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Dark Prospects #1
Search for the Buried Bomber
he X-Files meets Indiana Jones in Search for the Buried Bomber, the first in Xu Lei’s Dark Prospects series of thrillers steeped in archeological myths and government secrets.
During China’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution, the People’s Liberation Army dispatches an elite group of prospectors famous for their work uncovering rare minerals to the mountains of rural Inner Mongolia. Their assignment: to bring honor to their country by descending into a maze of dank caves to find and retrieve the remnants of a buried World War II bomber left by their Japanese enemies. How the aircraft ended up beneath thousands of feet of rock baffles the team, but they’ll soon encounter far more treacherous and equally inexplicable forces lurking in the shadows. Each step taken—and each life lost—brings them closer to a mind-bending truth that should never see the light of day. Pride sent them into the caves, but terror will drive them out.
Through the eyes of one of the prospectors, bestselling Chinese author Xu Lei leads readers on a gripping and suspenseful journey.
During China’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution, the People’s Liberation Army dispatches an elite group of prospectors famous for their work uncovering rare minerals to the mountains of rural Inner Mongolia. Their assignment: to bring honor to their country by descending into a maze of dank caves to find and retrieve the remnants of a buried World War II bomber left by their Japanese enemies. How the aircraft ended up beneath thousands of feet of rock baffles the team, but they’ll soon encounter far more treacherous and equally inexplicable forces lurking in the shadows. Each step taken—and each life lost—brings them closer to a mind-bending truth that should never see the light of day. Pride sent them into the caves, but terror will drive them out.
Through the eyes of one of the prospectors, bestselling Chinese author Xu Lei leads readers on a gripping and suspenseful journey.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2010
39 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
March 30, 2013
Search for the Buried Bomber is a publishing sensation in China. With his Grave Robbers’ Chronicles series, Xu Lei is the most popular novelist in that country. Search has been released to outstanding reviews. Now that I have finished reading the book (very difficult to put down), all I can say is: “When is the sequel coming out? It’s been published in Chinese. When do we get the English version?”
It’s 1962 and Engineer Wu is being sent in with a team of Chinese Army Corps of Engineers to the mountains near Mongolia to prospect for natural resources. He refers to himself throughout the book as a “prospector”, but I have a little problem with that term. When I think of “prospector”, I think of an old, toothless guy in a cowboy hat panning for gold. But this is the term the translator, who does a fantastic job, by-the-way, has decided to use.
When his team arrives at the site of “Project 723″, they are shown around the camp, given a brief account of what they will be doing and shuffled into a room to watch a “zero film”, i.e., a film of top-secret access. The team is even ordered to swear a vow a secrecy before the get to see the film.
As the novelist explains state secrets:
Someone later explained national secrets to me in this way: if a secret involves the livelihood of the people, it’s confidential; if it involves the economy or military affairs, it’s secret; and if it involves Party leaders or some impossible-to-explain subversion of the current worldview, only then is it considered top secret
And what they are shown is a crude remote image of a Japanese WWII Shinzan bomber, 3600 feet underground.
How did the bomber get underground? And why? Engineer Wu’s team is soon given the task of descending into a newly discovered cave where the bomber lays. They will travel into this unknown world, brave unimaginable dangers until reaching the underground bomber and the Japanese installation around it. To reveal much more would ruin the story for potential readers. Suffice it to say, this is one of the best adventure novels of the past ten years. Imagine Journey to the Center of the Earth meets Flight of the Phoenix. And along the way, we learn a lot about cave geology.
Search takes place right before the cultural revolution, or, as Engineer Wu describes it “the ten-year calamity”. Most of the historical references are easily understood by the reader, with only one time the translator resorting to a footnote to describe a popular movie in China from the 50′s.
What makes the book such a page-turner is the reader only gets the information needed to advance the plot at the same pace as the narrator. You know Engineer Wu survives to tell the tale, but what about the rest of the team. Even more suspenseful is a tendency for characters to vanish and reappear. The reader gets a creepy feel for the subterranean world the team explores, with the use of dimming flashlights.
I can’t recommend this novel enough. I’m told these Chinese serial novels can have a story arc which spans ten books. I’m dying to read the next one.
It’s 1962 and Engineer Wu is being sent in with a team of Chinese Army Corps of Engineers to the mountains near Mongolia to prospect for natural resources. He refers to himself throughout the book as a “prospector”, but I have a little problem with that term. When I think of “prospector”, I think of an old, toothless guy in a cowboy hat panning for gold. But this is the term the translator, who does a fantastic job, by-the-way, has decided to use.
When his team arrives at the site of “Project 723″, they are shown around the camp, given a brief account of what they will be doing and shuffled into a room to watch a “zero film”, i.e., a film of top-secret access. The team is even ordered to swear a vow a secrecy before the get to see the film.
As the novelist explains state secrets:
Someone later explained national secrets to me in this way: if a secret involves the livelihood of the people, it’s confidential; if it involves the economy or military affairs, it’s secret; and if it involves Party leaders or some impossible-to-explain subversion of the current worldview, only then is it considered top secret
And what they are shown is a crude remote image of a Japanese WWII Shinzan bomber, 3600 feet underground.
How did the bomber get underground? And why? Engineer Wu’s team is soon given the task of descending into a newly discovered cave where the bomber lays. They will travel into this unknown world, brave unimaginable dangers until reaching the underground bomber and the Japanese installation around it. To reveal much more would ruin the story for potential readers. Suffice it to say, this is one of the best adventure novels of the past ten years. Imagine Journey to the Center of the Earth meets Flight of the Phoenix. And along the way, we learn a lot about cave geology.
Search takes place right before the cultural revolution, or, as Engineer Wu describes it “the ten-year calamity”. Most of the historical references are easily understood by the reader, with only one time the translator resorting to a footnote to describe a popular movie in China from the 50′s.
What makes the book such a page-turner is the reader only gets the information needed to advance the plot at the same pace as the narrator. You know Engineer Wu survives to tell the tale, but what about the rest of the team. Even more suspenseful is a tendency for characters to vanish and reappear. The reader gets a creepy feel for the subterranean world the team explores, with the use of dimming flashlights.
I can’t recommend this novel enough. I’m told these Chinese serial novels can have a story arc which spans ten books. I’m dying to read the next one.
January 23, 2016
Xu Lei's SEARCH FOR THE BURIED BOMBER held my interest right up until the end. The story deals with Chinese prospectors investigating an underground Japanese base abandoned beneath China. As the prospectors go deeper and deeper underground, they find strange evidence in the camp, including a huge Japanese bomber that was assembled, and flown, underground. Along the way their number begin to succumb to various accidents and treachery, plus they find the corpses of a team sent in earlier that they knew nothing about.
While the book is definitely Indiana Jones-esque in it's over the top archeological traps and discoveries, as entertainment I enjoyed reading it right up until the end. Mostly because there IS no end. The book just stops, leaving the reader wondering why they just wasted their time reading the book! No indication that conclusion will be presented in sequels either, so I was just left hanging and frustrated.
In addition, the book appears to be written in formal English, meaning it doesn't flow very well and seems somewhat stoic, no doubt because the author is native Chinese.
Not worth the effort, considering the ending.
While the book is definitely Indiana Jones-esque in it's over the top archeological traps and discoveries, as entertainment I enjoyed reading it right up until the end. Mostly because there IS no end. The book just stops, leaving the reader wondering why they just wasted their time reading the book! No indication that conclusion will be presented in sequels either, so I was just left hanging and frustrated.
In addition, the book appears to be written in formal English, meaning it doesn't flow very well and seems somewhat stoic, no doubt because the author is native Chinese.
Not worth the effort, considering the ending.
April 15, 2013
The book was heralded as "China's most spectacular suspense novel for 2010" and the fact it was translated to English was one of the novelties that attracted me to trying it out. I'm not sure if it was the translation to English or the writing, but it made me wonder about the state of the Chinese suspense genre. The narrator tells you right off that he has sworn an oath to secrecy, so I should have expected to be left wanting, but after building up the mystery for the entire book, I felt the end fell a bit flat. In an effort to avoid spoilers, I won't detail where some of the holes seemed to be, but there were moments where I questioned descriptions and details and a number of characters essentially disappear, only to randomly reappear later.
Evidently there may be more to the "Dark Prospects" series, though I'm not sure if it will involve this story directly (and thus fill in some gaps), so I may look into them (especially if I can 'Borrow for free' again through Amazon Prime.
Evidently there may be more to the "Dark Prospects" series, though I'm not sure if it will involve this story directly (and thus fill in some gaps), so I may look into them (especially if I can 'Borrow for free' again through Amazon Prime.
April 23, 2013
I picked this book up mainly to see what a popular Chinese author was writing. Turns out that he's writing for anyone who likes plot heavy thrillers. The story moves right along while keeping you guessing and (most importantly) keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Very strange tale with a plot to match. I kept wondering how the author came up with it. Post WWII and a aircraft hidden in a large cave is all I'll say and let Lei Xu take it from there.
Got a cold, rainy week-end? Then this is the book to spend it with.
Very strange tale with a plot to match. I kept wondering how the author came up with it. Post WWII and a aircraft hidden in a large cave is all I'll say and let Lei Xu take it from there.
Got a cold, rainy week-end? Then this is the book to spend it with.
April 30, 2013
OK, not all contemporary thrillers suck! (I was a little worried, having just suffered thru Deep Fathom.)
This book was fun because it: 1. is from a foreign author (I love works in translation); 2. was told in the 1st person (my fave); and 3. establishes atmosphere very well. I could add a fourth point: it left me hanging & really curious as to what will happen in the sequel.
This book was fun because it: 1. is from a foreign author (I love works in translation); 2. was told in the 1st person (my fave); and 3. establishes atmosphere very well. I could add a fourth point: it left me hanging & really curious as to what will happen in the sequel.
January 31, 2015
A thrilling mystery
This book is great for those who enjoy a good thriller with substance. There is depth to the story. It reminds me of Indiana Jones if he was a scientist and Chinese. Just good to the last word.
This book is great for those who enjoy a good thriller with substance. There is depth to the story. It reminds me of Indiana Jones if he was a scientist and Chinese. Just good to the last word.
May 29, 2016
Read it!
It's a great work, very detailed and nice storyline. I loved this adventure, it made me wish both I was part of it and never in my life I'd dare do what their characters had to do to endure.
It's a great work, very detailed and nice storyline. I loved this adventure, it made me wish both I was part of it and never in my life I'd dare do what their characters had to do to endure.
April 30, 2014
The ending pissed me off so badly, I shouted out "No way!" at the gym and inadvertently created quite a ruckus..
May 8, 2014
Hated it. You wade through a lot of stuff waiting to find a big payoff, only to unfortunately discover that there is no payoff at all.
May 21, 2016
Good Read
The story was interesting, spine tingling and full of twists and turns. Left you sort of hanging in the end.
The story was interesting, spine tingling and full of twists and turns. Left you sort of hanging in the end.
January 14, 2025
Ok, so I kinda scoffed at the idea of something “X-files meets Indiana Jones” actually feeling like just that. But it did. There’s no extra suave man going into caves and saying “I want to believe” or “It belongs in a museum“; however, the adventure and supernatural aspects had me gripping the pages in some parts. It’s the dark and the unknown.
Most of the time the group is in the caves with only a flashlight but the author doesn’t lack for any descriptors. I was so into the book that I felt the cold and dark he was describing. There were times where I wanted to smack some sense into the main character for a few of the choices made. People are getting lost when you separate? Maybe stay together and figure it out??? But really, the mystery has me looking for the next book because I need answers.
Most of the time the group is in the caves with only a flashlight but the author doesn’t lack for any descriptors. I was so into the book that I felt the cold and dark he was describing. There were times where I wanted to smack some sense into the main character for a few of the choices made. People are getting lost when you separate? Maybe stay together and figure it out??? But really, the mystery has me looking for the next book because I need answers.
September 23, 2020
A long, long, way to nothing.
Maybe, if you are an engineer, you will find this an enjoyable read. Unfortunately, I am not and found it repetitive and boring. The cultural differences of the Chinese, the Japanese and Americans was interesting but still not worth my time. In addition, saving the BIG REVEAL for the next book just angered me.
Maybe, if you are an engineer, you will find this an enjoyable read. Unfortunately, I am not and found it repetitive and boring. The cultural differences of the Chinese, the Japanese and Americans was interesting but still not worth my time. In addition, saving the BIG REVEAL for the next book just angered me.
November 15, 2024
Just finished it. I still feel no special connection to the characters, that is why I knocked a star off. The story is very nice so far and the action is good. A few holes but that is fine. I'll start the second right away.
Hopefully the characters grow on me because the Iron Triangle are my favorite characters.
Hopefully the characters grow on me because the Iron Triangle are my favorite characters.
July 21, 2018
Well.
I got bored halfway through but it wasn't bad enough to DNF, so I just speed read all the way to an annoying cliffhanger end.
Like yeah, they found the bomber but everything else is ?!?!?!
Not interested enough to get book 2 to finish the series.
I got bored halfway through but it wasn't bad enough to DNF, so I just speed read all the way to an annoying cliffhanger end.
Like yeah, they found the bomber but everything else is ?!?!?!
Not interested enough to get book 2 to finish the series.
January 24, 2019
What a load of rubbish . Don't think I will be bothering with book number 2
Goes nowhere and then just ends with no explanation and by God it needed some explaining. Think something got lost in translation.
Goes nowhere and then just ends with no explanation and by God it needed some explaining. Think something got lost in translation.
June 24, 2019
Can't wait to start book #2 of the series.
January 13, 2013
I decided to give this book a try, because it was written by an up and coming Chinese author, and I was curious to see what he might have to offer in the way of action adventures.
Without giving anything away, I found the story telling to be smooth, and the writing did not get in the way of the story. The story is, like many action books, plot-driven, with one event leading to the next, to the next, and so on. The character development was adequate for the story, but certainly not outstanding.
I will say that in order to enjoy this book you have to be able to suspend reality and willingly move into the realm of the extraordinarily unlikely.
When I finished reading the last page and the afterward, it became clear that this book has to be the first of a series...either that or the author just ran out of ideas and quit. It was that abrupt. My main criticism of this book is that when you expected the loose ends to be tied up and answers to be provided I was left left cold, flat, and alone as a reader, with nothing to go on except the expectation that another book might clear things up. That is, this book didn't provide any sort of satisfying, stand-alone resolution. While I would be moderately interested in discovering what the author left hanging at the end of this book, I am not willing to read on, because there is no guarantee that the same thing wont't happen at the end of book 2 or 3 or...
plus the story was not compelling enough for me invest time to read the next installment in the series.
The book does not sufficiently stand alone to recommend it on its own merits, and I felt abandoned by the author in the end. Just so you know.
For this reason, the best recommendation I can award is 2 or 3 stars. I'll go ahead and award 3 stars.
Without giving anything away, I found the story telling to be smooth, and the writing did not get in the way of the story. The story is, like many action books, plot-driven, with one event leading to the next, to the next, and so on. The character development was adequate for the story, but certainly not outstanding.
I will say that in order to enjoy this book you have to be able to suspend reality and willingly move into the realm of the extraordinarily unlikely.
When I finished reading the last page and the afterward, it became clear that this book has to be the first of a series...either that or the author just ran out of ideas and quit. It was that abrupt. My main criticism of this book is that when you expected the loose ends to be tied up and answers to be provided I was left left cold, flat, and alone as a reader, with nothing to go on except the expectation that another book might clear things up. That is, this book didn't provide any sort of satisfying, stand-alone resolution. While I would be moderately interested in discovering what the author left hanging at the end of this book, I am not willing to read on, because there is no guarantee that the same thing wont't happen at the end of book 2 or 3 or...
plus the story was not compelling enough for me invest time to read the next installment in the series.
The book does not sufficiently stand alone to recommend it on its own merits, and I felt abandoned by the author in the end. Just so you know.
For this reason, the best recommendation I can award is 2 or 3 stars. I'll go ahead and award 3 stars.
January 28, 2014
The first description I read of this novel compared it to both The X Files and Indiana Jones. It would probably be more accurate to say it is more like Lost meets the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. While many exciting events occur, and strange discoveries are made, the protagonist exhibits almost no agency. Events happen TO HIM, but only two or three times (in the last 15% of the book) does HE make any decisions other than to follow orders. As with the show Lost, the continuous accumulation of cliffhangers and mysteries without answers just begs the question, does the author have a destination plotted? From what I've read about the second volume, it doesn't have an ending either, so if you don't mind, I'll just step out of the cart right here. After all, even your favorite ride at Disneyland gets boring if you ride it too many times in a row.
July 13, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, and reading it during my geology field class turned out to be appropriate since it's about a team of geologists. What I didn't really enjoy was the ending. The whole book was intriguing and the rich detail and strangeness of the situation drew me in quickly. But, the ending felt like a cop-out—like the author couldn't think of anything clever enough to explain what had happened so just decided to disguise his surrender with what's intended to appear as a stylistic choice. Disappointing, didn't make sense in light of how much classified information the narrator had already revealed, and seemed frankly, a bit lazy. Still, I give this book 4 stars because the rest was so gripping. Maybe just stop reading before the epilogue.
August 21, 2018
To be honest, I was expecting a generic mystery/thriller, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. This story employed a few key horror elements such as fear and suspense to propel a compelling story of a group of people exploring an abandoned military operation in a cave. I don't know what it is about being in a cave, but it instantly makes everything 10x more spooky and I felt that my senses had heightened as many of the characters did in the book. I found myself glued to my phone trying to figure out what happens next because 90% of the chapters end on a cliffhanger (as does the whole book!) The plot does get a bit repetitious and formulaic towards the end, but with that being said I very much look forward to reading the sequel.
May 30, 2013
What could have been an exciting asian-horror mystery with elements of Indiana Jones and equal parts "R-Point" or "Guard Post" is somewhat marred by matter-of-fact clinical translation. I'm pretty sure China's most loved thriller of 2010 is not meant to be read to you in the style of a very boring geography teacher. Lots of threads are also left unresolved and the reader is provided with very few answers, so one hopes that the rest of the series gives more closure - hopefully translated into more natural english next time, otherwise I'm not sure how bothered I'll be.
October 31, 2013
I suspect there was something lost in the translation. I picked this title up because it was from a Chinese author and was hoping for a different experience than in some recent books. I expected to encounter some challenges in the reading. It came across as fairly flat. I never got to a point where I was totally engrossed, nor did I ever feel the intensity I believe the author intended.
The belief that this is perhaps a translation problem comes from the formal language used throughout the story. In several places this proved to be a disconnect that I wasn't able to overcome.
The belief that this is perhaps a translation problem comes from the formal language used throughout the story. In several places this proved to be a disconnect that I wasn't able to overcome.
March 11, 2016
Ngoài Bộ Đạo Mộ Bút Ký thì cuốn Đại Mạc Thương Lang của Nam Phái Tam Thúc rất hấp dẫn, đúng chất phiêu lưu, mạo hiểm, thật giả đan xen, vô cùng kịch tính. Ở Việt Nam truyện được chia làm hai tập, tập đầu hơi dài dòng nhưng càng đọc càng hay, nhất là sang tập 2. Kết thúc mở đặc trưng cho thể loại này, tuy nhiên không thích kiểu càng giải thích càng rối của tác giả =)), giống y chang Đạo Mộ Bút Ký, hố này mở ra chưa kịp lấp đã có hố mới. Với trí tưởng tượng vô cùng phong phú bỗng dưng một ngày tác giả muốn viết thêm phần tiếp theo cũng được.
June 30, 2014
A very intriguing story until the end. The protagonist declares at the very beginning that he had been sworn to secrecy, but the very fact that he telling us this story lends itself to a big surprise ending which never comes. The writing was good. The suspense was there to keep it moving along, but a big disappointment at the end.
April 1, 2013
Absolutely awesome. It has been a long time since I read a book as consuming as this. Beware though, the book ends with a cliff hanger ;-) and the story continues as a series. Hanging out for the next book! 4.5 stars.
February 6, 2014
I really want to read the next book in the series.
May 15, 2013
A really good read, but the ending just flops. Cant get any info on any future books. It says it part of a dark prospects chronicles, just hope it continues the story.
February 1, 2014
Ah it was not so bad but not as good as i had expected for some reason.
March 30, 2014
The story is very mysterious, keeping the reader wondering what is next. The plot would be a wonderful weekly series on radio with a cliff hanger every week.
May 8, 2014
maddening
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews