Marshall Chamberlain

I found The Mountain Place of Knowledge an interesting and fascinating work. A mountain in Belize that holds all knowledge. A place mentioned in the writings of ancient people, but a place that has been forgotten for centuries. A place that when two enter, they can communicate telepathically. A place that allows you a bird’s eye view of what has occurred in the past. I imagine a place that one would enter with awe and wonder.

Such a place was found by interpreting the writings of an ancient priestess. Once opened there are two deaths that lead to an investigative team from the UN to the site to see what caused the deaths? Another world power hears of the mountain and they send in a team to learn what they can and also to steal what is inside the mountain. The stage is set for an assault on the mountain to learn what one can by a raid. Of course they are met by UN troops and there is a struggle.

The book ends with everything hanging in the air and I look forward to reading the follow up work to get a better understanding of who the ancestors are. A very good read and one that may keep you on the edge of your seat.… (more)

Can't say that my review is going to be any different than the other ones I've seen. I was very excited to receive this book on early reviewers. It sounded like an interesting concept: finding out what is going on in places like Mayan ruins, fault lines in Africa, and other heightened areas, but the the story isn't fully committed to being sci-fi, but is too out there to be anything but. It wasn't the easiest book to get through, very muddled and unclear on the direction the story is taking, and to be honest, the best part of the story is when ****SPOILER ALERT***** the bad guy gets into the mountain.… (more)

Close your eyes and imagine that you’re in the Mayan Mountains of Belize and see a flash of blue light that drills a hole thru the head of a U.N. official searching for a secret entrance to the inside of a mountain. Scientists, an ex-Marine turned geology professor, and a strong and determined lady expert who’s into microbiology and computer science, are sent to investigate. This journey for the hidden mountain entrance shows strange metal scrolls, a staff containing wonderous powers, and a set of controls for the blue-light of destruction. Inside a set of strange caverns, a set of bizarre mental clues pushes the U.N. Representatives to exciting and dangerous experiences. Belize, the United Nations, NATO, and the United States work together to protect the mountain’s ancient hi-tech secrets from exploitation. But one nation (China) determines the mountain poses a threat to world order and is prepared to take whatever risks to secure this potential source of great power for itself alone. This a fantastic look into where we've come as a human race and maybe why.… (more)

I received this book from Member Giveaways.

It took me awhile to read this book because it was sent to me in PDF format and converting it to epub really messed up the formatting (paragraph breaks in the middle of the sentence for instance). I couldn't find the book on my ereader either (it ended up being a problem with the software reading the title, so it put the book after Z, where I'd never think to look for it). Reading it on the computer was difficult because if I ever had to reboot my computer the file would close and Adobe Reader doesn't remember what page the viewer was last on. Finally, I was able to read it on Aldiko on my tablet, which would remember what page I was on, but every time I opened the file, I had to change the size as the font was too small (though very pretty) for ereading purposes.

All that to send a message to the author: please make your books available in epub or mobi and forget PDF! The typography is very nice (main text font and the chapter headings), but it works better in a print format--I'm sure I'd really enjoy a physical version of the book.

I liked the premise of the story. I liked the no-nonsense approach to the interactions between the main characters. There were, however, too many characters/factions/viewpoints/motivations, and it got confusing. There was some really interesting concepts and technologies, and I liked the overlapping needs of archeology, linguistics, history, mythology, and translation. The metaphysical nature--of both the aliens and the monk--was the most interesting to me. Sadly, not enough time was spent on these two fascinating aspects, and too much time was spent on the espionage and intrigue of who was going to control the artifacts.

The hardest thing for me to appreciate was the ending. Nothing is resolved or even promised further study. It ends with the least interesting character getting what he deserves. Frankly, I'd like to know more about Kip. And Browning, for that matter.… (more)