 | Area 51: The Reply |
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Area 51 was the most secret place in America. But it was only one piece in a puzzle that stretched from Egypt's Pyramids to the mysterious face on Mars...
Part of a plan begun 5,000 years ago by those who had been here before. And are coming back.
When scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte uncovered the stunning truth about Area 51--a "training area" on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada--they opened up a Pandora's box kept hidden from the American public for fifty years.
What they uncovered explained decades of UFO sightings--and the most baffling mysteries of history from the Great Pyramid to Easter Island.
But these findings were only the beginning. Now a signal had come in from outer space: our first contact with extraterrestrials. The message said they were coming. It didn't say they had been here before...and left something behind. But what waited deep within the Rift Valley of Ethiopia and inside an ancient Chinese tomb would determine Earth's fate. The dawning of a new age. Or the destruction of us all...
Robert Doherty is a pseudonym for a bestselling writer of military suspense thrillers. He is also the author of Area 51 and The Rock, and is currently working on a third novel in the Area 51 series, entitled Area 51: The Mission.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #53671 in Books
- Published on: 1998-02-09
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 1.07" h x 4.09" w x 6.93" l, .40 pounds
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 384 pages
From the Inside Flap
Area 51 was the most secret place in America. But it was only one piece in a puzzle that stretched from Egypt's Pyramids to the mysterious face on Mars...
Part of a plan begun 5,000 years ago by those who had been here before. And are coming back.
When scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte uncovered the stunning truth about Area 51--a "training area" on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada--they opened up a Pandora's box kept hidden from the American public for fifty years.
What they uncovered explained decades of UFO sightings--and the most baffling mysteries of history from the Great Pyramid to Easter Island.
But these findings were only the beginning. Now a signal had come in from outer space: our first contact with extraterrestrials. The message said they were coming. It didn't say they had been here before...and left something behind. But what waited deep within the Rift Valley of Ethiopia and inside an ancient Chinese tomb would determine Earth's fate. The dawning of a new age. Or the destruction of us all...
Robert Doherty is a pseudonym for a bestselling writer of military suspense thrillers. He is also the author of Area 51 and The Rock, and is currently working on a third novel in the Area 51 series, entitled Area 51: The Mission.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
He watched the seven spacecraft lift out of the top of the palace, the rays of the rising sun absorbed by the black metal of their lean shapes. He looked down, trying to orient his sudden awareness. His hands were gripping the wooden railing of a three-masted ship. All the sails were set but there was little wind. In the belly of the ship he could hear the beat of drums as rowers pulled in unison, straining against long oars.
He felt out of place, out of himself. The contrast between the seven spacecraft that were now nothing more than rapidly fading dots high above and the technology of the sailing ship only added to the strange feeling.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose and a shiver ran down his spine. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened at what he saw. Even the rowers paused as they saw it. He felt the displacement of the air as the massive mothership passed by overhead. The rowers went back to work, pulling even more furiously on their oars. He watched as the mothership stopped and hovered over the island the ship had left from, blocking out the sun.
It was all laid out before him in perfect detail. He was amazed how he could see the entire island, yet also focus on individuals who were many miles distant. Concentric rings of land and water surrounded the capital city in the center of the island. Rising up, on the central hill, was the palace where the rulers had governed from. A golden palace, over a mile wide at the base and stretching over three thousand feet into the sky, it was a magnificent spectacle, but one that was all too easily overshadowed by the dark craft that was now centered above it.
Outside the palace, the streets in the city of the humans were choked with people fleeing toward the sea, to their sailing ships. He could look to the ocean around him and see other sails here and there on the blue water, some already going over the horizon.
Gazing back at the city, he saw that there were those who had fallen to their knees in the shadow of the ship, heads bowed, hands raised in supplication, praying that new rulers might replace the old. His gaze knew no bounds, going through walls and seeing inside houses, where others huddled in fear, mothers clutching their children close, men holding useless metal swords and spears, knowing that there was nothing they could do against the power from the sky.
He looked up at the ship. The air crackled. Those others who also dared to look saw a bright golden light race along the black skin of the mothership in long lines from one end to the other. The light pulsed off the ship downward into the palace in a thick beam, a half mile thick.
He flinched, even though he was many miles away. But nothing happened. Those on their knees prayed harder. Those fleeing ran faster. Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited.
Again the light pulsed. And again. Ten times the golden light hit the center of the island and passed through.
He staggered back as the Earth itself exploded. Tens of thousands died in an instant as the core of the island blew upward, the very essence of the planet beneath blasting through. Hot molten magma sprayed miles into the sky, mixed in with rock and dirt and remains of the palace. The scale of the explosion stunned him.
But it was the people that drew his attention. On the main jetty a mother covered her daughter as the magma came down, searing the skin from their bones in a flash. A warrior turned his shield upward in a futile gesture and disappeared under tons of rock. Docked ships burst into flame, the roofs of outlying buildings collapsed under the impact, crushing those hidden inside.
The entire island buckled, then imploded inward and downward. The surrounding sea had spasmed from the power of the blast, rushing outward in a massive wave that enveloped those who had not left soon enough. He felt the wave lift his ship up, teetering it precariously, then pass by. He fell against the railing, his knuckles white from clutching the wood.
Then the sea surged back, racing in where the island had been. Water met magma, and steam roared into the air, but the water won as the island disappeared into the depths. A boiling cauldron of water was all that was left of the mighty kingdom.
Again, he looked up. The mothership was slowly moving. Toward his location. Golden light began racing along the length of the ship.
Nabinger staggered back, as if hit in the chest by a powerful blow. He felt hands grab him and prevent him from hitting the rock floor of the cavern. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the images that the guardian had just shown him. He opened his eyes and returned to his time and the place he had fought so hard to find, deep under an extinct volcano on Easter Island.
The guardian, a golden pyramid twenty feet high, lay before him, the surface rippling with the strange effect he had been under the spell of. Nabinger shook off the helping hands of the scientists and stared at the machine. His mind could still see the faces of the mother and the daughter as they were burned alive on the quay.
"What happened?" a UN representative asked, but Nabinger ignored them. He stepped forward, hands open, palms forward, and placed them on the skin of the guardian, waiting for the mental contact. Nothing.
He did it again.
Nothing.
After the third attempt he knew that there would be no more contact. Beyond the images of the people who had died, though, another vision was very clear in his mind's eye: the sails that had been over the horizon; the ones who had escaped.
Mike Turcotte stared out the window of the BOQ room. Through the gates of Fort Meyers he could make out the very top of the Marine Corps Memorial and beyond that the Capitol dome.
He didn't turn when there was a knock on the door to his room. "Come in," he called out.
The door opened and Lisa Duncan walked in. With a deep sigh she dropped down into one of the hard chairs the military had furnished the room with. Turcotte half turned toward her and smiled. "Long day on the Hill?"
Duncan barely topped five feet in height and Turcotte very much doubted her weight made three digits. She had dark hair cut short and a slender face that was now drawn with exhaustion.
"I hate telling the same story five times," Duncan said, "and answering stupid questions."
"The American public is not happy it was deceived by its own government for decades," Turcotte said, assuming a southern drawl. "At least that's what the senator who questioned me this morning said. Add in some kidnappings made to look like abductions, cattle mutilations, disinformation campaigns--"
"Let's not forget the crop circles," Duncan added. "There's a congressman from Nebraska who is trying to get legislation through to get all those farmers reimbursed for the circles Majestic burned in their field."
"Jesus," Turcotte said. He took off his Class A green uniform jacket and threw it on the bed. He paused by the small brown refrigerator. "Want a beer?"
"All right."
Turcotte grabbed two cans and popped the top on one, handing it to her. "They've got the mothership, the bouncer, the guardian on Easter Island. What more do they want?"
Duncan took a sip. "A scapegoat."
"They've got General Gullick dead. They've got the surviving members of Majestic being held in the federal pen," Turcotte said. He opened his can and took a long, deep drag. "The list of charges against those guys is thicker than the phone book."
"Yeah, but people can't believe it didn't go higher than that."
"It did go higher than that," Turcotte said. "But that was fifty years ago. Seems like there's more important stuff going on right now."
"Speaking of what's going on," Duncan said, "I just found out that the guardian's ceased contact with Nabinger."
That was the first interesting thing Turcotte had heard in the past two days, since arriving in Washington from Easter Island. "Any idea why?"
"Nobody knows."
Turcotte rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble there. It felt strange to be in uniform after working classified assignments for so long. His jump boots, spit-shined this morning for his congressional testimony, now wore a layer of dust. His battered green beret was tucked into the back of his belt. He pulled it out and threw it next to his jacket as he sat down across from Duncan, next to the window.
A cannon barked a sharp report, followed by the faint strains of "Taps" as the post flag was lowered. Turcotte had heard that sound on many different posts around the world during his time in the army, but it never failed to touch him and make him think of comrades lost. Turcotte looked out at the bronze figures representing the Marines who'd raised the flag on Mount Suribachi.
Duncan shifted her seat slightly and followed his gaze. "Ahh, glory and honor," she said.
Turcotte tried to figure out if she was being sarcastic or serious. "They...
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
By Daniel Jolley
This second novel in the Area 51 series is another action-packed, suspenseful read. The story begins where the first novel ended. The familiar characters thought their problems would be over once they brought down Majic-12 and succeeded in averting disaster in the form of an alien attack; in fact, their problems have just begun. The "guardian" discovered under Easter Island has sent out a message into space, and very soon scientists detect a reply message coming from--ta da, the Cydonia region of Mars. This story starts a little slow, hampered somewhat by the need for the author to refresh the memories of those having read the first book. The message from Mars says the aliens are coming to earth with peaceful intentions, but Mike Turcotte, Lisa Duncan, Professor Nabinger, and Kelly Reynolds must determine if that is true. New alien sites are being discovered, with the two most important being in an ancient Chinese mountain tomb and in Africa's Great Rift Valley. Our heroes rush all over the planet, gaining access to the two main alien sites by way of some thrilling commando-raid actions. They get some assistance from an entirely new secret group called STAAR, a group even Majic-12 knew nothing about. Racing to get more information, our heroes must determine whether or not the aliens on their way from Mars are indeed the friendly ancient astronauts who helped save the earth thousands of years earlier or if they are members of the rebel group that mutinied against the ancient mission and remain intent on destroying our planet.
With this book, the standard type of government conspiracy ideas give way to novel new suggestions and possibilities. The reader joins the characters in trying to figure out who everyone is, who they are working for, and whether or not their intentions are peaceful. The addition of a new ultra-secret group beyond Majic-12 is complicated by the fact that the members appear and act differently than normal human beings. Some readers may not like the final few chapters because the reader is being constantly thrown back and forth between different events, but I felt this did much to add to the suspense of the concluding pages. I most enjoyed the description of covert forces activities; I have no way of knowing how true to life the author's descriptions are, but they do engross the reader in their details (especially when the inevitable major problems pop up to endanger the missions). After a slow start, the author really puts his hooks into you by the halfway point, making this a book you don't want to put down. It doesn't really matter that the whole future of earth is in the hands of a special forces officer, archaeologist, and political appointee of a President who is rarely heard from in the story, or that a lowly reporter has basic carte blanche access to the heart of the ultra-secret Area 51 headquarters. The author knows how to tell a story, and he continually injects mystery and suspense into a story that could easily have become stale in the hands of a lesser writer. Two books into the series, the story continues to grow even more interesting and enjoyable.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
By A Customer
The action,mystery, and intrigue continues in this great second book in the series of three. I thoroughly enjoyed The Reply even more so than the first novel as Robert Doherty expanded on the alien phenomenon. This is well worth the time and money for those interested in the myth of aliens/UFO's. Here is yet another five star review to go along with the millions and millions of others from those who know a great book when they read one!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
By Michael P. Bello
I didn't know what to expect when I first opened the pages of this novel, but I gotta say this was a great book. I found it to be an absolute page turner and found it very suspsenseful. I would deifnitely recommend this book to any sci fi fan, and the best news is, that this is only book one in an entire series of books. Yeah, as you read on the plot seems more and more outrageous,butwith the unexpected twists and turns the suspense is overwhelming and much rewarded by the reader throughout the series. I would recommend this book and continuing series to anyone.
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