Artifact

by Kevin J. Anderson, Janet Berliner, F. Paul Wilson

Deep in a tomblike cavern along the ocean floor lies a secret that has remained hidden from humanity. Until now. . .

An Oilstar drilling rig off the coast of Venezuela in the Dragon's Mouth channel has pierced an underwater cavern and brings to the surface four stones unlike anything on this earth. Frik Van Alman, the tough-as-nails maverick head of Oilstar realizes immediately that they represent an extraordinary opportunity . . .and a terrible danger. His superstitious native crew, already uneasy working in the infamous waterway, refuse to dive in search of a fifth stone, and when Frik's lab chief tests them, the results confirm Frik's when these four stones are connected they hint at a power source that could revolutionize the world's energy production. And, Frik realizes, such a revolution would put him and all other oil companies out of business.

Before he can plot his next move, his lab chief Paul Trujold, fearing the greed and calculation in Frik's eyes, sends the stones to safer hands. One of the stones lands in the hands of Paul's daughter, Selene Trujold, the leader of an ecological action trying to halt Frik's drilling and the damage it's causing to the Caribbean ecology.

Frik and Trujold meet in the lab after Paul has sent away the stones, and an accident badly burns them both, killing Paul before Frik can find out what he's done with the find. Desperate to reclaim the stones and determined to find the fifth piece of the puzzle, Frik enlists the aid of the Daredevils Club, a select few risk-taking thrill seekers of whom Frik is one, who meet every New Year's Eve to compare bold new stories of the past year's exploits. Their members are a disparate bunch, including a doctor, Arthur Marryshow, whose greatest risk is healing those who risk their lives in political hotspots; Ray Arno, a stuntman turned demolitions expert; Simon Brousseau, an expert deep-sea diver; and Joshua Keene and Terris McKendry, a bickering best-buddies tandem experienced in undercover operations requiring strength, expertise with weapons, and nerves of steel.

At the next New Year's Eve meeting, Frik proposes a collect all five stones and return them to him. Along with the rest of the daredevils is Peta Whyte, Marryshow's protegé, not officially a member, but more than qualified by her role in planning and effecting Arthur's escape from prison on her native Grenada sixteen years before, when she was but sixteen. She attends in Arthur's place, for he's been killed, victim of a terrorist bombing just blocks from their Times Square rendezvous.

The Daredevils embark on an adventure that takes them along the coast of Venezuela, from stealth jungle raids to deep-sea dives, from the haunts of Latin American power brokers to the camp of eco-terrorists. A fast-paced, thrill-a-minute hunt challenges the loyalties of the daredevils, as they become pawns in a deadly game of deceit and betrayal. After all the adrenaline rushes and spilt blood, the remaining members of the Daredevils Club gather once again on the following New Year's Eve, this time in Las Vegas, for one final confrontation, as Frik slips the five stones into place. . . as the unthinkable is created.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Thriller, Ebooks

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Yes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.

I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.

I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part--boring. I expected more from a book by four authors, including Kevin Anderson.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have to say this book was not bad. Unfortunately, the best part of it, for which I kept reading despite lack of interest, was in the last two pages. Now, I am interested and want to read further, because the book finally went where I had expected it to go much earlier. As it was, the book, while decently written and with a generous amount of action, was just a prelude to the last two pages. Oh well. I would recommend it, but if you have anything else on your shelf you have the least interest in, read those first...

[Michael Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

The so-called Daredevils Club in this book was dull and boring, much like the story itself. The plot centered around acquiring the mysterious stone artifacts almost kept things moving, but nothing of any real import happened until the final pages of the book despite the action that did take place. The characters themselves were memorable and somewhat interesting, but their actions were uninspiring. It is interesting to note that four different authors collaborating on Artifact and that you couldn't tell them apart. Overall this book did not make much of an impression on me.

[Lucia Culpepper · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the characters grabbed me much. I mostly kept reading to find out what the artifact did, and then got disappointed at the end with that resolution. Not to mention that halfway into the book all the way until the climax started up, the chapters were loads of filler, random details of everyday lives and actions, with a tiny hook of plot happening in the last page or two. For a good quarter of the book. It got really boring.

[T.S.S. Fulk · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay book.

The beginning was overly machoistic (it is set in Latin America) and the entire book fails the Bechtel-Wallace test. The idea of the artifact kept me interested enough in the book the keep reading, so I was utterly disappointed in the ending (no spoilers—but it was very anti-climatic). It made the entire reading seem like a big waste of time.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pathetic ending.

[NullusAnxietus]

I got about half way through this before I put it down out if disinterest.
Nothing much happens, it's fairly dull and bland.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the premise of the story had potential, I didn't like the way the book was written. I thought it was disjointed. The last few pages of the book were the best part.

[Anthony Faber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty dreadful extra-terrestrial thriller, Cardboard characters, implausible situations & stuff that's just not correct.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abandoned this at >60% and still not sure why I persisted so long grr

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there was some f Paul Wilson in this book I didn’t read it. Boring

[Kristin Lundgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about some mysterious stones that lie deep in the ocean, and the race to connect them. Some great characters, and it's hard to tell it was written by four people.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

my book only has 308 pages, not 320.

[Ron Judenberg]

to-read

[elsalmon L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daredevils battle among themselves for control of an object of unlimited power.