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Reliquary of the Dead
Winner of the 2025 Halloween Book Festival, Outstanding Creator Awards, PenCraft Award for Literary Excellence, IAN Book Awards, and The BookFest Awards.
Pierre Gulet, an eccentric and uniquely intuitive French archaeologist, is living in 25th century Egypt but is fixated on the past. After centuries, Egypt is still Egypt-the pyramids, the donkey carts, the unfinished high rises, the rancid stench of garbage, the systemic corruption. Pierre was excavating the find of a lifetime, a pre-dynastic temple beneath an Old Kingdom fortress, until he was called into the office of the Director of Antiquities who takes away his life's work, blacklists him, and drives him into exile onto a distant world, a small colony struggling for survival on the edge of outer space.
Pierre must now solve a mystery that has baffled traditional scientists for decades, an agricultural blight that has decimated the food supply of a colony on Gliese 832 c. Driven by a desire to make a discovery no one can take away from him, he must use his unique skills to save the future of a planet that is on the precipice of disaster. But as he seeks to uncover the truth, he is opposed by intransigent colonists, jealous predecessors, and an ancient power lurking deep in the earth. The more he discovers, the more he is vilified, and the more determined he becomes to discover what is at the heart of the blight. Should he fail, everyone in the colony dies.
RELIQUARY OF THE DEAD is the first book in the WAR OF THE GODS series, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones, and the cosmic mythos of the ancient Near East.
Pierre Gulet, an eccentric and uniquely intuitive French archaeologist, is living in 25th century Egypt but is fixated on the past. After centuries, Egypt is still Egypt-the pyramids, the donkey carts, the unfinished high rises, the rancid stench of garbage, the systemic corruption. Pierre was excavating the find of a lifetime, a pre-dynastic temple beneath an Old Kingdom fortress, until he was called into the office of the Director of Antiquities who takes away his life's work, blacklists him, and drives him into exile onto a distant world, a small colony struggling for survival on the edge of outer space.
Pierre must now solve a mystery that has baffled traditional scientists for decades, an agricultural blight that has decimated the food supply of a colony on Gliese 832 c. Driven by a desire to make a discovery no one can take away from him, he must use his unique skills to save the future of a planet that is on the precipice of disaster. But as he seeks to uncover the truth, he is opposed by intransigent colonists, jealous predecessors, and an ancient power lurking deep in the earth. The more he discovers, the more he is vilified, and the more determined he becomes to discover what is at the heart of the blight. Should he fail, everyone in the colony dies.
RELIQUARY OF THE DEAD is the first book in the WAR OF THE GODS series, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, Indiana Jones, and the cosmic mythos of the ancient Near East.
291 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2025
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
David A. Falk
5 books3 followersDavid A. Falk is the award-winning author of Reliquary of the Dead. He lives in Vancouver, Canada, and holds three master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Liverpool. He has published in lexicography, Bible interpretation, religious ritual, Egyptology, iconography, and archaeometallurgy. He has worked for over twenty years as a computer engineer for companies that include IBM, Oracle and Disney. He also composes music under the penname Velocirabbit.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 10, 2025
RotD is a fantastic book! If you like sci-fi mystery thrillers, this is not a book to pass on. It is such a page turner and honestly addicting. The plot is so original and engrossing, it’s such a breath of fresh air in the current market where everything feels so samey. I’m not a sci-fi mystery thriller person (more so action adventure), which shows just how awesome this book is. RotD is also very well written. The author blends sci-fi with history and archaeology so well, you feel like you’re learning along with the protagonist. I don’t want to spoil anything, because I want you to experience the same roller coaster of fun and mystique that I did reading this book the first and now the second time.
April 19, 2025
Reliquary of the Dead is a captivating start to a new science fiction series set in the 25th century. The protagonist is an Egyptologist named Pierre Gulet who winds up going to Gliese, an exoplanet where a colony of people from Earth has been established. There, he learns that things on the exoplanet are not going well and discovers some incredibly bizarre and interesting things. I found the book highly entertaining and especially enjoyed the ancient Egypt references throughout. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I am very much looking forward to reading the second book in a few months!
December 24, 2025
Hard to put it down
The intense plot will be like a thrilling futuristic movie playing in your head. The characters are relateable and you root for Pierre to find support and appreciation. in a community where it's hard to know who can be trusted. Highly enjoyed the advebture.
The intense plot will be like a thrilling futuristic movie playing in your head. The characters are relateable and you root for Pierre to find support and appreciation. in a community where it's hard to know who can be trusted. Highly enjoyed the advebture.
September 5, 2025
Positive: This is the first fiction book I’ve read in a long time, so take my opinion with a grain of salt as I forgot what to expect. The discovery aspect and the unfolding of the mystery was engaging enough to keep me reading. The world was interesting to learn more about. The book follows an Egyptologist and the author is one himself, ensuring that much of the archeological and anthropological talk and plot points are likely grounded in reality. I like the idea of ancient mythology having some truth in the story, and I wonder if the series will progress to have deeper Christian overtones in this respect. At several points the main characters express views that are at least compatible with a Christian worldview.
Negatives: As for some negatives, it took me about a quarter of the way in to really be interested. I was a little surprised at the cussing, knowing it came from a Christian author, but it wasn’t horribly overdone. Very few of the characters are particularly likable, especially at the beginning where everyone seems needlessly rude, but even towards the end. I mean, the main character doesn’t seem concerned at all that his closest ally had a mental break that required multiple weeks of isolation, and he doesn’t protest the need for this isolation to try to visit his friend. At several points it felt like the characters acted out of character or it felt like they were more caricatures than characters. The main character comes off as a physically weak dormat at first (which is fine), but then suddenly almost bludgeons someone to death and starts acting like a mobster. It becomes very obvious the main girl is romantically interested in the main character very early on, despite their interactions only being negative to that point, and the main character having no admirable qualities to speak of (at least at that point). The main villain seems comically evil at times in that he’s willing to put his own life and the life of the whole community at risk just to get rid of evidence he claims must be fraudulent, but any reasonable person would know could not be fraudulent. This motivation could be explained by events later in the story, but it still left me wondering about some things, like why the main character was worried about his reputation being ruined when the villain admitted in front of the whole colony that he destroyed the evidence (fraud or not). Overall, many of these concerns weren’t so bad if I just told myself that what I was reading was more like a comic book or anime than a novel, so maybe try going into it like that if you’re reading it. One last minor plothole that I just thought was funny is that you can apparently be reported for printing papers wastefully because the colony is so serious about using resources well, but the main character finds food scraps that were still edible on “most” of the food trays left in the mess hall.
Negatives: As for some negatives, it took me about a quarter of the way in to really be interested. I was a little surprised at the cussing, knowing it came from a Christian author, but it wasn’t horribly overdone. Very few of the characters are particularly likable, especially at the beginning where everyone seems needlessly rude, but even towards the end. I mean, the main character doesn’t seem concerned at all that his closest ally had a mental break that required multiple weeks of isolation, and he doesn’t protest the need for this isolation to try to visit his friend. At several points it felt like the characters acted out of character or it felt like they were more caricatures than characters. The main character comes off as a physically weak dormat at first (which is fine), but then suddenly almost bludgeons someone to death and starts acting like a mobster. It becomes very obvious the main girl is romantically interested in the main character very early on, despite their interactions only being negative to that point, and the main character having no admirable qualities to speak of (at least at that point). The main villain seems comically evil at times in that he’s willing to put his own life and the life of the whole community at risk just to get rid of evidence he claims must be fraudulent, but any reasonable person would know could not be fraudulent. This motivation could be explained by events later in the story, but it still left me wondering about some things, like why the main character was worried about his reputation being ruined when the villain admitted in front of the whole colony that he destroyed the evidence (fraud or not). Overall, many of these concerns weren’t so bad if I just told myself that what I was reading was more like a comic book or anime than a novel, so maybe try going into it like that if you’re reading it. One last minor plothole that I just thought was funny is that you can apparently be reported for printing papers wastefully because the colony is so serious about using resources well, but the main character finds food scraps that were still edible on “most” of the food trays left in the mess hall.
April 26, 2025
Compelling collision of worlds, both past and future!
SUMMARY: It gripped my mind and expanded my imagination each of the 3 times I’ve read it. The first time, I stayed up past 3 AM to finish it because not knowing what would happen next was unacceptable. The second, I read closely, savoring it while looking for any hints, breadcrumbs or foreshadowing I missed. For my 3rd, I was fortunate to be re-reading it having already read book 2, “All The Stars As Angels” as a beta reader, and my enjoyment was only elevated by knowing what is coming. It is clear that Falk has expansive plans for his characters and the future worlds they live on, and I don’t regret buying the hardback edition one bit.
In-Depth:
The plot lives up to the promises of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery and adventure with a side of cosmic horror.
As to themes, that over-emphasizing “getting along” at the cost of truth leads to apathy, and apathy to utter destruction. It examines the unnecessary battle between hard sciences and humanities (“Why not both?”, as Tony Stark would say). How “mathematical models are only as good as our knowledge of the variables.” And how humanity’s perception of their status and place in the universe is precariously one discovery by a fed-up Frenchman on a distant exoplanet away from being irrevocably toppled… and transformed.
Characters: So realistic they will likely remind you of people you know, for better or for worse!
Protagonist Pierre Gulet is both sympathetic AND annoying. You cheer for him, AND he makes you facepalm. What I like about that, though, is that it is not easy to predict what he will do. And when he does rise to challenges successfully, it is so satisfying. No Gary Stu, here.
The side characters are each interesting in their own way, with diverse nationalities, occupations, personalities and physical descriptions, and they realistically range from kids to octogenarians. Some people had to win me over; others I loved the whole way through.
I don’t want to say too much about antagonists, though there is one in particular that inspired visceral hatred. Think Delores Umbridge levels. I’ll let you figure out who that is.
Pacing: Brisk to FAST. Once we are introduced to Gulet and his predicament, the story quickly gets going and then never lets up, not even on the final page!
Content advisory, IMO: PG-13 for language and cosmic-horror, but nothing gratuitous.
Verdict: 10/10, would recommend, have already gifted it to someone as well, with more in mind. Will pre-order book two as soon as it’s available, because this series is going on the shelf, not the tablet!
SUMMARY: It gripped my mind and expanded my imagination each of the 3 times I’ve read it. The first time, I stayed up past 3 AM to finish it because not knowing what would happen next was unacceptable. The second, I read closely, savoring it while looking for any hints, breadcrumbs or foreshadowing I missed. For my 3rd, I was fortunate to be re-reading it having already read book 2, “All The Stars As Angels” as a beta reader, and my enjoyment was only elevated by knowing what is coming. It is clear that Falk has expansive plans for his characters and the future worlds they live on, and I don’t regret buying the hardback edition one bit.
In-Depth:
The plot lives up to the promises of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery and adventure with a side of cosmic horror.
As to themes, that over-emphasizing “getting along” at the cost of truth leads to apathy, and apathy to utter destruction. It examines the unnecessary battle between hard sciences and humanities (“Why not both?”, as Tony Stark would say). How “mathematical models are only as good as our knowledge of the variables.” And how humanity’s perception of their status and place in the universe is precariously one discovery by a fed-up Frenchman on a distant exoplanet away from being irrevocably toppled… and transformed.
Characters: So realistic they will likely remind you of people you know, for better or for worse!
Protagonist Pierre Gulet is both sympathetic AND annoying. You cheer for him, AND he makes you facepalm. What I like about that, though, is that it is not easy to predict what he will do. And when he does rise to challenges successfully, it is so satisfying. No Gary Stu, here.
The side characters are each interesting in their own way, with diverse nationalities, occupations, personalities and physical descriptions, and they realistically range from kids to octogenarians. Some people had to win me over; others I loved the whole way through.
I don’t want to say too much about antagonists, though there is one in particular that inspired visceral hatred. Think Delores Umbridge levels. I’ll let you figure out who that is.
Pacing: Brisk to FAST. Once we are introduced to Gulet and his predicament, the story quickly gets going and then never lets up, not even on the final page!
Content advisory, IMO: PG-13 for language and cosmic-horror, but nothing gratuitous.
Verdict: 10/10, would recommend, have already gifted it to someone as well, with more in mind. Will pre-order book two as soon as it’s available, because this series is going on the shelf, not the tablet!
May 5, 2025
Set hundreds of years in the future, an Egyptologist must travel to a new colony on a distant planet to help them discover the cure to a blight that has left the small population on the brink of starvation. In doing so, he will uncover a dark and ancient secret that threatens to re-emerge and bring devastation and ruin to the entire galaxy.
Dr. Falk has crafted an immersive and captivating story. His experience as a teacher shines through as he describes complex topics related to history, archeology, and various sciences in a believable way that widens the imagination. The story is left on a well-placed cliffhanger that will leave you eager to pick up the next book!
Dr. Falk has crafted an immersive and captivating story. His experience as a teacher shines through as he describes complex topics related to history, archeology, and various sciences in a believable way that widens the imagination. The story is left on a well-placed cliffhanger that will leave you eager to pick up the next book!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews