Blaine McCracken races to stop terrorists from unleashing an ancient weapon of unimaginable power at the president’s State of the Union speech

Blaine McCracken pulled off the impossible on a mission in Iran, but his work has just begun. Returning to the US, he faces another terrible threat in the form of Reverend Jeremiah Rule, whose hateful rhetoric has inflamed half the world, resulting in a series of devastating terrorist attacks. But Rule isn’t acting alone. A shadowy cabal is pulling his strings, unaware that they are creating a monster who will soon spin free of their control.

Finding himself a wanted man, McCracken must draw on skills and allies both old and new to get to the heart of a plot aimed at unleashing no less than the tenth circle of hell. A desperate chase takes him into the past, where the answers he needs are hidden amid two of history’s greatest puzzles: the lost colony of Roanoke and the Mary Celeste. As the clock ticks down to an unthinkable maelstrom, McCracken and his trusty sidekick, Johnny Wareagle, must save the United States from a war the country didn’t know it was fighting, and that it may well lose.

From Booklist

After putting the character on a lengthy hiatus, Land brought CIA agent Blaine McCracken back to the page in 2012’s Pandora’s Temple. Readers who enjoyed that book will enjoy this one, too. It begins with a couple of famous historical disappearances—the lost colony of Roanoke and the crew of the Mary Celeste—and a tantalizing question: What if the two events were somehow connected? And what, pray tell, does a Muslim-hating American preacher, whose bigoted proclamations appear to have sparked terrorist attacks against the U.S., have to do with them? Mixing political-thriller themes with more fantastic elements (the book’s title refers to the tenth circle of hell, and the phrase isn’t being used metaphorically), the novel may seem a bit out of left field to readers who know the author from his Caitlin Strong action series, but those who remember McCracken’s wild and frequently SF-tinted adventures should have a great time. --David Pitt

Review

“McCracken’s back! And I couldn’t be happier. Jon Land’s The Tenth Circle is a knockout thriller blending history, cutting-edge science, and nonstop action. Ancient mysteries, ghost ships, and a modern threat like no other . . . this is a novel that grips you by the throat and refuses to let go until the last page.” —James Rollins, New York Times–bestselling author of *The Eye of God *

“Jon Land is one hell of a writer. His vivid recreations of the past, his characterizations and his non-stop ticking clock tension had me turning the pages so fast they were smoldering. I really loved this book.” —Peter James, #1 international bestselling author of the Roy Grace novels

“At play is a weapon of mass destruction with links to the lost colony on Virginia’s Roanoke Island and the ghost ship the Mary Celeste, and McCracken and his comrades-in-arms, Sal Belamo and Johnny Wareagle, are the only ones who can prevent a horrific terrorist attack designed to bring America to its knees. A series of escalating clashes between the principals leads to a suitably climactic showdown.” —Publishers Weekly

“Mixing political-thriller themes with more fantastic elements . . . Those who remember McCracken’s wild and frequently SF-tinted adventures should have a great time.” —Booklist

The Tenth Circle

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