Area 291

by Jenny Ahmed

The ocean keeps its secrets. Secrets that are so terrifying, governments and religious leaders can’t even think about these secrets getting out. Area 291, just off the coast of Malibu, is one of the most restricted places on Earth. For centuries, this spot was ground zero for missing ships and planes.

Thousands of feet beneath the Pacific lies a structure that should not exist—endless corridors worn smooth by unseen passage, spires that hum with buried power, and chambers that feel as if they are watching. It has only one name, spoken quietly and always with fear.

Area 291 also goes by the innocent-sounding name of Sycamore Knoll. A restricted no-go site 6- 1/2 miles off the coast of Malibu lies an underground city that no humans have ever gone to Before.

Rachel Katz, Benjamin Levine, and Jasper Winston are three science-minded doctors, all of whom are unafraid to tell the truth to a world that does not know about the pending event, known only as The Harvest. When their paths converge at Sycamore Knoll, they uncover erased case files, vanished coastal communities, and a classified pattern recorded across centuries—an event known only as The Harvest.

What awaits in the abyss is not discovery. It is a remembrance. And it remembers us. Above the surface, governments silence witnesses and burn evidence. Below it, something vast and patient awakens, answering a signal older than civilization. Machinery stirs. Doors open. The schedule Approaches.

Rachel, Ben, and Jasper also confront the truth humanity was never meant to face as they descend into the depths: they guided, altered, and kept us. Not for enlightenment.

For collection.

People bury some secrets to protect the world. Others keep secrets because they are too terrified to face it.

Area 291 is a relentless science-fiction thriller of abyssal dread, government conspiracy, and the moment humanity finally understands it was never alone—

It was owned.

309 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Jenny Ahmed is the award-winning author of shocking dystopian science fiction, and political thrillers that grip readers from the first page and don't let go. She also writes empowering non-fiction for women, covering titles from survival and self-reliance to entrepreneurship with financial independence. Her fiction catalog includes By Dawn's Early Light, a heart pounding race against nuclear devastation that earned her the Gold Medal in the 2025 Literary Titan Book Awards; All the King's Men, a gripping political thriller that pulls readers deep into a web of corruption and betrayal in Washington, D.C; and the Burning Sky, a story of post-apocalyptic survival and the human series encourages women to take charge -- whether that means prepping their families for emergencies in The Tough Mama's Guide to Survival, or launching a business and building a financial freedom in Tough Mama's Mean Business: Dream Big.

Jenny has been featured in the NY Weekly, The New York Telegraph, Tampa Bay Observer, and on the Author Show.

Before turning to fiction, Jenny built a dynamic career as an ICU/ER nurse, earned a degree in genetics, studied astrobiology, and worked in law. A natural storyteller, she spent years as a copywriter and journalist before embracing her lifelong dream of becoming a novelist.

I am truly humbled that some fans thought enough of Utopia to nominate me for the Hugo Award! One thing I would like to share with my readers that I don't tell many people is that I am deaf. I haven't mastered sign language, but I am an expert lip reader. I wasn't born deaf. Before Covid happened, I had a very bad sinus infection. Driving home, I suddenly stopped hearing. I have 0% hearing in my left ear and 50% in the right. I do have a cochlear implant that helps. When people know that I am deaf I get treated differently and I don't like that.

She grew up on a farm in the south, where her imagination -- and three horses -- were her closest companions. Now based in New York City, Jenny is married with a vibrant family of grown children and grandchildren.

When she's not writing, Jenny indulges in an eclectic mix of hobbies, including quilting, fencing, piloting, playing the violin, and collecting Moser glass and Matryoshka dolls.

Reviews

[Dave Milbrandt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest evaluation of its merits.

I will begin this review by stating that Spoilers will be coming left, right and center, so, if you want to avoid them, let me summarize my thoughts here: for many and sundry reasons, I do not recommend this title.

Let the SPOILERS Begin:

Admission time, I made it through 86% of the book and the last half (or more) was on a speed read for the second half of the book.

First, A summary of the story is that scientists discover aliens coerced the Catholic Church to be part of a multi-century cover-up of an invasion of earth, manipulation of history and planned "harvesting" humanity. Our heroes are planning to overthrow the alien overseers with a massive document dump and flooding the airwaves with human creativity to counterbalance the cold logic of the aliens (there are elements of a communist utopia toward the end, but I might have lost some of the finer points). If you like that plot, then you will appreciate this story. I wasn't particularly a fan.

Second, beyond the story, the hard science slows down the average reader. The dialogue is stilted and the jargon-rich prose is turgid and often feels repetitive, when it's not actually repetitive. There are several places in the first half of the book where whole paragraphs (word or word, sentence for sentence) were copied from a couple pages over in a fashion that make the reader think either A) poor editing/proofreading was taking place, 2) AI was used in the creation of parts of this work. As a reader I am truly stumped and felt, at times, like I was losing my mind.

Third, and this is a minor point, I was not a fan of using real people and places in this story. I was expecting a futuristic tale and having Rob Lowe (who by all accounts seems like a wonderful fellow) mentioned in this work of fiction was jarring.

Please forgive the tone of my review. While some might light the story and the writing where I do not, the technical issues should be problematic for any reader. To be fair, she has written more novels than I, so perhaps she has found the key to success for which I am still searching.

[Lolli Woods]

I'm really sorry that I've had to DNF this at 25%. The premise was super interesting to me - it's something different and didn't sound like anything I've ever read before and I was excited to dive in (pun intended). Unfortunately, for me, we didn't gel. I found the first quarter of the book overly repetitive and very info-dumpy in a way that didn't flow. Like the author needed us to know the back story of this underwater structure from the outset and I would have much rather learnt about it as the story unfolded. I'm sure this will be work for some, but for me I'm afraid it did not.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Area 291. The bermuda triangle of the pacific. The final frontier actually on earth. An area that is both restricted and different. Something is there. And it needs to be found. Three scientists are going to find out what is there. First contact? From the distant past, otherworldly origin or both. What will happen when they find out? A thrilling read.