What do you think?
Rate this book
The God Tools #1
Death in the Beginning
It has been an extraordinary summer for archaeologist Curt Lohan. First, he discovered a magnificent manmade cave in the Canary Islands off the African coast. Then, while exploring a newly-found gunpowder magazine inside a 300-year-old stone Spanish fort in St. Augustine, Florida, a man emerged. The man is killed by police before his identity can be ascertained. All evidence indicates that the man had been sealed in the room for centuries. When Curt uncovers a link between the Canary Island cave and the unidentified man, he realizes that he has stumbled upon a secret lost in history; the catalyst for the Fountain of Youth legend. But the revelation holds terrifying consequences. And there are those willing to murder to guard the truth. As Northeast Florida braces for a deadly hurricane, Curt and his friends are drawn into a monumental conspiracy which could alter the balance of power…and destroy humanity.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 20, 2011
474 people are currently reading
809 people want to read
About the author
Gary Williams
13 books35 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
January 27, 2014
It got me hooked on from "cover to cover"...I haven't remember how often I chuckled while reading....must be more than 10 times! A must-read and it is pretty good fast-paced reading for anyone who likes sci-fic, history, and mystery all in one place. Almost like the concept of The Da Vinci Code book, but this book was much better!
July 7, 2016
What is better than a First Class adventure!?!?
This book is exciting from the very beginning! Mystical and mysterious events cropping up at every turn! Non-stop action! How can all those mysteries possibly tie together? Well, tie up they do, after an amazing and perilous thrill-ride!
This storyline is partly based on a very significant event chronicled in the Old Testament. It's an amazingly intricate old-fashioned good versus evil (very evil!) adventure! In order to find a resolution for the perils threatening the world, our heros incorporate knowledge gained from additional historical events spanning centuries -- including the discovery and exploration of the "New World", now known, of course, as the Americas.
First class suspense and action, in an excellent and wondrous, mystical and mysterious, good versus very evil adventure! You've got to take this Florida thrill-ride! (You won't think of Florida the same way ever again!)
This book is exciting from the very beginning! Mystical and mysterious events cropping up at every turn! Non-stop action! How can all those mysteries possibly tie together? Well, tie up they do, after an amazing and perilous thrill-ride!
This storyline is partly based on a very significant event chronicled in the Old Testament. It's an amazingly intricate old-fashioned good versus evil (very evil!) adventure! In order to find a resolution for the perils threatening the world, our heros incorporate knowledge gained from additional historical events spanning centuries -- including the discovery and exploration of the "New World", now known, of course, as the Americas.
First class suspense and action, in an excellent and wondrous, mystical and mysterious, good versus very evil adventure! You've got to take this Florida thrill-ride! (You won't think of Florida the same way ever again!)
June 27, 2012
a friend recommended this book as a mystery. I thought it was an interesting book. It was a mix between mystery and sci-fi. It seems to start off as a mystery, as we follow an the main character
on a dig to uncover ancient art in a cave...and then it suddenly turns into sci-fi as the impossible begins to happen. I wasn't prepared for the switch, but he could give Stephen King and Dean Koontz a run for their money.
on a dig to uncover ancient art in a cave...and then it suddenly turns into sci-fi as the impossible begins to happen. I wasn't prepared for the switch, but he could give Stephen King and Dean Koontz a run for their money.
February 8, 2018
Intriguing and Unique. In all my years of reading, I've never encountered a book that had the same epicenter as this story - and I've easily read over 500 books in my life! The action and mystery are well paced, with astonishing reveals even onto the final page of the book. Extremely well done, looking forward to the rest of this trilogy.
February 1, 2014
*SPOILER ALERT* The storyline about the Fountain of Youth sounded pretty fun; but with due respect to the authors and publishing team, this was one of the silliest books I've ever read. I ended up finishing it simply because it became amusing to discover what ridiculous absurdity would be introduced next. A fish skeleton that magically grows flesh and possesses nuclear-type powers when put in water. Airplanes and helicopters flying around in Force 5 hurricanes. Predictable and cliched characters. People who can't be killed even when blown away by shotguns (zombie-style). Noah still alive. Cheesy lines throughout. Editing errors (e.g. "tract lighting" for "track lighting"). Oy. My fave was when the protagonist lets go the paper-thin skeleton into the hurricane from the top of a lighthouse to get rid of it, and it flies off into the distance and then returns a few minutes later right into the hands of the antagonist at the base of the lighthouse below. LOL. I applaud anyone who sets out to write a novel...I'm sure it's not easy; but I honestly can't recommend this book...it was just too silly.
January 26, 2014
the good...Once I got through the first few chapters I could hardly put it down. I couldn't wait to see how all the seemingly unrelated bits of history were related.
the bad...once I saw how the events were related, I still couldn't put it down, but was a little disappointed. I love si-fi that makes me walk away saying, hummm....wonder if that really did happen? what happened in this book was a little too far fetched for me. kind of made me feel like I was reading a cheesy zombie book at some points. also, the most part of the 1st half of the book was pretty much free of bad language. then after I had really gotten into the book...here comes the bad language! I thought I was reading a Christian fiction...guess not.
overall, the book really held my attention and was a very unique plot..so that's why I am giving 5 stars.
the bad...once I saw how the events were related, I still couldn't put it down, but was a little disappointed. I love si-fi that makes me walk away saying, hummm....wonder if that really did happen? what happened in this book was a little too far fetched for me. kind of made me feel like I was reading a cheesy zombie book at some points. also, the most part of the 1st half of the book was pretty much free of bad language. then after I had really gotten into the book...here comes the bad language! I thought I was reading a Christian fiction...guess not.
overall, the book really held my attention and was a very unique plot..so that's why I am giving 5 stars.
August 26, 2015
Well written. But I almost read it like a parody. You mix a bit of the bible with Indiana Jones and a Zombie movie, and you can write all the nonsense you can think of. I bet you must have had a good laugh together, writing this book.
I did reading it. Although I would have called the book ¨SuperFish¨ .
I did reading it. Although I would have called the book ¨SuperFish¨ .
December 30, 2018
Death in the Beginning by Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly
The book opens at Isla de La Palma, the Canary Islands when archaeologist Curt Lohan and his ex-wife, Lila Falls discover a cave with ancient writings supposedly drawn by Ham, Noah's son. It shows pairing of animals--male and female--and at the bottom, there is a single fish.
Eight days later, Curt is in St. Augustine, FL where at the Castillo San Marcos a nave is discovered. As the nave is opened, a zombie type character comes out and is killed by the park ranger. After Curt gets the results of the autopsy--where the man was over 500 years old and supposedly was dead long time ago--he and his friend, Scott Marks, return to the nave and discover there is a fish under one of the nave's tiles, a skeletal fish belonging to a species that no one has ever seen. Amazingly, the fish will come to life when it comes in contact with water, causing an explosion and also consuming anything that lives.
Sherri Falco is transferred to St. Augustine by her publicity firm to help St. Augustine fight for the claim of the place where Juan Ponce de Leon landed. She meets Curt through a bag mix-up at the airport and eventually become good friends.
Back to the Canary Islands, Lila discovers a lower cave that says that the fish helped Noah navigate through the deluge and kept the animals fed and well. There is a prophecy that says a man will place the fish in the ocean and calm a hurricane.
Curt receives a call from Bolivia by Father En who tells him he knows who the zombie they discovered is. Curt and Scott fly there and Father En tells then the corpse is Guillaume Le Flore who alongside his sister, Sabine, and Brother, Pinot, were persecuted by the Spanish over 500 years ago. Pinot made it to Bolivia, but the other two siblings have been missing.
Add a society, The Blue Council -- made of 39 members all named after the 39 books in the Bible--and things start to get ugly. Lila is almost killed by a trained assassin. Father En is beaten up. And some of the people who were there at the opening of the nave are starting to die.
It is up to Sheeri, Curt, and Scott to figure everything out before the Blue Council become immortal and perhaps destroy the world.
The book is narrated from the third person point of view. I was amazed at how two writers could not make any of the characters believable or sympathetic-- they were predictable and cliched. Most were just given a name and nothing else. The story is not believable. The book never really came together.
The words, visuals, and the story didn't interest me. I finished the book just because I like to read.
Not recommended!
The book opens at Isla de La Palma, the Canary Islands when archaeologist Curt Lohan and his ex-wife, Lila Falls discover a cave with ancient writings supposedly drawn by Ham, Noah's son. It shows pairing of animals--male and female--and at the bottom, there is a single fish.
Eight days later, Curt is in St. Augustine, FL where at the Castillo San Marcos a nave is discovered. As the nave is opened, a zombie type character comes out and is killed by the park ranger. After Curt gets the results of the autopsy--where the man was over 500 years old and supposedly was dead long time ago--he and his friend, Scott Marks, return to the nave and discover there is a fish under one of the nave's tiles, a skeletal fish belonging to a species that no one has ever seen. Amazingly, the fish will come to life when it comes in contact with water, causing an explosion and also consuming anything that lives.
Sherri Falco is transferred to St. Augustine by her publicity firm to help St. Augustine fight for the claim of the place where Juan Ponce de Leon landed. She meets Curt through a bag mix-up at the airport and eventually become good friends.
Back to the Canary Islands, Lila discovers a lower cave that says that the fish helped Noah navigate through the deluge and kept the animals fed and well. There is a prophecy that says a man will place the fish in the ocean and calm a hurricane.
Curt receives a call from Bolivia by Father En who tells him he knows who the zombie they discovered is. Curt and Scott fly there and Father En tells then the corpse is Guillaume Le Flore who alongside his sister, Sabine, and Brother, Pinot, were persecuted by the Spanish over 500 years ago. Pinot made it to Bolivia, but the other two siblings have been missing.
Add a society, The Blue Council -- made of 39 members all named after the 39 books in the Bible--and things start to get ugly. Lila is almost killed by a trained assassin. Father En is beaten up. And some of the people who were there at the opening of the nave are starting to die.
It is up to Sheeri, Curt, and Scott to figure everything out before the Blue Council become immortal and perhaps destroy the world.
The book is narrated from the third person point of view. I was amazed at how two writers could not make any of the characters believable or sympathetic-- they were predictable and cliched. Most were just given a name and nothing else. The story is not believable. The book never really came together.
The words, visuals, and the story didn't interest me. I finished the book just because I like to read.
Not recommended!
March 24, 2019
Here is my issue. The historical and Biblical are great and I can even get behind 90% of what the author wants me to buy into and thus suspend my disbeliefs, but there is no way that an internationally recognized, respectable archaeologist would ever handle sites or materials the way the people did in this book. It simply would not happen, no matter how powerful the objects found are or how much it would change the world. It is disappointing to have so much good research in a book and then have it fail to be realistic. Having said that, it is a good read, it is interesting and it is action packed.
January 3, 2019
I love these type of books that question everything humans are taught about religion and the supernatural. I was transfixed from the first chapter. Each issue came up and had me thinking about how life began and how long does it really last? Learning a different take on the story of Noah’s Ark and how long some people could live, fictional or not brought up many interesting questions for me. I found myself looking to see if there was another book by this author and I was lucky to find out there are 2 more in this series. I have already begun the second book.
August 19, 2021
The storyline was intriguing and it flowed well. There was something about how it all played out that just didn’t sit well with me. I mean, obviously when I first began reading it, I knew the story was gonna be far-fetched. But it seemed to follow a very well-written plot … then I felt like the author began throwing more and more unbelievable twists into it just to get it all resolved. I love to read sci-fi books so perhaps I was expecting things to be a bit more realistic at the end. Otherwise, I did enjoy reading it.
August 24, 2025
The Fish
A really nice twist to the story of the Flood brought into the twenty-first century.
A secret room in an old Spanish fort, a crazed man locked inside for centuries, the skeleton of a very ugly fish lead three people on a search for truth.
Riches and long life are the siren call to those who are not as pure as they believe themselves as they do whatever is necessary to get their hands on the Fish and take advantage of its powers.
A bit confusing at times but a fun and thought provoking read.
A really nice twist to the story of the Flood brought into the twenty-first century.
A secret room in an old Spanish fort, a crazed man locked inside for centuries, the skeleton of a very ugly fish lead three people on a search for truth.
Riches and long life are the siren call to those who are not as pure as they believe themselves as they do whatever is necessary to get their hands on the Fish and take advantage of its powers.
A bit confusing at times but a fun and thought provoking read.
February 25, 2019
A very interesting story
This book had a very imaginative storyline, albeit a scenario that would be quite difficult to imagine ever happening. Then again... The story held my attention throughout - and after all isn’t that the authors’ goal? I thought the character development was okay (it could have been stronger) and the story carried them along more than they made the story. In any event, the book was interesting for me to read the sequel.
This book had a very imaginative storyline, albeit a scenario that would be quite difficult to imagine ever happening. Then again... The story held my attention throughout - and after all isn’t that the authors’ goal? I thought the character development was okay (it could have been stronger) and the story carried them along more than they made the story. In any event, the book was interesting for me to read the sequel.
March 2, 2024
Different Perspective
This book has an interesting premise about Bible stories and divine intervention. But don’t worry that there is preaching of any specific religion. It’s a good story with many twists so you don’t know who can be trusted. If you are familiar with the ST Augustine area of Florida you’ll be at home and appreciate the accuracy of the descriptions of the city. The action keeps going until the end.
This book has an interesting premise about Bible stories and divine intervention. But don’t worry that there is preaching of any specific religion. It’s a good story with many twists so you don’t know who can be trusted. If you are familiar with the ST Augustine area of Florida you’ll be at home and appreciate the accuracy of the descriptions of the city. The action keeps going until the end.
December 19, 2018
An adventure saga worth loving.
With as many twists as a Dirk Pitt thriller, this tale weaves scientific scepticism with biblical tradition to create a hair-raising series of improbable situations and anxiety-filled cliffhangers. There are even points where the sheer lunacy of the story reminds me of a zany Carl Hiaasen romp. Great fun.
With as many twists as a Dirk Pitt thriller, this tale weaves scientific scepticism with biblical tradition to create a hair-raising series of improbable situations and anxiety-filled cliffhangers. There are even points where the sheer lunacy of the story reminds me of a zany Carl Hiaasen romp. Great fun.
January 6, 2019
Good story
Very good story. Lots of layers and some nice surprising twists. I usually spot them but was surprised twice. Very nice😀 I would have given it 4stars but it went on too long with fight after fight. Found myself skimming those parts. Too much repetion. Otherwise a very good read.
Very good story. Lots of layers and some nice surprising twists. I usually spot them but was surprised twice. Very nice😀 I would have given it 4stars but it went on too long with fight after fight. Found myself skimming those parts. Too much repetion. Otherwise a very good read.
March 4, 2019
Interesting mix of theology, architecture and mystery/intrigue.
This book kept me interested from page one and did not let up to the very end. Good development of characters and plots. Looking forward to the next book by these authors as this is not too technical in any of the subjects with just the right amount of fact-based knowledge to keep the reader intrigued.
This book kept me interested from page one and did not let up to the very end. Good development of characters and plots. Looking forward to the next book by these authors as this is not too technical in any of the subjects with just the right amount of fact-based knowledge to keep the reader intrigued.
September 28, 2020
Grabbed me, Lost me
It took over 2 weeks for me to finish this book, which is 10 days longer than any Good book I’ve read. The last 50 pages I read the first and last sentence of most of the paragraphs, not good. Interesting storyline, execution not so good. Wordy in too many
places, could’ve been better.
It took over 2 weeks for me to finish this book, which is 10 days longer than any Good book I’ve read. The last 50 pages I read the first and last sentence of most of the paragraphs, not good. Interesting storyline, execution not so good. Wordy in too many
places, could’ve been better.
December 22, 2018
Lost it towards the end
Quite a good read but I'm afraid I can only suspend disbelief so far. It ran off the rails for me and - if you're of an atheist persuasion then this might not be to your taste.
Quite a good read but I'm afraid I can only suspend disbelief so far. It ran off the rails for me and - if you're of an atheist persuasion then this might not be to your taste.
December 31, 2018
Entertaining and suitably fantastic to suspend credibility
Good read, enjoyable, almost pseudo Marvel crossed with Indiana Jones. Enjoyed it and will look at further stories from the same authors.
Good read, enjoyable, almost pseudo Marvel crossed with Indiana Jones. Enjoyed it and will look at further stories from the same authors.
January 3, 2019
Good read!
This book kept me in page turning delight to the end. Loved the way that God was woven into the believable story. Makes a person wonder if it might not have happened this way for real.
This book kept me in page turning delight to the end. Loved the way that God was woven into the believable story. Makes a person wonder if it might not have happened this way for real.
January 14, 2019
Good read that keeps you engrossed
An interesting book that keeps you captivated. At times being a page tuner. That basic premises of the story are hard to believe, but it is fiction.
An interesting book that keeps you captivated. At times being a page tuner. That basic premises of the story are hard to believe, but it is fiction.
March 26, 2019
It has something for every reader!
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a exciting read. The story is full of adventure, history, romance, and sabotage. It truly has something for every reader.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a exciting read. The story is full of adventure, history, romance, and sabotage. It truly has something for every reader.
May 23, 2019
New concept about the bible
What a story I could not put this book down when I started,it the beginning had already piqued my interest after that I was intrigued where the narrative was leading me
What a story I could not put this book down when I started,it the beginning had already piqued my interest after that I was intrigued where the narrative was leading me
July 15, 2017
The first half of the book was interesting but the last half was just silly. I hope the authors in the future will know how much the ending means to a story. This book failed to deliver.
December 19, 2018
Hilarious a magic fish from the bible that if you lose a finger gives you immortality, very silly some not bad adventure bits but suspension of belief required
December 25, 2018
Really enjoyed this story and the characters. Rushed to buy book 2.
December 27, 2018
Similar to works by Dan Brown and James Rollins, though far more far-fetched.
January 1, 2019
Utter garbage
I'm sorry but I can't even begin to review this a bilge! Twice as long as it needed to be.
I'm sorry but I can't even begin to review this a bilge! Twice as long as it needed to be.
January 12, 2019
Light reading, but it was just what I needed.
A mystery set in Florida and includes all the history of the state and some imaginative people and places to enjoy.
A mystery set in Florida and includes all the history of the state and some imaginative people and places to enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews