The Daredevils’ Club ARTIFACT

by Kevin J. Anderson

Six adrenalin junkies who call themselves the Daredevils Club hold the fate of the world in their hands. In an ancient undersea cavern, one of them, oil man Frik van Alman, discovers a set of stones that are unlike anything else on Earth. Fitted together, the stones form an object that promises limitless free energy for the world. After a terrified scientist scatters the pieces, the club members race to retrieve them. Each knows that whoever reassembles the unique device will have unlimited power at his or her fingertips. Can anyone be trusted? In a thrilling adventure that stretches from deep beneath the Caribbean to the penthouses of Las Vegas, friend battles friend for control of the Artifact.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Thriller, Ebooks

311 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Yes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.

I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.

I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.

Reviews

[Jim]

For the most part--boring. I expected more from a book by four authors, including Kevin Anderson.

[Wayne]

I would have to say this book was not bad. Unfortunately, the best part of it, for which I kept reading despite lack of interest, was in the last two pages. Now, I am interested and want to read further, because the book finally went where I had expected it to go much earlier. As it was, the book, while decently written and with a generous amount of action, was just a prelude to the last two pages. Oh well. I would recommend it, but if you have anything else on your shelf you have the least interest in, read those first...

[Michael Hall]

The so-called Daredevils Club in this book was dull and boring, much like the story itself. The plot centered around acquiring the mysterious stone artifacts almost kept things moving, but nothing of any real import happened until the final pages of the book despite the action that did take place. The characters themselves were memorable and somewhat interesting, but their actions were uninspiring. It is interesting to note that four different authors collaborating on Artifact and that you couldn't tell them apart. Overall this book did not make much of an impression on me.

[Lucia Culpepper]

None of the characters grabbed me much. I mostly kept reading to find out what the artifact did, and then got disappointed at the end with that resolution. Not to mention that halfway into the book all the way until the climax started up, the chapters were loads of filler, random details of everyday lives and actions, with a tiny hook of plot happening in the last page or two. For a good quarter of the book. It got really boring.

[T.S.S. Fulk]

An okay book.

The beginning was overly machoistic (it is set in Latin America) and the entire book fails the Bechtel-Wallace test. The idea of the artifact kept me interested enough in the book the keep reading, so I was utterly disappointed in the ending (no spoilers—but it was very anti-climatic). It made the entire reading seem like a big waste of time.

[Nick]

Pathetic ending.

[NullusAnxietus]

I got about half way through this before I put it down out if disinterest.
Nothing much happens, it's fairly dull and bland.

[Joanne]

While the premise of the story had potential, I didn't like the way the book was written. I thought it was disjointed. The last few pages of the book were the best part.

[Anthony Faber]

Pretty dreadful extra-terrestrial thriller, Cardboard characters, implausible situations & stuff that's just not correct.

[David]

Abandoned this at >60% and still not sure why I persisted so long grr

[Brett Grossmann]

If there was some f Paul Wilson in this book I didn’t read it. Boring

[Gilda Felt]

The book actually revolves more around the men of the “Daredevils Club,” a group of men of which Frik is a member, who try to outdo each other in “deeds of daring.” He enlists their help in order to find the missing stones.

I don’t know if Wilson is swayed when writing with other authors, but I’ve noticed that these collaborations are heavy with testosterone. Most of the characters, who are mostly men, are adrenaline junkies, and are also adamantly single. The one time that threatens to change, well, you can pretty much see what’s coming. THey’re all pretty two dimensional.

At the same time, the only character who is at all rounded out is Peta Whyte, a medical doctor who has known the men since she was a girl.

The book is somewhat entertaining, But it does bog down in parts. The encounters between the “good” and “bad” guys are detailed blow by blow and there’s quite a bit of filler. So, yeah, just an okay book.

[Kristin Lundgren]

Great story about some mysterious stones that lie deep in the ocean, and the race to connect them. Some great characters, and it's hard to tell it was written by four people.

[Julie]

my book only has 308 pages, not 320.

[Ron Judenberg]

to-read

[elsalmon L]

Daredevils battle among themselves for control of an object of unlimited power.