This was a very interesting book, a book about Harvard and the final clubs there. I don't know much about Harvard and didn't even know what a final club was. This book was very informative and although fictional I learnt a lot. I loved the story as well as the characters and also the fact that there were not any real bad guys in this story. This was not a fast read for me and it took me a while to get through the book but at no stage whilst reading did I get bored. I also liked the ending of the story. I would definitely recommend this book.

The Ancient Nine by Ian K. Smith is a book for people who like to work out puzzles and mysteries.

A poor black kid from Southside Chicago, Spenser Collins worked for academic excellence, supported by his single mom. He is also a talented basketball player. His acceptance by Harvard University starts him on his way to medical school so he can pay his mom back and support her in style.

If getting into Harvard seemed like a stretch, receiving an invitation from an exclusive final club, the Gas, totally puts Spenser outside of his comfort zone. His friend Dalton, whose family has deep Boston and Harvard roots, encourages him to go for it. There is a mystery behind the Gas involving a secret chamber and a dead student in 1951. Dalton encourages Spenser that from inside the club he can solve the mystery of what really happened in 1951.

Elaborate parties with endless drinks and gourmet food, and sometimes even 'provided' women, is the social norm for the Gas. While the other boys overindulge, Spenser stays dry and trim for basketball.

Spenser and Dalton go on a chase that involves day jaunts to talk to elderly Gas members and hours spent in dusty libraries. They create a patchwork quilt of evidence, but none of it adds up.

Meanwhile, Spenser has met the love of his life, a townie who doesn't date Harvard men. She is also from a poor single mom and smart and determined to get an education.

I knew nothing about Harvard or final clubs or Cambridge. It all sounded pretty over the top to me, but a Goggle search confirmed these clubs are elite, with the 1% of the wealthiest and most prestigious families being members. The parties at mansions, the money, the exclusiveness, the white male predominance-- it's all real. I sure hope the bussed in women for the parties are not real, but I likely am hoping in vain.

The story dragged about mid-way. I was getting tired of late nights at libraries. The mystery involves King James I and puritanical writings and Knights of the Garter protecting the reputation of the King. It's all about libraries and books and a coverup.

For all the tension over perceived threats, it was all talk and little action. There is a revelation about corrupt money and power and Spenser learns about his family history.

One aspect of the story I liked was how it addressed the African American experience in this nearly all-white exclusive world of movers and shakers.

Overall, The Ancient Nine was an entertaining light read.

This is a well-constructed mystery that will keep you turning each page. And that makes it a quick read. Along the way, there’s a bit of history woven in, lots of library research, a connection to British knights, and a bunch of secrets to be discovered. You also get a peak into the elite world of attending Harvard University, with random tidbits about which dorms are considered the most prestigious, which famous people attended, and where Harvard students in-the-know go to eat.

But for me, this is so obviously a book written by a male writer for a male reader, especially if that reader happened to attend Harvard University or some other male-dominated Ivy League school. I felt I was reading a book that more rightly belonged would have been published in the 1940s or 1950s.

At its core, this is a deep dive into white male privilege — no matter that the main character, Spenser Collins, is an Afro-American from the streets of Chicago who plays basketball for Harvard. (Sound a little trite already, maybe?) The story focuses on Spenser’s initiation into the shadow world of Harvard’s private clubs, where rich and powerful alumni have created a “brotherhood” that ties the elite together across generations. In fact, Spenser is so consumed with solving club mysteries and attending basketball practices that he ((and his rich friend Dalton) seldom seem to do any actual studying.

As a woman reading about this world, so much of what happens seems downright childish to me. Boys breaking into dorm rooms in the middle of the night to blindfold students for assorted hazing rituals. Secretly delivered letters informing a few select students who is out and who is in at which private club. Lots of forced alcohol consumption, followed by raucous laughter when pledgers end up violently vomiting. Imposed risk taking and, of course, the requisite mooning. Plus, lots of careless sex with anonymous women — always provided by club members to pledgers as a sort of celebratory reward. I think the most offensive section for me was when pledgers end an offsite ritual by being delivered to a group of beautiful women, wearing nothing but high heels, who stand waiting to “entertain” them. (Are we talking male fantasy here or what?)

At the end of the book, when the final secrets are revealed, the solution felt contrived to me — when a whole bunch of new elements are introduced and elaborately intertwined. For me, it did not constitute sufficient payoff for slogging through so much overt sexism and boy play.

The Ancient Nine is filled with depth and history of Harvard and the secret society culture. ~ White Hot Reads

I am fascinated by both history and secret societies so when I found The Ancient Nine on Netgalley I was so excited to read it and I'm glad I did. Overall, the book is full of layers and mysteries that we are trying to figure out. I enjoyed getting to know Spencer and Dalton.

However, there were a couple of things that I struggled with, including, some of the details (in 1988 computers were not as common as the author makes it seems) and some of the research felt like I was slugging through. But I loved that the book kept me guessing and I loved how descriptive the author was of the area and the buildings. That made it easier to visualize the places they were going.

The Ancient Nine is my first book by Ian K. Smith. There is a rather big age gap between me and the characters for this book, so it wasn't as exciting for me as it probably would be for younger readers. If I had to label this book I'd call it a thriller for YA or NA readers. Mr. Smith has delivered a book that is full of moments when you want to tell the characters, "Don't do that!" Like watching a movie and the dumb blonde is going into the basement...you just know something horrible is there. So yes, there is plenty of drama, suspense, some romance and a little action in this book to keep readers engaged. Spencer and his buddy Dalton have set their course to solve a mystery. I love the characters in this story. While this book didn't rate 5 stars from me, I believe younger readers will adore it. The Ancient Nine is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's always a bit of a risk when a nonfiction writer in another field takes on fiction. Dr. Smith is best known for his fitness/nutrition book but here he takes a spin at a book that appears to be at least somewhat autobiographical in nature. Set in the late 1980s at Harvard, the book is a soft suspense book. Despite a very promising set-up, the stakes never get too high and the protagonist and his cohorts seem blessed by good luck and a lack of consequences.

It's interesting to read this book now as Harvard is currently facing ongoing criticism of the practice of exclusionary final clubs. These clubs have thrived in secrecy for years. Smith offers a very intriguing insider's look that is rich in details. The protagonist is an outsider but one who doesn't question the world he finds himself in. This book is fast-paced read for those with a love of old books, secret rituals, and history.

This book was just an ok read for me. I was intrigued by the idea of Spenser chasing down the secrets of the Ancient Nine and the Delphic club at Harvard, but the book didn't pan out quite like I thought it would.

I loved the parts that focused on Spenser's life. His developing relationship with Ashley, his sports career, his academic life, and even his experiences with being punched for the Delphic club. Each piece that developed his character was interesting to me, and those were my favorite parts of the novel.

The downside for me is that these parts of the novel got incredibly bogged down with the history parts of the novel. In Spenser's quest to discover more about the Ancient Nine, he has to do a lot of research about Harvard, the Delphic Club, and its members. The reader shares in so much of this research that there were parts of the novel where I felt like it was dragging. I skimmed a few parts that had long passages written in old type, only to be transcribed by Spenser immediately afterward. I think this novel could have been improved by a little less full-on history and maybe a little more of Spenser puzzling it out for the reader. I think I wouldn't have been so overwhelmed in that case and would have enjoyed the novel much more.

This was just so-so for me, so it's hard for me to recommend it. I don't think I got enough out of the reading experience to push others to read this book.

Although this book is labelled as General Fiction, I was attracted to the premise and knew it was something I would like to read. As a long-time reader of the mystery/thriller/suspense genre I felt the synopsis described a book that could fit well into those genres as well as the General Fiction category. It could also be argued that it would appeal to teens and young adults too as it has a coming-of-age aspect to it. The advance praise from Harlan Coben is spot-on, this is an unmissble novel.

"The Ancient Nine" is a veritable thrill ride if ever there was one! I was pulled into it from the first few pages and found it difficult to put down. Although it is a fairly lengthy novel I managed to get through it rather swiftly as I wanted to know what happened and how the story would conclude. I always love those books that feature a cult-like, secretive society such as The Delphic Club here. I am so pleased I nabbed a copy as it had all the elements I appreciate in a great title - a super interesting plot, excellent writing, and a plot that travels at a fair old pace.

Harvard University is a location that is truly steeped in tradition, Our protagonist, Spencer Collins, thinks life at Uni will be all about Basketball, coursework and workouts, that is until the notoriously elite Delphic Club tries to recruit him. An all-male club comprising mainly white, privileged, and wealthy individuals, Spencer wonders why they are trying to recruit him. As Spencer is being considered for membership he is plunged into the secret world of male privilege but is also exposed to the decade old mystery surrounding the rumoured leadership of the club, a shadowy group of powerful men known as "The Ancient Nine."

There are so many intriguing elements to this book - religion, murder, and to the King James Bible or even the King himself. Smith weaves an unforgettable and unputdownable tale that had me gripped throughout. I do love an intelligent thriller and this book has intrigue aplenty to keep everyone interested. To see how these elements interact with one another and how relevant they are to the story you'll have to read it!

I haven't come across Ian Smith before but I will check out if he has any other books out that are along similar lines as I thoroughly enjoyed this one. This is a title that is well worth investing time in, i'm pretty sure you won't regret it! I feel that it would appeal to a wide audience. An erudite and complex mystery and one that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Please note: Review will be posted to Goodreads, Twitter, Waterstones, WHSmith towards the back end of August. It will be posted to Amazon and Barnes and Noble on 18th September/publication day.

Dr. Smith enjoyed his time at Harvard. He remembers it fondly and in this thriller he wants you to revel in obscure Harvard traditions. You may remember Final Clubs from "The Social Network" but here we have the real thing.

Spencer Collins is a freshman student. An outlier, not from an elite family or an elite school. He goes with the flow of being a Harvard man and suddenly finds himself in the middle something that appears to be getting more and more dangerous. But what is going on? Why are people so edgy and upset? What is the mystery here?

We flow along with Spencer and, depending on your temperament as a reader, we get more and more scared for him.

It's an OK book but Dr. Smith, in trying to write clear prose, sounds too clear and too enthusiastic about Harvard, even if he wants us to believe that evil lurks.

I received a review copy of "The Ancient Nine" by Ian Smith, M.D. (St. Martin's) through NetGalley.com.

The prologue sets a sinister tone for the novel. You will be hooked from the first page of this enthralling debut novel. The story takes place in the late 80s and is centered around students and secret clubs at Harvard. The author, Dr. Ian Smith, writes with an insider's knowledge of Harvard's customs and traditions. The rich history of Harvard shines in this book. The characters are likeable, and Smith does a superb job of developing the characters and providing necessary background for them.

Yale has Skull and Bones, but at Harvard they have the final clubs. The Delphic isn’t just a club, like any fraternity. It’s the most secretive of Harvard’s nine most exclusive clubs. They’re called final clubs. The Ancient Nine are an ultrasecret society of nine members of the Delphic. A secret society within a secret society that not even the other Delphic members know much about. Fans of the "Skulls" movies will devour this book.

Spenser Collins finds himself entrenched in centuries of secrets when he starts investigating an unsolved disappearance that has direct ties to one of the final clubs. A cat and mouse game ensues, and turns up more pieces to the puzzle that don't seem to fit just right. Spenser and his friend Dalton exhaustively research and investigate every clue in order to unlock the deep dark secrets of the Delphic.

There are a few key plot twists that shape the story and keep you guessing along the way, but the most dramatic twist begins to take shape around 80% into the book. This is an enthralling thriller that will keep you guessing right up until the shocking conclusion.

I would recommend this book to fans of mysteries and thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from St. Martin's Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Spencer is at Harvard to play basketball and hopefully get into med school. Spencer is a really good character. From the wrong side of Chicago to the ivy leagued and wealthy Harvard, he seems to fit in just fine. 

Spencer was raised by a single mother and never knew his father. But his father left money for his education and somehow this is all connected to a very old final club, The Gas. At the Delphic House rumors abound concerning a secret room and several deaths. 

When Spencer's friend Dalton steals a book from his dying Uncle, the two of them set out to find out the truth behind the disappearance of a student and who are the Ancient Nine? A secret society, a hidden secret from King James I, and throw in some Nazi's and you have yourself an unstoppable mystery with thrills around every corner.

From the very first page you know this is going to be one of those you can't put down. It's got a little bit of everything in there and I found myself actually heading to the catalogs to verify some of the historical portions. Very interesting. I can't wait for the next one!

Well Done!
Netgalley/St.Martin's  September 18, 2018

First time reading anything by this author. I found this book compelling and current. Fast paced read. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

An excellent book that hooks the reader from the start. A 1988 story that goes back to the twenties weaves families, friendships, alliances, and secret societies within secret societies to produce a very good novel.

Set mostly in 1988, this book takes the reader inside Harvard’s final clubs (social clubs not officially recognized by the school) through a multi-layered mystery related to the disappearance of a student in 1927. The protagonist, Spencer Collins, is a pre-med undergraduate basketball player. He is being recruited by the Delphic, an exclusive all-male club with dark secrets. As a person of color from the south side of Chicago, he is not the typical privileged, wealthy, white recruit. Spencer and a friend attempt to solve the multiple mysteries related to the rumored leadership of the club, the titular “Ancient Nine.” Their search for clues becomes an intellectual puzzle, leading them to explore libraries, archives, and ancient texts. I very much enjoyed the cerebral parts of this story; however, it was difficult for me to overlook the numerous scenes that objectified women (bawdy jokes, descriptions of physical attributes, women as “rewards”). If the book had stuck to the mystery, which was interesting and complex, I would have enjoyed it more and rated it higher. Contains sexism, hazing, and underage drinking. Recommended to those that enjoy erudite mysteries.

This book hooks you from the opening page. I couldn’t put it down. It gets a little hard to follow as the protagonist makes some decisions that seem far fetched but serve to keep the story moving. It ends beautifully and wraps up everything well in a way that is in line with each character’s beliefs.

This book is amazing! Despite its length, I devoured this in a few days.
The plot thickens, as subplots surface and get resolved. The ending left me both in awe and satisfied.