When friends Simon and Jack travel to Europe for a groundbreaking science experiment, they have no idea their world is about to shatter.
Targeted by a shadowy online cult known as the Listeners, Simon finds that unraveling a thousand-year-old mystery is no longer just an academic challenge—it's a fight for survival.
Soon, they must confront a chilling everything they believed about the world might be a lie. The Eternal Lie.
T.S. Falk's The Eternal Lie delivers a high-octane blend of historical conspiracy and bleeding-edge science.
The plot hits the ground running when best friends, Simon and Jack fly to Europe for a cutting-edge science experiment, only to find themselves targeted by a terrifying online cult known as the Listeners.
Falk excels at pacing, creating a pan-European manhunt that taps brilliantly into modern anxieties regarding digital surveillance and algorithmic control.
The momentum never falters as the narrative pits the protagonists against both the pervasive digital threat of the Listeners and the relentless pursuit of an antagonist known as The Zealot.
The story weaponizes technical paranoia and hidden, ancient secrets to keep the pages turning at breakneck speed.
Ultimately, this first installment of the Secret History trilogy is a highly entertaining popcorn read. It provides a fun, conspiracy-laden ride driven by a massive "what if" scenario, making it ideal for a weekend (or week day) binge.
well written: Disapointed with the shallow character development
headline said it all. the rejationship between the three protagonists is way less than credible. Try again. Do a little better. it’s as though you were tired at the end. Anything more would spoil it for your readers.
More a techno-thriller than a sci-fi novel, but a very interesting story nonetheless. Someone has been try to kill Simon Jones for years, since he first graduated high school. Now an academician and self-confessed computer nerd, Simon enters a contest that pits an AI system designed to verify historical records against a trained historian. Soon, he finds some kind of conflict in the records that indicate forgeries and the possibility of hundreds of years of “invented” history. The attempts on his life start coming from every direction. Mix in a secret cult, their leader, the Zealot, and a secret government agency willing to use Simon as bait and you get an action packed story that keeps you wondering what happens next. What Simon and his friends find is world-shattering, should be impossible, but explains a lot of what happened centuries before and currently. I took off a star for some poor editing. In multiple places, paragraphs seemed to repeat what was in the previous paragraph, with some words different but whole sentences the same. Seemed like one of the paragraphs should have been removed.
The Eternal Lie, the first book in a new trilogy, tells about a student named Simon Jones, people keep trying to kill him, but he doesn't know why. A cult leader who claims to be a time traveler, who calls himself the Zealot, wants him dead. Summoned to Europe to attempt to use a new AI tool to prove or disprove the 'Phantom Time' conspiracy while working against another student,Isabella, whose area of study is history, where Simon's background is in machine learning and AI. Simon is wildly ahead when he finds something he can't prove and it might prove the theory. The action comes fast, with Listeners coming at Simon from every direction with only Jack and Isabella to help him. As they close in on an area where the truth might be found, multiple threats converge. The book has the outstanding writing found in anything Falk writes, with a fascinating plot, complex, believable characters, great narration and excellent descriptions of every event, environment and character. Overall, 5/5 stars, highly recommended to fans of sci-fi, thrillers and authors like Douglas Preston!
Wow, just wow! T.S. Falk has written a blockbuster of a Science Fiction Thriller!
This insidious, winding plot will creep into your evening and scare the pants off of you while you're slowly questioning reality.
I'm going to have to reread this book after I take some time to stop examining the ears of everyone in my space. LoL, you are going to have to read this book to understand that feeling.
A very promising book. I would probably have given it 5 stars if it weren’t for the fact that the author clearly didn’t have it properly proofread. Clearly no beginner to writing, it’s very disappointing that several times a character did the exact same thing twice, maybe one or two paragraphs apart, just because the author clearly copied the sentence to a different location where he probably felt it worked better.
To be honest, this almost only happens in the last third of the book, as if Falk was in a hurry to finish, but all those mistakes should have been easily caught by a competent proofreader.
I actually had a little trouble getting into the book at first. It might have been better if Falk had put the start of Simon's and Jack's friendship as a flashback.
Anyway, once that introduction was made, the book took off. And it was a real ride. And this type of action, adventure, science fiction is not my main reading habit. But I have read and watched science fiction since Johnny Quest.
Is the premise improbable? Sure. Isn't most science fiction? Is it believable? Well Mr. Falk writes well enough to suspend disbelief for the duration of the novel. And there are two more books in the series. So, I have to read them, because this one was that good.
Holy moly! I literally drop whatever I am currently reading when a T.S. Falk book comes out. That good. Every time. Always delivers the fire prose and a storyline that leaves you wanting the next book. Characters you root for and sceneries that blow your mind and expand your world. Hella timely, informative, and engaging. Love this author. Can you tell? Can’t wait for the next book. Raving fan.
Not a bad book. The story does not make much sense. The characters are not too likable. But yet it keeps the readers interested and the twists make it readable. The bad guy was, surprisingly, the most likable character in the book. The whole thing reads like written for a teenager audience.
I noticed a follow up (part 2) has been released by the author but I don't plan on reading it as I tend to prefer self-contained stories since sequels typically get consistently worse.
History repeats itself. Never mind who the winners wrote it: the same errors were repeated along the millennia, time travel permitted or not. This novel moves the protagonists through wear and tear, running from danger to more dangerous situations without letting their arms down. Thank you, Mr. Falk for a very pleasurable reading.
Sounds like the start of a new series. And an interesting one indeed. A cult like group, phantom time, a sociopath, and possibly even time travel involving an early pope. A thrilling and fascinating adventure with new characters and some previous ones playing a supporting role. It does not disappoint!
T.S. Falk in my humble opinion is one of my favorite authors right now. His stories are always compelling without having to use a ton of "romance novel" drivel to enhance the narrative. Always enjoy seeing a new title from him that I haven't read yet. The "Apocrypha" series was extremely good. Good Day, n Reads ...
Fun read to what appears to be good series. The characters were fleshed out by the end of the story. The story was fast moving with some good details. It kept me reading late in the night to finish.
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. It touches on a lot of topics, like archeology, and time travel and manages to leave things muddled enough to wonder if there is a sequel coming.
This book was action from page one to the end, couldn't put it down and hated that it ended. Can't wait start book two. A great cast of characters, loved them all. I recommend reading this to all that love fiction.
After a slow start this author showed his expertise in keeping the story moving at a good pace. Have read several books by this author and they never disappoint. Looking forward to the next in this series.
I found this book quite intriguing. It is the type of book that keeps you on your toes through the entire story. Well written and draws you into the characters.