13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Intense Journey With A Climactic Ending, September 28, 2008
This review is from: Earthcore (Paperback)
Sonny McGuiness, an old prospector for years, converses with a Hopi Indian named Dennis about the "silver springs", a legendary location for untold riches. Dennis give Sonny directions but warns him that the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah are cursed. When Sonny finds the claim, he feels something strange around him and wonders how much of Dennis's tale was true. But creepy feelings aren't enough to stop Sonny, especially when he discovers that the "silver" is really an unusually pure mass of platinum.
The claim is purchased by Earthcore, a company led by a cutthroat named Connell Kirkland. Connell has lost all emotion after the death of his wife, making him an icy, deadly adversary in the corporate world of mining. He'll let nothing and no one stand in his way, even going so far as to hire ex-NSA "interrogator" Kayla Meyers to seek out the truth of the Wah Wah claim. Kayla is beautiful and deadly, and has a true passion for her work.
Connell assembles a team of the best-of-the-best in their fields for the initial exploration of Earthcore's new find, using utmost secrecy to avoid the competition getting wind of the vast platinum mine. He hires Dr. Angus Kool, a genius with three PhD's, a scientist who's sociopathic behavior goes far beyond his arrogance. Joining Angus is his assistant, Dr. Randy White, also rated in the genius range. Mack Hendricks, an Australian Engineer, is pulled off a current dig to join Connell's crew. Running security for Earthcore is Patrick O'Doyle, an ex-assassin from the military, a hard, scarred man who takes his job more seriously than his own life. Assisting O'Doyle is Bertha Lybrand, a heavily muscled warrior and exceptional soldier. Crashing the party, to protect un-explored cave systems, are archeologist Dr. Veronica Reeves and her mentor/father figure Sanji Haak, who've been written up in Nation Geographic for their similar dig in the mountains of Argentina. Last is Cho Takachi, the security guard assigned to watch and monitor Sonny's movements.
With a surprisingly sophisticated base camp established outside the vast cave and tunnel systems that lead toward the dense mass of platinum, the exploration begins. Sonny, on-site as part of his monetary agreement with Connell, suddenly wishes he'd stayed away. The longer he stays near the Wah Wah's (which he'd christened Funeral Mountain) the more uneasy and fearful he's become. Sonny and Cho have dug up the past of Funeral Mountain, and found nothing but failure and death. Nevertheless, he's unable to stop Connell and his Earthcore party from entering the mountain. All are in danger, and not all will make it out alive. There's something alive down there, and it doesn't like visitors.
Sigler has written a fantastic sci-fi thriller. Starting as a podcast, Earthcore was later published as a book. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, the characters are not weak but fully fleshed individuals, each with their own virtues and flaws. The environment is painted so real that I could feel the heat, feel the claustrophobia of the tunnels. The book is very fast-paced, the ending so exciting you won't be able to put it down once you've reached the last 100 pages. I was deeply fascinated by the race discovered below, and mesmerized by their evolution. The intense race to return to the surface left me breathless, biting my nails as I read on. Sigler is a remarkable new author, definitely one to watch out for. Pick up a copy of Earthcore for the ride of your life. I highly recommend this book. Enjoy!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
and lots and LOTs of violence!, May 6, 2007
This review is from: Earthcore (Paperback)
Scott Sigler writes great stories for podcast that just happen to also rock on the printed page.His charaters are memorable although not allways the most fleshed out. Is this a flaw? I don't think so, I think its to keep his JUNKIES guessing!
The stories move along at an unusualy breakneck pace so just as you think it's time to relax BAM! more violence.
No matter, im no critic but iv'e come to value M.R. Siglers work on printed page and podcasts and whatever his percieved short comeings as an author his work is enjoyable and memorable and im proud to be a Sigler JUNKIE!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stephen King meets Michael Crichton, March 8, 2007
This review is from: Earthcore (Paperback)
I first heard about Earthcore when I stumbled upon [...] Earthcore was one of the works displayed in a rotating banner of popular downloads on the site and it was the first one I tried due to the intriguing realistic drama-horror sound of its summary.
Earthcore definitely delivered with that pseudo-genre. It reads a bit like a horror film and thus might be predictable to some but its varied cast of characters and slowly revealed secrets make it worth it.
As the title of this review states, Earthcore is very much a melding of Stephen King's thriller-type books with dashes of violence and notable anti-heroes who may or may not eventually become heroes and Michael Crichton's "techno-thrillers" with moderate technological and scientific underpinnings.
I ended up purchasing a copy in print just so I could share it with my friends who don't care for audio books.
In short: if you enjoy either of the above two authors, give this book a try.
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