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The Desert of Glass  By  cover art

The Desert of Glass

By: Michael C. Grumley
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

One of mankind's greatest secrets...has been hiding in plain sight for 3,000 years.

Half a century ago, an aberration was spotted by one of our earliest satellites, and summarily dismissed as a hardware malfunction. But it was no aberration. And no malfunction. It was an accidental glimpse of something extraordinary, and very old.

Mocked for decades, the man who designed the satellite is now dead. With the system's original data firmly in the hands of former NTSB investigator Joe Rickards and anthropologist Angela Reed.

But the data is only to be shared with one other person besides them: a seventy-five-year-old NASA engineer who was part of the original program.

Joe Rickards is convinced it will lead mankind into darkness.

Angela believes it may be the answer the modern world has been longing for.

And former NASA engineer Leonard Townsend hasn't the slightest idea what he's about to get involved in.

To make matters worse, through a strange bedside confession, a journalist thousands of miles away has just learned that someone else already knows about the satellite's 50-year-old discovery.

Because they've been secretly using it for years.

©2021 Michael C. Grumley (P)2021 Michael C. Grumley

What listeners say about The Desert of Glass

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Outstanding!!!!

While weaving a little bit of a history lesson into this very entertaining book Michael Grumley tells a very interesting fast paced story. There’s some mystery, sci-fi, a little mysticism and a bit of reality thrown in as well. Although I liked the first book in this series a little more I think this book is well worth the time and credit.
Scott Brick does an absolutely outstanding job narrating as always.
This book has my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
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78 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

This is book 2 after The Last Monument

An hour into this and some of the back story is starting to sound familiar. Audible does not list this as part of a sequence and I wish they had. Already with all the books I've read in the last year the first book is hazy. And definitely you should read it first. Not because this doesn't stand alone but because it's a good book and it will enrich this book.

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39 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating

I have listened to Scott Brick's wonderful narration of all of Michael C. Grumley's novels. The ideas presented in Grumley's boooks are so thought provoking. The research for his novels is accurate and intriguing. The characters have depth and humanity. I can't pigeonhole
the novels as totally philosophy, science fiction, suspense, or mystery with a dash of romance. I can say after finishing every one, I am questioning what we perceive as reality, why we are on earth, the interconnection of all things living, and what is afterlife. To summarize the plot is a simplification. To ponder the propositions is more of the main point to me of Grumley's books. Please do enjoy listening to or reading this and all Grumley's amazing books.

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13 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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What?

I made to Chapter 31. I love Scott Brick’s narration, as always. But from the very beginning of the book, I have been drifting away from the “story”, losing track, feeling like I came into a 3 part series one or two books in. It might be all on me that I haven’t a clue but I haven’t a clue. I really liked Michael G’s series about the dolphins and apes and communication so I thought I’d like this. But at this moment I do not. I will be returning it.

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10 people found this helpful

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BLOWN AWAY!!! I LISTENED STRAIGHT THROUGH!!

WOW!. This story connected Egyptology with the modern world through Quantum Physics! Never had a ride like this! SCOTT BRICK IS GREAT, AS USUAL!!!

The well developed characters from THE LAST MONUMENT, the first book in this series, hit the ground running... Explodes out of the start and keeps rolling...

I have had the good fortune to travel enough of the world to visit some incredible Archaeology Sites that gave me goosebumps! This book brought back those feelings and reactions....

Michael delivers these stories like Stephen E. Ambrose delivered with Band of Brothers, bringing his characters to life so you root for them!

BRAVO!! Can't wait for the next book in the series!!!



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9 people found this helpful

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Another great offering by Michael Grumley

Wonderful mix of science and sci-fi by Michael. I always enjoy his fantasy and cutting edge science combination as well as the bonds between his main characters. A great sequel to The Last Monument. Love all the globe-trotting in his novels. Takes me to a web browser to look up
the locations for a good visualization of the locales. Scott Brick delivers his consistently engaging narration.

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8 people found this helpful

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Saved by deus ex machina

First of all, I’m still not really sure if this was part of a series. I checked, several times, and there wasn’t anything suggesting this was part of a larger story, but there are quite few aspects of this book that make me think it is. I suppose I missed something saying as much. I know it’s part of the Monuments collection, but this seems much more like a “part II” than a loosely connected storyline.

From the very start, I had no idea what the characters were talking about. Throughout the entirety of it, there’s hints to previous events involving the main characters, but almost nothing is explained. While I enjoy the suspense of a story, I cannot stand when there’s constant reference to something specific, that’s known by one or more of the characters, but is withheld from the reader. It’s a cheap way to create the feeling of suspense.

Lastly, the conclusion kind of annoyed me. As the subject of my rant suggests, there was a total deus ex machina ending here. The story is dragged on and on and nothing is explained until very close to the end (like within 45 minutes of the end) and then the villain is dealt with, the story explained, and everyone is happy.
I swear, it felt like the author just didn’t want to finish the story and was like “to hell with it, the bad guy loses, good guys win. The end.”

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6 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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The makings of a good book

I generally like these types of books. The central plot devices and science tie ins had a lot of potential. T just wasn’t executed very well. Events in the story for tied to other events that I had to keep going back to confirm actually happened. The result was that the plot seemed disjointed. Character development suffered from a similar problem. It had the feel of a good book badly abridged.

Scott Brick’s reading was excellent, as usual.

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5 people found this helpful

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Stellar Continuation of the Series!

I listened to the first book in the series and just loved the premise. The first book is its own complete story...but this book continues it and moves the plot along further. I just love this series. If you are a fan of Dan Brown and Brad Meltzer you'll love this author. In fact, Grumley might even be better than Brown or Meltzer.

I love books like this that explore things that exist and are factual via a thriller. Books like these cause you to think "what if" and explore the science behind the book's hypothesis. Don't be put off If I'm making this sound "too deep." While I love the intellectual challenge of it, let me be clear, it's a fun and fast escape. Well done, Mr. Grumley! Please keep writing!

Meanwhile, this review would not be complete without the mention of the very masterfull narrator, Scott Brick. It's like this...if Brick is narrating, I'm listening. He's simply the best.

Together Grumley and Brick deliver an audiobook that is stellar!

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Outstanding. Couldn't stop listening! Awesome!

I am a fan of Michael Grumley and Scott Brick. I buy these books for a lot of people. All of the comments are that they keep reading to see what happens next! I can't wait for the next book to come out. Please keep writing! Thank you for this book.

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