Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man

by Tahir Shah

Hannibal Fogg & the Supreme Secret of Man Through a life cloaked in mystery, Edwardian polymath Hannibal G. Fogg pushed the boundaries of exploration, science and code-breaking – producing feats of unrivalled cerebral dexterity. Hailing from a landed family, Fogg was a confidant to world leaders, a soldier, swordsman, prolific author, inventor, collector, and quite probably the most extraordinary man ever to have lived. But, while such genius won him accolades and fame, it also fanned the flames of envy. Unable to take Fogg’s triumphs any longer, the British establishment sought to have him discredited. His life work was publically destroyed in what was to become known as the ‘Great Foggian Purge’. Banished from England, he lived out his days in secrecy – before disappearing on an expedition to Manchuria in the winter of 1939. Almost eight decades passed. Then, one morning William Fogg receives a letter from a legal firm in London, claiming he’s the sole inheritor to his great-great-grandfather’s Estate. Knowing almost nothing of his forebear, he takes possession of the single object left in the bequest – a large rusty iron key… the key to a door in Marrakesh. And there begins the treasure trail of mystery, danger and uproar, as William pieces together the clues left for him by Hannibal Fogg. Zigzagging through five continents, the quest reveals how Alexander the Great was never beaten in battle. By completing the life work of Hannibal, William Fogg strives to lift the veil on the Supreme Secret of Man. First in a series of ground-breaking adventure novels from master storyteller, Tahir Shah, Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man is unlike anything published in recent times. Ten years in the making, it’s as worldly and wise as the indefatigable Hannibal Fogg. By the celebrated author of The Caliph’s House, a TIME Top Ten Book of the Year.

Genres: Historical Fiction

642 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2018

About the author

Tahir Shah was born in London, and raised primarily at the family’s home, Langton House, in the English countryside – where founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden Powell was also brought up.

Along with his twin and elder sisters, Tahir was continually coaxed to regard the world around him through Oriental eyes. This included being exposed from early childhood to Eastern stories, and to the back-to-front humour of the wise fool, Nasrudin.

Having studied at a leading public school, Bryanston, Tahir took a degree in International Relations, his particular interest being in African dictatorships of the mid-1980s. His research in this area led him to travel alone through a wide number of failing African states, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.

After university, Tahir embarked on a plethora of widespread travels through the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and Africa, drawing them together in his first travelogue, Beyond the Devil’s Teeth. In the years that followed, he published more than a dozen works of travel. These quests – for lost cities, treasure, Indian magic, and for the secrets of the so-called Birdmen of Peru – led to what is surely one of the most extraordinary bodies of travel work ever published.

In the early 2000s, with two small children, Tahir moved his young family from an apartment in London’s East End to a supposedly haunted mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The tale of the adventure was published in his bestselling book, The Caliph’s House.

In recent years, Tahir Shah has released a cornucopia of work, embracing travel, fiction, and literary criticism. He has also made documentaries for National Geographic TV and the History Channel, and published hundreds of articles in leading magazines, newspapers, and journals. His oeuvre is regarded as exceptionally original and, as an author, he is considered as a champion of the new face of publishing.

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Reviews

[H.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man a rich, compelling, exciting and fast-paced read, and greatly enjoyed being carried along on Will's epic globe-trotting adventures, and drinking-in something of the vivid description and local cultures with which Tahir Shah (also being a travel writer) has expertly infused his work.

When I first heard the title of the book, I did pause and wonder how and whether Tahir Shah would be able to pull off something as lofty as the revelation of the "Supreme Secret of Man", but having read the book to its conclusion, I was delighted to find that the author actually did "pull it off" in a wonderful and poignant way, and it was at this point that I saw great possibilities in a sequel or series of sequels and — who knows? — perhaps even the prospect of being made into a film to rival the likes of Indiana Jones or Philip Pullman's Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass).

All-in-all, then, I have no hesitation whatsoever in giving the book a well-deserved five stars, and I very much look forward to reading more.

[Ulrika Eriksson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being imaginative, colorful, exiting, humorous, like Indiana Jones spiced with SF and mysticism, it's like flying away on a magic carpet reading Hannibal Fogg by Tahir Shah. So if you want depictions of everyday life, this is really not the book to read.
When William on his 21:st birthday opens his great great grandfather Hannibal's legacy to him, starts a crazy, action filled adventure that takes him around the world in a quest for the missing parts to a machine with a extraextraordinary power that can change the world - to the good - if Will plays his cards right and follows Hannibals instructions how to assemble the parts. But dark powers are following in his footsteps and William has to show the courage he didn't know he had

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will galore, The Magi out manoeuvered, no fantasy maw.
''Thank God you've come!' exclaimed Hannibal.
'What?'
Grasping him by the arm, the explorer pulled Will into the light.
'All hell's about to break loose!' he exclaimed.
'There's not a moment to waste!''
PAGE TURNER: COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. Actually, had to put it down once or twice, interruptions. One of those books when you long to sit in the armchair reading all day long. Tea or coffee and a sandwich, then BACK to Hannibal Fogg and The Supreme Secret of Man. Opening pages list Hannibal Fogg’s expeditions with dates, followed by a list of Hannibal’s books: a read in itself. Here are some titles from sixty-two titles. The Pain of Silence 1891, Ballads of Hope and Anguish 189?, Elementary Mechanics 1900, Electro Mechanics Made Easy 1901, Lichen Growth and its Unique Specification 1912, Sexual Dysfunction Among the Hema Tribe of the Belgian Congo 1914, Letters to Satan 1914, Why 1915, Philately of Empire 1915, Accelerated Learning Techniques 1919, Manx Birdlife 1923, Finite Infinity 1929, Carpology and Its Uses 1936. Had to look up Carpology on the internet- internet, a development WILLIAM Fogg AND Hannibal Fogg BOTH use. Carpology is the study of fruits and seeds! Loved this book. It is full of information, ‘secrets’ and fun. Recommended and recommended. Stands re-reads and re-reads, broadens one's outlook, one's capacity to taste.

[Aubrey Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legendary polymath Hannibal Fogg reaches through time to send his geeky Great-Great-Grandson on a jaw clenching life and death quest for an ancient machine that is critical to the destiny of all humankind. Playful, exotic, magical, this thought-provoking book careens over five continents brought to life by Tahir Shah's extensive travels and his fascination with the obscure. A fabulous book. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Robs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many a trial and tribulation in this fantastic tale of high adventure in pursuit of humanities deepest secrets. An engaging enjoyable read. Would definitely like to hear more about Fogg.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fantasy and adventure story which moves quickly around the world making use of the authors own real experiences in his own previous adventure travels. It is crammed with fascinating detail and facts which help make the story feel real even though it is an incredible fantasy. The intertwined storylines are fascinating and it is hard to put down the book as you really want to know what is going to happen next. We all need steep learning curves in our lives, as the book itself advises, and the central characters in this book certainly experience many of them as they proceed through the story. Thoroughly recommend the book.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has achieved a rare feat in 'Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man', he has created a history book of alternative futures directly alongside a narrative of historical fact. While this is the aim of any good historical fiction, the author has done so creatively and across not just a single time period but an entire timeline from ancient times to present. Using the AntiKythera Mechanism (found in the wreckage of a Trireme off the coast of the island Antikythera in 1902) - an ancient Grecian steampunk computer (perhaps) as a plot device to tie the protagonist's great-great-grandson (William Fogg) to a journey from one present/historical destination to the next to find pieces of an ancient machine that will break modern society with the truths it unveils. I can imagine in my mind's eye the partially transparent map overlay in the Indiana Jones movies where Indiana travels from New York to Cairo in a plane travelling the the red line between exotic locales - as William and his team jet set from Marrakesh to China to the Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia) as well as many other exciting destinations. Each location is slowly revealed through a series of intricate riddles and clues hidden in time and space.

With each new discovery the reader can share in the adventure as William uncovers each layer of the mystery. Written in rich descriptive text, the author plays easily between magical realism and historical fiction with ease, to the multi-storied benefit of the reader time and time again. Amply drenched in National Treasure-esque conspiracy theories, secret organizations, and shadowy government agencies the roller-coaster ride of a novel is boisterous and fun.

Given the backdrop of this adventure, the 600+ page book was a speed read for me. This is the first of three books (I believe). I am eagerly awaiting the next installment!

[Noorullah Babrakzai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tahir shah’s Hannibal Fogg is truly a great work and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story, besides transcontinental adventures and suspense, gives quite a few mystical insights to the reader. For example, “mystical components of the machine were encoded in human faiths”. We also “meet” Sir Richard Burton (the translator of the ‘Arabian Nights’ into English in 1885) initiating Hannibal Fogg into the mystical order of ‘Peacock Angel’. It’s followers are commonly called the Yezidis. Similarly it includes a “visit” to Madam Blavatsky in India, whose name is associated with Theosophy. Hannibal Fogg’s Dar Jnnoun house happens to have a room with an octagonal roof (pointing to his Sufi connection). And in the contemporary world, one of the book’s mystical character mentions, “destructive extremism—cloaked beneath the guise of religious fanaticism”! Also the author has had hands-on experiences of many cultures in Africa, the Americas, Asia, not to speak of Europe where he grew up (in England).

Tahir Shah is well aware of the fact that his readers are equipped with smart phones, have access to the internet, and can ‘Google’ anything! Therefore, he mentions some key concept words in this book (without any explanation) for his readers to discover by themselves i.e., Rosae Crucis, Hirudu medicinalis , Titan giganteus,Yaruba, Lewisite, Taipan, Garuda etc. To me this book seems to be a “Gate” to the mystical dream world of Tahir Shah and probably we will be treated to more interesting stories in the future.

[Michal Cichon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man is one of the most interesting novels out there. It had me glued to my seat, dreading the moment I had next to get up. The sheer amount of twists and turns had me reeling, wondering deeper questions about life, the world and human destiny. I know it's fiction but it certainly made me wonder... what's it all about?
In spite of the labyrinthine plot a love story emerges. I would go deeper but to give away a spoiler from a book of this high quality would be a crime. I recommend it greatly. I'll warn you though, once you open the pages of Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man it's as if a spell has been cast over one, making the task of putting it back down quite difficult. Buy it now!

[Jorge Centofanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
From the moment I started reading Tahir Shah’s ‘Hannibal Fogg’ I knew this was an unputdownable book, so immediately I decided to ration my reading in order to savour it for a longer period of time rather than stay in motion reading it all at once.
It is a rollercoaster ride of fast pace adventures in the past, the present and the future, narrated with a masterly class to captivate our attention on a subject that never ceases to amaze and in a genre that this prolific author seems to have invented.
A marvellous book to enjoy and go along with it until the open door conclusion….

[Muneera Salem-Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before delving into some the details of the book, let me sum it up in a few words: enchanting; deliciously consuming; couldn’t put it down!

An engaging story teller, Tahir Shah excels, once again. Like Amin Maalouf, the Lebanese-French writer and author of the beautifully-portrayed tale: Samarcande, Shah takes his reader on a magical journey, unhampered by boundaries of time and space; he escorts us on what brings to mind childhood dreams of being carried away on Aladin’s magical carpet to far, far away exotic lands, effortlessly crossing continental boundaries and historical eras, and going all the way back to Ancient History, to the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, to once again return to the New World of 2017. Furthermore, the journeys that Shah takes us on are a sort of reminder of those taken by Alexander himself: Babylonia, Egypt, Persia, the Punjab, and the Indus valley…

Much more regularly, we move between the Edwardian polymath and explorer, Hannibal Fogg in his different, ever-changing worlds, and his great, great grandson, William Fogg, otherwise know as Will, a “geek,” and a full-scholarship student at “San Francisco State,” where, to his annoyance, he shares a room with a rather unkempt but quite clever fellow student. There is also much moving around with Will, once he decides to pursue the fortune that his ancestor Hannibal has left him, including Morocco, especially Marrakesh. The intricate descriptions of “Dar Jnoun,” or “The House of Jinns,” the old residence of Hannibal Fogg, and the events therein are captivating.

Shrouded in mystery, events unveil themselves in a deliberate unhurriedness that, once in mid course, seem to proceed at a pace as swift as that of the “Flash.” In the process, we witness incidents, from the most bizarre to the most humdrum or what might appear, at first glance, as such. At times, so much is happening, all at once, that the reader feels somewhat lost and might even experience desperate rage, unable to tear himself away from an overpowering labyrinth. Behind, beneath and surrounding it all is an interwoven backdrop of various legends concerning a most extraordinary buried treasure, a “brilliantly crafted” device, a sort of “mechanical mechanism” that, supposedly, was once behind Alexander the Great’s unfailing successes on the battlefield.

I shall not reveal any more of the details of the book. They should be discovered directly.

An advice/warning to the reader: don’t be taken aback by the length of the book—616 pages. Once you get into it, it is very absorbing and fast-moving. And don’t be too distracted or turned off by some of the semi-scientific details that Shah includes. Continue reading. By the way, I love what seems like constant references to Google, I-Phone, and even Wikipedia when we are back with Will (and Emma) in the year 2017. At one point, when Will and Emma are discussing the “Antikythera Mechanism,” also known as the “Alexander Mechanism,” Emma touches a hand to Will’s arm and says “We’ve got one thing Hannibal would have killed for.” “What’s that,” Will retorts. “Google,” she says!

Who’s Emma? Read the book!

[Fionn · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the modern world’s distaste for – and even embarrassment over – the age of Imperialism coupled with the cynicism of our age it has felt to me for a long time that romantic adventure had passed into history. I have found myself re-watching movies such as the ‘Indiana Jones’ series or ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and re-reading tales such as those by Hergé or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believing that it was unlikely I would come across a modern story, book or film, that recaptured the spirit of these novels and films.

I write this not to provide a history lesson but simply to provide some context for my review. Tahir Shah perfectly recaptures the spirit of this earlier age in ‘Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man’.

The book is thrilling, set in plenty fantastic locations around the world, filled with interesting and diverse characters – ranging from the everyman protagonist to the adventurer who would rival Indiana Jones himself – filled with interesting historical titbits and, above all, highly enjoyable and fun.

It seems too often that many authors conceive of ‘good writing’ as necessarily being pretentious, unclear and lacking in fun. However, this does not need be the case.

Hannibal Fogg is exceedingly well written. As the reader you often have no idea where it is going next, the seeds of thrilling twists are planted very early and subtly in the book and Shah expertly weaves his story with striking clarity despite having to tell multiple stories concurrently.

Most importantly, Shah evidently understands that reading a book should fill you with joy and make you love that book. Well, he has succeeded and I did love this book.

The highest praise I can give this novel is to say that this grumpy reviewer who had thought he would be permanently complaining about the lack of romantic adventure in modern writing and movies will be giving Hannibal Fogg as gifts to my younger cousins alongside ‘The Lost World’ by Conan Doyle and ‘Tintin’.

[Christiane Gutbrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book!
It is not only the breathtaking adventure - it is also the great wisdom involved, that transforms this book into a lesson for life.
And the goal - to me the only one worth our life.
Wonderful, extraordinary, wonderful.
And also very elegant.

[Thomas Lazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, full of weird and wonderful events. If I was stuck on a desert island with only one book to read it would be an even tie between Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man and Paris Syndrome. I am really looking forward to the next installment.

[Ita Marquess · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE SILVER HELIX



For a decade Tahir Shah worked on his absorbing, epic, six-hundred-page novel, ‘Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man’. Although the publishers of his early books included John Murray and Weidenfeld and Nicolson, to have complete control over his more recent work he had set up his own publishing house, Secretum Mundi. Hannibal Fogg was written with manic energy in three weeks, when he veered between periods of elation and times when he declared he was on the brink of madness. It was with relief and with minimum fanfare that he announced its release on social media.

‘Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man’ is stunning. It’s a work of pure genius, an Odyssey for the twenty-first century. What first captivates your attention is a gripping story. Will Fogg is a young American geek, whose conventional student life is interrupted when, on his twenty-first birthday, he receives a bequest from his great-great-grandfather, Hannibal. Through Executors in London he is given an iron key, the key to a mansion in Marrakech, Dar Jnoun or the House of the Jinn. He soon discovers it is no ordinary mansion, but one containing clues left specifically for him by his urbane, polymathic and widely-travelled forebear, Hannibal. These clues lead Will to discover rooms of which even the mysterious, aristocratic servant, who greets him when he turns the key, is unaware. They also prompt him to set out on an urgent quest, one initiated but not completed by Hannibal. He is being asked to rediscover the mechanism which accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns and to which was attributed his invincibility. Not only is the mechanism to be recovered but seven vital components, which were removed for safeguarding by the secret Order of Zoroaster and hidden on five continents, are to be located and restored to their original position. The quest, fraught with difficulties and danger, stretches Will to the limit and brings to the fore, both in him and in his travelling companion Emma, abilities and rare qualities they had not been aware they possessed.

You can enjoy the thrills and humour of the story, regard it as complete fantasy, and look forward to the second of the three books in the series. Or, your curiosity to know the ending satisfied, you can re-read it concentrating on the wealth of fascinating detail. As you do so, you may find a more subtle story emerging. Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man is built on a bedrock of Truth.

In the chapter on The Classical Masters in Idries Shah’s book ‘The Way of the Sufi’, Tahir’s father wrote about the thirteenth-century Iranian author, Saadi of Shiraz. Saadi, he told us, was a man of no resources, who spent most of his time as a wanderer on the face of the Earth, but managed to complete two great classics within three years. With ‘The Rose Garden’ he produced a work, which appeared to contain only moralistic aphorisms and stories, but which concealed the whole range of the deepest Sufi knowledge which can be committed to writing. This feat, Idries Shah added had never been accomplished in any Western language.

I am not a Sufi. I don’t have the capacity to transmit Sufi knowledge, so it is impossible for me to judge whether the knowledge contained in Hannibal Fogg is the deepest that can be committed to writing. I can say that, on reading this book for the second time, assisted by Wikipedia when necessary, I found knowledge that was profoundly shocking, but also exhilarating. I would be very surprised if this knowledge can be found in any other book written in English.

This is a work that stays with you, revealing more of its depth at unexpected times. I know I’ll read it again, or listen to the Audiobook. There are even more subtle threads than metaphor woven into the story. I am aware that Tahir’s eccentric descriptions of body movements is deliberate and acts as a hidden language, but I haven’t yet made any serious attempt to decipher it.

No matter at what level you experience it, this book nourishes your spirit. In one unforgettable scene Will, Emma, and their guide, Solomon reach the starvation camps of a parallel Ethiopia. There they find people who, because of their lack of food, have little chance of escape. People who have ‘been abandoned on the scrap heap of life and left to rot’. All I can do in this review is point to a hearty meal, readily available.

[Paul Berglund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man is a
mind-stretching ride on a mechanical magic carpet
through a modern-day Thousand and One Nights.
The great-great grandson of a genius polymath
explorer goes on a dazzling adventure of his own,
in the hope of completing an age-old mission
pursued through the dedication of a special family
over many generations. Just-in-time clues and
assistance, from knowledge out of another dimension,
help keep the search alive. The blend of historical and
cultural fact with the utterly fantastic makes for a
unique mosaic, in this adventure story for...and from...
the ages. It's a page turner... full of vitality and intrique
and mystery. Stretch your mind...read Hannibal Fogg...
and don't regret reaching the end. Because...it isn't the end!

[Julian Hadlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and well written

Fascinating, well written, and bordering on the realms of fiction, fantasy, and reality, this is a sizeable detective story on the trail of a machine whose origins are lost in the mists of time.
Now in pieces scattered around the globe, the Alexander Machine (after Alexander the Great), the Fogg family over the course of several generations seek out the missing components to restore the machine to operational status.

The story is based around one William Fogg, though there is no single protagonist in the book – Shah calling on other members of the Fogg family as necessary to recount the chronicle. Will, as he is known, is accompanied by Emma through much of the book, though there are no shenanigans – implied or otherwise – other than the odd peck on the cheek.

Every generation of Foggs is accompanied by a member of the Chaudhury family, who are of highborn status. However, each generation gives up one member of their lineage into servitude as repayment of a long-standing debt to the Foggs. Thus, the tale goes back and forth to other times and places in an interwoven series of events and characters. It could even be said that the Chaudhury House through the generations actually assist (or perhaps even direct) the Foggs toward their goal.

Shah uses his almost polymathic abilities to create an atmosphere within the book that encourages the reader to read on in what becomes a cloud of mixed realities, sometimes bordering on the incredulous. However, don’t be fooled, it is primarily a work of fiction. For example, checking on the Internet links given at the front of the book brought up no results. These too, were cleverly crafted to create the world in which the Foggs live.

A wonderful but complex story that stands re-reading more than once – there is more to this tale than meets the eye…

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we open this book we enter a world both real and imagined, securely located now and in the past and future, bound together by a wealth of detail. We have Hannibal's portrait and his bibliography, the plan of his house and his monogram, letters in his hand and a drawing of the fabulous machine he has bequeathed to a distant descendant. This machine is one of the deeply hidden means Hannibal has of passing information through the generations so it is hidden from everyone except his great great grandson Will. There are many people out there who would do anything to uncover the secret, and it must be protected from them. Yet if no one knows of what Will must find, how is he to discover it? Dear future reader, open the book and find out.

[Carl Steiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As anyone who has read the works of Tahir Shah can tell you, the man is a master story teller. This madcap steampunkish adventure about the mother of all scavenger hunts is just additional evidence of that.

And yet I’m not entirely satisfied. The characters I’ve encountered in Shah’s travel books are clearly real people, though the names are changed to protect the guilty. With the exception of the polymath Hannibal Fogg himself, the characters here just seem to be lacking depth to me.

The book is thoroughly entertaining anyway.

[Glenn Davisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me forever to finish this book. I spent many months reading it. I didn't want it to end. There are many instances in the book that beggar belief. But I went along and suspended my disbelief and it was well worth it. Thanks, Tahir, for another great book.

[Anette · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first couple of lines I knew I was going to love this book. I have to admit I normally am a little biased about Tahir's books, as we've met him and his family. Our kids were friends. But this book, with now bias at all, is incredible.
Going between past and present it's a wild ride that reminds one of a treasure hunt combined with Robert Langdon (Dan Brown's books) and throw in a bit of "80 days around the world" for good luck.
Hannibal Fogg leaves these elaborate, cryptic clues for his great-great-grandson William, to find parts to complete the "Mechanism".
I want to leave a quote from the book, that's not a spoiler, but I found it quite profound, especially in today's world :
‘If the Mechanism is restarted,’ he said, his eyes glaring, ‘then the political balance of the world may well be destabilised in the most spectacular way.’
Do yourself a favour and read Hannibal Fogg, and join the team anxiously waiting for the next book.

[Gareth Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fortunate to have met Tahir and his family when we all lived in Morocco, so I always feel that I have a tiiiiiiny little insight to the books that he writes.

This is a rollicking adventure of a book, and I can only hope that a series develops from the legend of Hannibal Fogg. It's insanely well researched and takes the reader on a globe-trotting rollercoaster as young Will Fogg follows ancient clues from the past ... to ... ermm ... get to the future. The curious history of the Fogg family jumps backwards and forwards through time as we are introduced to the ingenuity of Hannibal, and the breathtaking trip that Will must take to understand the significance of his family.

It leaves the reader wanting more.

[Janet Gamache · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this book.

Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man is a wonder-full book! Especially so, for those who imagine that they have read it all, seen it all, and cannot be surprised. Adventure, intrigue, and pure magic await between the covers and keep the reader riveted until the last page. That the author, Tahir Shah, is a world traveler, whose astonishing real-life adventures rival those of his hero, only contributes to the spell-binding quality of the work. If you have not as yet obtained a copy, do so without delay. You are in for a rare treat.

[Amir · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. I am surprised at so many 5 stars. No doubt it's a good book, but not a perfect one. It is a page turner but it is near amateurish at times as well. Almost seemed over packed with too many things. In fact, had I not read Tahir Shah earlier, I would have thought not a lot of editing and research went into this. But I know his books, and I know he's one hell of a story teller. I'll be waiting for the next

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started off well enough but fizzled out. The plot was too lofty. Picture an Indiana Jones type of plot but instead of going after one or two treasures, the lead goes after 7 treasures spread all over the world. The author takes their time recovering the first and second but after awhile it’s a page per treasure. Too much is happening too quickly. It quickly becomes unbelievable and not fun to read.

[C3bridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpiece by Tahir Shah. Combining many of his previous travel adventure sites into one thrilling adventure. I can't say enough about his style of writing. It is a unique blend of action, mystery, history, and cultural smorgasbord.

[Dave Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

a crazy alternate universe Indiana Jones on an series of adventures involving a rube goldberg like device - it sounds like more fun than it turns out to be - i found the character development lacking and the fantasy element a detriment more than a benefit.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very entertaining around-the-world quest-adventure story and I enjoyed reading it. It could be made into a movie in the Indiana Jones tradition. The ending suggests that there could be a sequel. To me a limitation of the novel is that whereas the hero, young William Fogg, gets into a lot of difficult situations, all difficulties are quickly resolved due to the prescience of William’s ancestor Hannibal Fogg. And like most stories where the emphasis is on adventure and action, there isn’t much development of the characters. Recently in the New York Times Review of Books an author opined that there are two types of novels. In one, the characters are paramount and the action follows from the nature of the characters. In the second, plot is king and the characters are rather arbitrary people that are plugged in to follow the plot. This novel is of the second type.

[Shahram Ghaneh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is incredible how far Tahir Shah could go into the realm of fantasy. This is my second book from the author, and the first time I was overwhelmed by such an amazing ability to create a fascinating story from nothing!

[Sherri Ghane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

What a great fantasy! Amazingly written. A perfect story. Loved it. I recommend this book to all book lovers. Different