FIRST PLACE WINNER in the prestigious PNWA competition. -- Tepui is an “intelligent, cutting edge” tale of adventure, terror, and forbidden love. -- "Easily, one of the best books I have read this year." In 1559, forty-nine Spaniards exploring a tributary of the Orinoco River reached a sheer-sided, cloud-capped mountain called Tepui Zupay. When they tried to climb it, all but six of them were slaughtered by Amazons. Or so claimed Friar Sylvestre, the expedition’s chronicler. But Sylvestre made many bizarre claims: rivers of blood, plants that lead to gold. Jerry Pace, a burn-scarred botanist struggling for tenure at UCLA, thinks the friar was high on mushrooms. Jerry’s best friend, the historian who just acquired Sylvestre’s journal, disagrees. He plans to retrace the expedition’s footsteps, and wants Jerry to come with him. Jerry refuses, until he spots a stain between the journal’s pages—a stain that could only have been left by a plant that died out with the dinosaurs. Now he has to find that plant. But the Venezuelan wilderness does not forgive intruders. Battered and broken, they reach a remote Catholic orphanage where the old prioress warns of death awaiting any who would venture farther. But an exotic Indian girl leads them on, through piranha-infested rivers and jungles teaming with poisonous plants, to Tepui Zupay—the forbidden mountain no outsider has set eyes on since the Spaniards met their doom. This is a story about life's surprises—the challenges, risks—and how they transform us. It is also a tale of Beauty and the Beast and the eye of the beholder. -- " ONE OF THE BEST ADVENTURES I'VE BEEN ON SINCE 'INDIANA JONES.' . .. The writing is addicting, scenery sublime and the characters fully alive ... I can't stop visualizing some of the incredible scenes and probably never will." -Amazon Customer -- " THE STORY WILL ENGULF YOU ... I like great mysteries and action packed novels that make me think. TEPUI did this. " --Amazon Customer FOR SHEER BRILLIANCE OF IDEAS, JOHN OEHLER STANDS SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER WITH DAN BROWN. Look no further than TEPUI for a riveting page-turner. --Chris Rogers, bestselling author THIS IS THE KIND OF BOOK YOU ARE ALWAYS HOPING TO FIND . It is exciting and grabs you right from the start and carries you along on a great adventure, mystery with historical insight, characters you can relate to and become emotionally involved with and just a little love interest. All in all, this is the complete package that leaves you wanting more when it ends. I definitely will read more from this author. --The Ladyhawk SUMPTUOUS READING. Definitely one of my new favorite authors of historical adventure. Intelligent and smooth prose--a really delightful read! The characters are well developed, and the adventure is a perfect blend of mystery and excitement (without a lot of unnecessary violence). Papyrus is next on my list! --Kimberly Wiedemeier IF YOU WANT TO GO ON A GREAT ADVENTURE - THIS IS IT! I loved the story and most of all I loved how the author took us through what the characters were going through emotionally. And yet you are drawn in wondering what will happen next. It is obvious why this novel won an award. --Mr. MIB ONE SURPRISE AFTER ANOTHER. Great story set in the jungles of Venezuela.The search for gold. The lost tribe of Amazons. The lost city. If you love a good story with lots of action, then this is the book for you. --Walt B. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! Very exciting story. The setting was realistic, the plot pulled you along (relentlessly!) and you really cared what happened to the characters. --Daniel J. Piette TEPUI IS AN ACTION-PACKED, INTELLIGENT, AND CUTTING-EDGE STORY. I loved it. --Robyn Conley-Weaver, bestselling author ​ ​ JOHN OEHLER is a bestselling, multiple award-winning author of thriller/suspense novels. He has worked in some of the world's most remote and dangerous places. His novels reflect that background, as he interweaves high adventure with art, archeology, science, and history. John is author of APHRODESIA : Death by Passion, PAPYRUS, TEPUI: The Last Expedition, and EX LIBRIS . John's novels have won multiple awards: EX LIBRIS won a Gold Medal and overall 1st Prize in the Global Book Awards (formerly named New York  City Book Awards) as well as a B.R.A.G. Medallion; it was also named an Eric Hoffer Finalist and a Kindle Book Review Semi-Finalist. TEPUI won First Place in the coveted Pacific Northwest Writers' Association Fiction competition, and PAPYRUS was a Semi-Finalist in Amazon's first Breakthrough Novel Competition.