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Rogue Angel #23
Sacred Ground
In a land of subzero temperatures and snow-covered vistas, survival is a challenge. But for the Araktak—an isolated and mysterious Inuit people—this harsh tundra is their heritage. Until now. A large mining company has purchased the land, and the sacred Araktak burial site with it. But more than diamond deposits await them under the dark, icy earth….
Contracted by the mining company, archaeologist Annja Creed is to oversee the proper relocation of the burial site. Her job is to ensure that each ancient relic and all human remains are carefully removed. But the sacred ground harbors a terrible secret. One that a powerful group of men intend to unleash on an unsuspecting world—unless Annja can find a way to stop them.
5 pages, Audio CD
First published March 1, 2010
About the author
Alex Archer
98 books239 followersA house name for the Rogue Angel series, published by the Harlequin Publishing's Gold Eagle division.
The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.
The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 26, 2026
This is the twenty-third Rogue Angel adventure and was the sixth that was written by John F. Merz, who went on to write another handful of them, all under the house pseudonym Alex Archer, of course. It's not one of the best Merz books, but it's not all bad. Annja Creed is an archaeologist and historian who appears on a syndicated television program called Chasing History's Monsters. She's also the heir to the blade and power of Joan of Arc. This one finds Annja in the Arctic again, overseeing the relocation of an Inuit cemetery to accommodate a diamond mine. She encounters some Native mysticism and some corporate greed and has some fights and makes a bear friend. She seems a bit off, way too introspectively touchy-feely and less confident and competent; after all this time, she ought to be used to the sword and seems to be in adventures by other authors published around this one's time. The settings are all quite well described (though perhaps not accurately), and it's a fast-paced adventure, though the ending kind of fizzles. Most of the Rogue Angel books had absolutely terrific covers painted by Tim Bradstreet, and Annja looks appropriately covered (far better than Polar Quest, #16, also by Merz) if a bit snow-bunnyish in this one. In between all of the Lara Croft/Indiana Jones/Sara Pezzini trappings there's some good character development, interesting historical speculation, and a fast-paced and interesting story, but it doesn't ring quite like the Annja from many of the earlier books.
June 21, 2015
In Sacred Ground, Annja is hired as an archaeologist to help the Araktak relocate their sacred burial ground so that a mining company can exploit the land for its resources. It turns out that the mining company is composed of worshippers of a dark power and that they have been working towards releasing and unleashing it on the world to help them achieve world domination. The beginning of the story drew me in and I found it entertaining, but the end seemed to be rushed and sloppy.
I agree with Kathy Davie in that, for all of the paranormal, magical experience that Annja has gone through in the past 23 novels, you'd think she'd be more open to the sword and its influence on her life. Not sure why Jon Merz had Annja doubting herself or her understanding of the sword and its impact on her life. To me, it seemed like Merz had Annja’s character regressing instead of progressing in her supernatural understanding and abilities. In book 23 of this series, the character should stop doubting herself and just go with the flow; I believe that in her going with the flow she will open herself up more to learning more through the sword’s abilities and that it may shed some light onto her birth origins.
I LOVE this book series because it is a cross between Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider and the main character is always drawn into situations in order to draw out the darkness of the world. However some authors writing under the “Alex Archer” pen name don’t really add much to Annja and the overarching series’ development; Merz seems to be one of the authors. Hopefully Merz will do a better job of writing Annja's character as the strong, supernatural fighter that she is and stop having her seem doubtful of herself and her purpose (as dictated by the sword). I do look forward to reading more books in this series and I’m up for the challenge since there are 57 in the series to date.
I agree with Kathy Davie in that, for all of the paranormal, magical experience that Annja has gone through in the past 23 novels, you'd think she'd be more open to the sword and its influence on her life. Not sure why Jon Merz had Annja doubting herself or her understanding of the sword and its impact on her life. To me, it seemed like Merz had Annja’s character regressing instead of progressing in her supernatural understanding and abilities. In book 23 of this series, the character should stop doubting herself and just go with the flow; I believe that in her going with the flow she will open herself up more to learning more through the sword’s abilities and that it may shed some light onto her birth origins.
I LOVE this book series because it is a cross between Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider and the main character is always drawn into situations in order to draw out the darkness of the world. However some authors writing under the “Alex Archer” pen name don’t really add much to Annja and the overarching series’ development; Merz seems to be one of the authors. Hopefully Merz will do a better job of writing Annja's character as the strong, supernatural fighter that she is and stop having her seem doubtful of herself and her purpose (as dictated by the sword). I do look forward to reading more books in this series and I’m up for the challenge since there are 57 in the series to date.
May 8, 2011
Annja Creed is a world-traveling archaeologist with a penchant for adventure, lost cities, mysterious codes and puzzles, and shadowy history that was never recorded. Heir to Joan of Arc's mystic sword, Annja finds herself drawn into the webs of darkest villainy with lives on the line. This series is a cross between Indiana Jones and the Tomb Raider.
In the 23rd release of the Rogue Angel, Annya accepts a job as a consultant for a diamond mining company which gives her 4 weeks to clear an Araktak burial ground of its artifacts and remains. The Araktak are part of the Inuit group that is isolated from society and mysterious. If she completes the mission on time, she will get a hefty paycheck and bonus. Annya has taken a vacation from her job as host of Chasing History’s Monsters in order to take this job. Some vacation!
The setting for this story is the Northwest Territories of Canada, home to the Ice Road Truckers who risk life and limb in order to deliver goods and services to remote areas of Canada via frozen lakes and roads. (They do the same thing across Alaska to the pipelines and remote villages.) Ok, so, I can say honestly that I am a fan of that show on History TV.
The question I’ve had for a while now is this; how can Annya be so skeptical about magic and myths when she carries Joan of Arc’s broadsword and is able to do the amazing things she does? Even the shaman of the Araktak tribe, Wishman, asks her that same question for which she has no answer.
The next question I had was why doesn't Annya actually do a better job researching the company she intends to work for? Obviously, if someone knows too much about me, I would start to ask questions, and then walk away from the job. Naturally, this is pure fiction, so, forget my opinion on the matter.
Summary of story: Annya ends up in a situation with Derek Wainman, and Godwin (who is truly mysterious character and a possible love interest, right until the very end), where she is forced to use her sword to protect herself and the others. She stops a massive 18 wheeler by stabbing her sword into the frozen ice causing a break in the ice which swallows the truck whole. Yep, that really happenes in real life!
Annya then meets an injured Polar Bear named Chunok. She befriends Chunok by helping take a piece of broken arrow from its paw. She is now called Friend of Bear by the Aratak tribe shaman, Wishman, who grants her access to their grounds, which they nearly refused because she was a female. Ah, the arrogance of the male species is astounding at times.
She later goes head to head with an evil God (Onur) that was unleashed by Derek and his second Hansen from a sacred burial chamber that the Araktak had closed, or so we thought. The question remains whether or not the fight actually took place, or was Annya drugged at the time? Annya has never truly fought a supernatural being before, and I wonder if this particular author writes about the supernatural and paranormal. Annya ends up questioning herself right until the very end.
Naturally, Onur is awakened by the blood sacrifice of the cult and Araktak tribe members, and tells Annya that we’ll meet again. When it comes to this series, nothing is really settled. Questions remain unaswered, and Annya ends up losing what she has traveled the world to find. This is no exception.
Next book in series: The Bone Conjurer (05/11/2010)
In the 23rd release of the Rogue Angel, Annya accepts a job as a consultant for a diamond mining company which gives her 4 weeks to clear an Araktak burial ground of its artifacts and remains. The Araktak are part of the Inuit group that is isolated from society and mysterious. If she completes the mission on time, she will get a hefty paycheck and bonus. Annya has taken a vacation from her job as host of Chasing History’s Monsters in order to take this job. Some vacation!
The setting for this story is the Northwest Territories of Canada, home to the Ice Road Truckers who risk life and limb in order to deliver goods and services to remote areas of Canada via frozen lakes and roads. (They do the same thing across Alaska to the pipelines and remote villages.) Ok, so, I can say honestly that I am a fan of that show on History TV.
The question I’ve had for a while now is this; how can Annya be so skeptical about magic and myths when she carries Joan of Arc’s broadsword and is able to do the amazing things she does? Even the shaman of the Araktak tribe, Wishman, asks her that same question for which she has no answer.
The next question I had was why doesn't Annya actually do a better job researching the company she intends to work for? Obviously, if someone knows too much about me, I would start to ask questions, and then walk away from the job. Naturally, this is pure fiction, so, forget my opinion on the matter.
Summary of story: Annya ends up in a situation with Derek Wainman, and Godwin (who is truly mysterious character and a possible love interest, right until the very end), where she is forced to use her sword to protect herself and the others. She stops a massive 18 wheeler by stabbing her sword into the frozen ice causing a break in the ice which swallows the truck whole. Yep, that really happenes in real life!
Annya then meets an injured Polar Bear named Chunok. She befriends Chunok by helping take a piece of broken arrow from its paw. She is now called Friend of Bear by the Aratak tribe shaman, Wishman, who grants her access to their grounds, which they nearly refused because she was a female. Ah, the arrogance of the male species is astounding at times.
She later goes head to head with an evil God (Onur) that was unleashed by Derek and his second Hansen from a sacred burial chamber that the Araktak had closed, or so we thought. The question remains whether or not the fight actually took place, or was Annya drugged at the time? Annya has never truly fought a supernatural being before, and I wonder if this particular author writes about the supernatural and paranormal. Annya ends up questioning herself right until the very end.
Naturally, Onur is awakened by the blood sacrifice of the cult and Araktak tribe members, and tells Annya that we’ll meet again. When it comes to this series, nothing is really settled. Questions remain unaswered, and Annya ends up losing what she has traveled the world to find. This is no exception.
Next book in series: The Bone Conjurer (05/11/2010)
June 6, 2014
Awful. That is really the only way to describe this Rogue Angel adventure and that is one of the problems with the Rogue Angel series. Since the books are written by different authors they vary widely in quality. What was wrong with Sacred Ground? Nothing if you don't mind numerous errors in geography and anthropology. Let's take a look at a few of the errors.
1. Anaja is hired to do an archeological dig on a sacred Inuit burial
ground. What burial ground? The Inuit didn't bury their dead and
for good reason. Ever try digging a hole in frozen ground?
2. The sacred Inuit ceremonial knife; supposedly an assassin's knife
The Inuit had no such artifacts and the invention of such an item is
an insult to Inuit culture.
3. Inuit resistance to the White man. There wasn't any. The Inuit
did not have the organization or institutions to resist the first
Whites they encountered, thus there were no white-Inuit wars. In
fact although the Whites exploited the Inuit in the same way that
most Canadian aboriginal cultures were exploited relations between
Whites and Inuit have generally been amiable.
4. Anja travels to the "sacred" village of the Inuit and finds them
living in log cabins. Where did the logs come from? The Inuit
village is supposed to be near Tuktoyaktuk which is arctic tundra.
Trees do not grow in tundra. They can't; the ground is permanently
frozen just a few centimeters below the surface.
I won't say any more. Suffice to say that these errors showed up in the first fifty pages. My suggestion is that followers of the Rogue Angel series give the book a miss. The actual writer of the book is someone called Jon Merz who also wrote "Footprints," the 20th book in the series. It was also poorly written and is another to be avoided. Perhaps the only thing to do is to avoid reading any of the books created by this author.
1. Anaja is hired to do an archeological dig on a sacred Inuit burial
ground. What burial ground? The Inuit didn't bury their dead and
for good reason. Ever try digging a hole in frozen ground?
2. The sacred Inuit ceremonial knife; supposedly an assassin's knife
The Inuit had no such artifacts and the invention of such an item is
an insult to Inuit culture.
3. Inuit resistance to the White man. There wasn't any. The Inuit
did not have the organization or institutions to resist the first
Whites they encountered, thus there were no white-Inuit wars. In
fact although the Whites exploited the Inuit in the same way that
most Canadian aboriginal cultures were exploited relations between
Whites and Inuit have generally been amiable.
4. Anja travels to the "sacred" village of the Inuit and finds them
living in log cabins. Where did the logs come from? The Inuit
village is supposed to be near Tuktoyaktuk which is arctic tundra.
Trees do not grow in tundra. They can't; the ground is permanently
frozen just a few centimeters below the surface.
I won't say any more. Suffice to say that these errors showed up in the first fifty pages. My suggestion is that followers of the Rogue Angel series give the book a miss. The actual writer of the book is someone called Jon Merz who also wrote "Footprints," the 20th book in the series. It was also poorly written and is another to be avoided. Perhaps the only thing to do is to avoid reading any of the books created by this author.
January 3, 2011
Oh brother, for all the paranormal, magical experience that Annja has gone through in the past 23 novels, you'd think she'd be more open to weirdness. I know it's Saturday-afternoon-at-the-movies, but, gimme a break.
This installment is probably the worst of the series. Please, she shoved the sword into 5-feet of ice and created a hole big enough to swallow a semi? What was the point of blowing up the sacred ground? Just to screw around with Annja and Wishman's heads? Then Archer has Godwin suddenly "grow a pair" but we don't get to see it. Just a few hints here and there. I liked him better before Archer tried to write him all manly and in charge. Then we have the enounter inside the mountain with the "god" they're raising up. A little convenient to have the mountain collapsing? Duh...
I dunno...each novel for the past five has just gotten worse. I'm not sure I wanna finish the series...
This installment is probably the worst of the series. Please, she shoved the sword into 5-feet of ice and created a hole big enough to swallow a semi? What was the point of blowing up the sacred ground? Just to screw around with Annja and Wishman's heads? Then Archer has Godwin suddenly "grow a pair" but we don't get to see it. Just a few hints here and there. I liked him better before Archer tried to write him all manly and in charge. Then we have the enounter inside the mountain with the "god" they're raising up. A little convenient to have the mountain collapsing? Duh...
I dunno...each novel for the past five has just gotten worse. I'm not sure I wanna finish the series...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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June 29, 2014Maybe I'm getting more cynical but the main character in this book seemed like she was going backwards. I think she should be more used to the sword and using it and in all her training in the self defense fighting she should not be so taken by surprise so much. Yet in this book it seemed more the character was a newbie at it all. I enjoyed the supporting characters VERY much. LOVED their stories and how they came across in the book. I loved the two "series of unfortunate events" which were tied into each other. I thought that was very well done. Just when you think it's over DUN DUN DUN !! *insert scary music*. Good book but at times it made me want to slap the main character and tell her to get her act together.
April 16, 2025
Title #23 in a long-running pulp fiction series, this is an entertaining novel that works great if you just want to read for fun. Especially if you want a character you already know, so you can skip the long exposition that is necessary in stand-alone novels. Annja is an attractive character--intelligent, capable, broad-minded, principled, brave, and empathetic--which makes it a pleasure to jump into another adventure with her.
This one takes place in Canada among the Inuit, with Annja being asked to help facilitate the removal of relics from a burial ground. The tribe has sold some of their land--they needed the cash--and the sacred site is in the way. Legends and myths get involved, the bad guys are hiding their true intentions, and Annja gets caught in the middle.
There are a few plot holes and trouble spots. The biggest is about 2/3 through, when it feels like we're at the end of the story, and the action kinda stops. We pause until the characters decide to go off in another direction and it feels like a separate story. The two parts end up being connected, but it could have used a bit of editing so that the transition made more sense. And the bit about Annja interacting with a polar bear, a scene that was very meaningful but unexplained, felt like it would have a call-back, something putting it into context, but we never saw the bear again. I think the author forgot.
But you turn the page and go on, because these books are about the action. The ending here could have been written by Edgar Rice Burroughs or H. Rider Haggard or Robert E. Howard--pure pulp. And I'm here for it.
This one takes place in Canada among the Inuit, with Annja being asked to help facilitate the removal of relics from a burial ground. The tribe has sold some of their land--they needed the cash--and the sacred site is in the way. Legends and myths get involved, the bad guys are hiding their true intentions, and Annja gets caught in the middle.
There are a few plot holes and trouble spots. The biggest is about 2/3 through, when it feels like we're at the end of the story, and the action kinda stops. We pause until the characters decide to go off in another direction and it feels like a separate story. The two parts end up being connected, but it could have used a bit of editing so that the transition made more sense. And the bit about Annja interacting with a polar bear, a scene that was very meaningful but unexplained, felt like it would have a call-back, something putting it into context, but we never saw the bear again. I think the author forgot.
But you turn the page and go on, because these books are about the action. The ending here could have been written by Edgar Rice Burroughs or H. Rider Haggard or Robert E. Howard--pure pulp. And I'm here for it.
August 6, 2019
3 stars.
There's a lot more woowoo elements in this one. But something I wished to know is
The inconsistent writing styles with the different authors do get a bit jarring. In this episode, for instance, Annja is a lot more skittish and flirtatious whereas in other books she seems a lot more matter-of-fact. And we still don't know enough about the sword!!!
There's a lot more woowoo elements in this one. But something I wished to know is
The inconsistent writing styles with the different authors do get a bit jarring. In this episode, for instance, Annja is a lot more skittish and flirtatious whereas in other books she seems a lot more matter-of-fact. And we still don't know enough about the sword!!!
January 26, 2021
Better than average Annja tale until the middle, then blah. The story was intriguing, the suspense was tight, the Inuit mythology carefully defined, and then the story went into uncharted territory literally and figuratively. Unfortunately, we never really find out how we got there. It was like after the first battle the author just was putting pointless words down. I love Annja Creed, so I gave it 3 stars, but that's really being nice.
September 2, 2019
I would have rated this book higher, but the female lead character didn't reflect much emotion.
Want to Read
July 19, 2020elibrary
August 12, 2016
A quick fun read. Annja an archeologist is hired to help some artic tribe move their burial ground so mining can occur. Seems straight forward, but alas it never is, is it. A secret joan of arc sword, evil men who want to raise demons-- alittle like bones meets Indiana jones, plus a magic sword.
I liked the story and the twists, however, didn't like the characters too much, wanted to know more about them, their histories and thoughts. but again, I didn't know this was #23. Perhaps I can find other books to fill the gaps
I liked the story and the twists, however, didn't like the characters too much, wanted to know more about them, their histories and thoughts. but again, I didn't know this was #23. Perhaps I can find other books to fill the gaps
July 20, 2014
These are always a quick easy read filled with snippets of history, mystery & action. Annja is pulled in by 'the company' to assist a innuit Indian tribe move there burial site so diamond mining can begin. It seems simple right? Only the company has it own agenda it's not about money, it's about releasing dark gods....
March 8, 2011
Good ol' Annja was back in this one! Typical Rogue Angel story here, really. She agrees to a job, finds out the company is bad, and has to battle something crazy in order to get home safe. Gotta love her!
May 1, 2012
It was around this time in the series that the storylines weren't as good and the writing style changed some. This is one of my favorites in the series. It kept my eye on the Rogue Angel books for a few more books.
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March 11, 2017"Interesting tale about the moving of a sacred burial ground so diamonds could be mined. The motives of the miners, however, are not so altruistic." from a review by an eHarlequin.com member
August 17, 2010
I dont know if she was drugged or if she did battle a demon, but this will change her dynamic for sure in future books...
September 26, 2011
This one wasn't as good as most of the books in this series. There was less of the historical stuff that I like.
March 28, 2013
One from the Annja Creed, archeologist series. This time she helps to move bones to another site to enable diamond drilling. But there is a twist to this, involving her use of Joan of Arc's sword.
February 16, 2014
This series is written by numerous authors, all of whom write under the pseudonym of Alex Archer. This was the worst book in the series. Awful!
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