The Tartarus Conspiracy by William J. Oxfield begins with journalist Amanda VanderBilt receiving a midnight call about her father’s hidden research, and her discovering that his death is connected to “Operation Phoenix,” a secret project rooted in her grandfather’s work at Groom Lake. Amanda investigates with Peter Fitzroy, a covert member of her family’s old order, Tagma Lumis, while being hunted by U.S. intelligence under NSA director Kyle Kingson. Across India and Iran, Ivani Mishra and Colonel Kian Ishfani uncover parallel evidence of mass disappearances and rituals tied to the same operation. All paths converge in the desire to expose the truth: Phoenix is a coordinated effort to reawaken imprisoned entities called the Watchers, and the triggering of global upheaval appears to be inevitable as the project’s supernatural and political forces erupt into public view.

William J. Oxfield’s The Tartarus Conspiracy: Seven Thrilling Days Before Dystopia delivers relentless excitement through the daring exploits of Peter Fitzroy, Amanda, Kian, and Ivani as they navigate pursuit across multiple continents. The characters themselves are brilliant. The standouts are Peter’s strategic ingenuity that allows him to evade NSA detection; Amanda’s courage and quick thinking; and Kian and Ivani’s coordinated efforts in Iranian waters, demonstrating Oxfield’s knack for layering high-intelligence operations with the characters. Evan Kyle is totally believable in his dogged chase, as government overreach hits a fever pitch. The scale of the storytelling across the globe is immense, dropping us into settings from the Baltic to Iran, India, and the Netherlands. At its heart is an operation that shakes up the very humanity readers hold sacrosanct. A satisfying ending, but with room to stretch its legs further, so let's hope there is more to come.

In The Tartarus Conspiracy: Seven Thrilling Days Before Dystopia by William J. Oxfield, when investigative reporter Amanda VanderBilt gets a mysterious phone call, telling her to go to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., and “bring his research,” she’s stunned. Her father’s research, about ancient fallen beings who God punished for disobedience, was widely branded as delusional. Still, she goes to the hospital and sees an otherworldly geometric pattern on a corpse’s chest. Soon, more strange things start happening. At a restricted area within Groom Lake Base — aka Area 51 — a respected military officer glimpses frightening, non-human creatures sustained by feeding tubes filled with human tissue. In Iran and India, charismatic spiritual leaders appear, commanding followers to abandon their old religious beliefs and demanding absolute obedience or else. Amanda, along with newsroom colleague Peter Donahue, keeps investigating even though powerful forces want them both dead.

The Tartarus Conspiracy: Seven Thrilling Days Before Dystopia is masterfully written, and each page makes you want to turn to the next one to see what happens. The book fits into several genres – speculative fiction, religious fiction, and, above all, it’s a good thriller and an adventure story. In a sense, it reminds me of Philip K. Dick’s Valis trilogy. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be surprised if William J. Oxfield has a military background, since the way he writes about high-level military officers and installations is so realistic. All in all, I highly recommend this riveting read.

The Tartarus Conspiracy: Seven Thrilling Days Before Dystopia by William J. Oxfield is a powerful dystopian novel that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the end. The story follows Amanda VanderBilt, an investigative journalist who is thrown into a global conspiracy after receiving a mysterious phone call. Her journey uncovers the dark legacy of her family that she never expected. Amanda’s grandfather’s disappearance in a secret facility and her father’s disgrace for uncovering forbidden truths shatter her. As Amanda follows their trail, she finds herself entangled in a web of secret military experiments, ancient prophecies, and shadowy forces manipulating reality itself. With only seven days before a prophesied collapse, she must uncover the truth behind “The Watchers.” Amanda races against time to connect the final pieces of the puzzle before reality itself is rewritten by powers older than civilization. She may be humanity’s last hope. Can she make a difference, or are all her efforts wasted?

Author William J. Oxfield delivered a masterclass in blending history, myth, and cutting-edge science into a seamless plot. This is a fantastic story with intense action and mystery, riddled with danger at every step Amanda took. Amanda is a compelling protagonist. I loved how consistent she is while fighting not just a human enemy but an existential threat that is actively rewriting the rules of reality. She is intelligent, driven, and painfully human despite being very courageous. The seven-day timeline is masterfully used to inject a constant sense of urgency, making the book nearly impossible to put down. I felt I was part of the story and living the suspense with Amanda one chapter at a time. The Tartarus Conspiracy is an exceptionally written, fast-paced story that I will be rereading for years to come.

The Tartarus Conspiracy: Seven Thrilling Days Before Dystopia by William J. Oxfield is a sprawling, intricate tale that puts together ancient prophecy, secret government projects, and cosmic forces awakening to reshape reality. Investigative journalist Amanda VanderBilt is on a quest to uncover secrets and a conspiracy that her father and grandfather suffered to bring to light. She examines clues and cryptic messages that point to something dark, with many forces spanning different countries and eras at play, including the journey of Ivani, a seer in India; Ebrahim, a religious scholar in Iran; and clandestine operatives at Groom Lake. Each of these characters is caught up in the unfolding chaos of celestial alignments and the awakening of malevolent entities. As ancient symbols and cosmic warnings surface, the characters are drawn inexorably into a confrontation with forces that threaten to plunge humanity into darkness. The Watchers, once exiled beings and often thought of as a myth, are awakening, and individuals are already vanishing without a trace around the world. Can the most neglected heroes save humanity?

The Tartarus Conspiracy is a unique book. William J. Oxfield provides multiple world-views and characters that are nuanced and unforgettable. I felt the suspense and the subplots enhanced the story. I wanted to know the fate of each of the characters, and the cliffhangers made it hard to put this book down. The skillful exploration of themes such as faith versus knowledge, the insignificance of humanity in the face of cosmic forces, and the peril of tampering with forbidden secrets resonated with me. The conflict centers on characters struggling with their revelations—Amanda fighting to uncover the truth, Ivani seeking to prevent the rise of Kalki, Ebrahim torn between faith and cosmic horror, and military and government operatives racing to contain or understand the terrifying entities beneath Groom Lake. The setting spans the stark Nevada desert, ancient temples in India, secret underground laboratories, and the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. The tension grows from page to page, and phenomenal conflict makes this story a page-turner.