About ‘Pebble in the Dark (book 1)’ by Antony Botting::
Genre: Thriller; Science Fiction; Alien; Metaphysical
The discovery of a hidden extraterrestrial craft on Earth attracts attention from those who would seek to possess and learn from it.
As the casualties mount, nobody is safe in this action packed story of deception and violence.
The Pebble lay lost and undisturbed for millennia, harbouring answers to eternal questions.
Five sealed auction invitations, sent to heads of state to ensure that the Pebble does not fall into the hands of a clandestine organisation by the name of Onyx, trigger an unforeseen sequence of events.
The residence of Ambassador Francis Sunderland is the venue for a celebration in honour of Wasyl Bohdanov, which takes a turn for the sinister. The Ambassador is contacted by an old friend, but it isn’t a social call.
A young woman will stop at nothing to deliver the Pebble to Onyx. The organisation which took her in and protected her from a terrible past.
The stage is set for humanity’s ultimate struggle for knowledge and power.
Please keep in mind during this review that the sequel is epic and well worth reading through my minor complaints on the first novel. I don’t normally review a book after I’ve read future books in the series, but I’m glad I waited to read the sequel before critiquing this one. It has allowed me to better appreciate the setup of book one and the author’s writing style as well as see that its slow pace is abandoned in future installments in favor of page-turning action and intrigue. Here are my thoughts on book one only:
As with most first books in a series, ‘Pebble in the Dark’ is a bit slow as it set up its world. It took me a little while to get into, the major factor keeping my attention being the mysteries surrounding the artifact that the characters are on the hunt for (albeit some of them unwillingly). The story starts within the realm of the rich and powerful (admittedly not a setting I personally prefer, but one which has not affected my rating) with a surprise party. Everything seems normal at first and I began to wonder with all the mundane proceedings when the shoe was going to drop.
Behind-the-scenes workings are gradually introduced, quickly (as per the timeline of the world) devolving a celebratory evening into one of unexpected horror. Espionage, world secrets, dubious governments, assassins, and most of all: a precious, ancient artifact that could change everything we thought we knew about the universe. A sense of mystery was maintained throughout the book that I give kudos for. The author kept me guessing as to who amongst the various characters racing to discover the artifact were going to win, IF anyone was going to win, if the item was actually all it was cracked up to be, and most importantly as per my personal reading preferences, constantly questioning the safety of the characters.
That said, I wasn’t hugely invested in any of the characters on an emotional level. This was inexplicably due to how ‘Pebble in the Dark’ is plot-driven, not character-driven. Once again, stories driven more by character is just a personal preference and therefore not reflected in my rating. I could very easily see the book becoming a movie in the vein of Mission Impossible or Indiana Jones.
If you’re looking for a high stakes action thriller with otherworldly aspects and mystery, ‘Pebble in the Dark’ is for you. The longer you read, the more rewarded you are- and this definitely goes for the series overall, not just this first installment.
Buy the audiobook on Amazon/Audible!
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((Review submitted to Amazon and Goodreads))
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~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden
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