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Pyramid Scheme (Pyramid Series Book 1) by [Freer, Dave, Flint, Eric]

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Dave Freer

Eric Flint

Pyramid Scheme (Pyramid Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Dave Freer (Author), Eric Flint (Author)

31 ratings

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An alien pyramid has appeared on Earth, squatting in the middle of Chicago. It is growing, destroying the city as it does and nothing seems able to stop it, not even the might of the US military. Somehow, the alien device is snatching people and for unknown reasons transporting them into worlds of mythology. Dr Lukacs is one of the victims. Granted, he's an expert on mythology. But myths are not something he'd thought to encounter personally. Or wanted to! Sure, he has a couple of tough paratroopers along with him, as well as a blonde Amazon biologist and a very capable maintenance mechanic. Unfortunately, modern weapons don't work, and the Greek gods are out to kill the heroes.

Well, yes, they've got Medea and Arachne and the Sphinx on their side (both Sphinxes, actually the Greek version as well as the Egyptian). And at least some of the Egyptian gods seem friendly.

But that can be a very mixed blessing, to say the least. Oh, and whatever you dodon't mention dwarf-tossing.

At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management.

Length: 503 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

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Product details

File Size: 941 KB
Print Length: 503 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Baen Books; 1 edition (July 27, 2015)
Publication Date: July 27, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B012TXYOOI
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Not Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #651,097 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #30855 in Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #52431 in Science Fiction (Books)

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Lizzz

Worth a read just for Bitar and Smitar, Medea's dragons - flying toothless idiots savant spouting vaudeville non sequitors

October 21, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Not for all tastes by a long shot, but if the University of Chicago Library/Oriental Institute setting, academic and anti-government bureaucracy humor, Greek (plus an excursion to Egyptian) myth and legend, sprinkled with stupid puns (not too many of them, thankfully) are your kalyx of wine, you'll find this goes down easy.
The human characters are silly twists on stock characters (but the ethnic diversity riffs are deftly handled): The genius physicist administrator with more security clearance than God, the fearless South African marine biologist Amazon, the dweeby-but-brilliant Middle Eastern mythology professor, his punny autodidact friend the South Side maintenance man (and his foul-mouthed, take-no-shit wife), the no-BS 101st Airborne NCO and a young farm-boy recruit, a stream of incompetent and self-serving government bureaucrats (who share baddy roles with the handwavium alien AI behind it all). Even the walk-on characters (e.g., the Manager of the Luxor) are better than they have to be.
But it's the legendary and mythological characters that raise this silly romp a whole level: the Olympians are baddies, but the Titans (Prometheus & Typheon) and the obscure Egyptian God, Bes, become allies. Arachne the spider woman is a sympathetic love interest with some nice (Colophon the timocracy) twists, and the Sphinx is funny/scary and the machina of the plot. But the show is stolen by Medea and her toothless baggy-pants idiots savant dragon duo (Bitar and Smitar), the best wacky riffs on Greek legend I've ever read.

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Arthur W Jordin

A Mythological Romp

August 29, 2008

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Pyramid Scheme (2001) is the first SF novel in the Book of the Tail series. It is set in the present or maybe in the near future. The Near Earth Space Object Tracking satellite detected an object decelerating as it approached the Earth. An alarm data stream is transmitted to NORAD. The object was setting down in Chicago. Just before the landing, all radio transmissions were jammed. NORAD reported the intrusion through channels.

In this novel, Tom Harkness is sent by the National Security Council to the situation briefing. He is informed that two companies from the 101st Airborne have been sent to Chicago. General Brasnos recommends that 82nd Airborne be mobilized, but Harkness refuses. He feels that the whole thing is probably a hoax.

At 2:29 AM, a security guard in the Regenstein Library rounds a corner and discovers a bizarre-looking five-sided pyramidal object. Crumpled shelves and shredded books are scattered around the artifact. Turning to flee, a beam of violet light engulfs the guard and he disappears.

Lieutenant Solms is the watch officer for the University of Chicago Police. He is monitoring the radio transmissions of two campus cops who have responded to a call from the library. When they fail to report, he walks over to the library and discovers the pyramid. Solms calls the University administration and then the Chicago Police. Soon police are swarming around the library.

Professor Miggy Tremelo takes a look at the pyramid and tells Solms to remove his police from the scene. Then he calls in more scientists from the High Energy Physics lab across the street. They begin scanning the object.

Jerry Lukacs, PhD, is a visiting professor at the Oriental Institute. He arrives at his office without noticing the police or the physicists wrestling a X-ray machine up the steps of the library. He does notice the emptiness of the building.

Liz De Beer is a postdoc fellow in the Department of Ecology and Evolution. She has come to Chicago with her husband, but has left him after he found someone else that he liked better. She is from South Africa and is familiar with the military and macho mindset.

Lamont Jackson is a maintenance worker at the university. He is busy in the air handling room of the Oriental Institute with his boom-box playing loudly. Naturally, he is overlooked when the police evacuate the building.

In this story, the Krim device expands every time a person vanishes or energy is directed against it. The probe is steadily moving toward the Fermi Memorial. It had missed its target by sixty yards. Still, that is not bad for a voyage of 2740 lightyears through normal space and a wormhole.

When Harkness arrives, he uses the obsequious Chicago Police Lieutenant John Salinas to fetch creamer and do other errands. Then Harkness decides to put the scientists in their place. He picks Professor Tremelo to be the first victim. He is greatly surprised by the response. As the professor is reaming out the NSC man, the Krim probe makes Harkness and his party vanish.

Major Gervase heads the initial two military companies on the scene. Corporal Jim McKenna escorts Professor Tremelo and Lieutenant Salinas to the Major. Tremelo has a few observations and reports to give the Major, but Salinas only being his usual self.

Shortly after that, the missing persons start dropping out of thin air. Some are still alive when they return, but most are dead. The first returnee is the vanished copilot of a Blackhawk helicopter. Despite CPR and other extreme measures, the man dies. He has been stabbed with something sharp.

Then an Air Force officer who had disappeared with Harkness also appears out of thin air. This body is soaking wet in saltwater. Moreover, he has fish and squid in his pockets. He is brought around enough to mumble a few things before he dies. His mumbles suggest ancient history.

When Colonel Frank McNamara arrives, he sends Lieutenant Salinas out to find a marine biologist to investigate the fish. Corporal McKenna goes with the Lieutenant to the biology departments and they return with Liz De Beer. Later, the Colonel sends Salinas out to find a historian.

Sergeant Anibal Cruz, Corporal McKenna and two other soldiers of the 101st Airborne escort Lieutenant Salinas and Liz De Beer when they enter the Oriental Institute. Jerry and Lamont hear their voices and join the group. When Salinas pulls his pistol, everybody piles on him and the whole group disappears.

This tale takes the missing persons into a world based on Greek mythology. Since Jerry speaks classical Greek (with a bad accent), he acts as translator for the others. They appear on an ancient-style galley commanded by Odysseus within the strait between Scylla and Charybdis. Two of the soldiers are soon killed by a Greek sailor and the monster Scylla and immediately vanish from the scene.

Eventually Jerry learns that the Krim device is reactivating moribund mythologies for its masters. The Krim are parasites who feed on pain and suffering. The somewhat anachronistic world wherein the party is stranded certainly has its share of such and the Krim are manipulating the prukrin threads to increase the suffering.

The story illustrates how science fiction can imitate fantasy. Invoke a device that transfers the party into an Ur-mythworld and everything is valid SF. Well, valid speculative fiction. Anyway, it is a fun story. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Flint & Freer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alien invasions, other realities, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

3 people found this helpful

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John A Lee III

A Hilarious Romp

June 14, 2007

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

A small pyramidal alien object crashes to earth in the midst of the library of the University of Chicago and strange things begin to happen. It periodically grows larger and selected people disappear. Of those who disappear, only the dead and dying manage to return, often with hideous wounds. The political situation is clear: something must be done. Unfortunately, everything that is tried seems to make the problems worse.

Those who disappear find themselves in a strange world that seems to be based upon Homeric legend with bits and pieces of Egyptian mythology thrown in for leavening. The Olympian gods seem bent on their personal destruction, the "heroes" of legend seem less than heroic and the only allies are those usually portrayed as the villains. It is up to an academic specializing in mythology, a maintenance man, a marine biologist and a couple of soldiers to figure out what is going on without getting themselves killed.

This is a hilarious book full of unexpected comedy. It was lots of fun.

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LaughingLion

Warning!

December 10, 2005

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Exposure to this book may lead to one or more of the following symptoms:

Mania

uncontrollable groaning

abdominal pain

blurred vision

weepy eyes

shortness of breath

Symptoms will probably persist for the duration of the novel, and for several hours or days after completion. Symptoms may spontaneously reappear, usually at inappropriate moments. While there is no cure, further reading of Freer has been known to lessen withdrawal symptoms.

More seriously, this book is truly a wonderfully written book, look out for falling puns low jokes, and ticked off god's. Anyone who enjoys a good laugh will love this. If you are a mythology buff, or loved the old 'Fractured Faire Tales" cartoons you'll be right at home in the pages of this book.

2 people found this helpful

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Blue

Eric never disappoints

October 30, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I gave this 5 stars because that was as many as I could. Anything written by Mr. Flint is always a rocking good read and this is no exception. I'm thrilled there is a sequel and am buying it now.

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Charlyne Metcalf

Pyramid Scheme

September 24, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Light hearted easy read. Loads of fun

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van Oene

Four Stars

August 2, 2018