The Hidden Oasis [Hardcover]

Paul Sussman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2009

The Hidden Oasis opens in 2152 BC with eighty priests setting out under cover of darkness into Egypt’s Western Desert, dragging with them a sled on which rests a mysterious object swathed in cloth. Four weeks later, having reached their destination, the priests calmly slit each other’s throats.

Four thousand years later in present-day Egypt, professional rock climber Freya Hannen arrives for the funeral of her sister, Alex, a Saharan explorer. From the outset, Freya is suspicious of claims that Alex had taken her own life, and sets out to uncover what really happened to her sibling. In her quest for the truth Freya joins forces with Alex’s friend, English academic Flin Brodie, a world authority on the prehistory of the Sahara. Flin is also searching for answers—he has devoted his career to tracking down a mythic hidden oasis.

In this propulsive, nail-biting thriller—all the more engrossing because Sussman himself has worked extensively as an archaeologist in Egypt—we follow Flin and Freya on an unforgettable adventure.At stake are not simply the answer to one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries—the location of the legendary lost oasis of Zerzura—but also the key to the astonishing, terrifying secret that lies at the oasis’s heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set largely in Egypt's vast western desert, Sussman's entertaining if formulaic third archeological thriller (after The Last Secret of the Temple) starts out as an Indiana Jonesian quest for a legendary desert paradise known as the Oasis at the End of the World. When Alex Hannen, a former CIA agent living in Egypt, is found dead, an apparent suicide, her estranged sister, Freya, a world-renowned rock climber, travels to Cairo for Alex's funeral. Freya, soon realizing her sister was murdered, vows to bring the killer to justice. After befriending one of Alex's closest friends, enigmatic Egyptologist Flin Brodie, the unlikely duo find themselves on the run from a host of assassins, spies and government agents—and charging headlong into one of the biggest archeological discoveries in centuries. The smart pace and attention to character development compensate for some dubious plot twists toward the end reminiscent of a weird X-Files episode. (Oct.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; First American edition/Full number line edition (October 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802119182
• ISBN-13: 978-0802119186
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,023,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sussman Delivers ... Again, November 2, 2009

By 

Mary L. Barnich "MBarnich" (St. Pete, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hidden Oasis (Hardcover)

Paul Sussman's new The Hidden Oasis delivers the high-energy fix I've learned to expect from his work. As in The Lost Army of Cambyses and The Last Secret of the Temple, Sussman's new work is extremely well written, particularly the dialogue. His characters, even the evil ones, are completely believable. My favorite character is Detective Khalifa, with the Luxor, Egypt police force, who was so prominent in Sussman's first two novels. I'm encouraged that there is a popular Muslim good guy in current writing. Sussman's books deliver just the right amount of archaeological background to avoid interference with the story flow. The maps in the front of the books, although lacking some of the important locations mentioned in the books, are very helpful and informative. The glossary of Middle Eastern terms is instructive and an added bonus. I would recommend all of Sussman's books to anyone who loves a believable, current, action-packed mystery, and especially to anyone who loves archaeology. I expect, with the deep research involved, that we will have to wait way too long for another gift from this very talented author.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing well-crafted thriller!, October 10, 2009

By 

John T. Kane "The Phoenix" (Kirkland, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hidden Oasis (Hardcover)

I bought this book early last week as I've read both previous books by Paul and enjoyed them immensely and figured that I could not go wrong with such a strong author and I was right! I finished this book in less than a week and enjoyed his inital character & plot building as well as to details about archeology & Egypt. Half way into the book, he had his hooks set in me we were off to the races - who were the bad/good? guys/gals?, then mix them all together in with chases/break-ins/climbs/falls - all this combines for a roaring great fun book. At the end, I learned to love his main characters as well even as I knew their fears & loves. Overall, a highly recommended read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as gripping as the others, January 16, 2010

By 

IT Forme - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hidden Oasis (Hardcover)

I have read both of the other Paul Sussman books and loved them. They were five stars each. In those the reader is drawn in at the beginning and keeps the archeological lesson brief and lively. The Hidden Oasis moves slower and the history and archeological lessons are longer. The story or plot line is much drier and at time slows to a crawl. I was not drawn in until midway to three quarters way through the book. My husband also couldn't put down the first two, but lost interest in The Hidden Oasis and has elected not to finish it. I hope this is just an abnormality and his next book is as wonderful as the first two. If you haven't read any Sussman books I suggest reading his first two and skipping this one.