About this item
Highlights
- "An unusual, exhilarating hybrid of high-stakes, propulsive narrative; erudite, yet breezy summations of specialized historical data; and strikingly evocative language.
- Author(s): Tobias Hill
- 368 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Thrillers
Description
About the Book
From an award-winning novelist and poet comes the gripping story of a lonely outsider whose arrival at a high-stakes archaeological dig through ancient Spartan ruins unearths long-buried secrets.Book Synopsis
"An unusual, exhilarating hybrid of high-stakes, propulsive narrative; erudite, yet breezy summations of specialized historical data; and strikingly evocative language." -- New York Times Book Review
From PEN/Macmillan award-winning novelist and poet Tobias Hill, a thrilling novel of astonishing grace and power that explores the secrets we keep, the ties that bind us, and the true cost of fulfilling our desires.
In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group's members--to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group's dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.
From the Back Cover
In southern Greece in 2004, a close-knit group of archaeologists searches for the buried traces of a formidable ancient power. A student running from a failed marriage and family, Ben Mercer is a latecomer to their ranks, drawn to the charisma of the group's members--to the double-edged friendship of Jason, the unsettling beauty of Natsuko and Eleschen, and the menace of Max and Eberhard. But Ben is far too eager to join the excavation project, and there is more to the group's dangerous games and dynamic than he understands. And there are things that should always remain hidden.
A novel of astonishing grace and power from award-winning author Tobias Hill, The Hidden brilliantly explores the secrets we keep, the ties that bind us, and the true cost of fulfilling our desires.
Review Quotes
"[A] high-stakes, propulsive narrative. . . . The novel's ideas are explored with stylish rigor and a rare boldness made all the more powerful by its surprising lyricism. -- New York Times Book Review
"A chilly existential thriller . . . dazzling. . . . Hill's use of the thriller structure to make broader commentary about modern life provides many rewarding and intelligent turns. . . . The evocations of Greece and historical details of Sparta are excellent." -- Publishers Weekly
"Ancient and modern Greece meet in this ambitious . . . story of an archaeological dig whose members have a hidden agenda. . . . The talented Hill is fizzing with ideas. . . . Shocking. . . . Hill's grasp of history is . . . impressive." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Sharply evocative prose. . . . The author's ability to depict the dusty backroads of Greece combined with a palpable overlay of dread is remarkable and unsettling. The background provided about Sparta is intense." -- Booklist
"Ingenious plot twists. . . and the book's constant sifting of the present through the past is done with admirable intelligence. But what lingers more than anything are these quick, sure, playfully notational passages. You don't often see writing as lively as this." -- The Guardian
"Apart from everything else that this novel is a beautifully paced thriller, a meditation on loss, guilt, obsession...it is also one of the finest novels written so far about this, our age of terror." -- The Observer
"Hill keeps the tension building to a climax which features the most unpleasant final image I've come across in a long time. Quite brilliant." -- The Independent on Sunday
"[An] elegant, sinister novel...Grippingly good." -- Marie Claire (UK)
"Secrets, codes, joltingly painful discoveries: the themes which underpinned Tobias Hill's previous novels . . . are back to full advantage in his new book THE HIDDEN, a tightly wrought, fast-paced literary thriller set in southern Greece. . . . Superbly realized. . . . Hill is a poet as well as a novelist, and his prose is always evocative, fresh and exact. . . . This dark and tense novel renders that experience of discovery and disillusionment with elegantly chilling skill." -- Times Literary Supplement (London)
"THE HIDDEN is a cunningly contrived novel about a post 9/11 world in which there can be no cetainties and no real solutions." -- Daily Express
"Resonant with classical myth, this is a rich, rewarding story of the outsider--the existential loner searching for his place in the world." -- Daily Mail (London)
"A tense thriller." -- Oxford Times
"An intriguing, high-tension novel. . . . Equal parts mystery-thriller, literary novel, and history lesson. . . . Lively and impressively narrated. . . . There is much to be admired in Hill's lush use of language, the potent storytelling, and, most especially, the delightful historical details and exotic locations he excavates." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
"[T]his is a wonderful novel: elegant yet savage, restrained yet full-throttled, illuminated by the sort of brilliance that leaves you short of breath." -- Daily Telegraph (London)