DARK RISING   A CATACLYSMIC EVENT When a massive amount of gamma radiation is detected somewhere beneath the desert of Iran, the world is on edge. Is it a nuclear weapon--or worse? Alex Hunter and his highly trained incursion team is on a mission to find out. When they arrive at the ruins of Persepolis, they find an underground facility but no lab, no weapons, no scientists--not even radiation. A black hole has taken everything...   
AN ANCIENT PROPHECY Meanwhile, Iran is preparing for the return of the prophet. Israel is threatening nuclear war. And the details about Alex's special U.S. military venture--code name: Arcadian--have been stolen. Then another gamma spike is detected...and someone, or something, is draining the fluids from the bodies of Iranian soldiers in the desert.   
A RACE AGAINST DARKNESS Now it's up to Alex to follow the traces of radiation all the way to the ancient caves of Arak, where he'll come face to face with a creature from his darkest nightmares. Is it game-over for Alex and his team? Or are greater forces at work as the world reaches its natural end--and mankind casts its final judgment?   DARK RISING - CRITICS REVIEWS   ★ Starts with a BANG! And it is a big one. From there we are taken on a journey at break neck speed that meant I hardly put the book down all weekend. Anne Dickson, Rodney Libraries.   
★ The pace is breakneck! 4 STARS (highly recommended). Lachlan Jobbins. Good Reading Magazine.   
★ Exciting, Fast-Paced And Cinematic In Feel. The Action Is Beautifully Choreographed, And The Characters Well Rounded. Beck Has A Strong Grasp Of The Action Genre - Four Stars. Keith Stevenson, Cour de Lion Books & Terra Incognita. ★ Has all the right stuff. It starts with gamma radiation in Persepolis, progresses through the threat of nuclear war, an ancient curse and winds up with monsters from the dawn of time. What more could anyone want? IAN NICHOLS, The West Australian.