The Pyramid Legacy

by Clive Eaton

For over four millennia the Great Pyramid of Giza has guarded a secret image; until NOW!

A prominent young Egyptologist is murdered by a colleague, deep within the bowels of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The authorities are keen to cover it up, but they know they can’t achieve total closure whilst English robotics engineer, Ben Anderson, remains in possession of a powerful image. An image, which suggests the Great Pyramid at Giza was not built by ancient Egyptians. What the Egyptian authorities don’t know is that unless the true meaning behind the image can be established, along with other images which will later surface, the future of mankind will face the most serious threat imaginable. Anderson manages to escape Egypt at the earliest opportunity, together with his astrophysicist girlfriend, Samantha Gibson, but the authorities are quickly on their tail when it becomes evident they have arrested the wrong person. Keen to establish who really built the Pyramids, Anderson seeks to gain additional proof to support his theory. As he and Gibson begin to discover a series of seemingly disparate clues, they soon realise that everything is far from straightforward. Whilst seeking additional resources, Gibson is unwittingly embroiled in the internal politics of the US military, with the result that she becomes a pawn in a vicious power struggle involving a corrupt senior officer. Her path crosses that of an ex-lover and her relationship with Anderson stretches to breaking point. As Anderson begins to see Gibson from a totally different perspective, his focus changes, and he pushes himself well beyond the limits of his comfort zone in an attempt to discover the truth. Gibson is now prepared to do anything to fulfil a lifetime ambition, but as her objective becomes almost within her grasp a virulent virus threatens to stop her . . . and Anderson has the antidote . . . together with a totally different agenda. And so an unprecedented race begins to finally reveal the true legacy of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The Pyramid Legacy is a thriller, but also has a story of love and deceit deeply woven in.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2012

About the author

Clive Eaton initially trained as an aircraft engineer in the Royal Air Force and worked on Vulcan bombers for a number of years.

He now works as a freelance international trainer in the area of business improvement, and his work has taken him to over 30 countries around the globe.

The Pyramid Legacy is his debut novel and the inspiration came when Egyptian authorities discovered a secret door inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Although nothing was actually found on that occasion it triggered a 'what if?' question, and from there the story developed. Clive is now writing the sequel, which will be titled "Operation Stonehenge".

The Pyramid Legacy was initially published as an e-book, but now is available as a paperback.

He lives in a very peaceful setting, with his wife Judy, in the heart of rural Norfolk, England, which he believes is an amazing place for getting in the right mood for writing. His hobbies include photography (in which he holds the distinction of Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society), tennis and watching F1.

Clive also has a blog - http://marketingtips4authors.blogspot... - which provides marketing tips aimed at indie authors.

Reviews

[Michael Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pyramid Legacy
By: Clive Eaton
Paperback, 356 pages Published June 20th 2012 by CreateSpace
ISBN13: 9781477531037

 

Overall 3 out of 5 stars

I received the Kindle version of The Pyramid Legacy from Clive Easton for a review request. But, I am very good at avoiding any preference because of Mr. Eaton's generosity.

The Pyramid Legacy as title sends an impression of an ancient Egypt story, which could not be further from the truth. The pyramids are the beginning of a science fiction adventure.

Creativity 3 out of 5 stars

I am fair and tough in my critics, while the idea was good behind The Pyramid Legacy, it was not revolutionary by any means, it was average, thus 3 stars. Mr. Eaton does very well in blending archeology, mystery, science fiction, and a bit of a love story. Each of the elements were stories we have heard before but sewn together into one story.

Characters 4 out of 5 stars

Mr. Eaton did an outstanding job of making his characters believable and dialogue was generally good. The protagonist, Ben Anderson, is the best character in the novel, he grows nicely and remains true to his fundamental personality. There is a group of secondary characters that are also well done, Harry, the General, Evans, and a few more fit nicely into the story. The minor characters are okay at best, not much effort was put into them, which is generally the case with any author because we just don't care about them, there are objects used to progress the plot. My big problem with the characters in with the second main character, Sam. While writing my novel, Eliot, I spent time learning about writing fundamentals and it is highly annoying how Sam completely changes her fundamental personality. I have no problem with characters growing, but they cannot inexplicably completely change who they are. Sam is known for her professionalism but just as she is achieving her dream, she completely loses all professionalism out of nowhere.

Spelling and Grammar 3 out of 5 stars

I am unsure if Mr. Eaton did the editing in this himself. If he did, trust me, I understand how difficult it is, I did my own editing as and eventually just had to settle with what I had, perfection is tough. The Pyramid Legacy is nowhere near perfect and I am not buying that much effort was put into editing. There are quite a few grammatical errors and fundamental sentence structure that does not make sense. When there are only a handful in a novel, I try to write them all down to help the author, but I gave up in this book because I would have never gotten through it. I will say that if I wasn't particularly looking for such things, I probably would not have noticed. The things I am talking about are such as:

The World Wide Web is referred to as "infamous" with no explanation as to why, what the heck makes the world-wide web infamous?

...bone-shaking drive couldn't shake it loose. - I do not like the same word so close to one another, I would prefer, the bone-jarring drive couldn't shake it lose, or the bone-shaking drive couldn't knock it lose.

Taxi halted abruptly outside his hotel. - It sounds like outside came abruptly, should read, the taxi abruptly halter outside of his hotel.

Things like that, which are not killer, but a little annoying.

Execution 3 out of 5 stars

Starting with the good, it is important to note that I enjoyed The Pyramid Legacy, it was a good adventure. I enjoy science fiction but do not generally write science fiction. Recently, I read the Dean Kootz book, Writing Popular Fiction, and in that book there is a section on the basics of science fiction writing. When I reviewed A.I. Apocalypse by William Hertling, I felt it was a complete disaster in its violations of the basics of writing science fiction. A.I. Apocalypse stands as an example of how not to implement future technology in a novel. Conversely, The Pyramid Legacy stands as an example of exactly how to properly implement future technology. The future technology is believable and expertly utilized. The mPC (micro PC) is perfect in name and function, it utilized the laser projected keyboard, which is available now but is not utilized popularly. The idea that it becomes accepted as common is perfect. The use of anti-matter as a future fuel source, the next generation of exploratory robots, space hibernation technology, moon outposts are more are believable and genuine feeling.

Now, the bad. There were two plot line flaws that were highly irritating. The big one tempted me to knock this down to 2 stars for Execution and even Overall, until I factored in how much I did enjoy the story.

1. Why does the internet not exist anymore because of a simple virus. The internet as we know it is gone in The Pyramid Legacy because of a viral attack. I understand the net being down for a while because of this but it just does not make sense that a software attack would destroy the internet. There was no hardware damage explained, so it wouldn't take long at all to get everything back up and running.

2. The pursuing of the murder on the ship does not make any sense at all, I mean none whatsoever. The mission was top-secret and everything about the mission was held in secret, absolutely no one was to know about it. It was even discussed how it was a surprise that government let the mission participants return to the regular world because the secret was so closely guarded. Then they go and prosecute the onboard murder of someone who would have been sentenced to death anyway, threatened the life of the crew and jeopardized the mission. The prosecution resulted in lawyers knowing about the mission and even a jury! That's just silly. Then what reason would the murderer have for keeping the mission secret? Dumb, dumb, really dumb plot flaw.

If any writer is considering near future technology, it would not hurt them to read The Pyramid Legacy and see how Mr. Eaton did it right. Other than that, it was an enjoyable story and I believe the Mr. Eaton will make a very good book with some fine tuning. This would make a cool movie too.

Michael A. Wood Jr.

The Critical Critic

[Leonide Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband urged me to read this, saying it was among the best suspenseful futuristic fictions he has read. My reaction was the opposite: it was mediocre with rather stilted characterizations and required a huge suspension of probability. It had clever ideas about who/when the Pyramid of Khufu was created and cues left for later people to discover the answer. Then a set of highly improbable "coincidences" progressed the story, leaving me wondering about highly advanced beings manipulating earthly happenings. The succession of villains and heroes kept changing along with nearly bipolar personality shifts. The crew's discoveries on Europa promised to lead to exceptional intelligences but it all dissolved back to humanity in some inexplicable way. Unraveling multiple clues involving complex thinking was interesting but unconvincing. The ending left me flat, several major characters were either formulaic or erratic, much dialogue felt stiff. If you're looking for seamless writing, this is not it. If a complex and mind-stretching story line pleases you, so might this book.

[Avdotja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have soooo many bones to pick about this book. The story which is all over the place. The characters who are adults and professionals, acting like teenagers. The conversations which are more like: listen here, I'm going to expain elementary science concept now for you idiots.
Argh.
Of course I'll read the sequel, if it ever gets published. Just so I can rant about it.

[Kathleen Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clive Easton writes the kind of fast-paced book I enjoy. I was fascinated with this murder mystery, particularly with the background of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Having researched Egyptology, I respected the authenticity as the story unfolded. Instead of finding hieroglyphics, an engraving begins to explain a murder of a young Egyptologist by an older colleague. If you go for high spirited adventure, you won't be able to put down The Pyramid Legacy by brilliant writer Clive Eaton.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. I liked the way clues were tied together to keep leading the characters on the hunt for the truth. Towards the end I realized that there would probably be a sequel as it seemed the book was just not quite ready to end yet. Well worth paying for, the type of book I enjoy reading.

[Jan Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome thriller from a fine writer!

[Jane Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pyramid Legacy is Clive Eaton’s debut novel, and I am looking forward to reading more books by him. He spins a tale filled with adventure and mystery, sprinkling the story with well-crafted clues that he slowly reveals. I often found myself wondering how Mr. Eaton managed to create the intricate clues, at times heavy in mathematics. His characters are complex and change through the story—or perhaps they change in the eyes of the Dr. Ben Anderson and, as he sees them in a new light, so does the reader. At one point, I thought that Dr Samantha (Sam) Gibson, the other key character in the book, would turn out to be the protagonist. But things change, people change, perceptions change, and so will yours as you read this book.

What is the secret hidden in the Great Pyramid of Giza? Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. I highly recommend this exceptional read. I am looking forward to the sequel, Operation Stonehenge “in which they uncover further clues before facing their final challenge: saving mankind from extinction.”

[Angela N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book! I enjoyed the mystery and the history immensely. I didn't love the ending and I felt a bit that something else must have been happening because some of the characters started acting unusual, in my opinion. Perhaps that was a flaw in writing or something that will be discovered in the sequel, i dont know. But i will definitely be reading the sequel. Great job Eaaton!

[Wan Ni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another tiresome product of the relic subgenre trying to weave in future-science and aliens. Could not get more than 50 pages.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but was very frustrated to get to the end without it being resolved. Book 2 is not out yet either but that is why I didn't give it 5 stars.

[Julee L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unsophisticated sci-fi

The characters have the emotional bearing of drunk students, the narrative is thin, and the story races through assumptions to carry us on a journey that is ultimately a huge let down. I won't be reading from this author again.

[Michael jäger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review from Amazon:

I love anything to do with the pyramids and Egyptology, so this book was right up my alley. The thing I loved about this book is there is never any down time, or parts that I felt the need to skim over. It moves at a fast pace and there is always something new happening. The adventure takes you from Egypt to various places on Earth, and even into outer space. A few parts are a bit far fetched, sometimes they find the clues they are looking for, which would seem like a needle in a haystack, way too fast but again, it didn't take away from the overall story for me.

I liked Ben as the main character, and all of the secondary characters were just right. The author obviously did a lot of research and used a lot of imagination writing this book.

For those people who were complaining about the ending, I actually loved it. The author leaves it wide open for his sequel, which I anxiously await. It's a smart business plan, because that's what writing is really...a lot of movies and shows leave you with cliffhangers, and we all sit there speculating what will happen in the next season. The ending got me thinking, that's for sure. Because he is right, God and aliens and all the other theories he discusses have not been proved a fact, which leaves the mystery of his ending and the characters discovery wide open for the sequel.

[James Paddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mystery spanning 4000 years...

Her head in the stars, his on the earth, it is amazing that Sam and Ben have anything in common, yet they seem to make it work, until they don't. When Ben is embroiled in a Great Pyramid of Giza mystery that leaves one man murdered and another committing suicide, he turns to Sam for help. Against all his fears and better judgement she drags him to the far-side of the moon and then beyond in an attempt to solve the mystery, a riddle that appeared to have begun in 2350BC. She simply wants to be the first person to discover indisputable proof that there are alien beings. Between murder, suspense, intrigue and unbelievable (but maybe not) science fiction, Clive Eaton pulls us along at breakneck speed, sliding us to the edge of our seats in anticipation that the next clue unveiled will in fact be that proof. I couldn't wait to get to the end, finding myself reading on my smart phone when I didn't have my Kindle with me, something I never do.

Thanks, Clive, for a great story. I look forward to the next in the series, "Operation Stonehenge."

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery and thrill of Ben Anderson eluding capture and death in Egypt and his escape from life threatening missions in space. I chuckled when he confronted General Murdoch and ended up with a seat on the next flight to the Moon which terrified him. But,I couldn't relate to his involvement with Samantha Gibson. It didn't make sense that an intelligent and caring man like Ben Anderson who was completely frank about his underlying terror in dangerous situations would be involved with a self-absorbed woman like Sam Gibson whose towering ambition blinded her to any kind of sensitive or loving emotion. Her desire to live dangerously, her quick temper and love of being in dangerous situations makes the relationship with Ben Anderson strange and unreal. It does make her more of a soul mate for Tom Evans so the rape scenario didn't ring true. The story takes a lot of twists and turns and I would recommend it to those who enjoy a futuristic thriller.

[Christoph Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Pyramid Legacy" by Clive Eaton is a intelligent and well written thriller spanning several millenia and concerning the mystery behind the origin of Pyramids.
Ben Anderson, a scientist exploring a Pyramid in Egypt, makes a startling discovery, which becomes the target of people who want to suppress the information. At the same time said information requires further investigation by himself.
The very first scene in the pyramid immediately draws the reader in with its intense tension of psychological game play, a pressure that continues throughout the book as Anderson is chasing and is being chased at the same time.
Eaton must have done a lot of research as the novel touches a lot of subjects, such as astrology, physics and religious studies,all of which are handled masterfully.
The book combines the best of conspiracy and psychological thrillers and has great characters. It has a clever plot and fast pacing and is very enjoyable. I am looking forward to the sequel.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know a lot of people have given this book great reviews but I cannot agree. The story premise sounded so intriguing and exciting--a murder mystery, an archeology thriller, a little sci-fi, all the elements in a story I love to dig into... but the writing was so poor that the whole book just turned out to be a mess. The development of the main characters, Ben and Sam, was shallow to the point I could not feel any sympathy or involvement with them. This made it difficult for me to understand their increasingly absurd actions and further lent to the overall unbelievable aspects of the many contrived plots they faced.

I found myself going from anxiously reading it to having to force myself to finish it. Then, after doing so, I found out that there really was no ending and the reader would have to buy the next book in the series to find out the outcome of the story!

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because it was the only title In the top 10 rated books in it's category I had not yet read. The story moves along quickly and we are spared needless detail, which I appreciate particularly in this genre. A better editor would have cleaned up the grammar and errors that are mildly irritating...I cringed every time I read the word 'whilst', which is used often in non-dialog. That word totally took me out of the story and reminded me this is a British author. Otherwise it is a decent book.

[Huw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a belter of a book. Clive Eaton has produced a novel which, in the reading, feels like it could go in just about any direction, and it does! A really impressive debut that follows a number of genre trappings, but eschews others and treads a new path. A thoroughly enjoyable read and I can't wait for the follow up.

[Martina Ovens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book quite quickly during a long holiday this summer. It was entertaining and kept me reading.
We begin with a discovery made in an ( as yet?) unexplored pyramid in Egypt which takes us on a hunt for clues
around the world, the moon and eventually to believe that extra terrestrial beings visited earth thousands of
years ago - or did they?
Good beach or plane read.

[J. Kahele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery

Adventure. This author really had me intrigued from the start the way he masterfully created clues at the right time, not a second before or after, was mind boggling. It was like taking small pieces of a puzzle and putting them together.
I throughly enjoyed the book and will be looking out for new reads from this author in the future.

[Ayushi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with pyramid and when I came across this book, I had huge expectations. But sadly, the book is very poorly written. It tries to touch too many points and none of the characters were well built. I am sure I will be needing a lot of convincing to read its sequel "Operation Stonehenge"

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the Goodreads First Reads Program. Good mystery!

[Gloria Pearson-Vasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable.

[Brandon Tindle-Cowgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!

[Chris Birdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this work and the unusual story. The characters were well-developed and likable. There were a few slow spots, but the overall quality of the story more than made up for them. A fine read!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book tended to tie things up very neatly with a bow on top.