The Delphic Club is known as “The Gas” for its crest of three gas-lit flames, and as Spencer is considered for membership, he’s plunged not only into the secret world of male privilege that The Gas represents, but also into a century-old club mystery. But Spencer is about to be introduced to the most mysterious inner sanctum of the inner sanctum: To his surprise, he’s in the running to be “punched” for one of Harvard’s elite final clubs. The friends he’s made when he hits the storied, ivy-clad campus from a very different life in urban Chicago are a happy bonus. Spencer Collins thinks his life at Harvard will be all about basketball and pre-med, hard workouts and grinding work in class. This program includes an introduction read by the author. Smith's THE ANCIENT NINE audiobook, read by Brad Sanders.

I am sorry I did not enjoy this more but honestly, the story and the author would have best been served if it had undergone another serious round of editing.Listen to an excerpt of Ian K. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read an review. It’s really a shame and that’s all I am going to say on that. The author had a good idea here, the makings of a solid story but who let him go to print with so many inconsequential details dragging the entire book into Bore Town!? What could have been a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat mystery, was instead a tedious and detail-ladened account of the most droll nature, with pages and pages of things such as: a boring romance, that had no bearing on the overall storyline, detailed accounts of basketball practices, including the drills that they went through each day, and unimportant geographical details of each scene.Īt one point, I threatened to DNF this but was simply astounded by it all. When I picked it up last month, I had no idea it would be such an undertaking. I was excited to receive this as an ARC many moons ago but then never got around to reading it. Yes, that sounds interesting doesn’t it? Who doesn’t love secret clubs and long-buried secrets and mysteries?

Entirely too long in my opinion.įollowing Spenser Collins, a boy from the Southside of Chicago through the hallowed halls of Harvard, as he gets punched for the Delphic, one of the most exclusive of Harvard’s famous final clubs.Īlong with his friend, Dalton Winthrop, a Harvard legacy, they set out to unravel the Delphic’s secrets and some mysteries surrounding the club, including the disappearance of a wealthy young man, that remain lore on campus.

The ancient nine by ian k smith