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Sean Wyatt #1
The Secret of the Stones
Librarian note: Older covers for this edition can be found here: 4-Jan-2014, 29-Nov-2012.
They tried to kill him to cover up an ancient secret. Now Sean Wyatt is plunged head first into a race against time to save his best friend and the lives of billions.
A four thousand year old mystery lurks in the hills of Georgia. While investigating a strange series of ancient symbols, an archaeologist vanishes, and a professor he entrusted with the secret is murdered.
Former government agent, Sean Wyatt, learns of his friend's disappearance and the murder. Now he must unravel the clues to the ancient mystery that holds incredible power.
To save his friend, Sean will have to fight off highly trained mercenaries in hand to hand combat, violent shootouts, and high speed car chases through the Blue Ridge Mountains. And in the end, what he learns will change the history books as we know them.
The Secret of the Stones is packed with suspense and mystery, conspiracies and fascinating secret societies, and leaves you turning the pages late into the night in USA Today Bestseller Ernest Dempsey's breakthrough international adventure series.
Don't miss this story that takes you through the southern United States on a wild adventure that could change the shape of civilization.
They tried to kill him to cover up an ancient secret. Now Sean Wyatt is plunged head first into a race against time to save his best friend and the lives of billions.
A four thousand year old mystery lurks in the hills of Georgia. While investigating a strange series of ancient symbols, an archaeologist vanishes, and a professor he entrusted with the secret is murdered.
Former government agent, Sean Wyatt, learns of his friend's disappearance and the murder. Now he must unravel the clues to the ancient mystery that holds incredible power.
To save his friend, Sean will have to fight off highly trained mercenaries in hand to hand combat, violent shootouts, and high speed car chases through the Blue Ridge Mountains. And in the end, what he learns will change the history books as we know them.
The Secret of the Stones is packed with suspense and mystery, conspiracies and fascinating secret societies, and leaves you turning the pages late into the night in USA Today Bestseller Ernest Dempsey's breakthrough international adventure series.
Don't miss this story that takes you through the southern United States on a wild adventure that could change the shape of civilization.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2010
4429 people are currently reading
2989 people want to read
About the author
Ernest Dempsey
71 books475 followersErnest Dempsey is a huge fan of action/adventure thrillers and science fiction.
He has been creating stories since he was in high school but never published a book until 2010, long after the days of high school were gone.
His action & adventure books come from a lineage similar to Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and James Rollins. While his science fiction novels are full of influence from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, The Matrix movie, and Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott.
He is quickly becoming one of the hottest fiction authors in the book world.
He has been creating stories since he was in high school but never published a book until 2010, long after the days of high school were gone.
His action & adventure books come from a lineage similar to Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and James Rollins. While his science fiction novels are full of influence from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, The Matrix movie, and Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott.
He is quickly becoming one of the hottest fiction authors in the book world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 518 reviews
August 12, 2024
Not Perfect, But…
Sean Wyatt and his friends are on the search for an archeological friend who has been kidnapped.
The kidnappers demand his help in finding hidden chambers filled with ancient Egyptian treasures. Yes, here in America.
Lots of shooting and violence…and lots of action.
This one is worth the four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sean Wyatt and his friends are on the search for an archeological friend who has been kidnapped.
The kidnappers demand his help in finding hidden chambers filled with ancient Egyptian treasures. Yes, here in America.
Lots of shooting and violence…and lots of action.
This one is worth the four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 15, 2021
A sort of Indiana Jones. Liked it.
April 4, 2018
An interesting book about an ancient Native American legend of hidden treasure and some desperate people trying to find it.
There is a good blend of fiction and actual fact to create an adventure tale about ancient hidden caverns of gold. The story is set in Georgia and starts out with the murder of a respected college professor who is an expert on ancient Native American symbology. Before he dies, he sends off clues to a couple colleagues. The information is secret and accordingly the correspondence is coded so the contents is not obvious to someone other than recipient. One of the colleagues, Thomas Schultz an archeological expert, is kidnapped by the bad guys to decipher clues. The second colleague is Sean Wyatt. He works for an archeological outfit that travels around the world finding old artifacts.
Sean is being interviewed by a journalist, Allyson Webster, about his adventures. She is also trying to get Sean to reveal some secrets. Allyson is not what she is presenting herself to be. Suddenly, Sean and Allyson are in a public gunfight barely escaping with their lives. The race is on in a scavenger hunt for clues by Thomas and the bad guys followed by Sean and Allyson hot on their trail. Following Sean and Allyson, is an Atlanta police detective investigating the trail dead people left in the wake of the chase.
I thought the information surrounding the mystery as the most interesting part of the book. The characters I didn't think were all that interesting. I mean, they weren't badly written but on the other hand I didn't feel much of a connection either. I guess I felt a general lack of depth in the character department. Allyson's character I got the feeling the author didn't quite know what to do with her. She's there, partly, to create a romantic tension with Sean. This is so tepid it made me wonder why bother?
The plot has lots of twists and turns but on the whole follows a fairly well-worn formula. There are stretches and jumps in places that had me going "What?" The story pace does move along at a good clip so as not to get bogged down.
Overall, this is an entertaining and interesting reading endeavor. While it didn't knock my socks off, I like the idea. I'll be checking out other books by this author.
There is a good blend of fiction and actual fact to create an adventure tale about ancient hidden caverns of gold. The story is set in Georgia and starts out with the murder of a respected college professor who is an expert on ancient Native American symbology. Before he dies, he sends off clues to a couple colleagues. The information is secret and accordingly the correspondence is coded so the contents is not obvious to someone other than recipient. One of the colleagues, Thomas Schultz an archeological expert, is kidnapped by the bad guys to decipher clues. The second colleague is Sean Wyatt. He works for an archeological outfit that travels around the world finding old artifacts.
Sean is being interviewed by a journalist, Allyson Webster, about his adventures. She is also trying to get Sean to reveal some secrets. Allyson is not what she is presenting herself to be. Suddenly, Sean and Allyson are in a public gunfight barely escaping with their lives. The race is on in a scavenger hunt for clues by Thomas and the bad guys followed by Sean and Allyson hot on their trail. Following Sean and Allyson, is an Atlanta police detective investigating the trail dead people left in the wake of the chase.
I thought the information surrounding the mystery as the most interesting part of the book. The characters I didn't think were all that interesting. I mean, they weren't badly written but on the other hand I didn't feel much of a connection either. I guess I felt a general lack of depth in the character department. Allyson's character I got the feeling the author didn't quite know what to do with her. She's there, partly, to create a romantic tension with Sean. This is so tepid it made me wonder why bother?
The plot has lots of twists and turns but on the whole follows a fairly well-worn formula. There are stretches and jumps in places that had me going "What?" The story pace does move along at a good clip so as not to get bogged down.
Overall, this is an entertaining and interesting reading endeavor. While it didn't knock my socks off, I like the idea. I'll be checking out other books by this author.
May 30, 2017
This book had a very interesting premise but was marred by poor writing and inadequate character development so, as much as I liked the mystery, I won't be reading the rest of the series.
March 11, 2017
Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey
Sean Wyatt series Book #1
4.5 stars
From The Book:
Sean Wyatt's learns his best friend has been kidnapped while working on a secret project. Sean and his new acquaintance, Allyson Webster, embark on a mission to solve a series of ancient clues they he hopes will lead to whoever kidnapped his friend. The riddles lead them on a dangerous chase through the southeastern United States and to a four thousand year-old secret that is bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.
My Thoughts:
I liked this book so much more than I ever thought possible. It's filled from cover to cover with action, suspense, a murder and a history lesson....so what's not to like? Fiction and legend are mixed to develop a theory on the origins of Native Americans on the North American continent. The reader doesn't have to agree with the theory to be entertained by the content and the process that provided the theory. Betrayal sets the stage for the next book and I believe I will be on a search for it.
Sean Wyatt series Book #1
4.5 stars
From The Book:
Sean Wyatt's learns his best friend has been kidnapped while working on a secret project. Sean and his new acquaintance, Allyson Webster, embark on a mission to solve a series of ancient clues they he hopes will lead to whoever kidnapped his friend. The riddles lead them on a dangerous chase through the southeastern United States and to a four thousand year-old secret that is bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.
My Thoughts:
I liked this book so much more than I ever thought possible. It's filled from cover to cover with action, suspense, a murder and a history lesson....so what's not to like? Fiction and legend are mixed to develop a theory on the origins of Native Americans on the North American continent. The reader doesn't have to agree with the theory to be entertained by the content and the process that provided the theory. Betrayal sets the stage for the next book and I believe I will be on a search for it.
March 6, 2016
The Secret of the Stones is the 1st in a trilogy by Ernest Dempsey. Sean Wyatt is wanted by the police after one friend is killed and another goes missing. Sean is a member of a group that searches for artifacts.
The book is packed with suspense, conspiracy theories and secret societies.
Loved the book.
The book is packed with suspense, conspiracy theories and secret societies.
Loved the book.
March 11, 2018
The author really knows how to write a fast paced story and starts with a very interesting plot line. Unfortunately, everything goes downhill from there. The characters are poorly developed. Every chapter seems to trot out another tired cliché. The conversations are just not believable.
October 13, 2020
Interesting...
I’ve always love ancient historical mystery fiction books. Ok, so I don’t really know what the genre is except that it’s up my alley 👻
The only issue I have with this is, most clues wasn’t necessary to find the actual place. I mean, it’s right on the first clue they had! It wasn’t like they needed anything else from the different clues along the way to help navigate anywhere. It was kinda like a pointless treasure hunt in a way 🙈
That said, it was still a fascinating read. I like that it highlighted Native American culture and accurately pointed out why the American government back in the day wanted to drive out the Native Americans. Greed! 😤
I’ve always love ancient historical mystery fiction books. Ok, so I don’t really know what the genre is except that it’s up my alley 👻
The only issue I have with this is, most clues wasn’t necessary to find the actual place. I mean, it’s right on the first clue they had! It wasn’t like they needed anything else from the different clues along the way to help navigate anywhere. It was kinda like a pointless treasure hunt in a way 🙈
That said, it was still a fascinating read. I like that it highlighted Native American culture and accurately pointed out why the American government back in the day wanted to drive out the Native Americans. Greed! 😤
April 21, 2018
I very much enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting, and the plot was twisty. The timeline was a bit unbelievable, though, in that the complex, ancient riddle was solved so quickly. All in all, a good read!
January 23, 2019
The Secret of the Stones - a review by Rosemary Kenny
Ernest Dempsey takes us back to the earliest days of Sean Wyatt and Tommy Schultz's friendship and subsequent lives and fortunes as they form the IAA and start the first of three adventures in the The Lost Chambers Trilogy, withing the Sean Wyatt Archaeological Thriller series that brings the eager reader long-lasting adventure-thriller pleasure like never before.
What is the secret revealed by the translation of the tablet? Who else is seeking the clues held on the whereabouts of the Lost Chambers of Gold?
How is Sean involved in what has happened to Tommy? Who is Emily Meyers? Why does Detective Trent suspect Sean? When is Professor Borringer killed?
From Native American secrets to modern technology wielded by villains with no scruples and a deadly agenda, the action and excitement never pause for a second
making the Secret of the Stones an unputdownable, edge-of-your-seat winner for Ernest Dempsey. Don't miss it!
Ernest Dempsey takes us back to the earliest days of Sean Wyatt and Tommy Schultz's friendship and subsequent lives and fortunes as they form the IAA and start the first of three adventures in the The Lost Chambers Trilogy, withing the Sean Wyatt Archaeological Thriller series that brings the eager reader long-lasting adventure-thriller pleasure like never before.
What is the secret revealed by the translation of the tablet? Who else is seeking the clues held on the whereabouts of the Lost Chambers of Gold?
How is Sean involved in what has happened to Tommy? Who is Emily Meyers? Why does Detective Trent suspect Sean? When is Professor Borringer killed?
From Native American secrets to modern technology wielded by villains with no scruples and a deadly agenda, the action and excitement never pause for a second
making the Secret of the Stones an unputdownable, edge-of-your-seat winner for Ernest Dempsey. Don't miss it!
May 18, 2018
The Secret of the Stones, Sean Wyatt #1; Lost Chambers Trilogy #1
by Ernest Dempsey
I have been slow in reading this book. Nothing relating to the author's writing style. I've just been busy, but I was enjoying the book, its premise and the characters he created. What made me put it aside and say, 'Nope, I'm done" was simple. Part of the story includes a supposed agreement between the Mormon settlers moving west toward Utah and the Native American tribes in that area, specifically the Utes. Okay. I was fine with that premise. But at 2058, 40% of the way through the book on my Kindle, the author has Joe, a supposed expert on the history of the area, say this: "Look at the history of all the white settlers that went west. There are literally hundreds of stories of Indian attacks on the wagon trains. Everyone knows about them. But there is not a single recorded incident of any tribe ever attacking a Mormon settler or a group of Mormons. Why do you think that is?"
Well, Joe (by way of Dempsey), I don't think that is. First of all, although there certainly were raids on the wagon trains by Native tribes, there were not that common (Perhaps the stories the author was thinking of may be the result of too much watching of western movies?) http://www.historybits.com/west-wagon...
Second, there certainly were conflicts between Native American tribes and the Mormon Setters. Mr. Dempsey -- ever heard of the Black Hawk War? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLXu...
I was able to find multiple articles and videos which negate the statement Mr. Dempsey had his character make within 5 minutes by typing in an internet search. I would advise all you authors and hope-to-become authors to take note: if you are going to use history as a part of your novel, be sure you know the all the facts, from all sides of the story.
So, that was it for me. Sorry, I can't recommend this book other than as a cautionary tale of how NOT to write a successful novel that relies on historical events.
by Ernest Dempsey
I have been slow in reading this book. Nothing relating to the author's writing style. I've just been busy, but I was enjoying the book, its premise and the characters he created. What made me put it aside and say, 'Nope, I'm done" was simple. Part of the story includes a supposed agreement between the Mormon settlers moving west toward Utah and the Native American tribes in that area, specifically the Utes. Okay. I was fine with that premise. But at 2058, 40% of the way through the book on my Kindle, the author has Joe, a supposed expert on the history of the area, say this: "Look at the history of all the white settlers that went west. There are literally hundreds of stories of Indian attacks on the wagon trains. Everyone knows about them. But there is not a single recorded incident of any tribe ever attacking a Mormon settler or a group of Mormons. Why do you think that is?"
Well, Joe (by way of Dempsey), I don't think that is. First of all, although there certainly were raids on the wagon trains by Native tribes, there were not that common (Perhaps the stories the author was thinking of may be the result of too much watching of western movies?) http://www.historybits.com/west-wagon...
Second, there certainly were conflicts between Native American tribes and the Mormon Setters. Mr. Dempsey -- ever heard of the Black Hawk War? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLXu...
I was able to find multiple articles and videos which negate the statement Mr. Dempsey had his character make within 5 minutes by typing in an internet search. I would advise all you authors and hope-to-become authors to take note: if you are going to use history as a part of your novel, be sure you know the all the facts, from all sides of the story.
So, that was it for me. Sorry, I can't recommend this book other than as a cautionary tale of how NOT to write a successful novel that relies on historical events.
November 19, 2015
Found it simular to the National Treasure Series of movies.
April 17, 2018
An absolutely amazing Book! Impossible to put it down till you reach the end! :)
January 3, 2022
Sorry, but this is not happening. Half an hour into the audio version, and this is a dnf. The story seems promising, but life's too short for clumsy writing.
A couple of examples:
In the first scene, a missile is hurled at a person (trying to avoid too many spoilers here), and it "narrowly missed him by a few feet". Red line, note in margin: choose one adverbial phrase.
Also, missing a person by several feet is not "narrowly".
Later, another person calls (or texts? quoting from memory here) his wife; this is fine - except we're supposed to be in this man's head, following his thoughts, and a man who thinks "I'll text my wife" instead of "I'll text Fran" is at best a weird person.
A reader will easily accept a name and then later be told (or have confirmed) that this is the wife; the context - that he texts her so that she won't worry - indicates a bond and commitment, and it doesn't matter right now whether she's the wife, sister, daughter, friend, or whatever.
These things may seem small, but they throw the reader/listener out of the story.
A couple of examples:
In the first scene, a missile is hurled at a person (trying to avoid too many spoilers here), and it "narrowly missed him by a few feet". Red line, note in margin: choose one adverbial phrase.
Also, missing a person by several feet is not "narrowly".
Later, another person calls (or texts? quoting from memory here) his wife; this is fine - except we're supposed to be in this man's head, following his thoughts, and a man who thinks "I'll text my wife" instead of "I'll text Fran" is at best a weird person.
A reader will easily accept a name and then later be told (or have confirmed) that this is the wife; the context - that he texts her so that she won't worry - indicates a bond and commitment, and it doesn't matter right now whether she's the wife, sister, daughter, friend, or whatever.
These things may seem small, but they throw the reader/listener out of the story.
September 10, 2025
Ja, Gott... was soll man sagen? Die Grundgeschichte: Ehemaliger Geheimagent eines noch viel geheimeren Geheimdienstes geht nun seine eigenen Wege und rettet mal eben die Welt vor allmächtigen Schurken. Jo: hat man schon hundert mal - und hundert mal besser - gelesen. Ein dritter Aufguss aus Lee Childs Jack Reacher, Flemings James Bond und noch ein paar anderen. Leider reicht die Persönlichkeit von Sean Wyatt nicht annähernd an die Originale heran und auch das archäologische Setting ist mehr so ein dünner Dunst. Vieles bleibt zu weit im Dunkel und mich hat oft der Verdacht beschlichen, der Autor weiß schlicht selbst nicht, was da so im Verborgenen blüht. Dann gibt es zum Ende auch noch einen fetten Logikfehler. Nun ja...
Fazit: Kann man mal so nebenbei lesen, wenn nichts Besseres zur Hand ist. Gut für Wartezeiten beim Arzt oder der Mittagspause. Ich würde kein Geld für ein weiteres Buch der Reihe ausgeben.
Fazit: Kann man mal so nebenbei lesen, wenn nichts Besseres zur Hand ist. Gut für Wartezeiten beim Arzt oder der Mittagspause. Ich würde kein Geld für ein weiteres Buch der Reihe ausgeben.
August 3, 2023
An intriguing storyline!
I love archaeological adventures where people search for lost artifacts. This one is no exception; it starts a little slow, but once you get into it, the story flows smoothly and hooks you, making you eager to find out what happens next.
I particularly loved the characters of Sean and Tom, and the connection to Native Americans is almost convincing. The narration by John was top-notch, as he was able to maintain the momentum throughout the book.
I'm looking forward to the next one!
I love archaeological adventures where people search for lost artifacts. This one is no exception; it starts a little slow, but once you get into it, the story flows smoothly and hooks you, making you eager to find out what happens next.
I particularly loved the characters of Sean and Tom, and the connection to Native Americans is almost convincing. The narration by John was top-notch, as he was able to maintain the momentum throughout the book.
I'm looking forward to the next one!
November 20, 2018
This book reminded me a lot of the national treasure movies with Nicholas Cage. Basically, the author connects ancient artifacts and sights to find a mystical solution to an ancient mystery. And he kindly even explains which is truth and which fiction in the author’s notes at the end. So unlike with many authors of this genre these days, you can see from the start that this guy did this homework.
The basis for his story is once again the legend of El Dorado. I've heard a lot of theories about the golden city, two of my favorites being that the gold is actually metaphorical and refers to corn, because why would anybody build a city of gold, and another that it refers to a person. Dempsey spins this tale about Native Americans that were actually descended from Egyptians building for golden chambers. These golden chambers are the basis of a trilogy of books. While the tale of this book was concluded, a threat for a continuation of the storyline was opened in the end.
The plot also features a nice twist. Sean’s friend Tommy is abducted at the beginning of the book. And now the two of them have to solve that mystery at the same time, each having a slightly different approach, one to stay alive and the other in order to save his friend. This adds an element of tension.
These are the aspects of the book I truly enjoyed. There were some hairs in the soup, and even though I enjoyed the rest of the book, they were so annoying that I decided to subtract two stars.
First, there is idiotic the police including Treat is acting. Yes, Sean didn't come in to give a statement - which wasn't particularly logical either. However, Treat was smart enough to realize that the three crimes, the murder of the professor, Tommy's kidnapping, and the attack on Sean in broad daylight, must be connected. Therefore he drives to the college and asks around. One of the witnesses, who apparently wasn't there when the cops first came calling, tells him about a police officer who was more interested in the professor’s field of study than the crime. A big blond guy with a foreign accent who calls himself Jurgensen. Treat thinks to himself that he doesn't a Jurgensen and finds this story deeply suspicious but he never follows up on it. He didn't even ask the wife of the victim whether she had met the same officer. This gets worse and worse throughout the story. I probably would have axed the entire ark as it seemed incredibly unbelievable.
Another thing is the increasingly trigger-happy villains. While Ulrich is a gun-toting moron, there is a second set working for the mysterious prophet that should know better. I refer to the incident with the librarian. First, they force the librarian to call Treat in order to keep him on Sean’s tail - though I'm not entirely sure why - and then they kill her so as not to leave any loose ends. Why didn't they just make the call themselves and pretended to be the librarian? For a society that tries to remain secret, they sure act irrationally.
Last but not least, the showdown. It seems to be a rule for this genre that the good guys get caught towards the end so that the villains will be present at the final uncovering. It was this for National Treasure and also for Indiana Jones. So my issue is not with them being caught but how they were caught. As I don't want to spoil the story, I'm going to use a likeness. Our heroes managed to overpower the villains and are standing in front of the next clue, a gigantic chest with the word treasure on it. Reinforcements are on the way, but instead of staying put one of them starts fiddling with the treasure chest, while the other three look on in slackjawed anticipation. Amazingly enough, the fully conscious and unrestrained villains manage to overpower them.
In summary, I liked the mystery part, the action part was borderline moronic. As this is part of Kindle Unlimited I'm definitely going to check out the next book as I enjoyed this way more than some other recent offerings in this genre, as this author actually made the effort to research something.
The basis for his story is once again the legend of El Dorado. I've heard a lot of theories about the golden city, two of my favorites being that the gold is actually metaphorical and refers to corn, because why would anybody build a city of gold, and another that it refers to a person. Dempsey spins this tale about Native Americans that were actually descended from Egyptians building for golden chambers. These golden chambers are the basis of a trilogy of books. While the tale of this book was concluded, a threat for a continuation of the storyline was opened in the end.
The plot also features a nice twist. Sean’s friend Tommy is abducted at the beginning of the book. And now the two of them have to solve that mystery at the same time, each having a slightly different approach, one to stay alive and the other in order to save his friend. This adds an element of tension.
These are the aspects of the book I truly enjoyed. There were some hairs in the soup, and even though I enjoyed the rest of the book, they were so annoying that I decided to subtract two stars.
First, there is idiotic the police including Treat is acting. Yes, Sean didn't come in to give a statement - which wasn't particularly logical either. However, Treat was smart enough to realize that the three crimes, the murder of the professor, Tommy's kidnapping, and the attack on Sean in broad daylight, must be connected. Therefore he drives to the college and asks around. One of the witnesses, who apparently wasn't there when the cops first came calling, tells him about a police officer who was more interested in the professor’s field of study than the crime. A big blond guy with a foreign accent who calls himself Jurgensen. Treat thinks to himself that he doesn't a Jurgensen and finds this story deeply suspicious but he never follows up on it. He didn't even ask the wife of the victim whether she had met the same officer. This gets worse and worse throughout the story. I probably would have axed the entire ark as it seemed incredibly unbelievable.
Another thing is the increasingly trigger-happy villains. While Ulrich is a gun-toting moron, there is a second set working for the mysterious prophet that should know better. I refer to the incident with the librarian. First, they force the librarian to call Treat in order to keep him on Sean’s tail - though I'm not entirely sure why - and then they kill her so as not to leave any loose ends. Why didn't they just make the call themselves and pretended to be the librarian? For a society that tries to remain secret, they sure act irrationally.
Last but not least, the showdown. It seems to be a rule for this genre that the good guys get caught towards the end so that the villains will be present at the final uncovering. It was this for National Treasure and also for Indiana Jones. So my issue is not with them being caught but how they were caught. As I don't want to spoil the story, I'm going to use a likeness. Our heroes managed to overpower the villains and are standing in front of the next clue, a gigantic chest with the word treasure on it. Reinforcements are on the way, but instead of staying put one of them starts fiddling with the treasure chest, while the other three look on in slackjawed anticipation. Amazingly enough, the fully conscious and unrestrained villains manage to overpower them.
In summary, I liked the mystery part, the action part was borderline moronic. As this is part of Kindle Unlimited I'm definitely going to check out the next book as I enjoyed this way more than some other recent offerings in this genre, as this author actually made the effort to research something.
January 31, 2020
Nice start for this trilogy! Good characters and the story is really interesting
September 20, 2020
Very entertaining, fast moving adventure/mystery yarn similar to the Indiana Jones stories. I have thoroughly enjoyed the stories I have read by Mr. Dempsey.
January 6, 2021
I love the adventure, not so much the violence.
January 28, 2022
The history is not in the least credible and the characters are as cardboard as a box of cereal. Not tempted to read beyond this first book in the series.
March 11, 2025
Solid beach book.
May 1, 2025
A gripping book, fast paced and fun. It gets over complicated towards the end but I’m guessing it was needed to build for the next one and make it last longer. Didn’t like that Joe got shot though!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2020
I managed to trudge my way through 2/3 of this book before eventually giving up.
I am a huge fan of the historical/mysterious/thriller genre and have thoroughly enjoyed the works of Dan Brown. I have searched long and hard to find another author that has written a good number of books set within a similar theme. My search thus brought me here.
Suffice to say that I was left completely underwhelmed at how poorly written this book was. The only positive, is that the story line surrounding the Native Americans originating from Egypt was an interesting twist along with the 'white-mans' willingness to do anything for gold being historically accurate and being a reason to remove the Natives from the East to the West of America.
A poorly developed story along with a cliched cast of main characters, whom within their own right purport to be historical experts as well as very adept at wielding a weapon and keeping remarkably calm under pressure (fire fight). This long lost secret within the story line turns out to be a well known folklore and all of the historical locations (clues) were out in the open for all to see all along.
The writing is poor, the characters are even poorer, the dialogue is atrocious and I am gutted that I wasted my time and no have to remove a further 10+ books from my ' to read' list.
Back to the drawing board...
I am a huge fan of the historical/mysterious/thriller genre and have thoroughly enjoyed the works of Dan Brown. I have searched long and hard to find another author that has written a good number of books set within a similar theme. My search thus brought me here.
Suffice to say that I was left completely underwhelmed at how poorly written this book was. The only positive, is that the story line surrounding the Native Americans originating from Egypt was an interesting twist along with the 'white-mans' willingness to do anything for gold being historically accurate and being a reason to remove the Natives from the East to the West of America.
A poorly developed story along with a cliched cast of main characters, whom within their own right purport to be historical experts as well as very adept at wielding a weapon and keeping remarkably calm under pressure (fire fight). This long lost secret within the story line turns out to be a well known folklore and all of the historical locations (clues) were out in the open for all to see all along.
The writing is poor, the characters are even poorer, the dialogue is atrocious and I am gutted that I wasted my time and no have to remove a further 10+ books from my ' to read' list.
Back to the drawing board...
July 10, 2020
So, apparently this is now a sub genre? Archaeological thriller! I like it. The name, I mean, not the book. Not that I disliked the book. It was fine. Just fine.
It took me a while to read this thing because I was reading a lot of other things at the same time, including some Doctor Who, Discworld and some Polity to mention just a few. In fact, between starting this and finishing it, I even had time to read some Beastly Erotica. What I'm trying to say is, it didn't really grab me.
Though it starts off promising, a sort of Indiana Jones-esque adventure about some ancient mystery, similar to my recent discovery of Dourado, it quickly becomes a lot more droll than previously mentioned entries into the genre. It's merciless in its length, not finding a detail it cannot go on about for way too long and the whole chain of clues could've been trimmed by a third and nothing would've been lost.
For a huge chunk of the book, they're just jumping from spot to spot, occasionally accompanied by some B-grade sequence of discovery where they all sit around a computer exclaiming loudly about where they're going next. And let me tell you, reading about a trio trying to figure out the next clue when the book has already revealed the answer through a previous sequence where someone figured it out slightly differently, is not compelling. Hell, why were the sequences with Tommy even there? They added nothing to the book since it's established WAY too early that they can't actually do anything to him since they need him and all it really meant was that I had to read about things being discovered twice.
And it's completely and utterly overloaded with unnecessary character, there for the sake of having certain archetype of characters rather than being actually necessary.
There's the girl who's there so Sean Wyatt has something to fall in love with (or at least potentially sleep with at the end), there's the older, mentorish character who exposits like his life depends on it (and it totally did) plus a villain in shadow that doesn't actually do anything, a few fodder characters there to be killed in an action scene and there's the cops that are following behind for absolutely no narrative reason other than... actually, why were they there? Obviously for a sequel hook but beyond that they did absolutely nothing.
The only characters that need to be there was Sean, Tommy and Ulrich and the rest was just so much needless window dressing. I didn't feel for any of the characters either, they never grow out of their initial shells, never reveal something hitherto unknown about them or, more importantly, do any sort of personal growth what so ever. Unless they died during the course of the book, everyone more or less starts off exactly where they were. Except for the girl, obviously, who no doubt received an infusion of Wyatt, if you catch my drift.
That's not to say the book isn't competently written or researched, I have no doubts that people who are actually quite interested in historically inspired fiction will get a kick out of this but to me it just lacked a certain oomph. Like the previously mentioned David Wood's work or the Indiana Jones movies, there's no big reveal at the end that changes everything you know about the universe. There's definitely some utterly unbelievable sequences towards the end, I'll tell you that, where even the book kind of points out how unlikely it is, but ironically, for a book that felt way too long, the ending was rushed. It just sort of ends on a cliffhanger that says "We're totally making a sequel to this! Better read it to find out the rest of the story." but... I kind of don't care? If it had ended on some kind of huge reveal that what they're actually after is a nuclear bomb or that the villains were aliens or that the chambers were actually portals to hell, then I might be more inclined to care.
But the book barely suggests there's anything more to the Golden Chambers than... well, gold? So the villains just appear to be driven by greed. And when living in a world practically ruled by greed, that's not particularly exciting. I'm pretty sure if they had spent the time they spent chasing this myth around instead investing wisely in the stock market, they'd already be richer than whatever gold they'll find. It did not sufficiently raise the stakes for me to instantly want to read the next book. All that seems to be on the line is profession pride and I couldn't give two tosses about that.
All in all, I came away a bit disappointed with this book and I feel it's an unfair reaction. There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, I'm sure it'll work much better for some people. But like I suggested at the top, it didn't grab me. Hell, I even read The Great Zoo of China while going through this one and I hated that book... like, a lot.
I'll probably still pick up the sequel at some point. I'm nothing if not a sucker for a shared universe and long running series. But I'm just... disappointed. Here's to hoping the next book in the Maddock universe tickles my interest a bit more.
It took me a while to read this thing because I was reading a lot of other things at the same time, including some Doctor Who, Discworld and some Polity to mention just a few. In fact, between starting this and finishing it, I even had time to read some Beastly Erotica. What I'm trying to say is, it didn't really grab me.
Though it starts off promising, a sort of Indiana Jones-esque adventure about some ancient mystery, similar to my recent discovery of Dourado, it quickly becomes a lot more droll than previously mentioned entries into the genre. It's merciless in its length, not finding a detail it cannot go on about for way too long and the whole chain of clues could've been trimmed by a third and nothing would've been lost.
For a huge chunk of the book, they're just jumping from spot to spot, occasionally accompanied by some B-grade sequence of discovery where they all sit around a computer exclaiming loudly about where they're going next. And let me tell you, reading about a trio trying to figure out the next clue when the book has already revealed the answer through a previous sequence where someone figured it out slightly differently, is not compelling. Hell, why were the sequences with Tommy even there? They added nothing to the book since it's established WAY too early that they can't actually do anything to him since they need him and all it really meant was that I had to read about things being discovered twice.
And it's completely and utterly overloaded with unnecessary character, there for the sake of having certain archetype of characters rather than being actually necessary.
There's the girl who's there so Sean Wyatt has something to fall in love with (or at least potentially sleep with at the end), there's the older, mentorish character who exposits like his life depends on it (and it totally did) plus a villain in shadow that doesn't actually do anything, a few fodder characters there to be killed in an action scene and there's the cops that are following behind for absolutely no narrative reason other than... actually, why were they there? Obviously for a sequel hook but beyond that they did absolutely nothing.
The only characters that need to be there was Sean, Tommy and Ulrich and the rest was just so much needless window dressing. I didn't feel for any of the characters either, they never grow out of their initial shells, never reveal something hitherto unknown about them or, more importantly, do any sort of personal growth what so ever. Unless they died during the course of the book, everyone more or less starts off exactly where they were. Except for the girl, obviously, who no doubt received an infusion of Wyatt, if you catch my drift.
That's not to say the book isn't competently written or researched, I have no doubts that people who are actually quite interested in historically inspired fiction will get a kick out of this but to me it just lacked a certain oomph. Like the previously mentioned David Wood's work or the Indiana Jones movies, there's no big reveal at the end that changes everything you know about the universe. There's definitely some utterly unbelievable sequences towards the end, I'll tell you that, where even the book kind of points out how unlikely it is, but ironically, for a book that felt way too long, the ending was rushed. It just sort of ends on a cliffhanger that says "We're totally making a sequel to this! Better read it to find out the rest of the story." but... I kind of don't care? If it had ended on some kind of huge reveal that what they're actually after is a nuclear bomb or that the villains were aliens or that the chambers were actually portals to hell, then I might be more inclined to care.
But the book barely suggests there's anything more to the Golden Chambers than... well, gold? So the villains just appear to be driven by greed. And when living in a world practically ruled by greed, that's not particularly exciting. I'm pretty sure if they had spent the time they spent chasing this myth around instead investing wisely in the stock market, they'd already be richer than whatever gold they'll find. It did not sufficiently raise the stakes for me to instantly want to read the next book. All that seems to be on the line is profession pride and I couldn't give two tosses about that.
All in all, I came away a bit disappointed with this book and I feel it's an unfair reaction. There's nothing inherently wrong with this book, I'm sure it'll work much better for some people. But like I suggested at the top, it didn't grab me. Hell, I even read The Great Zoo of China while going through this one and I hated that book... like, a lot.
I'll probably still pick up the sequel at some point. I'm nothing if not a sucker for a shared universe and long running series. But I'm just... disappointed. Here's to hoping the next book in the Maddock universe tickles my interest a bit more.
February 17, 2018
The Secret of the Stones (Sean Wyatt #1; Lost Chambers Trilogy #1) by Ernest Dempsey
What does Native American culture have to do with the ancient Egyptian empire? What does The Indian Removal Act of 1830 have to do with the Church of the Latter Days Saints? These are the questions that are answered in this epic thriller.
Sean Wyatt's learns his best friend has been kidnapped while working on a secret project. Sean and his new acquaintance, Allyson Webster, embark on a mission to solve a series of ancient clues they hope will lead to whoever kidnapped his friend.
The Golden Chambers, a place where the Cherokee Nation has hidden large amounts of gold are at stake. After thousands of years. the two members of the International Archaeological Agency (IAA) are trying to find the place. Riddles lead them on a dangerous chase through the southeastern United States and to a four-thousand-year-old secret that is bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.
Narrated from the third person point of view, with characters that jump out of the page, this thriller is very fast paced and interesting. Clearly, the writer has done a lot of research and the book is nothing but a pleasure to read.
Highly recommended!
What does Native American culture have to do with the ancient Egyptian empire? What does The Indian Removal Act of 1830 have to do with the Church of the Latter Days Saints? These are the questions that are answered in this epic thriller.
Sean Wyatt's learns his best friend has been kidnapped while working on a secret project. Sean and his new acquaintance, Allyson Webster, embark on a mission to solve a series of ancient clues they hope will lead to whoever kidnapped his friend.
The Golden Chambers, a place where the Cherokee Nation has hidden large amounts of gold are at stake. After thousands of years. the two members of the International Archaeological Agency (IAA) are trying to find the place. Riddles lead them on a dangerous chase through the southeastern United States and to a four-thousand-year-old secret that is bigger than anything they could have ever imagined.
Narrated from the third person point of view, with characters that jump out of the page, this thriller is very fast paced and interesting. Clearly, the writer has done a lot of research and the book is nothing but a pleasure to read.
Highly recommended!
May 7, 2020
This book was ultimately okay, meh, alright. The reviews built this book up to be one of the greatest archeological thriller series of all time, but it definitely was not. Granted, I've only read the first book, but that's plenty for me.This book started off pretty well, but as the plot progressed it plateaued and many of the characters were flat and had very little character development.
Little political sprinklings like brushing off police brutality as understandable situations caused because of people not obeying the law rubbed me the wrong way, and didn't help the case of this book.
I will not be continuing this series, this is not my kind of archaeological thriller.
It was interesting that the main premise of this story centered around Native American Indian history and legends. Other than that, a hard pass for me.
Little political sprinklings like brushing off police brutality as understandable situations caused because of people not obeying the law rubbed me the wrong way, and didn't help the case of this book.
I will not be continuing this series, this is not my kind of archaeological thriller.
It was interesting that the main premise of this story centered around Native American Indian history and legends. Other than that, a hard pass for me.
December 1, 2017
4 1/2 stars to be truthful. There's some typos periodically throughout the story, with some cheesy dialogue, and stuff that's a little confusing. Plus, the "Four legendary Golden Chambers" just doesn't really grab my imagination much. Still, it was a little intriguing. I hope the follow up Lost Chambers books improve upon it. Sorry, Ernest, I hate to put the critical parts first because I really like your writing. Your very sparing use of profanity (please keep it up), and your action-filled plot that is seasoned with enough historical research and imaginative twists that make this story a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend it for those looking for something light and clean to read. I'm looking forward to book #2 in the Trilogy.
April 17, 2018
Not worth your reading time, at least it wasn't worth mine. At least it was short. A thriller in the DaVinci Code/Indiana Jones genre: an academic (or in this case several academics) in pursuit of a mystical artifact, pursued by religious cultists and sinister foreigners. Path strewn with corpses; riddles solved too easily by two separate teams of seekers; stray people joining the chase for no apparent reason. Writing adequate but filled with word selections not quite right, scattered with emotional reactions inappropriate to the circumstances, implausible scientific details, and odd character motivations. And to top it off, ends with hanging threads presumably to entice you into reading a subsequent book. No thanks.
November 22, 2019
A fast paced Dan Brown-style thriller set in the Cherokee tribal lands of North Georgia. When a local archaeologist uncovers a mysterious relic, international mercenaries are soon after it and anyone who can decipher its secret. This skillfully blends the factual – the forced removal of the Cherokee people, the legend of a cave of gold – into a high stakes race to find the fabled treasure the Cherokee had to leave behind. I especially enjoyed the regional history and archaeological sites that were scattered throughout this very suspenseful mystery.
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