The Ghost City: A Thriller by Ryan Pote (book review)
Ethan Cain is working on the Mekong River in Vietnam when the river level suddenly drops and changes course. While this is an ecological disaster of epic proportions, it also reveals an ancient ship containing amazing treasure, the diaries of Marco Polo, the renowned explorer. This leads Ethan to the deserts of Gobi Desert of Mongolia in search of ancient knowledge from a forgotten civilisation. But Ethan is not the first one to find the treasure. Power-hungry billionaire Shan Zhang is determined to use these ancient secrets to further his own ambitions of world domination.
Ethan’s quest for treasure to save his failing business has become a quest to save the whole world from ecological Armageddon.
This book is hilarious and terrible and, surprisingly, a sequel. I read it in a day and giggled the entire time. Imagine a combination of the movies ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘The Mummy’, ‘Goldeneye’ and ‘National Treasure’. This book contains elements of all of these and more. Following the directions from an ancient text written by a national hero, discovering a secretive family line whose sacred duty is to protect the treasure, an evil villain with a literal Arctic lair. This is action blockbuster of a book that I should have had popcorn for.
The protagonist, Ethan, is an ex-Navy pilot who left for medical reasons, his body covered in painful scars. His friend and employee, Rutledge, is also ex-Navy, a whiz with computers and a happy go-lucky, beer-drinking sort of guy. Together, they combine the serious with the lackadaisical in the traditional of many great partnerships. They might start the novel off in dire financial straits and the need to get the treasure to save their business, but their altruism wins out in the end as they rush across the globe to fight goons and save the girl and the world.
What struck me most in this book, ‘The Ghost City’, aside from the careening across the globe fighting a billionaire’s goons, was the strange amount of product placement. Ethan’s watch? A Garmin. His girlfriend’s watch? A Garmin. This needs to be mentioned every time they check the time or use a smartwatch feature. Other items Ethan wears also get name-dropped, though it is the watch that stuck with me. Like a movie turning all the labels of bottles toward the camera, I had to wonder if there really was a product placement deal and it wasn’t with Apple.
This book contains no speculative fiction characteristics. There are no ghosts, despite the title, so it won’t be for everyone. But if you’re planning a trip and need something light and full of hilarious nonsense and action this is worth a grab, though maybe not in hardcover. I’m not going to rush out to read the first book in the series and I’m not going to be on the look out as other books come out in the future. But as a one-off bit of fun, I liked it. If you like books like the ‘Jack Reacher’ series by Lee Child, take a look. If you were hoping for a literal city of ghosts, look elsewhere.
LK Richardson
June 2026
(pub: Berkely, 2026. 384 page hardback. Price: $30.00 (US). ISBN: 978-0-59395-319-8)
check out website: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777322/the-ghost-city-by-ryan-pote/