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Sun Symbol #1
Earthcore
Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Scott Sigler
69 books4,220 followersTHE CRYPT: SHAKEDOWN is Book I of a new five-book series. It’s out October 3, 2023 in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook narrated by Ray Porter.
iTunes by subscribing to his podcast.
#1 New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler is the creator of fifteen novels, six novellas and dozens of short stories. He gives away his stories as weekly, serialized, audiobooks, with over 40 million episodes downloaded.
Scott launched his career by releasing his novels as author-read podcasts. His rabid fans were so hungry for each week’s episode that they dubbed themselves the “Junkies.” The first hit is always free …
He is also is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and wee little Dogs of Døøm.
iTunes by subscribing to his podcast. #1 New York Times best-selling author Scott Sigler is the creator of fifteen novels, six novellas and dozens of short stories. He gives away his stories as weekly, serialized, audiobooks, with over 40 million episodes downloaded.
Scott launched his career by releasing his novels as author-read podcasts. His rabid fans were so hungry for each week’s episode that they dubbed themselves the “Junkies.” The first hit is always free …
He is also is a co-founder of Empty Set Entertainment, which publishes his Galactic Football League series. He lives in San Diego, CA, with his wife and wee little Dogs of Døøm.
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June 15, 2018UPDATE: June 1, 2018
The good folks at Amazon have put the EARTHCORE Kindle version on sale for $1.49 (US only) for the month of June, 2018. If you haven't read it or want it for your Kindle library, now is the time!
Click here to snag EARTHCORE for $1.49.
UPDATE: March 27, 2018
The EARTHCORE paperback will be in stores on April 3, 2018. Boom! You can pre-order now from Amazon, Barns & Noble, or get autographed copies from Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego (where I live). All of those links are here: http://www.scottsigler.com/earthcore.
If you don't order online, do patronize your local bookstores! We have to work together to keep these precious recourses open.
Also here is a picture of a silverbug crawling over a pile of freshly printed copies of EARTHCORE:
UPDATE: July 9, 2017:
Six weeks since we released the EARTHCORE audiobook, and man, it is killing it over at Audible. It's been in the Audible Top-10 for fiction every week since its release. That's for all fiction books. And in the Horror category, it's doing even better. I thought this was a funny screenshot showing me and Stephen King just hanging out. Oh, sure, he's got the entire category except for EARTHCORE at #3, but hey, we're lit-bros just hanging out by the horror water cooler.
UPDATE: June 19, 2017:
The revised EARTHCORE is in the wild! It is available in eBook formats and as an audiobook, narrated by Ray Porter, Audible's 2015 Narrator of the Year. The audiobook is killer, coming in at almost 20 hours of face-ripping entertainment. Paperback printing coming soon, we'll holler when it's available. Want the audiobook from Audible? Just click on the image below.
UPDATE: September 1, 2016:
At the suggestion of the team that runs Goodreads, here is a list of some of the books I used as research for EARTHCORE. These books are listed in the novel's bibliography, but it's kind of cool to see them collected here on Goodreads.
UPDATE: August 24, 2016:
I know you're supposed to do a fancy "cover reveal" event, but we're excited and want to get it up there for all to see (new cover made by Scott E. Pond).
We're hoping to have the book out in late 2016 or early 2017.
This is the fully re-written version. Deleted scenes, new ending, and also adding the skills I've picked up as an author since I wrote the last draft back in 2005. We had to get this version done so we could start planning for the sequel, which fans have been patiently waiting for for eleven years now (egads!).
The good folks at Amazon have put the EARTHCORE Kindle version on sale for $1.49 (US only) for the month of June, 2018. If you haven't read it or want it for your Kindle library, now is the time!
Click here to snag EARTHCORE for $1.49.
UPDATE: March 27, 2018
The EARTHCORE paperback will be in stores on April 3, 2018. Boom! You can pre-order now from Amazon, Barns & Noble, or get autographed copies from Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego (where I live). All of those links are here: http://www.scottsigler.com/earthcore.
If you don't order online, do patronize your local bookstores! We have to work together to keep these precious recourses open.
Also here is a picture of a silverbug crawling over a pile of freshly printed copies of EARTHCORE:
UPDATE: July 9, 2017:
Six weeks since we released the EARTHCORE audiobook, and man, it is killing it over at Audible. It's been in the Audible Top-10 for fiction every week since its release. That's for all fiction books. And in the Horror category, it's doing even better. I thought this was a funny screenshot showing me and Stephen King just hanging out. Oh, sure, he's got the entire category except for EARTHCORE at #3, but hey, we're lit-bros just hanging out by the horror water cooler.
UPDATE: June 19, 2017:
The revised EARTHCORE is in the wild! It is available in eBook formats and as an audiobook, narrated by Ray Porter, Audible's 2015 Narrator of the Year. The audiobook is killer, coming in at almost 20 hours of face-ripping entertainment. Paperback printing coming soon, we'll holler when it's available. Want the audiobook from Audible? Just click on the image below.
UPDATE: September 1, 2016:
At the suggestion of the team that runs Goodreads, here is a list of some of the books I used as research for EARTHCORE. These books are listed in the novel's bibliography, but it's kind of cool to see them collected here on Goodreads.
UPDATE: August 24, 2016:
I know you're supposed to do a fancy "cover reveal" event, but we're excited and want to get it up there for all to see (new cover made by Scott E. Pond).
We're hoping to have the book out in late 2016 or early 2017.
This is the fully re-written version. Deleted scenes, new ending, and also adding the skills I've picked up as an author since I wrote the last draft back in 2005. We had to get this version done so we could start planning for the sequel, which fans have been patiently waiting for for eleven years now (egads!).
September 10, 2016
Holy Shit Mr. Sigler!! This is the best book I've read this year!! You are one of my favorite authors and Earthcore is now firmly in my top five favorite thrillers of all time, along with Infected! That makes you the only author with more than one title in any of my top five lists! I've been reading 3-4 novels a week for the past 35 years so shining brighter than all the rest is no small achievement sir!
February 15, 2024
I don't want to say goodbye to the exceptional Ray Porter as narrator, so I'm tackling this one now.
Have any of you listened to a book almost solely because you love the narrator? I have a few that I read SOLELY because of the narrator, but this one actually sounds right up my alley too. It's a win/win for me!
Have any of you listened to a book almost solely because you love the narrator? I have a few that I read SOLELY because of the narrator, but this one actually sounds right up my alley too. It's a win/win for me!
March 20, 2022
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This book is about one of the smaller mining companies may have discover the mother lode of platinum. They will do anything to get there first. But when they do they get more than they bargained for.
This is a science fiction book. If you have read a Scott Sigler novel you know he likes aliens and you know he has no holds nothing back especially with the gore. This one fits that mold. I read this years and years ago and I loved it more than I did years ago. I know he rewrote some of this book. I don't know if that is the difference. I thought this one started real slow. The first half of the book was getting to the site and setting up. Not much action. But believe me, when the action hits it is full speed ahead. The second half of the book was amazing. I also didn't care for the characters in this book as they felt all like a trope. You have the unbelievable beautiful woman who is a deadly assassin. There is also the head of the company and all he cares about is work because of personal tragedy and so on. You get the point. This author has imagined some terrific characters from other books. Not so in this one. There is a sequel to this book (the reason I did a reread) and I am not sure if these characters are strong enough to carry the sequel. I will read it nevertheless.
I enjoy this author's book a lot. This isn't his strongest but I also believe it is one of his earliest. It reminded a lot of The Thing by John Carpenter. We have a scientific team in a desolate environment and dealing with an unknown enemy. It is definitely worth a read especially the last half of the book. It doesn't give you a chance to breath.
This book is about one of the smaller mining companies may have discover the mother lode of platinum. They will do anything to get there first. But when they do they get more than they bargained for.
This is a science fiction book. If you have read a Scott Sigler novel you know he likes aliens and you know he has no holds nothing back especially with the gore. This one fits that mold. I read this years and years ago and I loved it more than I did years ago. I know he rewrote some of this book. I don't know if that is the difference. I thought this one started real slow. The first half of the book was getting to the site and setting up. Not much action. But believe me, when the action hits it is full speed ahead. The second half of the book was amazing. I also didn't care for the characters in this book as they felt all like a trope. You have the unbelievable beautiful woman who is a deadly assassin. There is also the head of the company and all he cares about is work because of personal tragedy and so on. You get the point. This author has imagined some terrific characters from other books. Not so in this one. There is a sequel to this book (the reason I did a reread) and I am not sure if these characters are strong enough to carry the sequel. I will read it nevertheless.
I enjoy this author's book a lot. This isn't his strongest but I also believe it is one of his earliest. It reminded a lot of The Thing by John Carpenter. We have a scientific team in a desolate environment and dealing with an unknown enemy. It is definitely worth a read especially the last half of the book. It doesn't give you a chance to breath.
October 23, 2022
I really enjoy Sigler and this is another solid novel in his corpus! EarthCore is also something of a genre bender, being primarily a thriller but with science fiction and horror aspects. Most of this book is set in Utah and the mining company Earthcore that the title comes from. Earthcore is a relatively small player in the mining field, but a plucky one with some killer employees (and I mean that both literally and figuratively).
This starts off rather slow as Sigler introduces the company and some of its key employees, who will become main characters as the novel unfolds. One day, an old prospector is tipped off about a 'silver spring' in a desolate part of Utah; something like a 'holy grail' of prospector lore. Nonetheless, 'Sonny' heads out and finds it, and when it as assayed, it is almost pure platinum with some iridium mixed in. After some sleazy corporate dealings involving a psychopath the company uses for 'special occasions', they get the rights for the dig. Better, after some hi tech equipment and such to map the area, they seemingly find a 'nugget' of platinum around 4 miles long and a few thick, something worth billions if not trillions! The only problem is that it is located about 3 miles underground, which makes digging for it a little tricky...
The first half or so of the novel is basically what is mentioned above and all the nitty gritties involved in building a mineshaft so deep. I liked this part a lot, but some may find it slow going at times. Then, when the shaft is finally dug, things get really interesting, but to say more would involve spoilers, and that would be a shame for this one. Lets just say that the local Indians have long stayed away from the mountain where the dig takes place and they have a good reason!
Final note. I believe there are several versions of this book out there and this review is for the 2017 edition put out by Empty Set; some earlier versions are much shorter. Good stuff! 4.5 stars!
This starts off rather slow as Sigler introduces the company and some of its key employees, who will become main characters as the novel unfolds. One day, an old prospector is tipped off about a 'silver spring' in a desolate part of Utah; something like a 'holy grail' of prospector lore. Nonetheless, 'Sonny' heads out and finds it, and when it as assayed, it is almost pure platinum with some iridium mixed in. After some sleazy corporate dealings involving a psychopath the company uses for 'special occasions', they get the rights for the dig. Better, after some hi tech equipment and such to map the area, they seemingly find a 'nugget' of platinum around 4 miles long and a few thick, something worth billions if not trillions! The only problem is that it is located about 3 miles underground, which makes digging for it a little tricky...
The first half or so of the novel is basically what is mentioned above and all the nitty gritties involved in building a mineshaft so deep. I liked this part a lot, but some may find it slow going at times. Then, when the shaft is finally dug, things get really interesting, but to say more would involve spoilers, and that would be a shame for this one. Lets just say that the local Indians have long stayed away from the mountain where the dig takes place and they have a good reason!
Final note. I believe there are several versions of this book out there and this review is for the 2017 edition put out by Empty Set; some earlier versions are much shorter. Good stuff! 4.5 stars!
July 26, 2017
I did it, son...now you have to read one I choose for you!
July 1, 2017
Starts out as clash of stereotypical characters. Never stops being a big bore, partly because none of the paper-thin characters is the least bit likable. Even when the action and gore was at its fastest and most furious, I didn't care whether any survived.
December 27, 2015
This book felt like an epic race to the finish line!
Earthcore is one of those books that you enjoy reading because of the thrill and mysteries. It was like watching a movie unfold, complete with mad scientists, an ambitious misguided businessman, an assassin and bizarre creatures! LOTS AND LOTS OF BIZARRE CREATURES!!!
The story revolves around a mining area which is supposed to give off a lot of money. It was a great vision and everyone felt excited for it. However, it turned out to be the cause of their doom because deep within the area lies a primitive race. At first, I thought these were just humans who evolved into something else... But nooo.. They're waaaayy different! I won't give out specific details. Just know that they're all terrifying and very formidable. Our main characters barely stood a chance! Even the bad guy didn't stand a chance!
Read this and you'll see what I'm talking about! Go on!
The relationships of the characters are also very intriguing. It will keep you entertained while the creatures aren't attacking yet. Enjoy their banters because when the action starts, they won't have enough time to do things other than killing and running.
This was also such a great read because it was all so informative! I had to research on some stuff to see if they're just fiction or not. I even had to look for pictures! It's great. It forced me to add some things to this brain of mine. :)
So there. Great book! I'm glad that I gave this a shot. I really, really like how this author works!
Earthcore is one of those books that you enjoy reading because of the thrill and mysteries. It was like watching a movie unfold, complete with mad scientists, an ambitious misguided businessman, an assassin and bizarre creatures! LOTS AND LOTS OF BIZARRE CREATURES!!!
The story revolves around a mining area which is supposed to give off a lot of money. It was a great vision and everyone felt excited for it. However, it turned out to be the cause of their doom because deep within the area lies a primitive race. At first, I thought these were just humans who evolved into something else... But nooo.. They're waaaayy different! I won't give out specific details. Just know that they're all terrifying and very formidable. Our main characters barely stood a chance! Even the bad guy didn't stand a chance!
Read this and you'll see what I'm talking about! Go on!
The relationships of the characters are also very intriguing. It will keep you entertained while the creatures aren't attacking yet. Enjoy their banters because when the action starts, they won't have enough time to do things other than killing and running.
This was also such a great read because it was all so informative! I had to research on some stuff to see if they're just fiction or not. I even had to look for pictures! It's great. It forced me to add some things to this brain of mine. :)
So there. Great book! I'm glad that I gave this a shot. I really, really like how this author works!
April 16, 2011
2.5
Book Summary:
Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.
This started so great. The anticipation and mystery.
I love this stuff but I fear that Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child have completely spoiled me.
The protagonist,(Connell), experiences a heart-breaking loss at the beginning of the story. Unfortunately, this turns him into a complete anti-social jerk that only lives for his career. I understand him but I don't like him. Luckily I don't need to like him, just be interested in him. Through the process of horror and survival in the caves where he had hoped to make his company billions, he tries to redeem himself. The change in his actions seemed trite and unbelievable to me.
This cast of characters include; a psychopathic ex-NSA agent, a narcissistic genius, a naive archeologist as well as two ex-military security personnel. Quite frankly the 'token' ex-military personnel were the only two characters I liked.
They get trapped miles below the surface and have to make their way even further down in order to eventually find a path to safety. With the use of 'Kool Suits' they are able to tolerate the high temperatures, but the suits are not armor and a tear can compromise the suits integrity. On top of that, there are some very bad things waiting for them
Like I said before, this is usually a plot that grips me but instead of the terror ramping up, it fizzled for me. The characters seemed to be modeled on some action/horror archetype someone wrote in the 80's. The female lead was an idealogical airhead of the 'save the artifacts, not yourself' variety. All the makings for a fantastic horror/action-adventure were there but it felt rushed and skeletal.
Book Summary:
Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure. But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.
This started so great. The anticipation and mystery.
I love this stuff but I fear that Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child have completely spoiled me.
The protagonist,(Connell), experiences a heart-breaking loss at the beginning of the story. Unfortunately, this turns him into a complete anti-social jerk that only lives for his career. I understand him but I don't like him. Luckily I don't need to like him, just be interested in him. Through the process of horror and survival in the caves where he had hoped to make his company billions, he tries to redeem himself. The change in his actions seemed trite and unbelievable to me.
This cast of characters include; a psychopathic ex-NSA agent, a narcissistic genius, a naive archeologist as well as two ex-military security personnel. Quite frankly the 'token' ex-military personnel were the only two characters I liked.
They get trapped miles below the surface and have to make their way even further down in order to eventually find a path to safety. With the use of 'Kool Suits' they are able to tolerate the high temperatures, but the suits are not armor and a tear can compromise the suits integrity. On top of that, there are some very bad things waiting for them
Like I said before, this is usually a plot that grips me but instead of the terror ramping up, it fizzled for me. The characters seemed to be modeled on some action/horror archetype someone wrote in the 80's. The female lead was an idealogical airhead of the 'save the artifacts, not yourself' variety. All the makings for a fantastic horror/action-adventure were there but it felt rushed and skeletal.
February 10, 2022
Ok... this IS a book with a very loooong lead up to the action which doesn't start until the halfway point. But the story is good and it's well written and it's interesting enough to want to read to get to the action. And all the build up makes the action worthwhile as you know the characters really well.
The kindle version doesn't give page numbers and I question whether the listing for this book has the number correct at 482 when Amazon shows what seems to me to be a more accurate page count of 560.
The kindle version doesn't give page numbers and I question whether the listing for this book has the number correct at 482 when Amazon shows what seems to me to be a more accurate page count of 560.
December 8, 2017
First of all I am sure that Scott Sigler has poured his heartblood into this novel especially concerning the scientific background. The man has definitely done his homework (though he takes quite some liberties here and there which I am sure he is perfectly aware of).
However the novel suffers from several weak spots that I think could have been avoided if Sigler had been as meticulously with his writing as he has been with his research.
To begin with the plot needed some serious tightening: After the pretty drawn-out introduction we are actually treated with a decently paced mid-section while the mine is being set up just to be thrown into a tiresome mess of repetitive story patterns and situations once the protagonists descend into the caverns, making the seemingly endless chase and fight through the tunnels an ordeal until the finale.
All of this is not helped by Sigler's seemingly limited vocabulary and the iterant recycling of certain sentences or words. Just pay attention to how often someone feels his "fight or flight instinct kick in" or the continual use of the phrase "not by a long shot".
The characters are more or less one-dimensional tropes, clichéd and struggle through uninspired and only mildly believable dialogue. And let's not forget the absolutely dispensable but seemingly obligatory "love story". Oh, wait love stories(!), as there are actually two of them. Seriously dear authors, what makes you think that almost every time a man and a woman meet they more or less feel instantly attracted to each other? That is so far away from reality that it is just laughable. Especially when there are two relationships smoldering in a group of not even a dozen. I was just waiting for the remaining men of the party to form some kind of gay love triangle or so.
Anyway, to make a long story short: "Earthcore" was a mildly entertaining read that has quite a few lenghts, suffers from formulaic writing and does little to nothing with its premise. If the storyline of exploring the bowels of the earth through undiscovered and gigantic cave systems while encountering an unknown lifeform intrigues you I suggest you read Jeff Long's "The Descent" instead as it is definitely the better book (despite its love story....aaargh!).
However the novel suffers from several weak spots that I think could have been avoided if Sigler had been as meticulously with his writing as he has been with his research.
To begin with the plot needed some serious tightening: After the pretty drawn-out introduction we are actually treated with a decently paced mid-section while the mine is being set up just to be thrown into a tiresome mess of repetitive story patterns and situations once the protagonists descend into the caverns, making the seemingly endless chase and fight through the tunnels an ordeal until the finale.
All of this is not helped by Sigler's seemingly limited vocabulary and the iterant recycling of certain sentences or words. Just pay attention to how often someone feels his "fight or flight instinct kick in" or the continual use of the phrase "not by a long shot".
The characters are more or less one-dimensional tropes, clichéd and struggle through uninspired and only mildly believable dialogue. And let's not forget the absolutely dispensable but seemingly obligatory "love story". Oh, wait love stories(!), as there are actually two of them. Seriously dear authors, what makes you think that almost every time a man and a woman meet they more or less feel instantly attracted to each other? That is so far away from reality that it is just laughable. Especially when there are two relationships smoldering in a group of not even a dozen. I was just waiting for the remaining men of the party to form some kind of gay love triangle or so.
Anyway, to make a long story short: "Earthcore" was a mildly entertaining read that has quite a few lenghts, suffers from formulaic writing and does little to nothing with its premise. If the storyline of exploring the bowels of the earth through undiscovered and gigantic cave systems while encountering an unknown lifeform intrigues you I suggest you read Jeff Long's "The Descent" instead as it is definitely the better book (despite its love story....aaargh!).
May 22, 2018
Scott Sigler added another 50% to his original EarthCore book and re-released it this month. I bought both the Kindle and Audible versions because I like to read or listen without interruption no matter what I'm doing and will switch back and forth. In fact, I became so obsessed with EarthCore, I couldn't put it down for 3 minutes to get a snack or drink and would have to switch to the audio so I wouldn't miss anything!
And Sigler...! I spent 2 nights ago having nightmares ALL. NIGHT. LONG. What the...?!! Thanks a lot!
I had been looking for a copy of EarthCore for the past couple of years so I was thrilled when it was revamped and released again! And it's now one of my top favs of Sigler's books. Also, it terrified me in parts almost as much as Infected did! Dang!
A major corporation manages to be first to a massive find of a precious metal miles underground; deeper than any other mine in the world. What they discovered knocked my socks off!
My favorite characters were, hands down, Patrick and Bertha.
And I must mention the incredible Ray Porter who did the performance for the audiobook! I became so lost in his words while driving that I missed my turn off. ...Twice!
I could easily see this book turned into a movie! It's action packed with lots of incredible tech. Hope you're not too squeamish though!
And Sigler...! I spent 2 nights ago having nightmares ALL. NIGHT. LONG. What the...?!! Thanks a lot!
I had been looking for a copy of EarthCore for the past couple of years so I was thrilled when it was revamped and released again! And it's now one of my top favs of Sigler's books. Also, it terrified me in parts almost as much as Infected did! Dang!
A major corporation manages to be first to a massive find of a precious metal miles underground; deeper than any other mine in the world. What they discovered knocked my socks off!
My favorite characters were, hands down, Patrick and Bertha.
And I must mention the incredible Ray Porter who did the performance for the audiobook! I became so lost in his words while driving that I missed my turn off. ...Twice!
I could easily see this book turned into a movie! It's action packed with lots of incredible tech. Hope you're not too squeamish though!
February 11, 2008
Man, I'm glad I snagged a copy of this book before it became unavailable. Scott Sigler is a friend and Crown recently scooped all of his books, including this gem. The good news there is that we'll probably see it again, the bad news is that it's no longer in print...for now.
BUT, when it comes back in print, it's well worth reading. It's a subterrainean thriller, which I'm, for some reason, drawn to (my favorite novel is The Descent). Earthcore is fun, inteligent and scary. Three nights in a row I stayed up well past my bedtime reading this book.
Rather than go on about the book that you, for now, can't buy, I'd like to point out that Scott's new book, INFECTED will be released by Crown on April 1. I've read two of Scott's books now and I have no doubt in my mind that INFECTED will cause me to lose more sleep.
-- Jeremy Robinson
www.jeremyrobinsononline.com
BUT, when it comes back in print, it's well worth reading. It's a subterrainean thriller, which I'm, for some reason, drawn to (my favorite novel is The Descent). Earthcore is fun, inteligent and scary. Three nights in a row I stayed up well past my bedtime reading this book.
Rather than go on about the book that you, for now, can't buy, I'd like to point out that Scott's new book, INFECTED will be released by Crown on April 1. I've read two of Scott's books now and I have no doubt in my mind that INFECTED will cause me to lose more sleep.
-- Jeremy Robinson
www.jeremyrobinsononline.com
October 26, 2012
Billions of dollars worth of platinum, 3 miles below the surface is up for grabs. A ruthless mining company is staking its claim, but first a group of EarthCore employees and scientists will need to find a way to survive the night and quite possibly save the planet in the process.
I really enjoy Scott Siglers work. The guy can definitely tell a story. This may not have been my favorite so far, but it was fast, fun and entertaining. There were some genuinely likeable, as well as, (signature Sigler) dislikable characters in here and while the story was fairly predictable it never once lost me and I had to ride it out to the end. 3.5 Stars
Edit 4-30-13 (I revised my star rating to reflect the .5 star)
I really enjoy Scott Siglers work. The guy can definitely tell a story. This may not have been my favorite so far, but it was fast, fun and entertaining. There were some genuinely likeable, as well as, (signature Sigler) dislikable characters in here and while the story was fairly predictable it never once lost me and I had to ride it out to the end. 3.5 Stars
Edit 4-30-13 (I revised my star rating to reflect the .5 star)
May 1, 2018
Corrupt miners. Murderous AIs. ALIENS! This book had it all and kept me turning the pages late into the night. Trust me, you will not be able to predict who survives and who does not. A great read.
August 5, 2021
Ohhh my gahhhh!!!!
5 GLORIOUS STARS!!
This book has made my “Favorites” List, fo sho!
Okay, I need to take a hot minute to let it all sink in before I can even think about writing a review!
Just know this: I am now a hardcore Earthcore fan!!! And I can not wait to read (listen to) Mount Fitz Roy next!!
5 GLORIOUS STARS!!
This book has made my “Favorites” List, fo sho!
Okay, I need to take a hot minute to let it all sink in before I can even think about writing a review!
Just know this: I am now a hardcore Earthcore fan!!! And I can not wait to read (listen to) Mount Fitz Roy next!!
February 18, 2019
Long winded, paint by numbers SF horror.
World: The world building is fairly solid, it takes it time (boy does it take it’s time...) to explain the locale the history and the pieces of the story. The design of the world on the other hand is a bit unappealing to me, especially the villains of this book their descriptions don’t sound cool, they sound campy in a bad way so instead of cringing from disgust or fearful cause of their description I was giggling cause they sounded stupid.
Story: A fairly standard paint by numbers blockbuster SF horror book that reads like a summer brainless movie. The book has pacing issues, it takes a long time to get moving and the book is keen to explain everything in depth whether we need it or not. It takes half of the book for anything of note to really happen and so the first part of the book is building tension (barely there) but mostly technical jargon and character set up after setup after setup. The issues is that building tension is good, we’ve read it in books all the time, the anticipation sometimes makes the reveal so more awesome (Alien comes to mind) but that’s not the case here cause the people you have in this book are not good characters and unsavoury in general so you’re reading a bunch of asses and you could care less if they live or die and why it’s taking so long for the action to start. When the action does start it’s long, it lingers too long and it’s not all that exciting. The biggest issue is the villains in this book, they are not cool like the Ridley Scott Alien or cool like the hollow Earth lost tribe I was expecting they were pretty laughable in their description and that takes all the tension out of the book. In the end it became a numbing last part of the book where characters died as per SF horror and I did not care by things that made me laugh...zzz.
Characters: These characters are not good. They have a lot of development but it’s not good. The problem is that these characters are not interesting to begin with, they are not well written and designed characters. You want an anti-hero fine but they are not well written here. The relationships are very standard and plays out like a cheesy summer movie and the villains oh man are they ever stupid. I love Lovecraft but this is not Lovecraft this is Tremors (but I also like Tremors so this is not Tremors this is....those direct to video b grade movie villains that make you cringe cause they are so terrible).
A mindless and hollow book with bad characters, look elsewhere for better SF horror, that mermaid one is better but I forget the name of that book at the moment.
Onward to the next book!
World: The world building is fairly solid, it takes it time (boy does it take it’s time...) to explain the locale the history and the pieces of the story. The design of the world on the other hand is a bit unappealing to me, especially the villains of this book their descriptions don’t sound cool, they sound campy in a bad way so instead of cringing from disgust or fearful cause of their description I was giggling cause they sounded stupid.
Story: A fairly standard paint by numbers blockbuster SF horror book that reads like a summer brainless movie. The book has pacing issues, it takes a long time to get moving and the book is keen to explain everything in depth whether we need it or not. It takes half of the book for anything of note to really happen and so the first part of the book is building tension (barely there) but mostly technical jargon and character set up after setup after setup. The issues is that building tension is good, we’ve read it in books all the time, the anticipation sometimes makes the reveal so more awesome (Alien comes to mind) but that’s not the case here cause the people you have in this book are not good characters and unsavoury in general so you’re reading a bunch of asses and you could care less if they live or die and why it’s taking so long for the action to start. When the action does start it’s long, it lingers too long and it’s not all that exciting. The biggest issue is the villains in this book, they are not cool like the Ridley Scott Alien or cool like the hollow Earth lost tribe I was expecting they were pretty laughable in their description and that takes all the tension out of the book. In the end it became a numbing last part of the book where characters died as per SF horror and I did not care by things that made me laugh...zzz.
Characters: These characters are not good. They have a lot of development but it’s not good. The problem is that these characters are not interesting to begin with, they are not well written and designed characters. You want an anti-hero fine but they are not well written here. The relationships are very standard and plays out like a cheesy summer movie and the villains oh man are they ever stupid. I love Lovecraft but this is not Lovecraft this is Tremors (but I also like Tremors so this is not Tremors this is....those direct to video b grade movie villains that make you cringe cause they are so terrible).
A mindless and hollow book with bad characters, look elsewhere for better SF horror, that mermaid one is better but I forget the name of that book at the moment.
Onward to the next book!
August 1, 2019
5 awesome anther discovered favorite narrator stars audio!
4 stars story. Everything about this story was awesome especially the wonderful cast of characters. My only issue was the length. It was too damned long. Some parts could've been shortened or taken out completely.
4 stars story. Everything about this story was awesome especially the wonderful cast of characters. My only issue was the length. It was too damned long. Some parts could've been shortened or taken out completely.
August 16, 2017
This is possibly one of the unexpected hit thrillers of 2017, a cross-genre combo of sci-fi, horror, thriller, and paranormal. It behooves one to reveal too much in a review, and I recommend reading without doing too much research into the actual storyline in order to maximize the surprise. Let's just say that the feel of the book, and the scale, definitely changes as it progresses, and takes you into some very strangely cool and unexpected places. Aside from the prologue, the book feels like a suspense/thriller for much of the first act, but once it gets going things get very intense. There are also a lot of good characters that are developed with a decent amount of pacing and progression. The main warning I would give to potential readers is that there is a LOT of profanity coming from some of the characters, so be prepared/beware of that.
September 13, 2017
I'd never heard of the author before picking up this book. He clearly has quite a following in the USA who I'm sure admire his macho, all guns blazin', gore-splattered approach to story-telling. Earthcore was his first novel and originally written in 2001. The version I read is 50% longer but I can't quite see why he bothered. Characters are typically stereotypic and blatantly homophobic. It's rather an old style of writing that doesn't sit well in 2017. The story itself is fine, although suspension of disbelief is stretched like elastic. I couldn't quite see where the energy was coming from to fire up the 150 lasers in the laser drill (as in the movie The Core, interestingly); the Kool suits were even more ridiculous. The general principle of less is more applies even to pulp fiction, but given the Trumpism afflicting middle America, I doubt that Sigler's readers appreciate that.
August 16, 2019
Maybe the most unlikeable cast of characters ever assembled.
September 26, 2017
It was an OK read. It would have benefited a lot from a more aggressive editor, who was willing to chop off unnecessary lines like the monsters were willing to cut off limbs. For example, if someone calls someone else a “Son of a bitch” I don't need to be told they are angry, I know this from what they said. The only time I need to know how they feel is, if it is the opposite of what one would expect. If you cut such obvious lines from the narrative not only will the book shrink by 1/3 but the narrative would flow much smoother.
The romance subplots could really be cut out. It is nice to see people make connections while in dire situations, but it is so unrealistic that it breaks immersion and makes me cringe.
And speaking about cringing, why is everyone angry? Every single character in the book was angry at least once, and for a couple anger was the natural state. They were so angry they were seething with it, and Sigler had to keep telling us they were angry, lest we forget.
From my criticism above don't think that everything about this book was awful. The monsters were really unnerving. I can see where Sigler may have gotten his inspiration from, looking at some gifs on the web. And I do have to appreciate the fact that he was willing to kill of his characters. Usually you assume a sub set of characters would be safe from death, but not in this book. If someone has to die, Sigler isn't concerned what role they had in the narrative, they die.
If you only take one thing away from my review let it be this, this book is mediocre but it is also one of Sigler's first books. Having read his later creations I can say he improved by a mile. So if you somewhat liked this book, pick up his later works without fear over them not being enjoyable.
The romance subplots could really be cut out. It is nice to see people make connections while in dire situations, but it is so unrealistic that it breaks immersion and makes me cringe.
And speaking about cringing, why is everyone angry? Every single character in the book was angry at least once, and for a couple anger was the natural state. They were so angry they were seething with it, and Sigler had to keep telling us they were angry, lest we forget.
From my criticism above don't think that everything about this book was awful. The monsters were really unnerving. I can see where Sigler may have gotten his inspiration from, looking at some gifs on the web. And I do have to appreciate the fact that he was willing to kill of his characters. Usually you assume a sub set of characters would be safe from death, but not in this book. If someone has to die, Sigler isn't concerned what role they had in the narrative, they die.
If you only take one thing away from my review let it be this, this book is mediocre but it is also one of Sigler's first books. Having read his later creations I can say he improved by a mile. So if you somewhat liked this book, pick up his later works without fear over them not being enjoyable.
May 8, 2021
01/04/2021 Notes:
Recommend for those that want an action story with movie style plot & adrenaline fueled atmosphere. The story was fun. I'll probably get the next book because I enjoy action stories & Ray Porter is one of my fav narrators.
11/06/2018 Mini-Review:
An action packed story that can easily translate to the screen. I think the book could have been great if it had narrowed down the focus to three or four ideas and developed them. Instead, the story tries to have well rounded characters, epic history, overwhelming dangers, intricate relationships, uber suspense and a multitude of terror filled events. The characters ended up being two dimensional, the action was predictable, the revelations fall flat and high tension never made it to the high point. I think this book would make a great movie.
The biggest disappointment for me was that there's no real climax or point to the story. If you want a story about the downfalls of greed and aliens, this one will work for you. Outside of that, it was mildly entertaining book that felt like a B-list movie.
Recommend for those that want an action story with movie style plot & adrenaline fueled atmosphere. The story was fun. I'll probably get the next book because I enjoy action stories & Ray Porter is one of my fav narrators.
11/06/2018 Mini-Review:
An action packed story that can easily translate to the screen. I think the book could have been great if it had narrowed down the focus to three or four ideas and developed them. Instead, the story tries to have well rounded characters, epic history, overwhelming dangers, intricate relationships, uber suspense and a multitude of terror filled events. The characters ended up being two dimensional, the action was predictable, the revelations fall flat and high tension never made it to the high point. I think this book would make a great movie.
The biggest disappointment for me was that there's no real climax or point to the story. If you want a story about the downfalls of greed and aliens, this one will work for you. Outside of that, it was mildly entertaining book that felt like a B-list movie.
August 23, 2017
I'm a new Sigler reader, but I found Earthcore to be slow and boring. Things don't really begin to get interesting until somewhere in the middle, and, even then, some parts just drag on. I really liked the first two Infected books (the third, not so much), then I listened to Ancestor, which was super boring. I thought maybe this would be better than Ancestor, and it was, but not nearly as engrossing--and definitely not as fast paced--as Infected and Contagious.
August 28, 2017
Couldn't stay interested. Did not finish.
March 15, 2018
2.5/5, пряко сили. Почнах да я чета, после почнах да я чета по диагонал, накрая не я довърших.
October 29, 2010
I'm not joking either- I've yet to read or listen to a Sigler story that has disappointed me. Sure, there's some that I don't like as well as others, but overall I've enjoyed all of Sigler's works in either a book or podcast format.
Earthcore surrounds a group of the world's best & brightest in mining, run by the ruthless Connell Kirkland. Reeling from his own personal losses years earlier, Kirkland thinks only of the bottom line & what profits he can get for his company. When an enormous amount of platinum- quite possibly the largest amount ever known in one location- is discovered in the remote & desolate WaWa mountains, Kirkland will stop at nearly nothing to get to it. Too bad that he isn't the only one who wants this valuable platinum deposit. It's even more of a pity that none of the people grasping for the platinum know the deadly secrets that the mountain is hiding...
This is one of Sigler's earliest novels, but it ended up that it was one of the last of his that I read. (I pretty much worked my way from the most recent to the earliest via the podcasts.) It is actually pretty interesting to do it this way, as it has shown me exactly how far Sigler has gone with his writing. Earthcore is a lot of fun to read, but it is a teensy bit rough compared to some of his later novels. Even so, this has to be one of my favorites of his so far. (Ok, so I'm a sucker for stories like this!)
I really loved the pacing of the book & I even more liked the surprising romantic pairing of the book. (It wasn't that surprising, but I was actually pleased to see that the pair I thought would pair up didn't.) As always, the things that go bump in the night are easily the best part of Earthcore & I really wish that there'd been more of a chance to explore them. There's going to be at least one more sequel & I believe that it will be made into a trilogy, so there's plenty of time for them to be explored.
If you've loved Sigler's other books, you'll love this one. Unfortunately as of this review (May 2010) the book has yet to be put back into print here in the USA, so you will probably have to settle for the podcasts that are floating around on the net or available from the author's own site. Although if you are someone who likes to collect their Sigler books, you will probably not only want to buy the English version, but you'll probably want to get two copies so you can read one & preserve the other!
Earthcore surrounds a group of the world's best & brightest in mining, run by the ruthless Connell Kirkland. Reeling from his own personal losses years earlier, Kirkland thinks only of the bottom line & what profits he can get for his company. When an enormous amount of platinum- quite possibly the largest amount ever known in one location- is discovered in the remote & desolate WaWa mountains, Kirkland will stop at nearly nothing to get to it. Too bad that he isn't the only one who wants this valuable platinum deposit. It's even more of a pity that none of the people grasping for the platinum know the deadly secrets that the mountain is hiding...
This is one of Sigler's earliest novels, but it ended up that it was one of the last of his that I read. (I pretty much worked my way from the most recent to the earliest via the podcasts.) It is actually pretty interesting to do it this way, as it has shown me exactly how far Sigler has gone with his writing. Earthcore is a lot of fun to read, but it is a teensy bit rough compared to some of his later novels. Even so, this has to be one of my favorites of his so far. (Ok, so I'm a sucker for stories like this!)
I really loved the pacing of the book & I even more liked the surprising romantic pairing of the book. (It wasn't that surprising, but I was actually pleased to see that the pair I thought would pair up didn't.) As always, the things that go bump in the night are easily the best part of Earthcore & I really wish that there'd been more of a chance to explore them. There's going to be at least one more sequel & I believe that it will be made into a trilogy, so there's plenty of time for them to be explored.
If you've loved Sigler's other books, you'll love this one. Unfortunately as of this review (May 2010) the book has yet to be put back into print here in the USA, so you will probably have to settle for the podcasts that are floating around on the net or available from the author's own site. Although if you are someone who likes to collect their Sigler books, you will probably not only want to buy the English version, but you'll probably want to get two copies so you can read one & preserve the other!
June 17, 2017
The 2017 rewrite of Earthcore is a behemoth that gives readers more meat to the original story. There’s tons of additional information that manifests as character development, making the overall story much stronger.
The story itself is one most fans of Scott Sigler are quite familiar with; after all, this is the one that started it all. The basic structure is the same, but the entire story has been shaped and molded into a more mature telling, reflecting Sigler’s own matured writing style. The book has also been put into the modern Siglerverse Timeline, now having direct references to other events in the Siglerverse (the single universe in which all of Sigler’s books take place). This makes the new story feel a bit more familiar to the rest of the canon.
The pace of the story is as inexorable as the underground mining company’s excavation. There’s plenty of kool (sic) tech that is bleeding edge to modern times. Sigler continues to integrate technology and science seamlessly into his storylines, giving them the hardcore Science Fiction lean that his fans appreciate and go crazy for. Sigler writes very cinematically, with big visuals that any movie fan can visualize.
Audiobook note: Top-shelf narrator Ray Porter takes the audio reins for this production, and is simply fantastic. Porter always gives a great performance, and he seems right at home with this genre and material.
The story itself is one most fans of Scott Sigler are quite familiar with; after all, this is the one that started it all. The basic structure is the same, but the entire story has been shaped and molded into a more mature telling, reflecting Sigler’s own matured writing style. The book has also been put into the modern Siglerverse Timeline, now having direct references to other events in the Siglerverse (the single universe in which all of Sigler’s books take place). This makes the new story feel a bit more familiar to the rest of the canon.
The pace of the story is as inexorable as the underground mining company’s excavation. There’s plenty of kool (sic) tech that is bleeding edge to modern times. Sigler continues to integrate technology and science seamlessly into his storylines, giving them the hardcore Science Fiction lean that his fans appreciate and go crazy for. Sigler writes very cinematically, with big visuals that any movie fan can visualize.
Audiobook note: Top-shelf narrator Ray Porter takes the audio reins for this production, and is simply fantastic. Porter always gives a great performance, and he seems right at home with this genre and material.
July 17, 2017
This is not by first book by Sigler and, in a way, it has some similarities with the other one that i`ve read.
But i have to warn you, like the book by Laymon that i`ve recently read, the true action starts only after some one hundred pages.
When all the characters are presented and put in their place, only then we will sit calmly in our seats and have a hell of a ride.
i liked that the whole ideea wasn`t something usual and conventional and, in fact, it really worked good for this kind of a book.
if you`re truly in the mystery & adventure business then this is a must for you.
but i warn you! what awaits you under that mountain could be more that you can handle!
this is the way Sigler writes and, until now, he does a very good job to be mysterious and full of gore in the same time.
because all the book worked for me i`m bound to give it a five stars rating.
But i have to warn you, like the book by Laymon that i`ve recently read, the true action starts only after some one hundred pages.
When all the characters are presented and put in their place, only then we will sit calmly in our seats and have a hell of a ride.
i liked that the whole ideea wasn`t something usual and conventional and, in fact, it really worked good for this kind of a book.
if you`re truly in the mystery & adventure business then this is a must for you.
but i warn you! what awaits you under that mountain could be more that you can handle!
this is the way Sigler writes and, until now, he does a very good job to be mysterious and full of gore in the same time.
because all the book worked for me i`m bound to give it a five stars rating.
February 23, 2020
This book was great, Sigler's books are always fun to listen to. According to his blog this one is out of print, but you can still find it in it's original podcast form with a bit of searching. As with all of Sigler's original podcast books, he narrated this one himself. I think he is one of the few authors that does a great job narrating his own work.
Update: Did a relisten. Sigler put this book out in 2005, but if I recall correctly he wanted it to fit into his universe better, so he made a few changes before doing a rerelease. All his books take place in the same universe. It was still a lot of fun. The book works as a stand-alone, but I had forgotten about the little teaser at the end pointing toward a sequel.
This time the narration is even better. Ray Porter is tough to beat.
Update: Did a relisten. Sigler put this book out in 2005, but if I recall correctly he wanted it to fit into his universe better, so he made a few changes before doing a rerelease. All his books take place in the same universe. It was still a lot of fun. The book works as a stand-alone, but I had forgotten about the little teaser at the end pointing toward a sequel.
This time the narration is even better. Ray Porter is tough to beat.
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