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The Searchers #1
The Searchers: City of Iron
The Searchers: Book One
SOMETHING IS OUT THERE.
AND EVERYTHING WE KNOW, EVERYTHING WE BELIEVE,
EVERYTHING WE ARE - IS DOOMED.
Their identities are a secret.
Their mission does not exist. There is no one they can trust. . .
not even the one man pulling the strings.
A trio of uniquely talented CIA operatives, their mission is to explain the inexplicable: to debunk the work of psychic tricksters, magicians and frauds whose calculated deceptions pose a serious threat to security and the national psyche. But the strange disappearance of an artist in New York, coupled with the discovery of eleven charred bodies in an Adirondack mountain lodge - corpses that forensic evidence indicates are centuries old - suggest to agents Laika Harris, Tony Luciano and Joseph Stein that there is more to their assignment than they've been led to believe, that the truth they seek is rooted in a conspiracy that stretches back countless millennia and is centered around the release of the most powerful prisoner the world has ever known - a conspiracy that could shatter every belief about the origin of man. . . and God.
SOMETHING IS OUT THERE.
AND EVERYTHING WE KNOW, EVERYTHING WE BELIEVE,
EVERYTHING WE ARE - IS DOOMED.
Their identities are a secret.
Their mission does not exist. There is no one they can trust. . .
not even the one man pulling the strings.
A trio of uniquely talented CIA operatives, their mission is to explain the inexplicable: to debunk the work of psychic tricksters, magicians and frauds whose calculated deceptions pose a serious threat to security and the national psyche. But the strange disappearance of an artist in New York, coupled with the discovery of eleven charred bodies in an Adirondack mountain lodge - corpses that forensic evidence indicates are centuries old - suggest to agents Laika Harris, Tony Luciano and Joseph Stein that there is more to their assignment than they've been led to believe, that the truth they seek is rooted in a conspiracy that stretches back countless millennia and is centered around the release of the most powerful prisoner the world has ever known - a conspiracy that could shatter every belief about the origin of man. . . and God.
340 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Chet Williamson
188 books117 followersChet Williamson has written horror, science fiction, and suspense since 1981. Among his novels are Second Chance, Hunters, Defenders of the Faith, Ash Wednesday, Reign, Dreamthorp, and the forthcoming Psycho Sanitarium, an authorized sequel to Robert Bloch's classic Psycho. Over a hundred of his short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, Esquire, The Magazine of F&SF, and many other magazines and anthologies.
He has won the International Horror Guild Award, and has been shortlisted twice for the World Fantasy Award, six times for the HWA Stoker, and once for the MWA's Edgar. Nearly all of his works are available in ebook format.
A stage and film actor, he has recorded over 40 unabridged audiobooks, both of his own work and that of many other writers, available at www.audible.com. Follow him on Twitter (@chetwill) or at www.chetwilliamson.com.
He has won the International Horror Guild Award, and has been shortlisted twice for the World Fantasy Award, six times for the HWA Stoker, and once for the MWA's Edgar. Nearly all of his works are available in ebook format.
A stage and film actor, he has recorded over 40 unabridged audiobooks, both of his own work and that of many other writers, available at www.audible.com. Follow him on Twitter (@chetwill) or at www.chetwilliamson.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 23, 2014
I read this once about 10 years ago & never found other books to go with it. Over the summer, I managed to get the next two, so the holiday weekend seems a good time to read it again.
It's an interesting blend of hard core action & urban-paranormal fantasy with some Catholic conspiracy theory as a central line. CIA operatives get a special, black ops assignment that has them investigating possibly paranormal phenomena. They prove most to be a hoax, but the main story line leads them into a conspiracy that they can't explain in rational terms.
Not a bad book, although it has some underlying issues that hurt it. The characters are a little too one-dimensional at times. Each has their strengths & weaknesses. The weaknesses are played out especially well. The strengths often turn them into caricatures, though. "Tough CIA assassin with super resources" is the best way that I can think to describe it. Some scenes read as if they're from a Mac Bolan novel (The Executioner).
I definitely want to read the next book, but thought I should take a break because the above was beginning to wear on me. The mystery is on-going & I do want to find out more.
It's an interesting blend of hard core action & urban-paranormal fantasy with some Catholic conspiracy theory as a central line. CIA operatives get a special, black ops assignment that has them investigating possibly paranormal phenomena. They prove most to be a hoax, but the main story line leads them into a conspiracy that they can't explain in rational terms.
Not a bad book, although it has some underlying issues that hurt it. The characters are a little too one-dimensional at times. Each has their strengths & weaknesses. The weaknesses are played out especially well. The strengths often turn them into caricatures, though. "Tough CIA assassin with super resources" is the best way that I can think to describe it. Some scenes read as if they're from a Mac Bolan novel (The Executioner).
I definitely want to read the next book, but thought I should take a break because the above was beginning to wear on me. The mystery is on-going & I do want to find out more.
November 14, 2022
The final story in Black Lizard’s The Big Book of Ghost Stories was “Coventry Carol” by Chet Williamson. It was a standout, and an excellent choice to wrap up that massive collection. In fact, I liked it well enough to seek out more from its author. Browsing second-hand markets on the web I ran across The Searchers, a trilogy purportedly in the vein of The X-Files. Well, marketing works and it was easy to find a nice copy of the first of the series: City of Iron.
There is a lot to like about this book, but I wish some of the major mysteries driving the trio of investigators had been resolved. I imagine they will be, but probably not until the third installment. If I had know that going in, I would not have chosen this particular novel to sample more of Williamson’s work.
The Searchers are a trio of super secret CIA operatives acting under the orders of a secret CIA boss. Each character is well-drawn, with enough quirks to keep them interesting and unpredictable. Williamson is a fine writer with a great knowledge of his settings and their place in time. He had me checking the web more than once for some of his references and vernacular.
The novel is structured as a series of events, that come off almost like a novel-in-stories—an approach I loved. He provides a little behind-the-scenes detail on his author’s website. Turns out all the X-Files references were the publisher’s marketing department’s ideas for selling the series. It worked to draw me in, but I’d have come along for the ride just as likely if I’d known it was about a team of CIA ops investigating strange phenomena. And the X-Files-inspired cover art was professional, but unremarkable. When will the corporate overloads quit “adding value” and encourage artists to follow their muse? BTW, naming the team “The Searchers” was their idea too.
City of Iron is a great novel, worthy of a five star rating. I’m backing off one, ‘cause I feel moderately miffed by how much is continued in the rest of the series. The non-disclosure no doubt another marketing genius product positioning decree.
There is a lot to like about this book, but I wish some of the major mysteries driving the trio of investigators had been resolved. I imagine they will be, but probably not until the third installment. If I had know that going in, I would not have chosen this particular novel to sample more of Williamson’s work.
The Searchers are a trio of super secret CIA operatives acting under the orders of a secret CIA boss. Each character is well-drawn, with enough quirks to keep them interesting and unpredictable. Williamson is a fine writer with a great knowledge of his settings and their place in time. He had me checking the web more than once for some of his references and vernacular.
The novel is structured as a series of events, that come off almost like a novel-in-stories—an approach I loved. He provides a little behind-the-scenes detail on his author’s website. Turns out all the X-Files references were the publisher’s marketing department’s ideas for selling the series. It worked to draw me in, but I’d have come along for the ride just as likely if I’d known it was about a team of CIA ops investigating strange phenomena. And the X-Files-inspired cover art was professional, but unremarkable. When will the corporate overloads quit “adding value” and encourage artists to follow their muse? BTW, naming the team “The Searchers” was their idea too.
City of Iron is a great novel, worthy of a five star rating. I’m backing off one, ‘cause I feel moderately miffed by how much is continued in the rest of the series. The non-disclosure no doubt another marketing genius product positioning decree.
January 26, 2020
Good foundational installment
Better than expected and far superior to similar books of the same genre. I suspect these novels started it all.
Better than expected and far superior to similar books of the same genre. I suspect these novels started it all.
June 22, 2025
Audiobook was good.
January 22, 2015
Loved this first book in the 3 part series. I loved the mystery and the conspiracy like atmosphere. I was excited to see where this mystery would lead.
August 26, 2012
I was going to say it was OK, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. The plot and events did not hang together, there was too much unnecessary death.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews