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Vypravili se za zlatem Inků. V patách jim jde smrt…
Britský lékař Kelvin MacDonald od klukovských let toužil zažít opravdové dobrodružství někde v divočině. Dychtivě proto kývne na nabídku zvláštního muže, s nímž se setkal na dovolené v Mexiku – lovec pokladů Anton mu nabídne, aby se zúčastnil výpravy do Amazonie, kterou chystá.
S nástrahami nevyzpytatelné přírody a nepřátelsky naladěnými indiány Kel počítal, ale nebezpečí ze strany drogových gangů a obchodníků se zbraněmi ho znepokojuje. Tím spíš, že expedici od počátku stíhá jedna nepříjemnost za druhou.
A pak je tu jejich cíl: jak postupují stále hlouběji proti proudu desítek přítoků Amazonky, vypadá bájné město pokladů Paititi jako nedosažitelná chiméra. Zápisky misionáře ze 17. století, jimiž se výprava řídí, jeho existenci sice potvrzují, ale současně naznačují zlověstná tajemství, která je obklopují a chrání. Černou vodou, která proudí v řece, všechno jen začíná.
Britský lékař Kelvin MacDonald od klukovských let toužil zažít opravdové dobrodružství někde v divočině. Dychtivě proto kývne na nabídku zvláštního muže, s nímž se setkal na dovolené v Mexiku – lovec pokladů Anton mu nabídne, aby se zúčastnil výpravy do Amazonie, kterou chystá.
S nástrahami nevyzpytatelné přírody a nepřátelsky naladěnými indiány Kel počítal, ale nebezpečí ze strany drogových gangů a obchodníků se zbraněmi ho znepokojuje. Tím spíš, že expedici od počátku stíhá jedna nepříjemnost za druhou.
A pak je tu jejich cíl: jak postupují stále hlouběji proti proudu desítek přítoků Amazonky, vypadá bájné město pokladů Paititi jako nedosažitelná chiméra. Zápisky misionáře ze 17. století, jimiž se výprava řídí, jeho existenci sice potvrzují, ale současně naznačují zlověstná tajemství, která je obklopují a chrání. Černou vodou, která proudí v řece, všechno jen začíná.
320 pages, Unknown Binding
First published September 10, 2015
About the author
Tom Harper
61 books198 followersTom Harper was born in West Germany in 1977 and grew up in Germany, Belgium and America; he now lives in England. He is chair of the Crime Writers' Association and also a member of the Historical Novels Society and the Society of Authors.
Tom Harper also writes historical adventures as Edwin Thomas.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Tom Harper also writes historical adventures as Edwin Thomas.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 13, 2024
Black River is set in the Peruvian Amazon. Kel MacDonald, an anaesthetist, is teased into joining a group who are to set out on the adventure of a lifetime. The leader of their party, Anton, thinks he has discovered the site of the legendary lost city of Paititi, supposedly where they will find fabulous gold and treasure. All those taking part will become rich and famous. How could a man approaching middle age turn down an opportunity like that? Especially when Anton’s girlfriend, the beautiful Drew, is going too?
But paramilitaries, drug cartels, wildcat prospectors, and the Native Indians, all pose their own threats. The last group to travel this way has disappeared. As have all the previous ones.
Harper has woven a brilliant crime story into this action adventure tale.
Exciting and enjoyable read!
But paramilitaries, drug cartels, wildcat prospectors, and the Native Indians, all pose their own threats. The last group to travel this way has disappeared. As have all the previous ones.
Harper has woven a brilliant crime story into this action adventure tale.
Exciting and enjoyable read!
July 27, 2022
We were an odd assortment – like the first days of uni, when you make friends indiscriminately and spend the rest of term stuck with your choices.
British anaesthetist Kel MacDonald, married with a child of six, is swayed by the charismatic fortune hunter Anton, to take leave-of-absence to join an expedition to Peru, tracing the headwaters of the Amazon in search of the lost Inca city of Paititi. The party consists of four Americans, including Anton’s girlfriend, Drew, and a Peruvian cook Zia and guide Fabio. From the outset the reader has a sense of foreboding: the group members have different agendas, none of the characters especially likeable, and there is the shadow of a government vaccine program for Indian tribes which went into the area earlier and never returned.
Narrated by Kel in first person, we follow the group’s progress first by river, then hacking through jungle on foot, dogged by weather conditions this side of atrocious as they follow a rudimentary map drawn by a monk, found in the Vatican library, searching for petroglyphs and a bridge that will take them to the “lost” city. Just as history is written by the winning side, we rely on Kel’s account of events, with dialogue from the others. When an expedition member falls to his death suspicions arise: did he slip or was he pushed?
He didn’t care about Menendez. He was a fortune hunter. And to get that fortune, he’d drive us over a cliff if he had to.
Underpinning it was an ethical debate: does a resource sector delivering infrastructure to remote communities, with the promise of jobs/prosperity enhance their fragile lifestyle, or does it allow a toehold for missionaries bringing “enlightenment”, albeit with primary health care and education?
As lost city adventures go, this one had me enthralled as the group turns on itself. With a deadly killer taking its toll there is a lengthy and desperate fight scene among islands of floating vegetation, until salvation. But author Tom Harper has a final trick up his sleeve that I did not foresee.
Overall, a good read for armchair explorers, well-written, and I shall look out for more of his works.
British anaesthetist Kel MacDonald, married with a child of six, is swayed by the charismatic fortune hunter Anton, to take leave-of-absence to join an expedition to Peru, tracing the headwaters of the Amazon in search of the lost Inca city of Paititi. The party consists of four Americans, including Anton’s girlfriend, Drew, and a Peruvian cook Zia and guide Fabio. From the outset the reader has a sense of foreboding: the group members have different agendas, none of the characters especially likeable, and there is the shadow of a government vaccine program for Indian tribes which went into the area earlier and never returned.
Narrated by Kel in first person, we follow the group’s progress first by river, then hacking through jungle on foot, dogged by weather conditions this side of atrocious as they follow a rudimentary map drawn by a monk, found in the Vatican library, searching for petroglyphs and a bridge that will take them to the “lost” city. Just as history is written by the winning side, we rely on Kel’s account of events, with dialogue from the others. When an expedition member falls to his death suspicions arise: did he slip or was he pushed?
He didn’t care about Menendez. He was a fortune hunter. And to get that fortune, he’d drive us over a cliff if he had to.
Underpinning it was an ethical debate: does a resource sector delivering infrastructure to remote communities, with the promise of jobs/prosperity enhance their fragile lifestyle, or does it allow a toehold for missionaries bringing “enlightenment”, albeit with primary health care and education?
As lost city adventures go, this one had me enthralled as the group turns on itself. With a deadly killer taking its toll there is a lengthy and desperate fight scene among islands of floating vegetation, until salvation. But author Tom Harper has a final trick up his sleeve that I did not foresee.
Overall, a good read for armchair explorers, well-written, and I shall look out for more of his works.
September 30, 2015
Tom Harper is one of the most exciting authors of our generation - he straddles the line between literary writing and thrillers in the way Robert Harris used to do before he became too big to bother plotting. Harper writes intelligent, thoughtful, many-layered books. Until recently, most of them have been dual time line novels - The Orpheus Descent was an exceptional insight into Plato's evolution (and near-shamanic experiences) that changed him from being a minor thinker to one of the greatest philosophers of the west - with the historical story put in context by a fast-paced contemporary thriller
With Black River, he comes fully into the present with an utterly blood-curdling tale of an Amazon adventure. This is Indiana Jones brought into the twenty first century, but with a lot more intelligence. The main character is a medic (and Tom Harper took a real medic down the Amazon in his research for this, which in itself makes it worth reading - what you see/feel/hear... it's all real. Possibly not the giant anaconda, for the sake of everyone's sleepless nights, I hope not - but the rest. For sure, it's all there and this is part of what gives the book its shape and drive. The rest is pure, perfect characterisation: a bigger bunch of imperfect, self-serving, possibly venal individuals you'd be hard-pressed to find. The plot twists are never flagged up, but always make sense - and the ending is eminently satisfying.
What more could you want? Perfect!
With Black River, he comes fully into the present with an utterly blood-curdling tale of an Amazon adventure. This is Indiana Jones brought into the twenty first century, but with a lot more intelligence. The main character is a medic (and Tom Harper took a real medic down the Amazon in his research for this, which in itself makes it worth reading - what you see/feel/hear... it's all real. Possibly not the giant anaconda, for the sake of everyone's sleepless nights, I hope not - but the rest. For sure, it's all there and this is part of what gives the book its shape and drive. The rest is pure, perfect characterisation: a bigger bunch of imperfect, self-serving, possibly venal individuals you'd be hard-pressed to find. The plot twists are never flagged up, but always make sense - and the ending is eminently satisfying.
What more could you want? Perfect!
January 3, 2018
Such a fun read - a search for a fabled lost Amazonian city that you know is doomed from the very first page. Interesting bunch of characters, most of whom seem entirely not up to the task ahead, including the narrator, a bored and wealthy English consultant who just wants a bit of adventure in his perfectly pleasant life. He gets it.
November 19, 2021
What an epic adventure Tom Harper takes us on!
Picture this… you are a high-end qualified doctor living a life in London with a wife & child. Your life is full of happiness, financial stability, love a strong future!
What would you do if you had the chance to trek into the unknown?
Not a trip to an unknown British coastal town – the depths of the deadliest jungle! On a treasure hunt for a lost city.
Would the child in you who used to thrive on adrenaline come into action or would your responsible life as a doctor make you think otherwise?
No need to ask Kel Macdonald that. He wants this adventure. He hardly even explains it to his wife Cate. He is off. Get him to that jungle with 6 other people – strangers at that!
Kel has that strive for adrenaline. But is the jungle too much? Has his imagination of living in the wilderness gotten too overwhelming when he witnesses just how big the animals are out here! All of which can in some way, shape or form, KILL HIM!
As we follow Kel on this trip to find a lost city of Paititi with the team of 5 males & 2 females how long do people who don’t know each other live in harmony before things start getting heated?
Living in a city would make this hard – throw them all into a survival of the fittest situation – this is seemingly impossible! Especially when the head of the expedition, Anton, is a glory seeking, no-nonsense, exorbitantly confident man who wants to find this city ‘whatever it takes’.
Ego’s take over & suddenly; those human eating Anacondas are not the thing anybody is worried about!
Tom Harper has perfectly exhibited in this nonstop adventure driven book how humans can adapt, work together, survive & push themselves to extremes when absolutely needed. Let’s not forget, as a species we all used to live in such conditions where, sleeping on rocks & waking when the crashing river hit your feet was normal! Harper does not stray from this evolutionary past we all had. In fact, he perfectly elicits a portrayal of what it could have been like for those ancestors we had thousands of years ago!
Of course, the novel is non-fiction & nobody can say for sure how we lived back then, yet Harper transports us into this world wonderfully. Whether parts of it are real or not, we see it all through Kel’s eyes as the narrative voice of this novel.
Harper smartly makes us forget that Kel is the protagonist! His name is hardly mentioned in the novel – after the introductory chapters have been read – of course, Kel is telling us the story so he would not mention his own name much. But Harper purposefully does this so that we can feel like we are truly emersed into the jungle ourselves. We learn so much about each character’s personality. How they live & what brings them along on this dangerous expedition.
Can we trust the charm & charisma of Anton or do we really trust the bravery of Kel himself?
Can we trust anybody?
Black River takes us all on such an adventure the book is genuinely so hard to put down & re-enter the real world!
Pick it up & give it a read. It is a favourite of mine & I will keep my eyes peeled for other Tom Harper books as I admit, I had never heard of him before stumbling upon this book.
A great read for anybody – even if you think treasure hunting is lame – you will be thoroughly entertained reading this book!
Picture this… you are a high-end qualified doctor living a life in London with a wife & child. Your life is full of happiness, financial stability, love a strong future!
What would you do if you had the chance to trek into the unknown?
Not a trip to an unknown British coastal town – the depths of the deadliest jungle! On a treasure hunt for a lost city.
Would the child in you who used to thrive on adrenaline come into action or would your responsible life as a doctor make you think otherwise?
No need to ask Kel Macdonald that. He wants this adventure. He hardly even explains it to his wife Cate. He is off. Get him to that jungle with 6 other people – strangers at that!
Kel has that strive for adrenaline. But is the jungle too much? Has his imagination of living in the wilderness gotten too overwhelming when he witnesses just how big the animals are out here! All of which can in some way, shape or form, KILL HIM!
As we follow Kel on this trip to find a lost city of Paititi with the team of 5 males & 2 females how long do people who don’t know each other live in harmony before things start getting heated?
Living in a city would make this hard – throw them all into a survival of the fittest situation – this is seemingly impossible! Especially when the head of the expedition, Anton, is a glory seeking, no-nonsense, exorbitantly confident man who wants to find this city ‘whatever it takes’.
Ego’s take over & suddenly; those human eating Anacondas are not the thing anybody is worried about!
Tom Harper has perfectly exhibited in this nonstop adventure driven book how humans can adapt, work together, survive & push themselves to extremes when absolutely needed. Let’s not forget, as a species we all used to live in such conditions where, sleeping on rocks & waking when the crashing river hit your feet was normal! Harper does not stray from this evolutionary past we all had. In fact, he perfectly elicits a portrayal of what it could have been like for those ancestors we had thousands of years ago!
Of course, the novel is non-fiction & nobody can say for sure how we lived back then, yet Harper transports us into this world wonderfully. Whether parts of it are real or not, we see it all through Kel’s eyes as the narrative voice of this novel.
Harper smartly makes us forget that Kel is the protagonist! His name is hardly mentioned in the novel – after the introductory chapters have been read – of course, Kel is telling us the story so he would not mention his own name much. But Harper purposefully does this so that we can feel like we are truly emersed into the jungle ourselves. We learn so much about each character’s personality. How they live & what brings them along on this dangerous expedition.
Can we trust the charm & charisma of Anton or do we really trust the bravery of Kel himself?
Can we trust anybody?
Black River takes us all on such an adventure the book is genuinely so hard to put down & re-enter the real world!
Pick it up & give it a read. It is a favourite of mine & I will keep my eyes peeled for other Tom Harper books as I admit, I had never heard of him before stumbling upon this book.
A great read for anybody – even if you think treasure hunting is lame – you will be thoroughly entertained reading this book!
August 25, 2017
This is a rollicking good fun adventure yarn, and our first person hero is clueless enough to make it feel it could be us. The whole thing seemed just plausible enough to be very entertaining. Though our doctor didn't really demonstrate much medical knowledge or skill considering that's why he was on the expedition. I'm still not sure who was whose side or why at the end, but it didn't really matter. A well-done classic survival tale of a small group each with their own motive going off on adventure and trying to get home. It did seem a bit too easy for our hero - press the EPRB and saved!
December 31, 2023
4.5 Stars
Black River by Tom Harper is everything the blurb promised, and I was invested right from the get-go. A smart, well-developed, action-packed and suspenseful thriller with a twisty plot that takes us on an adventure in the wilds of the Amazon jungle, dealing with drug cartels, untamed local tribes, a missing (previous) expedition, 'doctored' maps, deadly secrets, agendas, danger, intrigue, an enemy in their midst, and so much more. What happens makes for a very engrossing read.
Well done...
Happy Reading...
Thank you, Tom Harper!
Black River by Tom Harper is everything the blurb promised, and I was invested right from the get-go. A smart, well-developed, action-packed and suspenseful thriller with a twisty plot that takes us on an adventure in the wilds of the Amazon jungle, dealing with drug cartels, untamed local tribes, a missing (previous) expedition, 'doctored' maps, deadly secrets, agendas, danger, intrigue, an enemy in their midst, and so much more. What happens makes for a very engrossing read.
Well done...
Happy Reading...
Thank you, Tom Harper!
January 22, 2020
Easy to read, plenty of action. The lead character Kelly McDonald (doctor) portrayed as a bit of an idiot, takes chances when he shouldn't. Anton wants to find lost city in Peru, expedition is a mixed bunch with their own motives. Some die trying, a drug and antidote cause deaths, in the end CIA connection. Not a bad story would read others but not brilliant
July 8, 2023
Uh. Nedá se ubránit srovnání s Rollinsovou Amazonií, a Černá řeka z toho bohužel nevychází dobře. U odpočinkové literatury tohoto typu hledám čtivost a zajímavé postavy, na jejichž osudu mi bude záležet. Zde jsem nenašla.
October 31, 2018
Enjoyable read - 3.5 stars
August 21, 2016
This was my first time reading a book by Tom Harper but I was very impressed at his writing style and the way the book kept reeling me in.
They sought fame and fortune.
They found death.
Kel McDonald is bored with his life as a doctor and his wife and child and is craving adventure. When they meet Anton and Drew in Mexico after Anton saves Kel's life the adventurous spirit is ignited in Kel. Anton tells Kel about the lost city of Patiti and how he is planning an expedition to find the city.
Roll forward slightly, the adventure begins with a diverse group of characters meeting in Peurto Tordoya. The action comes thick and fast and even before the expedition begins one member of the group is injured and replaced which causes friction and provides the constant link back to an expedition, led by Dr Menendez, that went missing a few months previously.
The book has everything you could want in a suspense novel - death, danger, adversity and the classic "guess the bad guy". Everyone on the expedition has something to hide and is not telling the whole truth. Why did Dr Menendez and his group disappear? Was the vaccine programme for the Amazon-Indians a smokescreen for something else? Where are all the Indians and who is trying to stop anyone getting back to civilisation and why?
Harper keeps up the suspense and just when you think you know who is responsible for Anton's death the clues start pointing a different way. I will admit near the last few chapters when Kel is trying to keep a particular character from being rescued and leaving the jungle did not sit well with me and made me dislike Kel for playing God. Even after the team is rescued there is another twist which I did not see coming.
Overall a very good book, well written and I would certainly read another by this author. I read an uncorrected proof copy of the book so there may be some changes in the final published book which I am unaware of.
They sought fame and fortune.
They found death.
Kel McDonald is bored with his life as a doctor and his wife and child and is craving adventure. When they meet Anton and Drew in Mexico after Anton saves Kel's life the adventurous spirit is ignited in Kel. Anton tells Kel about the lost city of Patiti and how he is planning an expedition to find the city.
Roll forward slightly, the adventure begins with a diverse group of characters meeting in Peurto Tordoya. The action comes thick and fast and even before the expedition begins one member of the group is injured and replaced which causes friction and provides the constant link back to an expedition, led by Dr Menendez, that went missing a few months previously.
The book has everything you could want in a suspense novel - death, danger, adversity and the classic "guess the bad guy". Everyone on the expedition has something to hide and is not telling the whole truth. Why did Dr Menendez and his group disappear? Was the vaccine programme for the Amazon-Indians a smokescreen for something else? Where are all the Indians and who is trying to stop anyone getting back to civilisation and why?
Harper keeps up the suspense and just when you think you know who is responsible for Anton's death the clues start pointing a different way. I will admit near the last few chapters when Kel is trying to keep a particular character from being rescued and leaving the jungle did not sit well with me and made me dislike Kel for playing God. Even after the team is rescued there is another twist which I did not see coming.
Overall a very good book, well written and I would certainly read another by this author. I read an uncorrected proof copy of the book so there may be some changes in the final published book which I am unaware of.
November 25, 2015
Yes, Harper is a good storyteller. His writing is engaging, accessible and easy to digest. He also has this rare ability of making the reader dislike the main character from the very first sentence - I'm still wondering whether it was done on purpose though (if yes, he probably deserves an extra star).
It's a good enough book for a long plane trip or a guilty pleasure weekend read, but it floated away from my mind the second I reached the end. Each character only has one distinctive feature and experiences no personal development throughout the book - and you would hope that a life-or-death Amazonian jungle experience would make people show more than just one side of their personality.
tl;dr - A literary equivalent of a burger - decent one, but still a burger.
It's a good enough book for a long plane trip or a guilty pleasure weekend read, but it floated away from my mind the second I reached the end. Each character only has one distinctive feature and experiences no personal development throughout the book - and you would hope that a life-or-death Amazonian jungle experience would make people show more than just one side of their personality.
tl;dr - A literary equivalent of a burger - decent one, but still a burger.
September 17, 2015
Review
Up until 2013 i had a bunch of Tom Harper books that i “intended to get around to reading”, but so many new books come out every year that reading my TBR of already released books is a pleasure i never seem to have time for. Then out came Orpheus Descent and i was hooked, this was fast followed by the fabulous Zodiac Station and Tom Harper joined the ranks of my guilty pleasure reads, after immersing myself for weeks on end in ancient Rome and Greece etc i need to break out and enjoy a full throttle thriller.
read the rest of the review: https://parmenionbooks.wordpress.com/...
Up until 2013 i had a bunch of Tom Harper books that i “intended to get around to reading”, but so many new books come out every year that reading my TBR of already released books is a pleasure i never seem to have time for. Then out came Orpheus Descent and i was hooked, this was fast followed by the fabulous Zodiac Station and Tom Harper joined the ranks of my guilty pleasure reads, after immersing myself for weeks on end in ancient Rome and Greece etc i need to break out and enjoy a full throttle thriller.
read the rest of the review: https://parmenionbooks.wordpress.com/...
October 8, 2015
Nicely written but not one of those that grips you to the end. I'd say take it on holiday and leave it for someone else to enjoy at the resort.
The characters were not really anyone you cared about - very un-dimensional and rather predictable - pretty ambitious girl, moody mysterious charismatic leader explorer, faithful and sensible husband type slightly tempted by pretty girl, various bad egg and good sorts mixed up on a trip up the Black River to find treasure basically.
Predictable and not a new formula - but nevertheless an engaging storyline which won't challenge your brain!
The characters were not really anyone you cared about - very un-dimensional and rather predictable - pretty ambitious girl, moody mysterious charismatic leader explorer, faithful and sensible husband type slightly tempted by pretty girl, various bad egg and good sorts mixed up on a trip up the Black River to find treasure basically.
Predictable and not a new formula - but nevertheless an engaging storyline which won't challenge your brain!
May 31, 2016
Tom Harper reminds me why I like adventure stories so much. Black River was brilliantly plausible and the details of the jungle - the insects, the heat, the absolute remoteness - made it incredibly real. I was so absorbed at one point I couldn't be certain whether I was reading a novel or a true story! If you enjoy adventure novels as much I do, then Harper's your man. He really knows his stuff.
June 22, 2016
Three and a half stars for this intriguing adventure that reminded me of my childhood reading Hammond Innes, Clive Cussler and Wilbur Smith. The premise is a strong one with Kel's everyman character a welcome protagonist opposite Anton's wild treasure hunter. Even though it takes a little while to get going, Tom ratchets up the pace enough as the bodies drop to keep you sufficiently on the edge of your seat.
June 2, 2016
Gripping from the very first page. I only stopped reading because my eyes were so sore, and I finished the rest first thing this morning :)
May 14, 2016
Good adventure thriller. Hope to read another by this author.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews