The Truth

Area 51 #7

by Robert Doherty (Pseudonym), Bob Mayer

At last, we will learn the truth about humankind’s origins...
But do we really want to know?

The Ark of the Covenant ... Excalibur...The Holy Grail ... Finally, the world’s legendary artifacts have been unearthed, their secret powers revealed. Now, as the fate of Earth hangs in the balance, humans and aliens race for control of the final secret: the location of the alien mothership--our last best chance for survival. For Area 51 commander Mike Turcotte, the stakes are higher than ever...because the secret lies buried in the repressed memory of his former love, Lisa Duncan.

Still battle-weary from alien wars that killed most of his Area 51 team, Mike is thrust into a final showdown--up against an alien army bent on total domination. With aliens in possession of the Final Option Missile codes, nuclear holocaust is a chilling possibility. The only bargaining chip is the mothership. For Mike, the questions mount: Can Lisa be trusted in a high-stakes swap to save the Earth from nuclear meltdown? Is he battling the real enemy? Or is the real enemy within? As the countdown begins, another shocking secret is revealed. At stake: our species, our future, our Earth.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Paranormal, Aliens, Military Fiction

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Pen name for Bob Mayer.

Reviews

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 7th novel of the Area 51 series by Bob Mayer (Pseudonym of Robert Doherty) is the “final” novel in the main story line and wraps up the events that have been building over the six preceding books. There are a couple of more stand-alone novels that I understand are prequels of a sort and I plan to read those as well. The author has continued on with the spinoff series, Area 51: Nightstalker.

This one is titled “The Truth” but actually we get lots of truths revealed throughout this book. Many of them have been strongly hinted at and were easily pieced together and in fact, the main truth revealed at the end was very much expected. I felt there was no other way to properly end the saga. This series has been great fun, combining historical mythology and lore with science fiction themes and military page-turning action. I love it when a series of books can combine strong myths and ancient mysteries like Atlantis, Stonehenge, Easter Island, the Sphinx, Excalibur, King Arthur, Merlin, the Arc of the Covenant, the Great Wall of China, the Black Death, the Holy Grail, etc. with historical personages like Sir Richard Francis Burton and Nikola Tesla. Throw in a nice mix of fictional heroes who have to navigate the puzzles and use their brains to save mankind from rival, battling immortal aliens and you have a recipe for fun reading.

These novels won’t win any prizes for literature but serve as excellent relaxing escape-from-reality reading experiences.

[Teo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The seventh and (supposedly) final chapter in the Area 51 saga left much to be desired. My issue is that the first half of the book was boring, hard to read and a bit contrived. Things got much better toward the end as side stories started to unfold but again - there were some plot holes that Bob Mayer kinda hoped the reader wouldn't notice. A rant, containing spoilers follows, so take it as a warning:
Why didn't the nuclear warheads explode in their silos after the targeting matrix was changed?
What happened with the Swarm ship - did it park it somewhere and hoped nobody would notice a giant black sphere?
How come our protagonists manage to create a weapon capable of ripping through super-advanced, nigh-impenetrable ship armor with little more than wires, duct tape and spit?
How did the swarm hope to take over the comm array on Mars with Lisa's ship, that for all it knew didn't have any weapons? I mean - it was guarded by a bunch of Airlia with a fully functioning and armed Talon craft that would disintegrate Lisa's ship in an instant. Not to mention that there is absolutely no explanation how did she and her people (who we are told that got back to menial farming and herding after she had left the planet) manage to construct the ship in the first place and even put an faster-than-light engine in it!
We are never given an explanation how come Kelly Reynolds survives and even recovers after having nothing to eat or drink for months and all that for her to explain "the truth" to the protagonists, which easily could've been done by Lisa.
Bob Mayer had to drag poor Tesla into this... Pointless, baseless and leaving a foul taste. Enough said.
Overall the whole book is littered with such deus ex machina plot tools to drive the story to a conclusion without the book becoming overly long (a big no-no for the publishers).
Giving it a three stars just because I've enjoyed the series until now and taking away one star because Bob decided to continue beating the Area 51 dead horse and publish a gazillion more books. For me the saga ends here.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

We finally get some closure to some of the storylines in this book after both sides of the Airlia and the Swarm are dealt with and defeated by humans on Earth. Kelly Reynolds also returns from an almost death experience with the guardian on Easter Island to fill in the blanks after Duncan's sacrifice, to help the humans on Earth. But we are still left with a few unanswered questions, especially concerning the future existence of humanity and who really to trust. Turcotte who for some unexplained reasons is a carbon copy of someone Duncan had been close too, is one of the survivors of this book, along with Quinn, Yakov, and Kincaid. Part of this story involved getting the other mothership, that Artad had hidden which held the master guardian inside, but Artad does manage to take one of the Talonships that was attached to it to return to Mars, where he hopes to use the new transmitter to call in re-enforcements. Racing right behind him is Turcotte along with Quinn and a Professor Leahy who builds a Tesla unit similar to the one used in 1908 to knock down the Swarm ship, and a specialized military unit Commandos and Yakov who helps pilot the Mothership. They also are racing to get to Mars but decide to take a few minutes to knock out and kill the Swarm who are using Duncan's long-hidden ship, from when she first arrived on Earth, millennia years ago. She survived by using stolen Airlia ka re-generation technology, that enabled her to generate a new fresh body with her memories. We find this out from the Swarm torture of her utilizing her "immortality " from the Airlia virus which entered her body from using one end of the Grail. No one yet has used the other end of the Grail, which is supposed to give the Truth, even Asparia's Shadow. Turcotte kills him in space, using Excalibur after his attempt to destroy Earth to get access to the Mothership. When Duncan revives for the last time on the way to Mars on the Mothership, she first uses her re-gen tube to get the information she needs to destroy the Airlia and then puts Yakov, Quinn, Kincaid and Professor Leahy into an escape pod. She locates Turcotte on the surface of Mars and sends him directions to her ship so he can rescue them and also be out of the area where all the remaining Airlia and the transmitter is located, plus she has locked Artad onboard the Mothership, prior to sending it into a fatal dive to the surface.
I was left with more questions after reading this book, especially concerning the future of humanity, since there's a lot of programmed sleeper cells of individuals who had been manipulated by the Airlia that don't need guardians to do things. Plus did the Grail get destroyed with the Ark when the Mothership went down on Mars or is it still on Duncan's ship with Turcotte, who also has Excalibur, and the others on Duncan's ship flying home to Earth.

[Robie Trites · Rating 3 out of 5]

It will be very interesting to see where the author takes the series from here! Some very interesting concepts have been brought up. One of several notable technologies was stasis pods, kinda like Stargate Universe. However, it didn't work the same way. Cell regeration and a kind of mind uploading, which seems more plausible then most SF portrayal of stasis pods. There are a few other technologies, but you should read the whole series for that.
Meanwhile, I'm reading Asimovs, "I, Robot", which makes different mistakes when it comes to AI and computers, ( if you consider computer protrayals in this book as inaccurate ).
Anywho, good series so far! Glad I picked it up again!

[Elizabeth Adkisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truth Be Told

Exciting story. A bit sad. One character was off the map brutal. Great ending. As usual, like all the other books in the series, was edge of your seat and hard to put down. If I ever met people like Turcotte or Yakov, I would be proud to be their friends. Well, on to the next book in the series. By the name, I'd be willing to bet it is going to be awesome. Of course, all of the previous ones were too. Happy reading.

[Larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how everything came together in the end. I loved that it explained about everything and things made sense when it came out. It's sad with what happened with Lisa but with her memories back it's probably welcome for her. I was surprised as I thought Mike was her husband and so that was surprising. I'm glad they were able to get rid of all of them. Great story!

[Richard W. McCuistian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is a great SciFi read; I've enjoyed all the Mayer's books (the ones I've read) and I'm starting on book number 8 in this series now. He never seems to lack for bad guys - it seems like they get worse all the time - I really like Mike Turcotte and Lisa Duncan. Keep hoping they'll finally get a break - maybe next time.

[R R Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

While.a good wrap up it goes on a little

While the book is a good conclusion to everything that hsppened. The Shadows back up plan just felt pointless and he could have been dealt with much earlier and neater

[Julie Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the 7th book in a series, this ties up a lot of loose ends surprisingly well. Almost too well, as I'm actually surprised that there are more books in the series after this. But I guess I'll have to check them out...

[Kathleen Lubbers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable!

Highly recommend this series if you enjoy mystery, aliens, and a well written epic story. The only downside is that you will be tempted to do little else until you finish the book!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay end to a series. Too many convenient things happening and too many weak explanations. After 7 books though, you read it just to read it and finally know what happens.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Great series and characters. Keeps you involved and waiting to see what secrets are next. Ready for the next one.

[Shaft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like we're finally getting somewhere with this crazy series which I think would be hilarious if adapted for TV.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Job Meyer masterpiece.

Excellent story make sure you read them in order. Be prepared to lose some sleep while you tell yourself just one more page.

[Al]

Excellent!

[Noodle The Naughty Night Owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10: Excellent read, well written, fell right into the fictional world created.

To think like his enemy, he’d had to put aside his humanity.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have neglected my reviews of the previous instalments, something I'll have to remedy at some point. I'd do it now but everything has blurred into a single tale called "Area 51." I do remember "The Truth" the most, probably because it was more cheerful than its predecessors. Of course, winning is considered "cheerful" in most parts of the world.

The first three books are probably the best, despite the fact that by the third book there were lots of questions and very few answers. Everything started to go downhill for our heroes, and for me, from Book 4 onwards. The heroes had had it easy up till now, thinking they'd beat the bad guys in no time. Well, the Easter Island Guardian disagreed and for the next four books keeps thwarting every attempt made to destroy the island. The problem is that every time Turcotte tries something different you expect to succeed, if only marginally but no, they just fail, again and again and again. It also unnerved me somewhat the amount of special ops soldiers that get killed as the story progresses. The equation is simple: Turcotte needs a team, a team gets shipped, they go someplace, only Turcotte survives. Geez, not even one survivor apart from Turcotte?

Another thing that angered me was that at every turn the author introduces some new traitor or organization that will put our characters in a tight spot. Oh, X wants to go with our heroes to find Y? X is a bad guy. Works like a charm 99% of the time.

"The Truth" left me with some questions, either because the author had created so many riddles he didn't know how to solve or because I read the series like lightning, probably a bit of both. For instance, who is Turcotte then? Is he a clone of Duncan's husband like it's hinted at? It would make sense then when Duncan apologizes to him, but I don't think it's explained. What happened to the remaining STAAR operatives? Did Lexina die? Why was Majic-12 controlled by the "Temiltepec" (which apparently was actually found in Teotihuacan if memory serves) Guardian? If neither side wanted to activate the ship, then why did the Guardian force Gulick to do so?

Like I said, some questions are still left unanswered, but the heroes regain their footing with "The Truth" and it's a neat end to the series leaving the reader wanting for more. I'd love to see Mike Turcotte as the head of a new Area 51.

Time will tell if this series is meant to continue. I'll probably read it again, more slowly this time to see if there's anything important I missed.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a pretty decent end to the series. The heroes stand mostly triumphant, their enemies are mostly defeated, and there's promise for the future free of alien interference.
Like every other entry in the series there are a couple of big mil-spec infodumps, but the one toward the beginning was delivered as an actually pretty funny dialogue describing one of the many pieces of cold war doomsday tech the US government has just lying around. The action scenes were well executed, the main character has more than earned the deus ex spoiler alert plan of action that saves the day. I'll nitpick a bit and say that I don't believe for a minute that the backstory we got for the two main characters of the series is something the author had in mine for the first four books and feels a bit like a retcon, but then again I just read the entire series straight through and the "wait a minute!" points wouldn't have been as noticeable when read a year apart as they were published. Such is the netflix world we live in.
So the past week was mostly a reread, though it had been more than a decade a decade since I'd read the books (I started with the first one in middle school) and I really could only remember that they involved secret history, aliens, and an ultra-competent man of action protagonist. For whatever reason I hadn't actually read the last book in the series* until today. Overall it's a solid airport fiction page turner series, nothing amazing, nothing so bad I'd swear the series off. If you're interested in popcorn military thriller with aliens and implausible history I'd definitely give the first book a shot.

*From what I understand the last two books in the series are more "side-quels" than anything and don't continue the series from where The Truth ended..

[Pruitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth is the 7th book in the Area 51 series. This one was action packed from beginning to end, as it essentially concludes all of the the various story lines developed in the preceding books. I read this volume in a little over a day as the action never stopped (was sick in bed, so it was easy to do. Haha...). I know there are still a couple of more books in this series, but from what I can see, they seem to be prequel style stories. I plan to read both very soon, though I may read a different book or two before then. lol

Overall, I really enjoyed this entire series. And this 7th book was certainly one of the best of all of them. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys UFO/Alien/Ancient Astronaut themes in their SciFi. You won't be disappointed. :)

[James Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the end of a series of these books, and it probably makes more sense if you've read the whole lot. That said, I came to it as a result of a free promotion on amazon and read it cold and it still worked for me.

There are shades of von Daniken here, as the author has taken all the conspiracy theories about the ancient civilisations being planted here by aliens and run with them. It is an all action hero saves the world type of book, and very good for when you need to disengage from reality and indulge in pure escapism.

[Carlos Trevino · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time after reading a book in this series, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Reflecting back on the other books it was only fitting that after all the battles Turcotte and the others fought around the earth, that the final battle be fought against the aliens in space. I was so captivated by it from the beginning that I lost track of time. After putting it down I was a bit sad though due to the fact that I knew the adventure was over.

[John Hammond · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh.

I enjoyed the Sphinx and Grail, and since then it's downhill for me. Sure it answered some questions about the series, but the writing is bad, there are numerous errors/inconsistencies an editor should have caught, and I just don't care about Turcotte enough to have enjoyed it.
I'll still probably read the rest of the series, but it's because I like the over arching story, not because I especially enjoy the process.

[Donald]

Book 7 in the Area 51 series - more fighting with aliens, more secrets revealed and finally "the Truth" . So now I'm wondering what could possibly happen in the last 2 books of the series? Oh Yeah - the next book is called "Area 51: Nosferatu" - I guess the vampires are about to make their appearance in the saga of Area 51.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read in the Area 51 series. This one was definitely more sci fi than many of the others in the series, with lots of action on spacecraft. Loved all the Mars stuff! Certainly intriguing to see Excalibur come into play on another planet. Only issue I had was everyone so easily concluding the fate of a supposedly immortal character, but we'll see what the next book unveils.

[Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have not been disappointed with any of the books in this series. Mr. Doherty has continued to explain and set the image in your mind, so that as you read the image changes. Well written and I am looking forward to finishing the series.

[Eric Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ending almost felt anticlimactic after so much back to back action through the last few books but it was a lot of good fun. I'm curious to see what the other books in the series following this one are like.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Bob Meyer's books..

I am not usually a sci-fi fan, but Area 51 is a fascinating tale. I hope it IS Sci-fi.

Bob writes in a way that makes you care about his characters. That is important to me.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

Definitely recommend reading the whole series. "The truth" revealed in this book was not what I saw coming. I love the way the author tied together all the ancient mysteries.

[Brad Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book of the series.

[Richno3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this series, was a bit long, glad I stuck it out to the end.