Catacombs (1981)

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by John Farris


A super-spy and an archaeologist's daughter join the race for blood-red gems, excavated from the site of a lost civilization on Mount Kilimanjaro, that contain the secret to a technological advance that could allow world domination for the possessor.
 

John Farris is best known as a horror author.

John Farris

I’ve only read one other book of his--Fiends, which is a horror novel--and it is considerably better than this one. 


This appears to be Farris’s attempt to break into the high-tech spy thriller market. 

"Bloodstones" (German)

It has a good basic plot but is hopelessly padded; dozens of pages go by with nothing of consequence happening. Main protagonist Matthew Jade is so ridiculously skilled that he tips over into the superhuman; one development in particular near the end of the novel is a ridiculous cheat to get our heroes out of a hopeless situation. Still, if you want to skim past the extraneous parts, you may find an entertaining story.

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