The fourth Alex Hunter adventure.

Alex Hunter, code named Arcadian, wakes up with no knowledge of who he is, in the care of a woman he doesn’t recognize, in a country not his own. But there is a calling deep within him, to return home to Black Mountain.

Formed a billion years ago, the Appalachian’s Black Mountain still hosts a terrible legend – now long forgotten. Only one elder remains to guard its deadly secret and there is a fear that there is evil lurking again. Some hikers have gone missing, and the rescue team sent to search for them has not returned. Meanwhile, in nearby Asheville, Professor Matt Kearns is drawn into the mystery of an ancient artifact recovered from the mountainside, and an image too grotesque to be real.

A survivor is then found half-alive, covered in blood – blood revealed to be not quite human.

Alex must confront an age-old enemy of man and discover the truth about his past, and confront the horror that stalks the frozen mountain, and also the one haunting his very soul.

Black Mountain – Some Legends are Real.

The legend of a large creature living in the wilds of North America exists as strongly today as it ever did. It’s been around long before white men came to the country, and was not only described in ancient Native American stories, but in dozens of indigenous cultures around the world. Today, there are still multi-million dollar funded searches going on in Canada and the Northern States.

It can be easy to write off the sightings as a hoax or drunken hikers seeing campfire spooks in the night. But did you know that a creature actually existed like those described? Called Gigantopithecus, it stood 9 feet tall and lived in China. It was believed that it could have crossed into North America via the ancient Bering Strait land bridge that existed 35,000 years ago. Fossil records show they were smart, social, and secretive – the only thing they probably feared more than each other… was us.

North America, with a land-mass of over 24 million square miles, and roughly only 80% of that populated, there is certainly room for something strange and amazing to exist. After all, even eminent primatologist Jane Goodall had this to say in a recent radio interview: “…you’re talking about a yeti or bigfoot or sasquatch. Well now, you’ll be amazed when I tell you, that I’m sure that they exist.”‚ – Jane Goodall on Radio NPR

In Black Mountain, the story starts innocently with pets and livestock disappearing on and around the Southern Appalachians. Then people begin to go missing. Finally, a victim is found wandering on the mountainside covered in blood – on analysis, blood found to be, “not quite human”.

Ancient warnings written in stones thousands of years old are deciphered, and an old Native American, the only man left alive who knows the terrible secret, is brought in to help. An ancient enemy of mankind has awoken, and only Thomas Red Cloud knows the truth of its origins, and what it will mean to the people of the local town of Asheville.

As the death count rises, the mutilations become more terrible and the killings move closer to the residents, there is only one man who can find out the truth and save them. One man who has literally, risen from the dead himself.

BLACK MOUNTAIN – Significant research, interwoven with heart-stopping fiction, sets out to deliver a story that demonstrates, some legends are real!