The Ninth

By Christopher Cartwright

U.S. Navy SEAL team's Omega unit sat making last minute checks on their weapons and equipment. Their mission: to hold the uppermost level of an ancient stronghold that had shown little military significance – until now.

 

Each man knew what was required of him; they had gone over the drills more than thirty times. The 8-man team had been together for years, and the were a tightknit, perfectly functioning unit.

 

Then, there was the ninth man, the only one who didn't belong. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ashton Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393977339

Book preview

The Ninth

Christopher Cartwright

Published by Ashton Publishing Group, 2020.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE NINTH

First edition. December 1, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Christopher Cartwright.

Written by Christopher Cartwright.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

The Ninth

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Also By Christopher Cartwright

23rd May 2003, Khyber Pass, Afghanistan.

The Blackhawk cleared the Spin Ghar Mountains and then banked heavily to the left before descending into the Khyber Pass; once the keystone of the ancient Silk Road and the oldest known pass in the world. In the passenger compartment, eight elite soldiers of the U.S. Navy SEAL team’s Omega unit sat making last minute checks on their weapons and equipment.

Their mission: to hold the uppermost level of the Dragon’s Lair, a four thousand year old stronghold that had shown little military significance – until now.

Each man knew what was required of him; had gone over the drills more than thirty times, and was capable of making each maneuver regardless of the events outside their control, every time. The Omega team had been together for four years. They were close, and each of them had requested a second tour of duty before their turn had come up.  

Then, there was the ninth man, the only one who didn’t belong.

As a Marine, Sam Reilly trained as a helicopter pilot, not with the Special Forces.  As a civilian, he was the only remaining son of shipping mogul, James Reilly. Sam was an expert cave diver with a Doctorate in Marine Biology, and a most eligible bachelor.

It was his background as a cave diver that had made him  their first choice for inclusion on this mission.  He was on his first tour of duty and had only been in the Sandpit for a little over three weeks now. This was to be the first time he’d even set foot

Reviews for The Ninth

[John Bivona · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Waste of precious time. Makes no sense.. Get a grip.

[boris_in_oz · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Blergh. This is utter drivel. With seeming intentions of being Matthew Reilly lite, the initial promise fades very quickly. Thankfully, it'll only take a page or 2 for you to work that out. If you can endure to the end, you'll say "Blergh", too. It really is that putrid.

Ignore any reference to a SEAL team, they disappear from sight about 3 pages in and are never seen again.

[Carrie Beck · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So, this story isn’t nearly as bad as the other reviewer made it seem. In fact, that review was SO negative, it made me curious to read it to see why it was so terrible and, at forty pages, why not, right?
It isn’t great. It definitely isn’t high art, but I wouldn’t say it’s “drivel.” It’s a bit far-fetched but not bad. I do agree with the other reviewer that it is absolutely not about Navy SEALS and whatnot, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t find it in this story.
Honestly, it read very much like someone trying to transcribe a D&D (solo) dungeon crawl into prose. An Indiana Jones/Lara Croft-type encountering and solving puzzles with only marginal thought put to pacing or even describing the puzzles in enough detail that the reader goes, “oooh, what could that mean? What’s going to happen next??”
It very much feels like an intro or prologue to a larger narrative. Those caveats aside, though, the puzzles were JUST interesting enough to get me through 40 pages of okay writing DESPITE its other shortcomings and the fact that I instantly disliked the tall, muscular, blue-eyed Marine-trained spelunking archaeologist with a smarmy smirk described as looking something like “he could have anything he wanted and he knew it.” I mean, UGH.
Then again, I’m kind of a bad person and am instantly distrustful of people who look like they were in a fraternity and call everyone “bro” or something.