The first 200 pages of this book had me on the "edge of my seat". The combination of mystery and almost-horror genre was excellent and the pace was just right. Diana's struggles and relationships with both the "hunt" and the others were actually easy to relate to. Unfortunately, the story fell apart in the latter pages with a very weak ending. The reliance on the "power" and the mystical strength of both Diana and the antagonist were just a bit much for me. The book moved from a credible human suspense with believable characters and action to a superhuman or supernatural non-thriller by the end. By the time the climax occurred, I cared little about who won or whether I read the rest of the book. Sullivan also spent very little time on characterization of other players in the book...only the painfully long descriptions of Diana's past. This book reminded much of Congo...great start...poor finish.

I picked up this book on a whim, and I'm glad I did. This is a fast, engrossing read. The mystery was fairly easy to figure out early on, but it was interesting to see the characters process the clues and find the answers. A very strong female main character didn't overwhelm the story but pulled it all together. A fair amount of violence is involved, so if that bothers you, you might want to skip this one.

I picked this book up because it had a great cover (hard cover). I bought it because it sounded interesting and fun. You know what I was right. This is a wonderful book. I do not feel that this is a "guy" book. The main character is female, just different from most females. Diana is a strong and powerful female lead. The kind that you have to have in a book like this to make it work. I think that Mr. Sullivan did a great job in working out the plot. I was totally engrossed in this fine piece of work from the beginning. OK the author did mess up with the scalp thing. But some times that is a part of the fun. Finding a mistake that everyone missed and they get paid the big bucks! (No pun intended.) This did not take away from the story and was not important to the plot. So you are forgiven Mr. Sullivan for one little bitty mistake. I'm looking forward to more by this wonderful author. Keep them coming, Mr. Sullivan. I highly recommend "The Purification Ceremony.

"[Whitney Burke] thought how life is sometimes like a cave, a tortured, convoluted succession of byways that takes you down into darker places than can ever be imagined; a nether region where you are forced to search the shadows to find out what you hold real and true; a series of difficult passages to be negotiated with a faith in something greater than yourself so you might once again emerge into sunlight."
--from page 350.

Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, Mark T. Sullivan is the author of the critically acclaimed Ghost Dance, Hard News, The Fall Line, and The Purification Ceremony. His latest work of fiction, Labyrinth, featuring nonstop action and derring-do adventure, has "Hollywood" written all over it.

Ranging from the Descartes Highlands of the moon (in 1972) to a physics lab at the Univ. of Tennessee (in 2004) to the Labyrinth cave system of Eastern Kentucky (in 2007), this gripping and suspenseful novel, technically a sci-fi yarn, is basically a story of human endurance and survival in the bowels of the earth.

At the center of the story is moon rock 66095, which has the astonishing power of transmuting existing elements and creating new ones, and of releasing tremendous energy deemed essential to the economic and political well-being of the United States.

Federal troops are ordered into Eastern Kentucky to find the moon rock, which has been hidden in Labyrinth cave by Robert Gregor, a brilliant but psychotic physicist who, serving a life sentence in Kentucky's State Penitentiary at Eddyville, escapes and heads for the cave, along with several other hardened criminals.

Converging within the claustrophobic confines of the Labyrinth are the predators and the prey, including expert spelunker Tom Burke and his 14-year-old daughter, Alexandra "Cricket" Burke.

Whitney Burke, Tom's wife and Cricket's mother, vows never to return to a cave after one of her friends was drowned in a previous cave expedition. She must overcome her post-traumatic stress disorder, however, when she learns that Tom and Cricket are being held hostage inside the cave by escaped felons.

Ironically, the strength of Labyrinth may also be its weakness. Reading this novel, one cannot help comparing it to the cliffhanger serials shown many years ago at Saturday matinees.

Mark T. Sullivan pulls out all the stops. Virtually every chapter ends with an "impossible" scenario. Surely the "good guy(s)" cannot possibly survive this time!

Reading a constant bombardment of such cliffhangers, we plead for a breather; otherwise we shall hyperventilate. So much overkill causes crisis fatigue.

Although the novel's melodrama might play well on the silver screen, the book becomes almost comical. Sullivan has tried too hard to produce a blockbuster.

Nevertheless, Labyrinth has a redeeming feature. Cricket Burke's development from dependency to self-reliance is a remarkable rite of passage--a convincing coming-of-age story. This much of the story rings true.

In spite of several cliches that have been used in many books before, Mark Sullivan makes them work for him and us in the cleverly constructed "Labyrinth." A maze of complex plot twists and stirring action scenes, the novel chronicles what happens when a precious moon rock is hidden by a deranged physicist who killed his mentor to prevent him from claiming its discovery. Suffice to say, what goes on in the caves is a wild ride, indeed. It's a very cinematic novel, one that would probably be easier to digest if it were a movie. Much of the cave description becomes redundant, and sometimes the actions of some of the heroes borders on stupidity. But the characters have their strengths, especially those of Damian Finnerty, the dedicated marshal; Chester, the brilliant but tubby 19 year old who really solves many of the mysteries; and Cricket, the resourceful 14 year old who becomes a real woman during the crisis. (Physically as well as metaphorically---which is one of the original plot devices Sullivan uses). It's almost a Matt Reilly book in that the action is pretty consistent, although far from the cataclysmic action that adorns Reilly's books.
A good read, though, with plenty to keep you occupied.
RECOMMENDED.

In 2004 at the University of Tennessee, internationally renowned physicist Dr. MacPherson notices the findings that an assistant Gregor obtains with a moon rock specimen. An elated MacPherson claims the results that show rock 66095 contains strong superconductivity traits as his own. He boasts how he will receive the Novel prize for the work. A stunned Gregor kills the professor. Gregor is convicted of the crime, but not before he hides the rock inside Labyrinth Cave, Kentucky.

Three years later NASA hires Tom Burke and his daughter Cricket to escort them into Labyrinth Cave to find the missing rock. His wife Whitney suffers nightmares and though internationally famous refuses to enter the cave where last year her assistant died while she barely escaped.

However, Gregor escapes with some fellow prisoners and heads to Labyrinth Cave to collect the rock that will make him rich and famous. He and his associates capture the Burkes and the NASA team inside the cave. Only Whitney can lead a rescue party, but she has not entered any cavern since the nightmare occurred, but the stakes are the two people she loves most.

At times LABYRINTH seems more like a Hollywood thriller than a novel, but Mark T. Sullivan cleverly augments the plot with a personal crisis and an incredible underworld panorama. The story line is loaded with action on a global scale and on an individual level as the world is in trouble if Gregor regains the rock while Whitney battles herself. Mr. Sullivan provides a powerful tale that winks at the movie industry, which works fine for this novel.

Harriet Klausner

Having worked as a journalist, albeit sports writer, this was an interesting novel about a down and almost out news-paper reporter who has a well-known secret and needs to absolve himself of.

Great break-neck pace, smooth plot, likeable characters, and a great narrative equal a nice little yarn of a read.

If u like novels that aren't wordy or too deep, this will fit the bill very nicely. This is a first novel that shows at times but it more than makes up for it.

If u have ever worked at a news-paper or want to know the inner workings of one, this is a MUST READ!!!

To begin, I loved THE PURIFICATION CEREMONY. The taut suspense, muscular, adrenalized prose and delicious blend of action/mysticism were a wonderful surprise, and on finishing it I immediately hunted down a used copy of GHOST DANCE. Yikes. To paraphrase the previous reviewer, I can't believe this is the work of the same author. Sullivan once again walks into action/mysticism territory, only to immediately fall flat on his face, break his nose and then proceed to stumble blindly for several hundred pages.

I can't recall the last book I read where the writing was this awkward and forced. Everything from the name of the heroine (full name: Andromeda Nightengale... yeah, that just flows off the tongue) on forward seems the product of a writer trying desperately to replicate a successful formula without the benefit of real inspiration or, for that matter, an interesting story to tell. "Hmmm... what should I do next. I know: CIA assassins! No, no, wait -- I'll have my protagonists stumble into a cave and find some valuable piece of evidence... again. Or I could just give them another feverish, mystical vision. Nobody's tried that before!"

Why did I actually finish this book? I had 4 hours to kill on a plane, and it was either this or try to lipread "Gosford Park." I'm not sure I made the right decision. THE PURIFICATION CEREMONY was good enough to make me curious about Mr. Sullivan's future efforts, but GHOST DANCE is about as painful a mis-step as you'll ever encounter in print.

This was an excellent book - I read it from cover to cover without putting it down!

Let me start out by saying that this is the only book I've read by this author. I loved the book. I thought it was interesting, creative, and well-written. It was a page turner for me. I highly recommend it!