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Unleashing Colter's Hell: A National Park Thriller
Under the tranquil setting of Yellowstone National Park lies a killer, the world's largest super volcano. Yellowstone erupts roughly every 600,000 years. It's next eruption is overdue, and any present explosion would destroy America and quite possibly all of civilization. Yellowstone, or Colter's Hell, as it's historically known, is experiencing unprecedented volcanic activity, possibly signaling a pending eruption.
In Unleashing Colter's Hell, a religious fanatic sent to the Wyoming wilderness has acquired an atomic bomb to trigger an eruption and spell the end of the United States. A lone park ranger named Grayson Cole is James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Robert Langdon rolled into one. Along with Diane Harris, a rookie FBI agent, the two are all that stand between the world and its destruction.
Unleashing Colter's Hell is a fast paced, action packed adventure. It's a sweeping story spanning the world from North Korea, thru South America, to Yellowstone the world's first national park. Colter's Hell draws upon modern science, relevant history, present technology, and current events to give the story its terrifying realism.
In Unleashing Colter's Hell, a religious fanatic sent to the Wyoming wilderness has acquired an atomic bomb to trigger an eruption and spell the end of the United States. A lone park ranger named Grayson Cole is James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Robert Langdon rolled into one. Along with Diane Harris, a rookie FBI agent, the two are all that stand between the world and its destruction.
Unleashing Colter's Hell is a fast paced, action packed adventure. It's a sweeping story spanning the world from North Korea, thru South America, to Yellowstone the world's first national park. Colter's Hell draws upon modern science, relevant history, present technology, and current events to give the story its terrifying realism.
324 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2012
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About the author
Sean D. Smith
5 books4 followersSean Smith is an award winning conservationist, whose work has been seen on CNN and heard on NPR, and in the New York Times and National Geographic.
Sean is a former park ranger who worked at Yellowstone, the North Cascades, Glacier, and with the Forest Service at Mount St. Helens. He's also an accomplished artist, as well as a private pilot. During the day, Sean works for a non-profit dedicated to preserving and protecting the national parks. Recently, Sean began writing political thrillers set in National Parks. His goal is to entertain his readers, but also educate them on the challenges park rangers face every day protecting America's heritage.
He currently lives in Western Washington with his wife and two children.
Sean is a former park ranger who worked at Yellowstone, the North Cascades, Glacier, and with the Forest Service at Mount St. Helens. He's also an accomplished artist, as well as a private pilot. During the day, Sean works for a non-profit dedicated to preserving and protecting the national parks. Recently, Sean began writing political thrillers set in National Parks. His goal is to entertain his readers, but also educate them on the challenges park rangers face every day protecting America's heritage.
He currently lives in Western Washington with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 7, 2020
Really fun to be reading this book while the votes were being counted in the 2020 election and our country balanced on the brink of danger....
This book is very political but aligns with my beliefs so I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love National Parks so reading any book set in a National Park is a treat. At times I wondered if there were too many settings or the author was trying to do too much, but I’ll likely read more in the series.
This book is very political but aligns with my beliefs so I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love National Parks so reading any book set in a National Park is a treat. At times I wondered if there were too many settings or the author was trying to do too much, but I’ll likely read more in the series.
February 13, 2018
The novel Unleashing Colter’s Hell by Sean Smith is jam-packed with information for the reader. It reminded me of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol novel which I read earlier this year in the wealth of knowledge imparted by characters.
In Smith’s novel, the protagonist Grayson Cole is head of the National Park Rangers at Yellowstone National Park and offers a comprehensive history of the park as well as its natural surroundings. This information is complemented by expert supporting characters who understand the volcano that lives beneath Yellowstone.
However, to be interesting, Smith needs to tell a story. And tell a story he does. Unleashing Colter’s Hell is a political thriller based on possibilities—which makes it terrifying. Smith grounds the story in a vivid reality and peoples it with three-dimensional characters, some of whom frighten me. I don’t like to give away what happens, but if you’re looking for an exciting suspense story filled with factual information, then Unleashing Colter’s Hell by Sean Smith is the story for you. Enjoy it. I did!
In Smith’s novel, the protagonist Grayson Cole is head of the National Park Rangers at Yellowstone National Park and offers a comprehensive history of the park as well as its natural surroundings. This information is complemented by expert supporting characters who understand the volcano that lives beneath Yellowstone.
However, to be interesting, Smith needs to tell a story. And tell a story he does. Unleashing Colter’s Hell is a political thriller based on possibilities—which makes it terrifying. Smith grounds the story in a vivid reality and peoples it with three-dimensional characters, some of whom frighten me. I don’t like to give away what happens, but if you’re looking for an exciting suspense story filled with factual information, then Unleashing Colter’s Hell by Sean Smith is the story for you. Enjoy it. I did!
May 27, 2013
This book was reviewed by Lee Ashford for Readers' Favorite.
“Unleashing Colter’s Hell” by Sean Smith is a top notch suspenseful thriller of the highest caliber. The author’s authoritative life experience and thorough research have enabled him to fashion a story so realistic you will be waiting for the sound of the explosion to reach your ears.
This story consists of at least four distinct sub-plots, interwoven into one remarkably believable tale of extreme religious fervor at opposing ends of the spectrum, and a very real ticking time bomb setting right below our feet in America. The entire scenario is so feasible I have to wonder if such a thing hasn’t already been tried, fortunately without success. Sean Smith has masterfully cast his characters to be as sincere and legitimate as any living human being.
The title, “Unleashing Colter’s Hell” is a reference to the original name applied to what is now called Yellowstone National Park. Numerous authentic details about the enormous Yellowstone caldera and its devastating potential for destroying life on Earth make this superb novel a rather respectable geology lesson as well.
While specific events in the story are fictional, they are absolutely legitimate, genuine concerns. The natural continuance of the caldera’s eruptive cycle is perhaps the single event most likely to end life as we know it today, ushering in an extensive era of apocalyptic conditions on Earth. Far more likely than a meteor crashing into the planet, or a new virus decimating the global population, a Yellowstone eruption is more a matter of “when”, than “if”.
Given the ebb and flow of nature’s many cycles, the periodic escalation of seismic volcanic activity, followed by a period of de-escalation, seems more likely than not. This thriller is not only a superb novel of suspense; it will remain with you as one of the scariest books you will ever read. Don’t be surprised to see “Unleashing Colter’s Hell” merit an appearance on the Top Ten Bestseller’s list.
“Unleashing Colter’s Hell” by Sean Smith is a top notch suspenseful thriller of the highest caliber. The author’s authoritative life experience and thorough research have enabled him to fashion a story so realistic you will be waiting for the sound of the explosion to reach your ears.
This story consists of at least four distinct sub-plots, interwoven into one remarkably believable tale of extreme religious fervor at opposing ends of the spectrum, and a very real ticking time bomb setting right below our feet in America. The entire scenario is so feasible I have to wonder if such a thing hasn’t already been tried, fortunately without success. Sean Smith has masterfully cast his characters to be as sincere and legitimate as any living human being.
The title, “Unleashing Colter’s Hell” is a reference to the original name applied to what is now called Yellowstone National Park. Numerous authentic details about the enormous Yellowstone caldera and its devastating potential for destroying life on Earth make this superb novel a rather respectable geology lesson as well.
While specific events in the story are fictional, they are absolutely legitimate, genuine concerns. The natural continuance of the caldera’s eruptive cycle is perhaps the single event most likely to end life as we know it today, ushering in an extensive era of apocalyptic conditions on Earth. Far more likely than a meteor crashing into the planet, or a new virus decimating the global population, a Yellowstone eruption is more a matter of “when”, than “if”.
Given the ebb and flow of nature’s many cycles, the periodic escalation of seismic volcanic activity, followed by a period of de-escalation, seems more likely than not. This thriller is not only a superb novel of suspense; it will remain with you as one of the scariest books you will ever read. Don’t be surprised to see “Unleashing Colter’s Hell” merit an appearance on the Top Ten Bestseller’s list.
October 12, 2012
First time author Sean D Smith has created an imaginative thriller that was a bit slow to start for me but I gave it a chance and I'm glad I did. I found it to be ever more engaging as the main characters were developed and more of the actual plot unfolded.
Once it gets going it's really well paced and draws on Smith's intimate knowledge of the national park system & Yellowstone in particular. After reading this book, I'm ready for a trip to Yellowstone to see the places he describes.
Once it gets going it's really well paced and draws on Smith's intimate knowledge of the national park system & Yellowstone in particular. After reading this book, I'm ready for a trip to Yellowstone to see the places he describes.
July 5, 2013
It was a cute story - a bit kitschy though. What I really enjoyed were the sidebar pieces about Yellowstone park and the life of a park ranger.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews