It's 1988 and Spenser Collins receives an anonymously delivered
envelope beneath his Harvard dorm room door. Spenser isn't your
typical Harvard student as he's African-American and from an
impoverished area of Chicago. Despite this, however, one of the most
prestigious and most secretive Harvard final clubs has "punched" him
for potential membership. The Delphic Club is shrouded in mystery, as
Spenser's best friend and fellow Harvard student Dalton Winthrop
knows all too well. Dalton is from a long line of Harvard graduates
dating back to the 1600s, and he fills Spenser in on the mysterious
history of the Delphic Club. However, it is the story of the Ancient Nine,
a shadowy group of nine Harvard Delphic members, that intrigues both
Spenser and Dalton, setting them off on a quest to uncover what
happened to a Harvard student back in 1927.
Wow! THE ANCIENT NINE has an
intriguing premise but I wasn't sure if it would live up to the hype. Ian
Smith not only lived up to the hype, but he also knocked this one out of
the ballpark! I had trouble putting THE
ANCIENT NINE down even when it was far past my bedtime as the
academic intrigue had me just as curious as Spenser and Dalton,
wondering just what they would uncover next as they delved into the
mystery of what happened to Erasmus Abbott in 1927.
And oh, I love how books were interwoven throughout all of these
issues and were key to uncovering the mystery! However, readers
should note that Ian Smith doesn't flinch away from exposing both the
prejudices and excesses that were rampant, both in 1988 and in earlier
time periods. There are some very uncomfortable- and yet
extraordinarily well-written scenes, detailing how race, class, and
gender impacted individuals. I could easily envision THE ANCIENT NINE sparking some
intriguing book club discussions.
I have been in a reading slump and THE
ANCIENT NINE quickly pulled me right out of that slump! Ian Smith
hooked me from the very first page as the eloquent descriptions
coupled with an intriguing academic mystery fascinate me even now. If
you love cerebral mysteries that delve into clandestine clubs and their
darker secrets, then you will love THE
ANCIENT NINE just as much as I did. I can't wait to read more by
Ian Smith!
Spencer Collins thinks his life at Harvard will be all about
basketball and pre-med; hard workouts and grinding work in
class. 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. 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 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.
Because at the heart of the Delphic, secured deep inside its
guarded mansion club, is another secret society: a shadowy
group of powerful men known as The Ancient Nine.
Who
are The Ancient Nine? And why is Spencer—along with his best
friend Dalton Winthrop—summoned to the deathbed of Dalton's
uncle just as Spencer is being punched for the club? What
does the lore about a missing page from one of Harvard's
most historic books mean? And how does it connect to
religion, murder, and to the King James Bible, if not to
King James himself?
The Ancient Nine is both a
coming of age novel and a swiftly plotted story that lets
readers into the ultimate of closed worlds with all of its
dark historical secrets and unyielding power.
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