| Print List Price: | $7.99 |
| Kindle Price: | $1.99 Save $6.00 (75%) |
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The Anomaly Kindle Edition
Not all secrets are meant to be found.
Nolan Moore is a rogue archaeologist hosting a documentary series derisively dismissed by the "real" experts, but beloved of conspiracy theorists.
Nolan sets out to retrace the steps of an explorer from 1909 who claimed to have discovered a mysterious cavern high up in the ancient rock of the Grand Canyon. And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways.
Nolan's story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGrand Central Publishing
- Publication dateJune 19, 2018
- File size9364 KB
Editorial Reviews
Review
"THE ANOMALY simmers... Intriguing [and] never predictable.... will appeal to fans of exploration and survival along with 'The X-Files' crowd."―Associated Press
"Fans of the paranormal thrillers of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child will relish this superior debut from screenwriter Rutger, who makes the fantastic seem less so by dint of his self-aware, flawed lead and his ability to inject gallows humor into tense situations. Rutger milks every ounce of suspense from his plot."―Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)
"This is my kind of book. The suspense mounts slowly... slowly... Then the horror lingers for a long, long time."―R. L. Stine, New York Times bestselling author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series
"THE ANOMALY crackles with claustrophobic tension that had me holding my breath. I couldn't sleep until I'd finished reading, and then I couldn't sleep just thinking about it. I loved it. Michael Rutger is here to stay."―Sarah Pinborough, New York Times bestselling author of BEHIND HER EYES
"Mixing a brisk and engaging narrative with strongly developed characters, Rutger deftly depicts the claustrophobic depths explored by the endangered expedition. The Anomaly should appeal to fans of The X-Files or Fringe as well as anyone looking for an enjoyable tale."―Booklist
"Gripping, exciting, page-turning fun."―John Connolly, #1 internationally bestselling author
"THE ANOMALY is my type of story -- terrific writing from a confident storyteller. What more could you want? Sure to be in the mix with the best thrillers of the year, it's a thrilling and haunting read from first page to last."―Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of HOW IT HAPPENED and THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD
"With witty writing, sharp characterizations and a killer premise, THE ANOMALY is escapist fun perfectly tuned to our age of conspiracy theories and alternative facts."―Thomas Mullen, author of DARKTOWN --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B0763M2JHW
- Publisher : Grand Central Publishing (June 19, 2018)
- Publication date : June 19, 2018
- Language : English
- File size : 9364 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 401 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #92,675 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #680 in Mystery Action Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #1,248 in Action Thriller Fiction
- #1,716 in Mystery Action & Adventure
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Novelist, short story writer and screenwriter, writing under the names Michael Marshall Smith and Michael Marshall. As the former, author of ONLY FORWARD, SPARES, ONE OF US, THE SERVANTS and the upcoming HANNAH GREEN AND HER UNFEASIBLY MUNDANE EXISTENCE. Also winner of the August Derleth, International Horror Guild and Philip K Dick Award — in addition to winning the British Fantasy Award for best short story more times than any other author in history.
As Michael Marshall, an internationally-bestselling writer of thrillers including the STRAW MEN trilogy and THE INTRUDERS — recently televised starring John Simm, Mira Sorvino and Millie Bobby Brown.
www.michaelmarshallsmith.com
Twitter @ememess
Insta @ememess

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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Now for the bummer: the author only has one other book (which I bought immediately and started reading the second I finished The Anomaly). I need more!
Some constructive criticism: It would be nice to have a brief note at the end of the book pointing out which lore was based on fact and which was entirely of the author's fabrication, including a short bibliography of the author's main sources. Michael Crichton did this and I always appreciated knowing where he drew the line and started making things up.
Please write more :)
Top reviews from other countries
Now he’s writing under a third pen-name, Michael Rutger, and the first book is The Anomaly. As soon as I saw it, I picked it up. I still have those early MMS SF books on my shelf, despite having lived in Japan for 10 years – I took them with me both going and coming back. So I came to The Anomaly with plenty of baggage.
It opens kind of slow and steady. We’re introduced to Nolan, a conspiracy/occult theorist with a youtube channel show, who at first blush appears kind of a loser/drip. He failed in his Hollywood job, his wife dumped him, everybody (even his film crew) think he’s kind of a laughing stock. He’s all washed-up, constantly going out to these sites where supernatural phenomena allegedly occured and looking for them, only to find nothing.
Yet pretty soon we get to see Nolan is none of these things. Yes, he has a ribald mocking relationship with his crew, and yes he is aware there’s some exploitation going on in all his failed searches for some evidence that the truth is out there – but he’s also kind of a bad-ass. He is incredibly knowledgeable, and speaks engagingly both on and off-camera about the deep research and flaws in scientific thinking surrounding the places he goes to visit. When an accompanying reporter digs in and insults him, he digs right back.
He is not a wimp. He has a backbone, and beneath the surface-level kookiness and veneer he exploits for his show, he really is asking interesting, informed questions about the things we do not know. I got to really like him quite quickly – he’s unapologetic about his out-there views. He can back up everything he says with facts. He’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with anyone.
The story of The Anomaly is about Nolan’s latest planned adventure with his crew – he’s discovered this 100-year-old record of a secret cave embedded in the wall of the Grand Canyon, which nobody has ever since been able to find since, apparently crammed with evidence that subverts our current understanding of human origins.
Now I’m really interested. It takes a little while for the team to get down into the Grand Canyon – serving to more fully separate them from the regular, 'safe' world - and I was really engaged throughout. Interpersonal dynamics offer plenty of conflict – all of the above character work letting Nolan show he’s not really a washed-up loser, he’s just wearing the clothes of one. Really, he’s just a smart, competent, hard-working guy who’s fallen on a patch of bad luck.
The way MMS (Michael Rutger) feeds in real-world info through Nolan, about bizarre cave paintings and great flood records and other occult-adjacent theories, is entrancing. I would definitely watch this youtube show if it existed – kind of a wannabe Indiana Jones, putting himself out there for the sake of deeper understanding.
Then we get to the cave.
We go into the cave. I won’t say much more because that would be venturing into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say that I don’t think I’ve ever felt scared like this when reading a book. I don’t know that a book has ever really scared me. Grossed me out, sure, but actually scared?
It was delightful. As the crew press deeper into the cave, and long before anything at all happens, I was feeling tingles down the spine. It was late at night. I stopped reading.
I don’t know what magic trick the narrative worked to make me feel this way. I’ve been in dark, creepy, off-limits caves plenty of times and never felt like this. Like this is a really dangerous place where we shouldn’t go, and I almost want them to turn back. I suppose this is an effect of the characteristation Rutger has built up by that point – I cared about Nolan and his banter-filled crew. I wanted them to do well.
Then it all goes crazy. Weird things happen – MMS kind of sci-fi, puzzlebox, inexplicable things. I loved it. I raced through the puzzles, gamely trying to figure out what was going on just like the characters were. It feels a bit like an Escape Room situation, like Saw even, at times. The stakes are high. The puzzles keep stacking up. The truth gets bigger. The reversals compound…
I loved it. I want more like this from MMS. Nolan is a guy I want to root for through multiple adventures like this on the fringe of science and belief. Michael Marshall Smith has been tapping this well in fresh ways since One of Us, and I think he’s hit an incredibly rich seam here. Like Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon, with his expert knowledge of symbols, Nolan is an expert in esoterica and knowledge at the fringes. He’s an X-Files kind of guy, rootling around at the edges and sometimes stumbling upon real, creepy stuff. What will he do when he finds it?
Yes. More please. 5 stars.
I love these type of exploration stories. Find a secret location, explore it & find new things all the time as the whole situation evolves & shifts.
The dialogue was great with a nice snappy exchange between the two main characters.
Money well spent. I strongly recommend this book to others!!
(Still not sure why the cover had the statement, "For fans of Dan Brown"? )




