Sub-Sahara

by Ethan Arkwright

In this military thriller, a freak storm reveals a city hidden deep under the largest sand dunes of the Sahara. A silver pyramid at the centre of the city is emitting a strange energy signal. The race is on to secure the energy source and other treasures of the city. James Cavill and his team of private Special Forces are charged to get there first and secure the treasure for the benefit of all humanity – little do they know what they’ve just walked into…

Genres: Thriller

284 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2016

About the author

Ethan Arkwright has lived in three countries, has travelled through sixty-three, and has had many crazy adventures along the way. He has gone bungee jumping, has skydived, and walked on fire, and he is a black belt in tae kwon do. He now spends his time injecting his experiences into stories. He studied English and marketing at university before becoming a senior executive for a Fortune 500 company. He is also an accomplished musician, and when he’s not writing, he’ll be found playing his beloved Les Paul guitar. Sub-Sahara is his first novel.

www.ethanarwkright.com

Reviews

[Paul III · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It had all the hall marks for a suspenseful read. There were private security companies, mercenaries, former service members; good guys, and bad guys. Your good guys like Cavill were good, and your bad guys like Lockyer were bad. You knew who to root for, and knew who to hate! The use of modern military technology, gear, terms, and operations was a nice touch. The fight scenes were great! Aerial, on ground, under ground, in moving vehicles, stand off, indirect, close quarters, hand to hand… You get it all, and it’s realistic! All I have to say is, Willy Pete!

The story was action packed, as it should be when you have former SF/SOF guys going up against each other. Especially when they have private security/defense industry money to back them up. The story was also compelling for me because I’m a Marine Veteran and also a person who used to work in the defense industry sector in the Middle East. I wasn’t private security, but did work on several contracts alongside private security companies. All I have to say is that the friction and attitudes are real! Good and bad guys join the military and good and bad guys use their military backgrounds to get jobs in the private security sector. Even on the same sides, people bump heads. The tension between Cavill and Lockyer, and what happened in their past to create that tension was intriguing. Justice is served!

The setting for the story fascinated me. I’m a fan of ancient ruins and prehistoric sites, and have visited a few myself. I’d love to see a second book with the ancient city explored, and described. Was it Egyptian, or a precursor civilization to the Egyptians? What did they do with the discovery in their day? What will Stratton do with the discovery? The story had closure, but I can see a sequel spawning from this story. Also, I won’t post a spoiler, but who originally found the site and built the scaffolding/shipping containers as seen on the cover? That was surprising! I would never have expected them to have found it. Imagine seeing that blast from the past in the containers!

Overall, this was a great story. It was fast paced and the good guys were up against great odds. There was subterfuge, you didn’t know who to trust, and there was plenty of twists. The diagrams in the book were awesome and the cover looked good. If you like a good military thriller with former Special Forces/Special Operations Forces/Direct Action guys, I recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Celeste Son · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible story and just a great book. I could not tear myself away from this book for a second until I finished reading. The story is simply amazing - there are a lot of events that are developing at an incredible speed, well-thought-out characters and more. I really liked the idea of combining genres. And of course, the eternal classic: the good guys against the bad guys. I look forward to the continuation of this story and other books by Ethan Arkwright!

[Gillian Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gifted this book by the author via Voracious Readers.

This was a roller coaster read with a good plot and great characters. Enjoyed it.

[John Karlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is s good one!

Wow, fast pace! Good story line , interesting characters and very fast moving - finished in one day. Screams of sequels and know there's one more.

[Edward V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh Excitement

Although initially the impression is of well used theme, the characters are developed quickly and the excitement is always on. Looking forward to the next book.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Enjoyed the book. Easy read just wished a little more background about the pyramid and the village. Will read other books by author.

[Linda Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sub-Sahara

Really enjoyed this book....Loved the characters of the Cavil's team...Lots of action and a really good adventure story...Can't wait for the next book

[Angela Kalnins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sub-Sahara
By: Ethan Arkwright
Genre: Action/Adventure

James Cavill and his team of highly militant private soldiers must be the first to reach a newly discovered ancient city—hidden for centuries beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert, revealed by a freak hurricane (in the desert!!)—and take from within the silver pyramid at its center what appears to be an eternal self-sustaining energy source before anyone else. They face ancient booby traps, unethical archeologists, spies and other special forces some with murder on their minds.

My husband is a HUGE fan of this kind of fiction. Jack Reacher, Dirk Pitt, Jason Bourne and James Bond, these are his favorite types of heroes. THIS story—Sub-Sahara—would be just his cup of tea (and it will be; I’ve told him he MUST read it). But, me…not so much.

HOWEVER, I started reading it and fell into this story head-first and could not put it down!

It is a thriller in the first degree from page one to page 239 (the end). I couldn’t stop turning pages! I just had to know what happens next.

James Cavill is ALMOST an anti-hero. He knows what he wants to do—get to the energy source with as few casualties as possible—but, if he must sacrifice a civilian or two to keep his men safe…well, it’s all in a day’s work. Still, I found myself rooting for him and wanting him to win. As other nations and other special forces arrive at the hidden city—with the same goal as Cavill—all hell breaks loose!

The story is well crafted (even if it is a little implausible) and the writing is excellent. Mr. Arkwright’s characters are fully realized and completely believable. I am totally impressed with his work and hope to see more of it in the future.

I’ve been sitting here in front of my PC TRYING to find something about which to complain—fair and balanced reviewing and all that.

I suppose if I absolutely had to come up with something I would have to say that the background of the hidden city isn’t really explored at all. We don’t know who built it, when, why or how. BUT…I guess I didn’t REALLY need to know all that because not knowing certainly didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story. It’s a great book and I liked it immensely.

I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys action/adventure and to people like me who just want to step out of their comfort zone every now and again.

[Jacques Coulardeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

BREXIT IN THE HEART AND SOUL

What a book! The story is crazy and utopian but that’s beside the point I want to make. You will love that utopian battle for some extraterrestrial source of energy that has such an immense life span that we cannot even predict its end. Beautiful. And it comes from under the sand of the Sahara, like oil and natural gas, from a city that was still there in the 1950s built around a metal pyramid that contained this supreme source of energy praised, cherished and adored like a god by the people who accepted to die in the room where it was exposed due to some ultrafine invisible deadly poisonous sand or dust. The role of the Nazi is purely secondary and some kind of romantic fallback to the standard evil symbol.

But the book deals with geopolitical global considerations that are surprising in many ways.

A British private though connected to some state services group of adventurers financing some archaeological venture in the south of the Sahara, in Niger precisely, get informed that a hurricane has completely uncovered an ancient city with a metal pyramid in the middle and that they are proceeding to it and the obviously added containers around the midriff of this pyramid. The main archaeologist plays it double and informs a competing but absolutely violent and uncontrollable group to sell her discovery to the better bidder.

The British team then encounters various groups and have to defeat them in some twelve hours or so. First the Chinese attack even before the British team reaches its destination. They are fast and radical but they are defeated of course; Isn’t it natural? Good riddance. Apart from the fact it is not exactly what the Chinese are doing, military intervention and strikes to destroy any competitor, it is funny how nasty this quick episode is and there is no explanation of how they managed to be informed about the move of this private secret British team: there is always a fink or a fissure in all secure situation. Sad, as Trump would tweet.

Then they are confronted to the challenging violent brutal competitor, Titan. But the British team is so naïve that they do not even see that their intervention as Red Cross doctors is a loincloth on the aggressive intent of these Titan assassins. In the meantime they have to defeat a detached unit from the Nigerian army. Easy again, since the Nigerian army is both underequipped and not very brave.

The Titan team, which is only a vanguard, creates havoc but the British team is more creative and they of course manage to take over the whole situation and control the next stage. The only thing they get out of this is that Titan had been informed by one of the members of the initial archaeological team, and this understanding is going to be essential since they have to make sure the betrayal will not succeed and that the source of energy they will recuperate will remain in their own hands. It is in fact the leader of the initial archaeological team who is the double agent, hence the finkish traitor to the people who paid for her initial venture. She is a stoolie canary in other words.

Then they enter the pyramid and have to go through all kinds of traps to recuperate the source of energy that contains an element that is unknown and hence is extraterrestrial, if that is possible, but let’s suspend our disbelief. While the leader of the British team is liquidating the remnants of the initial Titan team, the team inside the pyramid is successful and manages to find their way out in tunnels, after they have been rejoined with their boss who can take over the last leg of the operation.

When they come out they find the Nigerian army, with the French Foreign Legion as their main supporters, in fact their real bosses, and behind a second Titan team that has come to recuperate the source of energy. These Titan people cause a stir that eliminates half the Nigerian army and the French Foreign Legion, as well as half of their own members.

Of course the British team who had managed to securely hide the source of energy in the underground escaping tunnels, fools everyone and distributes the fake source of energy in a certain number of lead containers whose content is verified to be highly radioactive, let’s be NBC for a minute, and the party poopers all go away with their prizes. Unluckily for them these lead containers contain a tracker and as soon as the various parties are gone drones take off from the top of the pyramid, or so, and destroy all the outgoing convoys, except one on the Titan side because they had two vehicles but only one lead container. So the British team picks the real source of energy from where it was hidden and they chase the Titan team, save the only survivor and use their plane to go back to Europe with the promise of paying the mercenaries and releasing them as soon as they arrive in their first stop in Libya, with no strings attached.

Mind you the Americans are only mentioned because they are the worst of them all since they will probably arrive on the site but when everything has been cleaned up and after the battle. The Americans are not ready to become great again, if they ever do.

Conclusion. The Chinese go fast and are first but they are defeated in two seconds. Then the locals, the Nigerians, are ineffective and not very courageous. Then an alternative competing hostile British team using mercenaries is really subtler than the central British private team and fools them at least two or three times but are defeated in the end and their boss is deep-fried in phosphorous. A hot burning hot ending for a man used to massive killings. Then the Nigerian army and their “allies” the French Foreign Legion are just ineffective and easy to fool both by Titan who is following just behind them and by the British team who is just setting a plate of goodies in front of the greedy Frenchies. Should I say it is a plate of French fries with frog legs? I guess I could. And the Americans are the final and totally ineffective dummies who come last for sure and only get the bones of the turkey that everyone else ate, stuffing, dressing and all side dishes, before the Americans were able to even approach the site. Thanksgiving is no longer what it used to be.

Thanks goodness! Only the British people are on top, provided they are on the side of the official state system, but governed by private enterprise imagination and creativity. In other words, only the British can dominate the world if they are deeply and resolutely Brexiteers. And Brexiteers they are, ending their adventure in some kind of all male gentry club on Pall Mall in London drinking some good spirit and smoking some Havana cigars. Maybe that aspect is a little bit excessive and nostalgic, nostalgic of the good old Empire time when there was only one other empire, the French colonial empire. It did not last very long from WW1 to WW2 and we know the catastrophic result of this rivalry. The British will always dream of the world as an eternal and repetitive Falklands campaign.

Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book! It was action packed from beginning to end with lots of fascinating characters. I especially loved the archaeologic aspects of the book and it's unique setting with the lost city and the silver Pyramid filled with a mysterious energy force. The other reviewers have already gone through the story line...so I won't...but I will say I think this book could be a great movie! I hope Ethan Arkwright will be successful and writes more exciting books! I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review...and I was very happy to read it!

[Bill · Rating 1 out of 5]

A billionaire who apparently knows what’s best for the world hires a team of mercenaries who have become tired of how other mercenaries operate above the law and with total disregard for human life and with an interest only in profit. They call them selves “Special Forces For Good”, SFFG for short in case you couldn’t figure that out. The sub plot about the mysterious energy source is irrelevant, forget it. The entire thing is a shoot out between SFFG and the Titans who are the bad guys because, well just because.
The Special Forces For Good are tough hombres, we know this because they say so and will kill anyone, even civilians if they get in their way. Never mind the hypocrisy.Bullets are fired and lots of running around in tunnels that always dead end but thankfully SFFG has an unlimited supply of cool things that explode and bust down walls that lead to more dead end tunnels. Then even more bad guys come and finally, miraculously and thankfully enough people are killed and the story ends.

[Vera mallard · Rating 4 out of 5]

STORY-LINE SUB-SAHARA BY ETHAN ARKWRIGHT:

A team excavating an ancient well, finds themselves in the middle of a super-storm. When it's all over, what they see boggles the imagination. The sands of the Sahara moved, revealing a silver pyramid giving off an energy signal. The race's on to acquire this new and mysterious source of energy.

James Cavil and his team of elite private soldiers, given the mission to get there first and acquire this source for humanity, finds this easier said than done. Forces are in place to stop them. My military thriller book review of Sub-Sahara follows.

CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, DEVELOPMENT:

Ethan Arkwright crafted a fast paced roller coaster ride filled with twists and turns in Sub-Sahara. Who is friend, who is foe? Arkwright had me guessing throughout the book. If you are looking for romance, this book's not for you. However, if you are looking for an action filled military suspense thriller, grab this book and get ready for an adventure. Arkwright began his book as he intended to continue as he took me through Cavil's mission.

In the same vein as Dirk Pitt and Jack Reacher, hero's come in all shapes, sizes, and nationalities. Home base in England, rather than America, it was nice to see the fight of good versus evil from another countries perspective. There's lots of shooting, blowing up things, battles, and typical action found in a military suspense thriller. Sub-Sahara kept me glued to the pages; an entertaining fast paced read.

I found the pace fast and furious, with well-developed characters, and an intriguing story-line; I loved the closeness of Cavil's unit; as well as, the drawing Arkwright included which were informative when following Cavil's team through the site. I also appreciated that every other word was not the typical military cuss words. Even though I would have liked a more detailed look at the pyramid and description of its past, I found the story line's not actually about the pyramid itself, but what Cavil's team must go through to acquire the energy source. I would not hesitate to buy this book for my self or a friend.

SUB-SAHARA RECOMMENDATION: STARS: 4

FINALLY PLEASE NOTE:
Additionally, I borrowed the book from kindle unlimited, as well as, receiving a copy of the book from the author. I chose to voluntarily review the book with an honest military suspense thriller book review. Lastly, book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion. Consequently, all book reviews on-line and on my blog, are my opinions. No one influenced my voluntary military suspense thriller book review.

[CA Portnellus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out with a great mystery, something ancient, maybe evil lurking under the sands of the Sahara desert for thousands of years. Then whoops! The mercenary forces of many factions and local armies swoop in and try to kill each other. What the heck! What begins then as a rescue mission to retrieve archeologists and scientists ends up a slaughter and a greed fest. Loyalties are skewed and betrayals loom large. I was fascinated at first by the premise then spending 3/4 of the book in military fighting and petty grievances and revenge, we are abruptly brought to the end, with no real pay off. The relic is now something else and no cares about the pyramid half destroyed after battle. Of course there will be another sequel dealing with the mysterious artifact. This wasn't Raiders of the Lost Ark, where at least the ark is lost in a government store house and some finality to the story is at hand. But the author drop kicks us alongside the goal post for an anticlimactic end.
I did not appreciate the few bits that must have been pulled from internet pages as there were hyperlinks embedded in several words, and not even words that were key or as quotes.
The novel was action filled and fun, suspenseful, but went nowhere, like a blast in our face and no resolution. No real reason for the find in the desert. Wahhh! I wanted there to be more. The characters read like paper dolls and G.I. Joes, no real feelings for them. A quick read like 7-11 nachos, fast food and no glory.

[Jane Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The opening chapters to Sub-Sahara by Ethan Arkwright are promising. As I woman, I love to read about a strong female protagonist and was pleased to see that the lead archaeologist on the verge of discovery was Rebecca Grainger. Disappointingly, she becomes incidental to the story and the mystery around the dig fizzles out.

In short, the story is about the discovery of a new energy source that "could change the course of history" and the race to retrieve it. The "good guys," a special forces team lead by Cavill, fight other mercenaries. In the rush to the endgame, the team uses all sorts of modern-day warfare.

If you like action-adventure a la the Indiana Jones genre, the first ten chapters will have you in suspense. If you like reading action-filled military books, the second part of the book will be a thriller for you.

[Jay Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the blurb for this book. once delivered, I started reading and could not put it down until I hit the end. Wow! A hidden city, a strange energy source, a stranded team of archeologists, and private mercenary armies and national armies all fighting each other. The writing is crisp and quickly draws the reader in. The characters are stereotypes of scientists, mercenaries, hustlers and archeologists. The plot is thickened by a long-standing vendetta between two of the mercenary leaders and an unidentified saboteur. The main characters fall into enough danger to keep the suspense level high, and not all of them make it. Whether it is hidden tunnels, Nazis or poison dust, this book is full of items to admire. I am happy to have read it. I want more like this!

[Wayne McKinstry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sub-Sahara is a fast-paced thriller with lots of action. There is lots of shooting and explosions, and the men are all experts in all sorts of weapons. What’s not to love.
There is just a hint of Sci-Fi, with a pyramid found in the Sahara, which had previously been explored by the Nazis.

I could have used a little more depth in the characters, what were their thoughts and feelings. But it was a great read with lots of action.

[Jacquelyn Henson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ancient city and the militaristic, adventure themes are what I need. I just adore fast-paced events, courageous and strong cool guys and many breathtaking events, dangers and difficulties. Sub-Sahara by Ethan Arkwright is great. I am a big fan of Ethan Arkwright's work. This book is another proof that Ethan is a very talented writer. Recommended to read this book to all. I am sure that you will get great pleasure.

[Readsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting, fast paced adventure similar to books by James Rollins, Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. Looking forward to finding out what direction the author is going to take with the next book in the trilogy.

[Elaine Gardiner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am disappointed! I wanted to read more about the pyramid. Very little was about it. It was all fighting and killing each other. I guess it would of been good if I was into that kind of thing but I would of enjoyed learning about that energy force and the history.

[Sheila Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You thought you knew everything about the Sahara desert ! Well think again.

What is a well doing in the desert anyway. Then ask yourself what is a category 5 or above hurricane in the Sahara. All of this does not add up. But does it !

[Harold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action-packed

Action-packed, exciting, interesting story. This is one of those books that you can't wait to see how it ends, but are sorry you're finished. It would make a fantastic movie.

[Ezra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak plot with under developed characters

Quick read with little plot or character development. Unfortunately also suffers from multiple editing mistakes. May appeal to someone purely after a novel with action and violence that can be finished in one or two sittings.

[claire martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this from voracious readers.

What an amazing first novel.
Action packed from the get go. Lots of twists and turns but I felt a few of the characters could have been developed a bit more.

A quick and easy read that was action packed and fast paced.

[Carol Fifner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Premise of the story was great, but not impressed with the follow through. If you like books with mercenaries, lots of shooting then this is a book for you. I on the other hand would have liked to see more focus on the original premise of the story.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read! Sometimes when a book has a "military" tag, I'm afraid it will just end up being gun porn but no worries here. I loved the archaeology as well as the weather weirdness that set the whole thing up. All I can say is, there had better be a sequel.

[Philip Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good romp

Good fast paced storyline more military than archaeological given the setting, hopefully there'll be a sequel to clear up a few things,enjoyed it.

[Jane Mercer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much military action not enough adventure

[Mary Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW

Lots of action, just what I needed. Who are you to say I need to add 13 more words to this review?? Bad practice for you and the authors

[Claire Heaford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

First book I've read by this author and really enjoyed it. Great story line and plenty of action. Recommend it.

[Gary E Waples · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

Wow, twists and turns throughout. It kept me company on a long flight, and I just had to finish it before hitting the sack.