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Get ready, because on June 30th, 2026, The Ghost City, the second novel from author Ryan Pote, is scheduled to blast into bookstores everywhere.
Pote, who made his thriller debut with this year’s Blood and Treasure, a book that earned rave reviews from #1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Greaney, along with fellow heavy-hitters Steve Berry and Dirk Cussler, has quickly added his voice to a growing number of noteworthy new writers in the genre today.
Now, he’s set to follow up Blood and Treasure with his second offering, The Ghost City, which brings back the cast of his first book, but for a very different kind of adventure, one that’s even bigger and most action-packed than before.
“This second installment in the Blood and Treasure series will take readers on a wild adventure that spans as much of history as it does the globe,” said Pote, talking exclusively to The Real Book Spy, before dishing on the story and some fun, interactive features that can be found on his official website.
“I worked really hard to set the trajectory of the series on a path that is much more dynamic than linear. This isn’t the same characters, same story, just set in a different location. Far from it. It has all the hallmarks you loved from the first one, but this will be an entirely new adventure. New readers will delight as if it were the first book, and existing fans will rejoice in the wild, thought-provoking journey they’ll go on again with Ethan Cain.
“If fans of Blood and Treasure would like to learn more details,” continued Pote, “they can visit my website ryanpote.com, where there is a FREE interactive fiction story video game called White Elephant. In the story, you [the reader] are invited to the main character’s [Ethan Cain] house for his company’s annual Christmas party. There, readers will choose their own path and navigate the party, meeting characters from the first book and forthcoming sequel, The Ghost City. They’ll have the opportunity to uncover some of Ethan’s past or learn about what The Ghost City will be all about. Or maybe you’ll burn down the house? Or even die!
“Play as many times as you want with over 17 different endings, 95 choices, and hundreds of ways to experience the game. Only one path leads to a prize—a custom Christmas tree ornament commemorating the ‘party’ you attended!”
Check out the cover art and plot details for The Ghost City below!
An ancient secret hidden in a forgotten city holds the key to modern riches in this exhilarating sequel to Blood and Treasure.
Once you’ve made your first ten billion, what’s more money? What any billionaire really wants isn’t money, it’s power, and Shan Zhang has the perfect plan to achieve that. The discovery of a manuscript from the renowned explorer Marco Polo leads to an ancient city buried under the snows of Antarctica. Within that city lies the key to a forgotten technology that will transform modern society, but that transformation may cause the deaths of millions.
Professional treasure hunter and adventurer Ethan Cain is working on the Mekong River in Vietnam when the massive waterway suddenly goes dry. It’s a stunning ecological disaster. One that Ethan can’t ignore. His quest for answers will lead him to Zhang and ultimately a confrontation from which only one of them will emerge.
Ryan Pote is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force deployed throughout Central and South America, combating drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations. After being medically separated, he investigated prototype aircraft development programs for six years with the Department of Defense. Before the Navy, he lived and worked in Hawaii as a SCUBA diving instructor and a lab assistant conducting microbiological research for Shell Oil. He has a master’s degree in History and lives with his wife and kids in Maine.
Really enjoyed Blood And Treasure, so I will be getting this for sure.
Looking forward to The Ghost City! Having enjoyed Blood and Treasure, more adventure thrillers like these excite me!