Book of the Dead

Book of the Dead is a horror thriller by Greig Beck, in the style of H.P. Lovecraft, a classic horror novelist and creator of the monster Cthulhu, among many others. The book follows Professor Matt Kearns, a trained linguist who is tasked with locating and studying the ancient Book of the Dead. Meanwhile, the world seems to be coming to an end, as sinkholes appear across the country, swallowing pets and houses, and rumbling with eerie vibrations. When old monsters begin to crawl out of the depths, Matt's mission becomes increasingly desperate.

Massive sinkholes are appearing across America, from Cedar Rapids to California. Though sinkholes are not usually a cause for concern, these holes seem to be connected and keep getting bigger and bigger, concerning officials who come to investigate the scenes. Professor Matt Kearns is called in to investigate one of the sinkholes when officials note a mysterious, ancient-looking symbol that is shimmering in the sinkhole's depths. Investigators wonder if the symbol might give a clue to the reason for the appearance of so many sinkholes; they hope Matt can help them get to the bottom of the problem.

The symbol starts appearing everywhere, making Matt's mission to solve the riddle even more important. Eventually, he is recruited by the military for a formal investigation; he travels to the Middle East to meet with a scholar who seems to have knowledge about the symbol's origins. Once in the Middle East, Matt finds himself entrenched in a search to find the Al Azif, the ancient Book of the Dead, which military officials believe may offer insight on how to stop the creatures rumbling in the depths, looking for a way to come to the surface.



As the book develops, Matt Kearns establishes a long line of Cthulhu mythology, a monster featured in HP Lovecraft stories but now famous as a deep-sea creature that will eventually emerge to take over the world. Black goo appearing around the sinkhole sites and rumblings from deep within the earth give officials clues that they are dealing with an ancient angry god, who has decided it is time to emerge from the depths.

Using clues from the Al Azif, and many other sources, Matt visits the Library of Alexandria, the war-torn Syrian desert, and finally travels to the underworld of Greek legend in order to find meaning in an ancient prophecy that foretells the coming of ancient beings, older than the Earth itself, that will eventually consume the planet. Desperate to find a solution to this problem, Matt is assisted by Captain Adira Sanesh and others in his hunt to stop the monsters from taking over the Earth.

The ultimate question of the novel and the prophecy is how does one stop an ancient god from emerging and consuming the Earth? The answer, it seems, lies in ancient texts, and Matt Kearns has the skills and the wit to find an answer.



Book of the Dead is the second book in the Matt Kearns series by Greig Beck, a character who is further developed from the original Alex Hunter series. The book is preceded by The First Bird, which is split into three episodes, and followed by The Immortality Curse. Matt Kearns also appeared in Beneath the Dark Ice and Dark Rising, suspense adventure novels starring adventurer Alex Hunter as he solves problems such as plane crashes in Antarctica and radiation in the deserts of Iran.

Australian author Greig Beck works in software and the financial industry; an MBA has led him to work as the technology director of a number of financial organizations. He has lived in London, Hong Kong, the U.S., and elsewhere. Now he spends most of his time surfing, traveling, and writing novels in his various adventure series, as well as spending time with his wife, young son, and German shepherd. His most recent novels are in the Fathomless and Primordia series.