Maze Master

by Kathleen O'Neal Gear

New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Gear's new apocalyptic thriller Maze Master shows the world ending not in fire nor in ice but in science. Kathleen Gear, who often co-writes with her husband W. Michael Gear, has authored 42 books which have been New York Times, USA Today and international bestsellers. Translated into 29 languages, there are around 17 million copies of her books in print worldwide. LucentB is a retrovirus that’s inevitable, unstoppable, and utterly catastrophic for humanity. The US government believes the only person who can find the cure is the geneticist who tried to warn them about it and then James Hakari. They assign the task of finding him to his former student Anna Asher, who in turn recruits paleographer and religious studies scholar Dr. Martin Nadai. The brilliant but insane geneticist is leaving clues for Anna and Martin to follow, showing he’s truly earned his students’ nickname for the Maze Master. The search takes Anna and Martin around the world and into a warzone they never imagined. Maze Master 's LucentB is based off of the real retrovirus HERV-K, which has caused several plagues over the past 75,000 years, almost wiping out Neandertals 50,000 years ago, and maybe 30,000 years ago. Modern geneticists consider HERV-K not to be extinct, but rather to be waiting for some trigger to come alive again. With its scientific and archaeological authenticity and suspenseful clues, Maze Master will have readers rushing through its intricate maze to find out the fate of the world in this thrilling adventure.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Science Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Fantasy, Mystery

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2018

About the author

My professional life began in the dark basement of the Museum of Cultural History in Los Angeles, where I was cataloguing three-hundred-year-old Guatemalan saint carvings. I quit this fascinating job and moved to Wyoming to work for the U.S. Department of the Interior as a historian and archaeologist. When I finally understood the error of my ways I moved to Wyoming and started writing books. Since then, I've authored or co-authored 54 novels and around 200 non-fiction publications.

I love writing. And buffalo. And hiking the wilds of Wyoming's backcountry.

I'm married (until he comes to his senses) to W. Michael Gear, the novelist and my co-author, and we live at the edge of the Wind River Indian Reservation in the Owl Creek mountains of Wyoming. We're contented watching buffalo and writing books.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/kathle...

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maze Master by Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a apocalyptic thriller in which the world is quickly coming to the end due to a plague sweeping around the world. While the story is fictional a lot of the book is taken from real things and events to build a what if type of book.

As the book begins the virus has already been spreading and taking out the population very quickly and we join various characters as they try to discover what the virus is and how to stop it. When it's found they are dealing with LucentB Anna Asher is tasked with finding James Hakari who had been warning of what  is to come with no one taking him seriously.

Maze Master is a bit out of my normal go to genre that I read the majority of the time but I thought I would give this one a shot to see how I would like it. When finished my rating on this one at 2.5 stars is a bit more of the it's me, not you case as the story and writing are fine, I just didn't personally find myself very invested.

Part of my reasoning with being a bit disconnected to this one is that the scientific side read as very dry and bit too much for me. It all sounds accurate enough but not having studied any of this type of thing other than hearing of dormant viruses I really can't say how spot on the info is but I just wasn't entertained and invested in the thriller side with those discussions breaking up the action. To me I think this one would probably wow me a lot more on the big screen where the intensity would be better felt. I would say though if this sound good to you please give it a try, fans of things like The Davinci Code would probably enjoy this.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Hakari is called the Maze Master because, as a geneticist, he created elaborate puzzles to teach his students about genetics. He believed that God spoke through the DNA code. Years ago he tried to warn people about a deadly retrovirus that he believed would threaten humanity. The virus has now appeared all over the world, but Hakari has disappeared. The US government believes Hakari holds the secret for a cure of the virus and tasks his former student Anna Asher to find him. Asher is also a former Air Force intelligence officer and a student of ancient writings. She enlists the aid of religious studies scholar Dr. Martin Nadai. The Maze Master has left clues for them.

I thought this book was just ok. I haven't read "The Da Vinci Code" but I imagine that if you liked that book you will like this one more than I did. This book had Marham-i-Isa (a curing ointment created by Jesus), magical pentagrams, a Golden Ratio and a lot of other religious symbols that did not really resonate with me. "Finding the cure required fully documenting the evolution of God's wrath." If that sentence is meaningful to you, you might appreciate this book more than I did. There's also a lot of complicated Russian/Chinese/American intrigue, commandos who are trained religious scholars and the most tentative love quadrangle imaginable. Apparently Asher is very lovable. The book is not very long, but felt long and repetitive. The story stuck with the core characters and there was no description at all about the impact of the virus on society. I also found the book very confusing with respect to what is a cure and what is a vaccine. I'm not sure I'd read more by this (extremely prolific) author.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading dystopian or apocalyptic thrillers. The suspense, action, and fight-for-survival plots when well-written always make for exciting reading. Add in some supernatural and ancient artifact/legend type accents and that just heightens my enjoyment. I guess that's why I'm also a sucker for disaster and end of the world movies, too. Something about the human spirit fighting to survive against insurmountable odds just makes a good story.

Maze Master opens with the human race facing the spread of a virus that could potentially wipe out all of humanity. France is quarantined to attempt to contain it, but really it's only a matter of time. A geneticist who also believes that God hid messages to humanity in the map of the human genome believes that a healing ointment mentioned in the Bible can save humanity from extinction. He leaves clues to where this legendary ointment is hidden in Egypt for a group of scientists to go find it, but other nefarious factions are also looking for the cure to use for their own means. If it isn't found....or falls into the wrong hands....the fate of human kind is sealed. Death. For everyone.

For the most part, I enjoyed this story. It had some great suspense and the concept is interesting. But I had the same problem with this book that I had with The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. The plot is heavy with religious myths and symbolism. A deity hiding the saving cure for an apocalyptic virus inside the map of the human genome using complicated palindromes, formulas and puzzles just seems very far-fetched. Scientists and scholars driven mad by the knowledge, lurking in monasteries drawing the genome out in their own blood while suffering from the stigmata....it just got a bit too Catholic horror story for me. (I can say that because I was raised Catholic....so hackles down.) Some of the plot was also a bit trope-y for me.....the villains are Russian (of course) and they want control of the cure so that they can manipulate the entire planet for their own means. Very overdone cliche -- darn those Russians! And, there were some very thinly veiled anti-Trump comments.....the president of the United States is building a wall between the US and Canada to prevent spread of the virus and a character exclaims that the president must be afraid of immigrants. Now, I totally understand being concerned about our current political climate....totally understand....but must every author find a way to get in a dig or two about their current political views within their writing? It seems almost every new book I read lately has to pull me out of the enjoyment of the story with current political digs or has farcical plot points added just to enable political commentary. It's getting old. Stop it. It must be the Russian's fault -- darn those Russians! *eyeroll*

Now, I am not saying this book isn't well-written, interesting and exciting. It's well done....the suspense is great! Anyone who enjoys Dan Brown's books will love this story. I'm just saying I didn't buy into the myth. Just a bit too overblown and religious for me. And a bit heavy handed on the tropes. At least there weren't any Nazis! Just villainous Russians. Sigh.

All in all, well-written book. Just didn't really work for me. The author has written more than 40 books and I enjoyed this story enough to read more of her work....she has a series about the Anasazi that sounds incredible!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is addictive. I literally couldn’t put it down.

[gelowmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Digital ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

Sci-fi/mystery/thriller novels are pumping up some reading hype to me like the Dan Brown books and James Patterson books.

I am on the stage of being hype with these novels when I clicked this on the netgalley because who wouldn't love some apocalyptic disease with a maze!?

Maze Master, I can't really summarize the story because of the technicality of some points and details that adds up the sciencey to this novel but it is a story of an ancient virus that attached to the ancestral race of Neandertals and Denisovans that killed them thousand years ago. This virus became dormant as the years came by and now it is killing millions of people with different kind of diseases in which the Neandertals and Denisovans were killed. So a group of bio-technologist, scientist and cryptographer are solving the means to cure this virus. But one scientist named, James Hakari, traced the ancient virus by intertwining science and the Bible as he solved this mystery virus and help the whole human race.

I never thought the author would come up with an apocalyptic novel by imparting Bible on its story. Since people are separating science with religion. I remembered Dan Brown's Origin and Inferno that also tackles with this same premise but I never expected that the use of Bible in the story would help solve and kill an ancient virus.

Like some mystery/thriller novels, there is this "spontaneity" of adrenaline rush while reading this genres but my experience in this novel was quite like a rough road. There are times that the story speeds up because of the plot twist and revelations and sometimes the peak of the spontaneity drops down and slowly reaching again its peak.

But the ending was quite good but not that thrilling. Not like the second half of the book in which it makes you want more of the story. It is like a roller coaster ride in which the end of the ride became plateau.

Maze Master, was a great read!
(If you are skeptic about the Bible thing in this novel, I hope it doesn't stop you to read this thrilling novel.)

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da Vinci Code + World War Z + Jurassic Park divided by the Bible = Maze Master.

The LucentB virus is 100% deadly and is moving outward from France. Anna enlists the help of Christian professor, Martin, to find “Marham-i-Isa, the legendary healing ointment created by Jesus to heal the sick and raise the dead”—perhaps the only hope for humanity. While searching the Middle East for the ointment, Anna is also looking for her former mentor, the famed geneticist Hakari. In a parallel plot, Hakari is being driven mad by visions of shapes and his belief that he is the second coming of Christ. Wars break out as the virus spreads and nations look desperately for a cure. On battlefields, huge “angels of light” are spotted. Have the end times prophesied by the Bible arrived? Or is it something inherited in our Denisovan pre-historic genes that started the virus and the rest is pure human folly?

I loved the Da Vinci Code back in the day but I adore this book even more! It has the genre mashup that I like so much. It’s apocalyptic and scientific. With its factual underpinnings, it could actually happen. The setting and characterization are well done. It moves at a lightning pace. Overall, it is highly recommended for thriller readers. Open-minded fans of horror, science fiction and Christian fiction might also enjoy it. 5 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for granting my wish for an advanced copy.

[Alik · Rating 1 out of 5]

James Rollins meets Dan Brown meets Jeremy Robinson in this one. Sounds good, right? But nope, it just doesn't work. It fails to live up to that hype.

The book is rather messy to be honest. Jumping from character to character at random times. And going forward, it's pretty confusing to follow what kind of story the author really wants to tell as the plot and subject matter is all jumbled together.

A valiant effort from the author. And I do appreciate this attempt at a new, multifaceted thriller. But it falls short and reads like a story that has too much going on.

From the get go main characters aren't described or given any above superficial details to the reader, which leaves you a bit uninterested in how things unravel around them. Eventually everything gets to be too convoluted, confused and drawn out.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars

What a remarkable novel. It was engrossing and, while technical, the technical aspects made it very interesting. The story is loosely based on a real retrovirus, which made it all the more timely.

In this terrifying thriller, we meet an American woman who is working for the government named Anna Asher, a crazed genomic scientist James Hakari, a brilliant biblical scholar Dr. Martin Nadai and many others. In a race to save humankind, these people work together to find a cure. Anna and Dr. Nadai race around the world into danger and strife in order to find a cure.

While James Hakari is a genius, his ideas are not well accepted and it is known among his circle and his followers that he is crazy. He is called the Maze Master because he leaves a trail of difficult clues to follow. He has always done this. When he used to teach, he left his students scratching their heads and agonizing about how to respond to the test questions that he would give them.

I really like the archeological aspects of the novel. I have always been very interested in archeology. (Indeed, one of my degrees is in Anthropology.)

This book is fascinating. It was extremely well written and plotted. The tension in the story began immediately when the reader realized just what kind of disaster humankind faced. The book is a very fast read. The story flies by as the pages turn faster and faster. Odd enough, although my now deceased mother used to read Kathleen O’Neil Gear’s books, this is my first one. I was very attracted to her brilliant writing style and will most certainly look for more of her books on Amazon.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for forwarding a copy of this most brilliant and remarkable book to me for me to read, enjoy and review.

[Katy Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the advanced reading copy of this book and am still euphoric. What an amazing thriller. Truly edge-of-the-seat writing. One of the best books I've read in 20 years. MAZE MASTER blends the latest biological research with anthropological genetics and ancient religious artifacts to create a absolutely unique and fascinating vision of the future. Highly recommended.

[K.S. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The past is but the beginning of a beginning, and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn."—H. G. Wells

When the survival of humanity depends on decoding the clues of a brilliant, but possibly insane geneticist, a historical cryptographer with ties to him may be mankind's only hope.

Anna Asher, former student to missing geneticist James Hakari, enlists the aid of biblical scholar Martin Nadai, whom she believes knows the whereabouts of the Cave of the Treasure of Light, which may hold a secret powerful enough to save the human race. Martin, however, doesn't know the exact location of the cave, and he fears Anna may be just as crazy as her professor. It isn't until Anna presents him with facts no one but he should know that possibilities become too fascinating for Martin to ignore.

With Anna and Martin together in Egypt, the realities of an illness, a virus, a new plague, becomes all too evident to Martin. He begins to piece together the puzzle that has driven Anna to seek him out and then bring him halfway across the world to help her solve—to find a sacred ointment long thought to be a myth.

On the border, not far from Anna and Martin, Captain Micah Hazor, leader of a military team with specialties in history, ancient religions, and biblical studies find themselves in a frighteningly fierce military battle, which soon weaves together the lives of Anna, Martin, and Micah.

MAZE MASTER is a page-turning scientific thriller unlike any other. It is suspenseful, intelligent, and well researched, and it brings to light the possibility of a rarely discussed retrovirus that may be waiting in the wings for mankind. This story was utterly unpredictable right up to its stunning conclusion!

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Hakari, a legendary geneticist, predicts a virus will mutate into a global pandemic based on his study of biblical history and genetics. Thought to be crazy until LucentB starts killing people at an alarming rate both the Russians and Americans race to find him. One of his students, Anna Asher, a Captain in the U. S. Air Force is being sought as someone who may have clues to the cure.

Think Michael Crichton comparing notes with Dan Brown. This is a remarkable adventure. Anna recruits Dr. Martin Nadai, a professor of paleography and religious studies, who is known to be seeking “Marham-i-Isa” the ointment Christ used to heal, to help her find the cure. No one knows where Hakari is or if he is alive. Anna and Martin meet up with Captain Micah Hazor, who had been ordered to retrieve an HVT (highly valuable target) only to lose his team in a bombing strike that left him wounded. Anna speculates that Hakari found the cure and left clues in the form of a 3D maze for her to work through. As the three continue their search for clues, the Americans find them and take them into custody hoping Anna has the answers.

This is a complex, richly layered thriller. Kathleen O’Neal Gear is a very skillful storyteller with a wonderful imagination. A thought provoking and entertaining read.

[Ioanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Humanity is in danger. LucentB is a fast-spreading, incredibly dangerous virus, and no one is safe. Anna Asher is assigned by the US government to find the one scientist who is believed to be able to find the answer to this chaos: professor Hakari. Along with professor Nadai, Anna will follow clues left by Hakari in order to find a cure for the plague before it's too late. But Hakari hasn't earned his nickname as a Maze Master in vain- the clues are hard, and time is running out faster than anyone had imagined. The future of the world as we know it is hanging from a thread. Anna and Nadai are the only ones who can solve this, the hardest puzzle in human history. Can they manage it before it's too late?

The Maze Master is a fast-paced, thrilling treasure hunt for adults. Equipped with all qualities of a good mystery, the plot manages to attract the reader's attention from page one. The plot is filled with action, traveling, and intelligent dialogue. Secrets are expertly hidden everywhere, and the reader can't help but to try to solve the riddles together with the two expertly constructed characters.

There isn't a lot to be said about the author's writing. It's clear that Kathleen Gear has mastered mystery writing, and the way the readers grasp the stories and hold on to them until all puzzles are solved is proof enough of her skills. This is clearly a well researched, carefully constructed world, where every step is considered thoroughly. And this quality of work is very much appreciated by the readers.

Maze Master is the book you want on your tbr list if fast paced mysteries filled with missions around the world is your thing.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy.
Here are my issues:
This reads like a Dan Brown wanna be, but even less solid than his books are. It tries to use Biblical lore, but not anything you will ever have heard of before. And it makes silly mistakes. While trying to make some mystical connection about the Fibonacci sequence (yes, you read that right) it applies it to the chapters and verses of various books of the Bible and how the chapters and verses talk about plague....ohh spooky. Except...the chapters and verses as we know them today were added much later that when the Bible was actually written. It's not that they're meaningless...but they're really just an organizational aid. Plus...if you're looking at the first several books of the Bible you can make just about any number combo point to plague.

Next- Female cliche. I was surprised a female author wrote a woman this way. A brilliant woman who also happens to be tough ex military. Every man wants her of course, because she's gorgeous but also mysterious and closed off, but she initiates sex with any available man. She turns every head but her intriguing scars hint at a sorry past....ugh. Just no.

Sometimes when an older person writes about my generation they don't leave their baby boomer mentality behind. For example. Back in the Vietnam war days it was really popular for men to show their counter culture and rebellious leanings by wearing their hair long. Nobody would confuse them for military men ordered around by the government. Take that man!! By the time you get to my generation...nobody cares. Hair that 'just brushes the collar' of a man's shirt isn't even going to be seen as long actually. Not until you are wearing a man bun will anyone notice probably. So the 32 year old main character wearing his hair slightly longer because he 'hates corporate america' and suits...those are boomer thoughts. The second my father left the military he grew his hair the the exact length the author describes. My generation just doesn't see it as rebellion. And we certainly wouldn't 'stick it to the man' by being a professor of religious studies and wearing a suit everyday. We'd quit our jobs to travel the coast pursuing our passion for whatever hipster fad strikes our fancy.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maze Master: A Thriller

by Kathleen O'Neal Gear

I have been anticipating Maze Master for many years, after first hearing Kathleen read it at People of the Earth Days, during Night at the museum, in Thermopolis Wyoming. The exceptionally amazing  introduction to the book is overwhelmed by the reading the actual book. Kathleen Gear looks into the amazingly remarkable ideas of retroviruses and tie it to anthropological genetic theory in this book. Using the basis of Kathleen’s personal experience in Israel archeology.   The main premise is that the ties of modern humanity to its genetic heritage particularly those incorporated branches of of dead end genetic diversity. The Idea that human absorption of those divergent ancestral ties, of Denisovans ancestral branch in particular could make them vulnerable to adaptative pathogens. We are more vulnerable then we could ever anticipate. The book brings into question,  How would you tell the world if you learned about a calamity that is on the verge of killing nearly every human? What would you do if those in power refused to hear your warning? This book is an action packed maze of dynamic characters, and the conflict of humanity and its imminent demise. The reader is draw into the divergent stories, through the characters and their particular problems that overlap and converge throughout the layers of the book. The theoretical concepts of genetic heritage and retroviruses are clearly explained, allowing the reader to accept the premise of the book.  Maze Master is a masterpiece of mystery, suspense, and scientific revelation.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did enjoy the intensity of this book, it did get a bit technical(mathematical) for me. You never quite knew who was working for who, the secrets kept twisting together.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 3 out of 5]

So what is my opinion of this novel? First of all, it's fast pace. We've got 60+ chapters in 330 pages.
So what's this about you ask, well it's about covid plague being ravaging the world. IT's a disease like no others before, since it seems it kills and there is no cure. The reason behind? Well it's due to genetics since this disease is at ADN (DNA) level.

So, we learn that this started somewhere in France and the vast majority of countries start closing on themselves but as any other disease it jumps to every country around and none can contain it. Wars and bombs go off and so on..

So who do we have here, well we have two characters that started this; Anna Asher & Martin. Afterwards they meet us military Micah. This novel deals with a disease , plague whatever you wanna call it and Anna thinks, or knows, that the solution lay in Egypt with the cure that Jesus used to cure sick people. So they went there... But then we've got 30 chapters of running around until all confrontation happens in Malta.

One of the most interesting things is that HERV-K really existed and supposedly killed old versions of humans (Neanderthals & Denisovans).

So what's good and what's bad about this..
Good; The thriller part is good, the all thing about new virus is good story, the cure hidden in Christianity faith, the link between geometry and the word of god and I've learn about the Golden Rule. Interesting.

Bad (some spoilers)
- the writer really doesn't show us, how the diseased is catch or jumps from human to human. IT just do.
- we are told, a couple of times, world is in chaos, but HOW in chaos, how bad it is? We don't know. There is no logic on how rapid people died. Some take 6 days, some one.
- We are told that sub-Saharan people are immune. Being most of them french colonies, and we are told everything started there, and existing a lot of black people in France, nobody put one plus one?
- The justification about how black people are immune is quite interesting... the author things (and she specifically says) we are inbred. Every white, Chinese etc (so no black people basically) are inbred and at some point mix with Neanderthals & Denisovans. Well, fuck me raw and call me sally. What? I don't know. She is the palaeontologist. I thought that we had involved directly from neanderthalensis to Homo Sapiens but it seems no. It seems that we eurasia (and america due the eurasia) are a mix of neanderthalensis plus homo sapiens but Africans just kaput into sapiens directly. Interesting as well is that Europeans, middle eastern and Chinese evolved in terms of culture more fast than Africans. Must read on why.
- Another thing that made me wonder was the american good and american bad guys. The last page is literally an ode to American being good to the world. They are so good that an african man says in page 54 " He'd be stoned back home for saying it loud, but he thanked God his ancestors had been stolen and taken to America as slaves. In America you had a chance. Here in this barbaric wilderness, human life had no value" (he was in Africa). Damn.
- Russians are bad hummies.

OH well, having said all of these I am disappointed with the novel. I bought more of her books. Really hope from an improvement or else I just spent two hundred or three on all of their books lol
I would rate 5 out of 10.

[Ariana Fae · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://arianafae.com/2018/07/maze-mas...

If Michael Crichton and Dan Brown had collaborated on a book MAZE MASTER would be the result. But, Katheleen O'Neal Gear beat them to it. She uses her adept storytelling skills combined with her archaeologist and scientific knowledge to create a superb apocalyptic thriller.

There was so much I liked about this MAZE RUNNER. Gear pulled me immediately into the book with her first chapter introducing Captain Anna Asher interrogated by the Russians. The words and images Gear used to show Anna's almost fractured mind, her fears, and uncertainty was brilliant. She populates the books with other interesting characters such as Captain Micah Hazor and Dr. Martin Nadai who Anna pulls into her mission to find her former teacher and lover James Hakari, a brilliant but mad geneticist who may know a cure for the plaque that is ravaging the human population. I love how Gear shows Hakari's brilliance and madness both balanced on a sharp edge. Gear also teaches while telling a good story about Neanderthals, DNA, viruses, with a smattering of human and biblical history. You can tell she did her research for this book. Also, her twist on Revelations and how she tied the end of humankind to it was genius.

MAZE MASTER is a thought-provoking thriller filled with mystery, action, and suspense. It's chilling to think something like this could happen. I also found this article written by Kathleen O'Neal Gear explaining the history and her inspiration for MAZE MASTER:
http://www.thehistoryreader.com/ancie...

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ancient virus had re-emerged to ravage the world and bring the human race to the brink of extinction. This book will make you think about the direction the world is headed when it comes to new illness and diseases.
This book is great for those who like a bit of everything in a thriller. It touches on political, action and mystery; all combined to create a thriller that makes you want to read more!

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A plague that is part of our DNA, waiting till something activates it, finding a cure that goes back to Jesus’s time! A good story!!

[Wanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maze Master is the best novel I have read this year! I love how creative and intelligent Kathleen O’Neal Gear’s writing is. Maze Master is based upon a real retrovirus called Herv-K. The virus in the book, LucentB, is decimating most of the world population. However, only pure humans, those without Denisovan or Neandertal genes, seem to be immune; humans that live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In desperation to find the cure, ex intelligence officer Anna Asher is on a self imposed mission: find the legendary Marham-i-Isa – a fact based ointment, also known as the ointment of Jesus, which is believed to have astounding curative properties; figure out the shape of the maze; find the entrance of the maze; and figure out the cure. Anna is a former student of brilliant geneticist, James Hakari, who is losing his mind. Hakari has left clues for Anna to follow, but she is not alone on her quest. Anna recruits the help of Dr. Martin Nadai who is a specialist in, and professor of religious studies and a paleographer. Dr. Nadai’s special research is the Marham-i- Isa. Together they work to unravel clues that will help them navigate the maze.

Maze Master is very intelligently done. The story incorporates real science, Fibonacci math, geometry, biblical history, and biology among other things to take the reader on a thrilling race across the globe to stop a very probable pandemic. I recommend this book to anybody who has a love for science, math, and history.

I thankfully received an advanced copy of Maze Master from NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for my honest, unpaid opinion about the book. This is truly a great read. Thank you

[KO · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good scientific/medical thriller, but usually find only books written by Michael Creighton, Dan Brown, and sometimes Robin Cook to be of the caliber that can keep me hooked, but page one of Maze Master reeled me in! I intended to read just a few pages to get my busy day started, but I couldn't put this book down! I was totally invested in these characters. Anna is a smart, strong female main character who absolutely captivated me, and although the male characters were totally different, both Martin and Micah were so real it's hard to decide which of them is my #2 favorite. I loved this book!

Basically, Anna has ties to the genius geneticist, James Hakari, who may hold the secret to curing a virus powerful enough to wipe out the human race. The problem is that no one can find him. He is known as the Maze Master for a reason. Anna enlists the help of Martin, a professor with a background in biblical studies. They set off on a multi-continent journey where they meet (after horrifying circumstances) Micah Hazor. At this point in the book, I knew Anna finally had a chance to find Hakari and maybe his secrets surrounding a cure, but I've got to say . . . I never suspected what the cure was until the end!

Anyone who enjoys reading scientific and/or medical thrillers should not miss this book! For me, Maze Master is definitely my favorite book of the year. My mind is still whirling after reading this sensational story!

[Toni Boughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast-moving thriller with a premise you've read before: small team of people with special skills must figure out ancient mystery in order to stop a threat. The main differences in Maze Master is that the threat is an apocalyptic plague that is killing millions. While the book is good and races along at a nice clip, the immediacy of the threat is muted somewhat by the author giving only the scantiest details about the viral plague and its worldwide effects. Sometimes I wondered if I was reading the second book in series, so little information was given.

Still, though, it's a worthwhile read for fans of Brown, Collins, etc.

*free copy from NetGalley*

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex and complicated thriller that blends all sort of themes into a hunt for a scientist in order to save humanity. Whew! The LucentB retrovirus is the sort of thing we all fear and now it's making it's way out into the world. Anna Asher is trying to find James Hakari, the geneticist who is believed to be able to fix things. This search will remind you of the Davinci Code as she wraps in Martin Nadai, who is a paleographer who can also expound on religious issues. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is good travel reading because it's plot driven.

[Vivianne TM · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this. It was boring, confusing, flat characters and very badly explained science. I was lost, frustrated and bored. I think I finished it out of fierce obstinance. Do not recommend.

[Cynde · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent thriller. Lots of biological information . Definitely a maze. An enjoyable read.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leaning towards 2.5 stars on this one, simply due to the rather weak character development. Otherwise it's a fairly decent scientific/medical thriller.

[Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Maze Master by Kathleen O’Neal Gear, is a truly deeply complex maze of subplots, intentions, and distressed death-challenged intellectual mapping on a really massive scale. That is not a ringing endorsement of this book, is it a fun and light read, it’s definitely not, instead it’s rather dark and really complex which doesn’t make it a fun read. The Author is part of a writing pair she and her husband Michael are prolific writers mostly of historical fiction, great stories of Ancient Native Americans Societies and drama just wonderful books and so many, Kathleen and Michael Gear are two of my favorite authors very unique pair who’s hypergraphia writing style explodes out in a massive volume of highly detailed finely tuned stories but happy fun or easy are not part of this mix. No it seems as if the Gears are moving past time and place settings of ancient cultures and have embraced the issues of the day, climate change, nature’s fury, human’s society inability to work cooperatively, the Masculine ethos, Religious and scientific world views, so on and so on, but this story also has a deadly pandemic.
Even though I have read over a dozen of their books they present me with a wide selection of unread stories in which to choose from because of their hypergraphic writing mania so I picked this one precisely because it’s being set during a pandemic. So it’s unfair of me to complain that it’s not fun and light when I choose a pandemic story don’t believe I have ever read a fun or light pandemic story still this one is rather dark something of a end of the world sort of horror, along the lines of Cormac McCarthy “The Road” or Matt Millin “Ashfall”. Not exactly happy stuff, but did I learn anything? Most definitely, did I enjoy it? Well it was more fun than a prostrate exam but so different from anything I’ve read from her before, frankly it’s contemporary, political, military, and a complex series of plots that overlaps each other with some deeply scientific DNA equations some Religious historical elements, a large cast of characters just all this and a bag of chips. (A bit too much of a good thing actually) for 99% of this book I’m dazed and confused and trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Found it quite good at hiding the problem until you learn the solution, which are both a neat trick and a really aggravating plot technique. The stuff about sub-saharan Africa Denisova DNA is fascinating and may later be proven right on the money we are in the middle of this Covid19 and I have often heard the question of why is Africa not being hit as hard as the northern hemisphere well maybe some of the answer is here in this book maybe not, I can’t tell I can barely understand the level of complexity this book is operating under but was it informative oh heck yeah, very detailed very complex, was it fun no, not really, found it too complex too many nested levels too traverse before you reach a baseline of understanding. Seems to me the author took on the deeper concerns of the world and wrote a dark passage fairytale full of intrigue betrayal and death and I couldn’t really enjoy the ride because of all the trauma, four stars a little too deep into the black hole of the present zeitgeist for me, but really intelligently written story.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable, fascinating pandemic fiction story similar to ‘The Andromeda Strain’ and ‘Outbreak’. It’s about a secret Biblical cure-all that ends up turning into a virus that threatens the survival of the world population. That’s really too dimple for a story that very complex and detailed.

My only problem was keeping the names straight since sometimes either the first or last of a person’s name is used within the same conversation.

It always bugs me when authors, etc. use the parts of the Bible that work with what they want to say, but ignore the rest even if it contradicts what they’re trying to point out. It’s either all true or none of it’s true. You can’t be choosy. (i.e.: if the part of the Bible that indicates that Jesus has a miracle healing ointment is true, then the age of the earth (see below) is also true.

Footnote: 1) I’ve read most of the other books written by the Gears and their Native American stories were very informative on the way of life of the First Americans after they crossed the Alaskan land bridge and thereafter. 2) I’ve read about the Golden Ratio before. Fascinating the way God designs things.

2) Let me start right away by stating that according to the Bible using the genealogy timelines the earth is only about 6000 years old and that from the beginning man was created perfect with no virus. Any virus to emerge since then is due to mutation created by inbreeding a small population, pollution and radiation that filtered in after the protective cloud cover was destroyed during the flood. I know this sounds corny and far religious right, but that’s because I’m not an expert in creation science and can’t explain it right. If you’ll contact the Creation Science Institute in Dallas Texas or many of the other similar institutes you can find out more.

Fave scenes: ‘What’s a photon?’, the machine spelling C-A-T, Ann’s interview with General Cozeba and finding Hakari’s shelter.

[Edwin Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

MAZE MASTER, by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, is about a virus that is quickly spreading to pandemic levels and the two people who endeavor to contain and eliminate the virus before it destroys humanity. Anna, a military geneticist, and Martin, a religion and history scholar, embark on a mission deeply rooted in religious history and how genetics and religion intertwine to hopefully lead them towards the cure before its too late.
As a good thriller does, the reader is introduced to Anna and Martin early on and the story dives right in. Anna is difficult to connect with and the few hints of vulnerability she displays aren't enough to develop her character fully. Martin's head is just spinning basically through the whole book and seems even more lost that the reader. Clues and secrets are revealed throughout the book, but I felt frustratingly lost more often than I felt like I'm one step away from the answer like I usually do when reading an epic thriller like this one. Many of the clues and observations I didn't connect to the greater meaning, maybe because they were too vague for me, or maybe because I wasn't well verse in the scientific process. Also, maybe a quick prologue or flashback between Anna and her mentor,who first identified the impending virus, would have settled me into the story early on. The action does build pleasantly towards the end of the book and there are several good who's double crossing who moments at the climax of the story.
MAZE MASTER is entertaining and exciting and, despite some of the problems I had, a good book for thriller readers.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Kathleen O'Neal Gear, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Jaye Melino · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was....not a good book. I’m not entirely sure why I finished it — I hate DNFing books that I think are mediocre (at first) so maybe that’s why.

This book suffers from Author Egotism. It could have done with huge revisions, but it seems like the author believed her initial conceit was genius, and she went ahead with it. The problem is that it makes no sense. Characters are introduced with little to no backstory or description, so you neither know nor care about who they are. The archeological/technological mystery makes no sense, and because no one understands it, the main character is constantly explaining things in incredibly dumbed down ways that STILL don’t make sense. However, there is one concept throughout the book that we have explained to us as readers maybe 8 times. As an aside, the only character I cared about was one of the scientists dogs, Joshua. He was the only one with any interest or backstory. I wish I was kidding.

Every time a new clue is discovered, Anna Asher gets all moody about her past and then stares into the distance for a few minutes and then gets sweaty and then solves it, most likely in a way that highlights her big eyes and muscular physique. Yes, this book is that poorly written.

Overall, don’t read this. Read the Da Vinci code instead, of Station Eleven if you want that apocalyptic feeling. Don’t wasted your time with this 330 page book that is truly a testament to an authors ego. This book is how I imagine my grandmother would feel reading and IKEA catalogue; too many shapes, not enough description, and I was confused and annoyed the whole time. Don’t read this.