Northwest.

My award-winning first non-fiction book, "The Final Forest," was just reissued by University of Washington Press. For any Twilight fans, it's a book about Forks, Washington, written well before the vampire craze: it gives you the real Forks.

Research for my novels has taken me to the Arctic, Antarctic, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Australia, Sicily, Greece, Paris, Britain, Hungary, Tibet...hey, someone's got to do it. I've traveled on a sailboat in the South Pacific, landed on an aircraft carrier, flown in a B-52, visited the South Pole, and been terrified flying with the Blue Angels.

As a journalist, I was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, won National Science Foundation fellowships to Antarctica, and speak frequently on environmental issues. I've covered Congress, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the environment, science, social issues - even the military. I've traveled frequently for my writing, but live in the Pacific Northwest where I was born. I'm married, with two grown children.

I live in a house looking out at the San Juan Islands, surrounded by fir, cedar, and hemlock, and sometimes get to watch bald eagles while I'm writing. Connecting with readers is one of life's biggest thrills.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Continuing Adventures of Ethan Gage, May 5, 2009

By 

Macdaddy "Macdaddy" (The Great Northwest) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dakota Cipher: An Ethan Gage Adventure (Ethan Gage Adventures) (Hardcover)

I was wandering through a used bookstore and came across one of Mr. Dietrich's novels, Napoleon's Pyramids. It looked interesting so I gave it a go and couldn't put it down once I started. I quickly ran out and bought The Rosetta Key, thoroughly enjoyed that, then bought The Dakota Cipher brand-spanking new from Amazon.
Ethan Gage is an American adventurer, rogue, and really all-around good guy seeking fame and fortune for number one, when he is thrust, albeit unwillingly, into horrible and deadly situations not of his making.
I've read a lot of reviews that good folks have posted on here about all kinds of books, and some of those good people just analyze the crap out of the whole book. I read for fun and enjoyment, and Dietrich has injected fun and adventurous fictional life in the form of Ethan Gage into real history. Who cares if it's not totally accurate? It's easy to become invested in the characters and wonder what's going to happen next. The historical detail of people and places is very interesting without leaning too far towards history lessons, and the adventures and artifacts are plausible enough to believe in. I'm ready to pre-order the next Ethan Gage adventure right now. He's stuck out in the wilds of an unexplored United States right now; where will he go next?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast-paced historical thriller, March 28, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dakota Cipher: An Ethan Gage Adventure (Ethan Gage Adventures) (Hardcover)

Ethan Gage is enjoying his stay in Paris as Napoleon has forgiven him for the Battle at Acre. His goal is to enjoy the Emperor's married sister Pauline. However, after spending a delightful night with Pauline, thugs kidnap Ethan and tie him up to some fireworks. Thanks to melted chocolate in his sleeves and luck, he escapes and looks like a hero to the crowd as he appears to be holding the torch of liberty during the gala. With Pauline's help, accompanied by Norwegian freedom fighter Magnus Bloodhammer, who seeks Thor's Hammer to free his people from the Danes, he escapes to America.

The French who reclaimed the Louisiana Territory and President Jefferson want Gage to explore beyond the Great Lakes. A reluctant Ethan and Magnus begin the journey from DC to Detroit and from there across the Great Lakes towards the un-chartered Northwest in search of blue eyed light skin Indians, woolly mammoths and Thor's Hammer; allegedly brought by Knights Templar in the fourteenth century.

This fast-paced historical thriller engages readers from the moment that Ethan knows it is time to say au revoir and never slows down as he and the Odin look alike Magnus make the westward journey before Lewis and Clark. The story line is filled with action even when Ethan has them resting in New York waiting for the election of 1800 to be decided. The contrast between Magnus and Ethan is incredible as the former is dedicated to his quest and the memory of his beloved late wife while the latter is dedicated to the woman of the moment; in fact Gage's womanizing gets him into one dangerous predicament after another whether it is in France or on the Great Lakes and beyond. Readers will relish his coming home escapades while newcomers will seek his previous adventures overseas (see NAPOLEON'S PYRAMID and THE ROSETTA KEY).

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Of the four Ethan Gage Adventures . . ., May 18, 2010

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dakota Cipher (Ethan Gage Adventures) (Mass Market Paperback)

. . . this one was, I believe, the weakest.

This being said, once again, William Dietrich has produced a fun and frolicking read.

Unlike the previous two novels (and the fourth) the bulk of this novel takes place in North America. Our accidental hero, engaged in an illicit romance with Napoleon's married sister, is sent to the United States as sort of a "back-door" operative between Napoleon and the new American President, Thomas Jefferson. Once again, Gage finds himself with odd companions (an eccentric -- to say the least -- Norwegian) looking for an ancient artifact of power. And once again, Gage finds himself pursued by the members of the rather diabolical Egyptian Rite. In "The Dakota Cipher" we are also introduced to characters who will turn up again in "The Barbary Pirates".

No, this is not high literature, and should not be mistaken for such. But it is a fun adventure story -- and there is certainly nothing wrong with that!

Enjoyed and recommended!