The Anomaly

by Michael Rutger

"If Indiana Jones lived in the X-Files era, he might bear at least a passing resemblance to Nolan Moore -- a rogue archaeologist hosting a web series derisively dismissed by the "real" experts, but beloved of conspiracy theorists. Nolan sets out to retrace the steps of an explorer from 1909 who claimed to have discovered a mysterious cavern high up in the ancient rock of the Grand Canyon. And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways. Nolan's story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?"--

• ISBN10: 1538761858
• ISBN13: 9781538761854
• Publish Date: 19 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Grand Central Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[maggiefan]

2.5
At first I didn't like this book at all, in fact, I hated it. But after 30% it got kinda interesting. It even reminded me of one of my favorite books of all time - "The Ruins". But even that wasn't enough to make me give this book a higher rating. I don't know why. Maybe it's the fact that I don't remember a single character, or that I was very confused by the whole mystery element. I really wish I liked it more, but it is what it is. I honestly don't know if I'm going to continue with the series, I'm not rushing to pick up the next book. Time will tell.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

I can't remember exactly where I heard about this book, but it was described to me as being very similar to The Descent, one of my favorite horror movies. While you would absolutely never get me into a cave outside of a guided tour, I absolutely LOVE this kind of claustrophobic horror, especially when it's based in conspiracy theories. As soon as I got the chance to read this book I jumped in!

Ignore the cheesy description of Nolan Moore from the synopsis. Nolan is a documentary filmmaker who specializes in the mysterious and the unknown. He's what you would expect from this sort of character - a bit pretentious, but also passionate and brave. I didn't have strong feelings about him one way or the other. Along with his crew, Nolan sets out to find a cavern in the Grand Canyon that was mentioned with very strange descriptions by one explorer in the past, but seems to have been covered up by academia. Nolan has managed to plot what he believes to be the exact location and, wouldn't you know it, he's right!

The other characters were all fine, but forgettable. Luckily, great side characters weren't the reason I read this. When I read a book like this, what I'm really looking for is a great story, mystery, and action. The Anomaly definitely delivered! I can't say too much without spoilers, but what is in the cave was beyond anything I could have predicted. The atmosphere was unsettling from the beginning and I loved how the unease slowly built until things got really wild towards the end.

The Anomaly is a fast paced, twist filled thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat and looking over your shoulder. I'm not easily spooked and this is really more thriller than horror, but it definitely freaked me out a little. This isn't a perfect book, but it's great for what it is and I can't wait to see what the next installment has to offer!

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 stars

The Anomaly was my Book of the Month pick for June, and on the whole I was pretty happy with the choice I made. The main character is described as being Indiana Jones in an X-Files world, but to be honest this novel really just kept reminding me again and again of Lovecraft. I’m not sure if that was intentional on the author’s part, but I’m going to give them credit for it anyway.
I’ve never read anything by Michael Rutger before, which is a penname for Michael Marshall (I haven’t read anything by him either). He’s got plenty of books under the latter name, but so far only The Anomaly under the former. I will say that based on this one book I’m impressed with his writing style, and would be willing to look into more books by him.



Nolan is basically your average conspiracy theorist faux archeologist. Okay, that actually isn’t all that basic, is it? Its Nolan’s job to track down history that may have been, you know, the sort of thing that legit scientists over look because it sounds too unrealistic or made up. From there he’ll star in YouTube shows about said tracking, even going so far as to go to the supposed locations of these artifacts. It doesn’t much matter if he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, the point it to make the show and thus money, right?
This novel really had me hooked. I loved every moment where nothing happened – waiting for the other shoe to fall, so to speak. It felt like the sort of thing Lovecraft or Stephen King would do. Have you constantly waiting for something to happen, eventually making you afraid of the nothing.
That is, until things actually really did start happening. It gets pretty crazy from that point on, and honestly it’s one of those things you want to read in person, so I’m not going to spoil it for you. I will say that there were moments that made me cringe, moments that made me gasp, and other moments that made my heart pound.
Ultimately I do feel like the beginning and middle of this book were stronger than the conclusion. I hate saying that, because up until that point I was really enjoying myself. However I feel like the ending was a copout, and therefore it broke the promise of the story. There were actually two moments where I felt this keenly; the actual conclusion to the plot, and the revelation of the fate of a certain character (again, I’m being vague on purpose so I don’t spoil anything). I think both lost their impact because of the way they were handled. I honestly would have been happier had this book ended a couple of chapters earlier, even if that resulted with us never knowing the ending. In a way that would have been creepier and potentially keeping with the theme.
On the whole I was pretty happy with this novel, even if I did have some complaints about it. I really enjoyed reading it, and it was barely away from my side even when I didn’t have a moment to read. I’m sad that the experience is over, but I guess that just means I have to move on to the next book on my list, huh?


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks