The Well Of Hell by Greig Beck
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the forbidden deserts of Yemen, a structure has been found – a buried pyramid – thousands of years older than anything previously known. And indications are, it was buried on purpose.

What is discovered inside could prove that we’re not alone in the universe. And terrifyingly, after 7000 years, there is a biological obscenity that remains, not yet dead.

Ancient writing suggests the pyramid’s builders have been taking humans for reasons that will tear at all sanity, and when evidence is found that in remote corners of the world people are still disappearing, the HAWCs are called to action.

In a final battle across two worlds – with the fate of the planet at stake – Alex Hunter and his team will be pushed to their very limits as they confront a horrifying and deadly army.

A buried pyramid has been found in the secret deserts of Yemen – one that appears to be thousands of years older than those of the Egyptians. Ancient writings appear to discuss how beings not from here crafted mind-destroying objects and all too soon various factions around the world are all converging for a fight no one truly understands. Alex Hunter and his team are right in the thick of it – but will this be a fight they can win?

This is an excellent story that ranges over quite a number of different genres and I feel should appeal to a very wide range of readers. There is plenty of action/adventure and an Army/military thrust to a lot of the plotline – especially in the second half of the book where the proverbial excrement hits the fan. There is also quite a healthy dose of science and archaeology related around the monsters and their pyramids and that side to the story, so readers who like those sorts of adventures should also be deeply satisfied. Finally, there is quite a bit of paranormal and Lovecraft kind of things going bump in the night and forces far greater than we mere humans at work. So roll all of that together, add in some tech gizmos and gear and a bunch of excellent characters and it all works together into one fantastic ride of a book.

While this is the tenth book featuring Alex Hunter, I don’t feel you need to have read all of them to follow along in this adventure. Readers who really dislike landing halfway through a series might find there’s a bit of background they need to catch up to on the fly – but as long as the general idea is grasped this actual story is fairly well contained in itself and I found it quite easy to pick up and follow along when I haven’t read the last few books in this series for quite some time. I feel this story might be better appreciated with some prior knowledge of the key players and main points – but for sure it can be picked up by itself and still greatly enjoyed.

Overall, I found this to be an exceptionally plotted story with a number of different and well-woven-together parts. There are a few longer-term story arcs I was happy to catch up on and clearly there’s a general direction where these wider ranging parts to the story is heading. This book can stand well on its own and has a wonderfully fresh plotline with enough realism to it to be just this side of scary because it’s so very believable. A great read and an author I can strongly recommend.