I received a free copy of the book through Net Galley.My thanks to author, publisher and Net Galley

“ Countess From the Lost Planet ” is a fun book to read and I venture to guess that the author had a great time writing it. It has a bit of everything in it : extraterrestrials from across the galaxy who visited Earth a few millennia ago; aliens who live among us; religious shrines that suddenly disappear; the return of the ancient gods , UFO’s; and, yes , a secret Illuminati who really control everything. So, if I had it characterize the book succinctly , it goes into the Dan Brown meets George Nouri ( of late night radio) slot of SciFi/ Fantasy / Wierd Science/ Adventure Thriller.
The story begins in the year 2034 and introduces Daniel Schubert who is on his way out the door to teach a law class at the university when he gets a call from his brother in Israel, telling Daniel something incredible. It seems that the Islamic temple at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem has disappeared-poof! Daniel thinks it’s a joke, until , turning on the tv, he sees the news . When he arrives at his classroom, the FBI is waiting for him, informing him that he is being called to Washington because of his interest in the ancient Middle East, about which he has published a few articles.
David meets “ The Admiral”, head of a super-secret group whose job it is to assess and fight any new threats to the US. He also meets Lt. Cmdr. Catherine Weldon, who seems part of the intelligence community. From there , off they all go to Jerusalem to confer with experts on the 3000 year lost kingdom of Sumaria, whose ancient cuneiform texts refer to giant men called Nepthalim, purportedly from a far off place on among the stars. Speculation is that prophecies that the mysterious travelers cited in ancient texts have returned.
Soon, gleaming spaceships cross the skies everywhere. Other religious shrines and edifices disappear. All attempts to fight the intruders are futile. Weapons do no harm to the space ships. All nuclear warheads a neutralized ; communications are intercepted and controlled.
The story story has David and Catherine off to distant places to seek answers to the question, Are the arrivals a threat?
Sometimes it seemed as if I was reading a book on ancient Gods and civilizations, and sometimes I expected Klattu to be on the next spaceship, accompanied by his super intelligent master who wanted only to meet with world leaders as in the movie, “ The Day the Earth Stood Still” . Not that I minded, because enjoy sci- fi of that kind. The author has a easy way with words, managing to impart background information, suspense, and a bit of romance . There is also a bit of playing with character’s names: one is “ Roger Thornhill” , the Cary Grant character in “ North by Northwest. That and spaceships, pyramids with detachable peaks, beings who can transmute iron into gold…and a lot more.
“ Countess” is good entertainment.

An interesting novel about the literal return of gods to earth. The book will keep the reader engaged until the end. I look forward to the sequel.

Before starting with my review I would like to thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story takes place in 2034 where a certain Professor David is enlisted by the Pentagon to face a big problem.
The mosque of Temple Mount in Jerusalem has disappeared, this is interpreted as a sign of the return of Ancient gods of Sumeria on Earth.
David is the only one who can try to oppose to the gods thanks to his special knowledge about them and history of Ancient Mesopotamia.
In particular his role is finding an old Sumerian manuscript, which could contain instructions to stop the arrival and advance of Sumerian gods.
In the mean time there is Catherine, the special agent, who has to protect him. But he starts to fall in love with her at the end.
In the final part we discover who is the first and powerful god to arrive on Earth: the goddess of love and war Inanna. Will she succeed in ruling the entire world through her beauty?

I was really interested in the plot of the book. Usually, authors prefer writing about Greek or Roman gods and sometimes the stories become boring because of that. In this case the author opted for gods not too much known and for this reason the narration becomes even more interesting.
The writing style of the author is fluent and full of action, especially in the final part it seemed to be in a movie.

I liked a lot the character of David, a man who suffered a lot and even though he didn't believe at first, has a lot of strenght left in him. In fact, thanks to this kind of adventure he starts to learn how much he is strong and intelligent.

This book is the first one of a series and I am looking forward to reading the next ones.

I suggest Goddess from the Lost Planet to every reader that love ancient history and legends tied to our time period.