The Apocalypse Script

by Samuel Fort

Ben Mitchell is having a very bad year. He has no clients, no money, no love life, and a lot of bills. Worse, the world is going to hell. Armies are on the move, the stock market is crashing, crops are failing, and a deadly pandemic, Cage's Disease, is sweeping the globe.The researcher finally catches a break when a wealthy and beautiful client, Lillian Stratton, offers him a job deciphering several mysterious, ancient tablets. The assignment promises to bring him wealth and fame. Perhaps even romance.There are a few catches, however. To study the tablets, the researcher will have to travel to Steepleguard, a massive and nearly abandoned hotel hidden deep in the Rocky Mountains. He must also join the Delphic Order of the Nisirtu, a powerful and ruthless secret society with some very peculiar membership requirements. His sponsors? A delusional, self-proclaimed "princess," a killer wanted by the police, and an ancient man who speaks in riddles.Ben soon finds himself a pawn in an international game with the highest possible stakes. Trapped by his supposedly benevolent hosts, he learns that everything he's been told is a lie and that the motives for bringing him to Steepleguard are far more sinister than he could have ever imagined.Ben thought he had nothing to lose. He was wrong. He has everything to lose, including his life. To escape Steepleguard, the researcher must defeat the Nisirtu at their own game. But even as he plots his escape, he discovers that a far greater enemy lurks beyond the gates.And it's coming for him.

386 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2014

About the author

Samuel Fort, author, has a B.S. in Political Science. After spending almost a decade as a military cryptographer and intelligence analyst, he attended law school, worked as a private investigator and researcher, and took a job as an overseas operations manager in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and the Far East.

He has a passion for history and is particularly interested in American history from 1880 to 1930. Sam's hobbies include book collecting, military simulation gaming, logic puzzles, silent film, reading, and strong coffee. He is fond of true crime books, historical mysteries, and horror fiction. His favorite authors include Raymond Chandler, Jorge Louis Borges, and H.P. Lovecraft.

Reviews

[Elaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hidden code, a master race, a mystery, approaching collapse? Truly a must-read, in my opinion. And so I did. I am in two minds about this book; allow me to explain. On the one hand, the premise is excellent and is the reason I read all the way to the end (and want to read the next book!), but, on the other hand, it felt as if the narrative was distanced from the reader – in other words, it was hard to really care about the characters; I never felt personally involved with their fates (and it’s quite the fate!). It’s almost as if this … oh, epiphany! It was a series of SCRIPTS and it created a SCENARIO. The author will know what I mean by that, and you will too once you’ve read it, and now I say to you – read it! Because it does, after all make perfect sense.

A worthy read indeed.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly detailed and fascinating tale of fantastic adventure and lore of dystopian proportions. a good read.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samuel Fort brings a delightful, while dark at times, story that could be frightfully true.

The story revolves around a ancient line of people, the Nisirtu, that has guided humanity along their ways, all in order to keep themselves in power. The currency of trade is power, those who have it are wealthy; those without it are peasants.

The Nisirtu value bodily perfection and power. They selectively breed in order to obtain the perfect bodies. Our protagonist won the gene lottery, while not having been selectively breed, and has captured the attention of one of the Nisirtu (while also falling for one).

The story involves intrigue and plotting to get what one wants, striking true to the real world but adding elements of fantasy into it. With-out ruining anything the story captures your attention and keeps you wanting more.