⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I was hooked after the first paragraph. It's an incredible story that I had to remind myself wasn't true (or is it?)"
A gripping thriller you can't put down
Global warming has melted the ice, revealing an ancient secret that could determine the future of humanity. Two researchers risk their lives to uncover the truth about our ancient ancestors. Join them on a perilous journey from Greenland to Dallas to Antarctica as they race against time to save the world from the Sons of Nephilim.
"A page-turner from page one."
Will they succeed in their mission, or will the Eemian's legacy spell doom for us all?
The legendary Edoardo Ballerini reads the audiobook.
Book Two, They Came First, is now
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Right out of the chute, you may feel as if you're watching a yet-to-be-released Steven Spielberg movie based on a Michael Crichton novel that you somehow missed with this tightly constructed page-turner."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Overall spellbinding, with a "could it be true?" premise."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Well written....A real Nail Biting' Roller Coaster ' ride with a Happy ending Love Story....left in the middle with a sequel to follow for sure."
I wish you could leave out the bull rap I'm surprised you didn't include transgenderism why like other entertainment must you ruin the story with political talking points if you're out for something fun to read skip this dribble
Whew! While reading this novel I felt like I needed to wear a parka. The story starts out in Greenland with a large amount of descriptive cold, windy, inhospitable, barren-rock filled, nothingness to study, you guessed it, ROCKS. The characters then choose to do a change of scenery first in Texas (to broaden their diet, shower, sleep, and thaw out), then fly to Antarctica where it is, once again, cold, windy, snowy, and inhospitable with fewer rocks. It does have some “geological anomalies” that attract some bad actors, whose proclamations sound like biblical scripture. I found that the plot moved rather slowly and drawn out. There are many other novels that have Antarctica as an interesting, mysterious backdrop. Unfortunately, for me, the interesting parts were few and short-lived.
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 The Aurora Project Paul McGowan 228 pages FC: Julia, Grimes, Harry, Sky
It’s good, it’s suspenseful, It’s written fine. I just don’t care about science fiction I also don’t care about science fiction that is written for people who KNOW about science. I didn’t know half the actual scientific theories and people mentioned, not because I am incompetent but because it was filled with a lot more science jargon than necessary!
That’s all!
“It’s like sharing a dark secret or unlocking a painful truth, once you know the facts, you can never unknow them. Some knowledge is best left undisturbed”
Enjoyable Yet Unbelievable, thank god it was short
The book had promise as I love a sci-fi story about ancient aliens but it was a little unbelievable in certain parts which I won’t mention due to spoilers.
Has a dog for the sake of having a dog in places it shouldn't be an old man who shouldn't be where he is and everyone thinks he's great but he's not trained for anything he's doing and is constantly being put at risk it mentions global warming about every page and a lot of stuff doesn't figure scientifically. Pyramids just turn me off, a lot of fake science and a religious cult hundreds of thousands years old so I kind of doubt their evoking current religious dogma
The biggest issue with this is that we get a very brief introduction to the antagonist in the very early part of the book, and then there's no mention of them again until you're about 60-70% through the book. Leaves the plot kind of dull with very little external conflict.
And even then, the bad guys are pretty one-note and even the Eemians are pretty thinly written. Obviously, Paul McGowan was saving some cars for the next book, but he held back a little too much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The climate change speeches are everywhere. Sam is a very weak person and really dumb when it comes to obvious things. Harry's speeches are overly dramatic. Grimes is introduced halfway through the book and suddenly becomes a main character following Sam with no questions asked. Kyle and Andy are hardly introduced and never speak, literally background NPC's, until 3/4's of the way through the book. When the team arrives in Antarctica, it's implied someone beat them there, but it never answered. Uzziel breaks an underlings arm for a supposed failure, then later comes back and offs him. Why not do it all at the same time. Uzziel also seems super motivated to determine the origins of a pyramid, but wants other people to check it out and report back to him, which doesn't make sense. Just do it yourself, especially since he wanted to destroy it. The professor fluctuates between an super mean old guy to a rambling incoherent mental patient. The last third of the book he does nothing except spout nonsense, then dies unceremoniously in a storm. Sam suddenly decides he has claustrophobia in the final act, even though it's never mentioned previously, even when he's in a small enclosed space. Sam has a weird flashback in the last few pages of the book to a time when he went to Alaska, but it doesn't do anything to further the plot so there's no reason for it. Julia has the same thing and it's just a waste of space to fill up the book. Sam and Julia somehow manage to make it through the experience in Antarctica without any frostbite even though they both should've died. They get rescued in the last few pages in a huge plot hole. Somehow Grimes escaped, managed to contact someone for help, and they were able to make it Antarctica in time to save Sam and Julia? The plot armor is so thick I can barely believe it. Overall this was just a bad book. I wanted to like it. It had a ton of interesting ideas in it, but it was executed so poorly I can't being myself to waste time reading book 2.
This was an entertaining read about a group of scientists looking for proof of a past civilization existing over 100,000 years in the past. I found the book to be action packed, and easy to read. Unlike other readers, while the author does mention climate change, I didn’t feel like he was pushing an agenda, or making a political statement. Climate change is what it is. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to reading the other books in this series.
I was disappointed. The story has potential but I found there wasn’t enough explanation for me. The villains’ motives were more than a little confusing, and for a true resolution to the events of this book, you must go to book 3, not book 2. I wanted more answers.
In book 1 of what could be a fascinating series about an early advanced civilization on Earth, the reader gets to see a few intriguing pieces of the puzzle, but they do not fit together very well, nor are they explained very well. The wide-ranging story makes stops in Greenland, Texas and Antarctica. Our heroes, Sam and Julia, encounter one danger after another and their survival is no sure thing. A loyal husky, Sky, accompanies them as they learn what they can from eccentric scientist Karl and join in his quest to find answers about mankind's secret past and a forgotten technology that might provide new hope for the future. There is a big build up, as suspense rises and the story steps beyond the limits of believability in some areas. There is the promise of a big payoff, but unfortunately the ending fizzles and leaves the reader hanging with more questions than answers. Passages where the author gets on a soap box regarding climate change agenda add to the irritations. Descriptions of the frozen land at the bottom of the globe are excellent, and the story contains some highly imaginative elements, but when it comes to the overall plot unfortunately the reader only gets to see the tip of the iceberg.
Would give this a 2.5 if I could get down to the nitty gritty. Didn’t love this book but also didn’t hate it. Decent story line but wasn’t really at the edge of my seat. Kind of felt like a movie that was adapted into a book. The two things that really annoyed me were how they treated the dog like it was an actual person and how cartoonish Grimes was. I understand that the dog and Sam have a connection because he was lonely but when they said “they all agreed and Sky barked as if he was agreeing with them” (or something like that) I laughed out loud because of how dumb it was. Grimes and his crew just uprooting their lives because they are loyal to the cause also was so random. Grimes just seemed like he was injected into the plot because they needed him for his skill set. Idk maybe it all makes sense in the later books. Not sure if I will read them but I might give the second book a shot at some point. The over all story is definitely pretty interesting. Also didn’t help that I just finished ready the Three Body Problem series and Blake Crouch books which are hard to follow
Despite the breathless screed elements about climate change, I thought I’d give it a chance and see how it went. You can always set something down if it’s not for you, right? I’m glad I stuck with it. I enjoyed the characters and pacing. Yes, a bit trite (the oil baron’s son is bound and determined to stick it to the old man by being a climate savior 🙄) but even with those elements I still actually enjoyed the characters, both male and female. The villain was strange to me, but I’ve peeked to the future books in the series and think I get where that’s going. I wouldn’t say it was a massive page-turner, can’t-put-it-down, thing but it felt like a solid beach read. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a lost civilization story.
Definitely an intriguing premise, that an advanced civilization existed here on Earth prior to modern humans. Seems to be a bit of a trend in current sci-go novels or series. Well written and edited as there were very few typos or omitted words. The action was very gripping at times, I felt I sometimes couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The antagonist, a religious zealot spouting wrath of god scenarios for the infidels , seemed a little bit cookie-cutter, though the author did take pains to define his charismatic appearance and intimidating presence. I will likely continue the series with book 2 already available.
If you enjoy anything ancient aliens, or US, read this
So, I have read SO MANY stories over the years that have a SIMILAR, ancient alien, or even ancient civilization, background. Most are trash, from the characters, dialogue and even basic connect the dot plot stuff... I have also read enough that we're great to know this author has a good grip in his craft. I encourage him to write more, and encourage every kindle peeps to check him out. Bryan
Tried to get past the religious man made climate change mantra that started from the very beginning. Dudes a good author but you can tell he is fully sold on the cult of climate change despite the science. Just got worse and worse. Made it to page 108. Could not handle it any more. If dude ever writes a book with out a political agenda I might try him again
Global warming has melted the ice, revealing an ancient secret that could determine the future of humanity. Two researchers risk their lives to uncover the truth about our ancient ancestors. Join them on a perilous journey from Greenland to Dallas to Antarctica as they race against time to save the world from the Sons of Nephilim. THis was a good read and action packed with a slow romance starting.
On my scale of 1 to 5 a 1 being don’t bother and a 5 a real page turner. I’m going to give The Aurora Project a solid 4. This story is full of great twists and turns but maybe a little too much in character development. This is the first of three books in the series, and I am reading the second one. With that said I still think it’s a great read. For the full review and podcastclick here
Astonishingly terrible novel. Weak weird concept- I suppose it's fine if you think the History Channel shows true documentaries- that is poorly executed. I honestly started reading it because I thought it would be entertainingly bad, but it's just bad and boring. Needs a good editor to save what they could; there's inconsistencies that should have been glaringly obvious to any paid professional editor.
I didn’t know what to expect because I only knew Paul McGowan from his PS audio YouTube channel. But this is a great book, written very well and I had trouble putting the book down. When the book arrived, I was reading a Dirk Pitt novel but after starting the first pages of The Aurora Project I had to finish that first! It’s an interesting story and Paul is a great story teller.
You will find, while reading this fantastic story, just how cold you will feel. Be very careful not
I found I was a little smarter by reading this story. Just be careful not to get frost bite while reading it. You will find you will be very cold. Keep a mug of hot chocolate in easy reach.
Where to start, at the beginning of course. Sam, Julia, Grimes without forgetting Sky. Paul McGowan takes us on a journey of discovery back to the Eemians. The beginning of time perhaps, or merely a point in time. Great characters, storytelling and believable….let yourself be taken on the journey.
It took awhile to get through the first part of the book, so much science and explanation….but interesting. Then it picked up speed and the story unfolded with detailed description. Well rounded characters, and definitely left you wanting more of the story. Well worth reading…just be patient.
WOW What an amazing novel. The characters are nicely developed, the story line was filled with just enough science (including explanations) to make the story move along. It ended with a well-developed conclusion, that is not really a cliffhanger but rather a jumping off point for the next book in the series. Well, prequel first, then next book in series. I really enjoyed this book!
Fabulous! The most exciting and and well written book ive read in some time. The characters are superb, includingthe dog. World-building makes sense. Descriptions of the environment and weather are breath taking. And it is the first book of a series! Best of all, i already have book 2! I am thrilled to have discovered Paul McGowan!!
Good story. Nice flow. Relatable characters. Definitely worth continuing the series. Was a bit disappointed that the audio book doesn't sync very well with the kindle version. Whole passages are missing or different between them. But the story is good enough to simply push on through the frustration.
This book caught my attention just by the title. When I started reading the book I could not put it down. It has so many twist and turns that keep you wanting to read to see what happens next.
The overall storyline wasn’t bad. The characters weren’t bad either but it seemed drawn out. There was a little too much detail that just made it hard to keep up with. So many symbols and such. I’m not sure I’ll bother with the next book in the series.