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Riddle of the Sands
by Geoffrey Knight
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Paperback
Publisher: Cleis Press
ISBN13: 9781573443661
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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The clock is ticking! Blackmailed by Jake's nemesis - the vengeful Pierre Perron - Professor Fathom's team of five horny gay adventurers is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to uncover the legendary Riddle of the Sands in order to save one of their own from a rare and deadly poison. But what is the Riddle of the Sands? Where are the long-lost clues and hidden maps that can lead to its whereabouts? Is it a myth, a mirage, or the greatest engineering feat in the history of ancient Egypt? From the icy plains of Siberia to the shadowy bathhouses of Cairo, from the scorching valley of the Nile to the heart of the Amazon jungle, readers join these hunks — treasure-hunter Jake, Brazilian biologist Eden, Texas cowboy Shane, art expert Luca, and quarterback Will — in a search that blends nonstop action and high-octane sex!
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Nonstop action that will keep you on the edge of your seat |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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When you open Geoffrey Knight's The Riddle of the Sands, prepare yourself, because you are about to be taken on a nonstop, no-holds-barred adventure that will keep you balanced on the very edge of your seat. This is the second installation of Mr. Knight's Fathom's Five series, picking up where his novel The Cross of Sins left off. The Riddle of the Sands might be considered to be a stand-alone story, but readers not wishing to find themselves a little confused (albeit still entertained) will definitely want to read The Cross of Sins first, because the first novel introduces the main characters and provides important back-story.
This novel is just plain fun. Along with gorgeous men and lightening-paced action, The Riddle of the Sands has an irresistible thread of humor that runs throughout it. Whether we're witnessing a Texas cowboy having a face-off with an irascible camel, our heroes stripping down to the buff to blend in with a museum display, or young Will Hunter goggling at the size of the sexual appendages on dozens of fertility gods, we are almost guaranteed a smile.
Don't expect much time to stop and catch your breath as you read this story. The action is constant, taking the reader from the tundra of Siberia to the Brazilian jungle to the deserts of Egypt, from a bathhouse in Cairo to the streets of Paris and Warsaw. Our heroes face madmen, crocodiles, booby-trapped rooms, and even a ticked-off housekeeper. They are in constant danger, and they tend extricate themselves from one situation only to land face-first into a mess of even greater magnitude.
If I were to extract a theme from The Riddle of the Sounds to go along with the fun, I would say that it is one of father/son relationships. Not only does this tell the story of the character Jake and his young friend Sam, whose relationship resembles one of parent and child, it focuses on the youngest member of Fathom's team, Will, and his tempestuous relationship with the father who disapproves of and denigrates him and dips briefly into the character Luca's search for the father who abandoned him as an infant. In addition, the central riddle revolves around Imhotep of ancient Egypt and a son who does not appear in any history books.
This story has a cinematic larger-than-life feel to it. As I read The Riddle of the Sands, I felt almost as if I were in a movie theatre, popcorn in hand, watching open-mouthed as The Mummy meets Indiana Jones and the heroes face constant danger. The plot follows several different paths as the members of the team split apart and then reunite over the course of the story, and while this has the potential to be confusing, Mr. Knight keeps it all very well organized and tightly choreographed.
Similar to the previous novel, The Riddle of the Sands ends with a number of cliff-hangers that will make readers clamor for more. Next in this series is The Curse of the Dragon. If this novel runs true to form - and I have no reason to believe that it won't - then we are guaranteed a well-told tale filled with action, adventure, humor, and just a touch of romance. Oh, and lots of naked muscular chests.
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| Thrill Ride From Start to Finish |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Riddle of the Sands opens with a bang and doesn't stop, not even on the last page.
My first clue that this was going to be even more exciting than The Cross of Sins, something I thought was impossible, was when the walls of Laptev prison in Siberia where Professor Fantom and Shane were visiting, literally blew out by a bomb. Their escape from Siberia is the stuff of movies as they battle ice, treacherous weather conditions and a deranged killer. The adventure continues without stopping for anyone to draw a breath, as the 5 protagonists race to find an antidote for a slow acting rare poison, the Deldah-sha orchid, that is killing Sam, Jake's unofficial ward.
This story is exceedingly complex with more action than any reader could expect, starting with 2 kidnappings, and the guys must race against time to find the key to the Lost Pyramid of Imhotep which disappeared thousands of years ago, and unlock the riddle, before Sam succumbs to the poison that's gradually taking over his body.
The trek takes our heroes from Berlin to Paris, to New York, to London, San Diego, Brazil, Cairo, the Amazon and countries in between. But for me the most thrilling part of the book was in the Nile Valley, Egypt. This was such an exciting sequence that I won't even attempt to describe the danger and the impossible escapes that happened in the nick of time. I'll just say that Will should have been dead. No human being can survive the punishment he endured.
If you think the book is all adventure, racing from one country to another, you could not be more wrong. The sex is so hot it could peel human skin. You definitely won't be disappointed since there is sex and lots of it in the book.
I didn't think that Geoffrey Knight would be able to increase the heat level in Riddle of the Sands from book 1, The Cross of Sins but he proved me wrong - from the action/adventure sequences that are indescribable, to the wonderful characterizations and the sex. Riddle of the Sands is for the true adventure lover. This is not a book for sissies because the action sequences are so intense I felt as if my heart was pumping on adrenaline alone. This story takes off right after The Cross of Sins ends and it's not a standalone book. You must read the first book to get a sense of the characters because the strength of the series is definitely the characters. All of the bells and whistles, wonderful though they are, pale when pitted against the 5 men who are the stars of the books.
This story sizzles with fun, sex and adventure. I could not put it down - it was like a drug. The characters sparkled, the prose and dialogue were outstanding and Riddle is better than The Cross of Sins which I didn't think could be topped! If you're looking for a series that will entertain you, grab you by the throat, make your heart go into overdrive, and give you 5 of the hottest men, gay or otherwise, who are so sexy and who put out at every opportunity, then run don't walk to your nearest book store or online bookseller to buy a copy of Riddle of the Sands.
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| Gay Novels just went to a whole new level!!! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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As soon as I got this book in my hot sweaty hands I started reading and was sucked in immediately. I read the entire novel in one sitting, I could NOT put it down! The Riddle of the Sands is packed with adventure, fun and sizzling men you'll dream about every night! I really loved the first book in this series, The Cross of Sins, and I was curious to see if the author could deliver something as good as the first, but he put my curiosity to rest with every page. This book isn't as good as the first--it's BETTER IN EVERY WAY! By the end of this book not only did I feel like I knew the characters better, I felt like they were my friends and lovers. On top of that, the adventure was non-stop, the puzzles in the temples and pyramids were clever and very cool, and through it all the author still manages to get a laugh in every now and then and bring out some humorous moments. And then there's the sex--steamy, sizzling, sweaty! Don't miss this series, I think it's the gay man's Harry Potter (but for adult audiences!)
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| The Riddle of the Sands (A Fathom's Five Adventure 2) by Geoffrey Knight |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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First of all, strange events in the publishing industry I'm not aware of, made that the first book in the series was out with Starbook Press, and this second with Cleis Press. True, it's not necessary to read The Cross of Sins to understand and enjoy The Riddle of the Sands, but without it you loose one of the most interesting aspect of this novel, the fact that it's the quintessence of all the gay fantasies, and probably the result of a lively imagination fed with lot and lot of adventures movies and books. There is one for every taste in the Fathom's Five: you like them careless and friendly, like a homemade dish? Shane, the Western modern cowboy is your man. You like them exotic and fascinating, like an ethnic speciality? Eden, brazilian doctor is ready for you. Young and fast, like burger and fries, but served in a china plate? Will, the son of an American ambassador and part time history student, part time pro football player is on the drive through. Traditional and just with that spicy taste? Luca, Italian dongiovanni and former art model, ready to please. And last but not least, you like coffe and donuts? Jake, half mercenary half good hearted man, is always a right choice. All right, now I'm hungry, and Geoffrey Knight's novel is the only one that can satisfy all those fancy ideas.
It's useless that I summarize the story, first since I can't do that without giving to much details and risking to spoil the story, and second since, truth be told, the story is classic, like all the adventure books of the last 100 years, there is something to find, there are the good boys who are always first on the place, and there are the bad boys who always follow closely. The good boys are doing that not for money, but for a bigger and worthier reason, and the bad boys are only interested in finding a treasure. What I probably liked best in this second book is that the adventure seemed more innocuous, there were less dead bodies around, and probably there were also more funny moments. I liked very much Will's scenes with his estranged father, and was very interesting in the apparently sweet love story between Jake and Sam, even if, actually, since it is soo sweet (meaning that without sex or anything sexual at all), I didn't understand if Jake has a fatherly interest in Sam or something more personal. My favorite from the previous book, Luca, has only a secondary role here, but I think the author is thinking at something special for him, and I had the strong impression that, the author himself, through the words of Professor Fathom, let the reader know that Luca is also his favorite. Eden and Shane have their own little story going, and it's Shane's turn to have a little sexy story on the side, as Eden had in the previous book; they are important supporting role, and the author is always kind with them, but they have not yet achieved the upper level like Will, Jake and Luca.
The Riddle of the Sands is a surprisingly easy and fast book to read, I thought to have just started it and when I realized that I was more than half the book away. For me it's a compliment, it means that I was so sucked into the story, that I lost track of the time.
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| Erotic and Manly |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Knight, Geoffrey. "The Riddle of the Sands", Cleis Press, 2009.
Erotic and Manly
Amos Lassen
I have said several times that good erotica is very difficult to write and it is rare to read it. Geoffrey Knight writes good erotica and he titillates. "The Riddle of the Sands" is almost Indiana Jones like but it has something extra--a gay point of view and some very horny gay characters. The plot is totally believable, the characters are well developed and the sex is very hot. Jake is being blackmailed by Pierre Peron and the men are sent on a mission that seems to be impossible--they are to find and uncover the riddle of the sands so that they can save the life of one of their own who has been poisoned. The problem is that the riddle is a riddle and no one knows if it is real or something else. You will not stop turning the pages with this. Very well written and incredibly sexy. "The Riddle of the Sands" is a book you are not likely to forget.
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