Ancient Shadows

"A very creative mixture between suspense, horror and a little drama....pure quality from start to finish.”
--Horror Palace

"A thrill ride cross between Indiana Jones and Michael Crichton. Exciting, evocative and impossible to put down." --Cayocosta72 Book Reviews

One by one, a horror film director, a judge, and a newspaper publisher meet brutal deaths. A link exists between them, and the deaths have only begun ….

Archeologist Michael Rempart finds himself pitted against ancient demons and modern conspirators when a dying priest gives him a powerful artifact--a pearl said to have granted Genghis Khan the power, eight centuries ago, to lead his Mongol warriors across the steppes to the gates of Vienna.

The artifact has set off centuries of war and destruction as it conjures demons to play upon men’s strongest ambitions and cruelest desires. Michael realizes the so-called pearl is a philosopher's stone, the prime agent of alchemy. As much as he would like to ignore the artifact, when he sees horrific deaths and experiences, first-hand, diabolical possession and affliction, he has no choice but to act.

The dark legends are true. To stop the artifact's evil Michael must follow a path along the Old Silk Road to a land that time forgot, and to somehow find a place that may no longer exist in the world as he knows it.

"What's both rare and engaging is not things that go bump in the night. It's people's reactions to those bumps that makes a great horror tale—both the characters in the story and the reader who cannot put the book down. I started reading Ancient Shadows after doing the supper dishes, thinking I would read for an hour before retiring for the night. Next thing I knew, I had finished the entire book." --Gerald M. Weinberg, author

"Ancient Shadows creates worlds within worlds and leaves the reader unsure who is trustworthy and what is real keeping the reader on edge looking for the next mirage to be exposed and the next demon to be revealed putting the characters in ever increasing danger." -- T.L. Cooper, author and poet

"I had a lot of fun with this book. The interweaving of history and myth gave it a very nice depth....Fun read!" --Andrew Michael Schwarz, author

What readers are saying:

"I recommend this to anyone looking for a suspenseful ride mixed with fascinating history and superb writing."

"A thrilling page turner...great descriptions and characterization."

"This is one of the freshest novels I have read in quite some time."

"Conspiracies, thrillers, spies, and archaology are my go to escape reading. Pence satisfies my late night reading desires."

"Joanne Pence is a master with her writing...A definite must read....5 star rated."

"A journey that takes the reader to exotic locales along the fabled Silk Road traveled centuries ago by Marco Polo."

"Suspenseful, the book draws you in right away, with its vivid descriptions, wonderful atmosphere, and action-packed drama, with a dark, broody feel. We travel to many different places on Rempart’s quest, and at each stop I can vividly see what Pence is describing, smell the smells, and feel the eeriness."