The Devil's Eye
When a team of archaeologists unearth a palace belonging to a mythical king, they don't just rewrite history — they paint a target on their backs.
CIA operative Ridley Samaras is sent to Greece to protect the leaders of the dig—a father and daughter who are outspoken Iranian dissidents—from the assassins dispatched by the regime. But Ridley has a second directive: follow the ancient writings they discovered, which map the lost locations of the supernatural weapons used to slay Medusa.
Forced to partner with a State Department agent she doesn't like, and hunted by professional killers on every shore, Ridley leads the team from the islands of Greece to the pyramids of Egypt, from the coast of Morocco to the slopes of Mount Etna, where the line between myth and reality turns out to be thinner—and deadlier—than anyone dared to believe.
The Locations
The Music
Q&A
Q: Is Nas based on a real person?
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A: Yes. The inspiration for Nas was Masih Alinejad. She’s one of the most impassioned, courageous dissidents in the world, who has been targeted for assassination multiple times by the Iranian regime. One of her would-be killers even showed up on her front porch. In 2025, two of the failed assassins were convicted of attempted murder. Yet she’s still the loudest advocate in the West for the freedom of the Iranian people. A remarkable person.
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In my head, the visual representation of the character is a Persian actress who joined the second season of The Pitt on HBO.
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If you'd like to find out more about Masih Alinejad, I recommend checking out this interview:
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Q: Did you make up any of the Greek myths in the book?
A: No, though I used a few different sources. The origin story of the gorgons varies in certain accounts, with some maintaining that they were born as monsters, and others telling of the terrible transformation that Athena inflicted on them as punishment. I chose to go with the more dramatic telling of Athena’s involvement as a villainous figure, and the tragic curse suffered by Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale.
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(MINOR SPOILERS BELOW!)
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Q: How much volcanology did you have to learn about?​
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A: I cannot even describe how much research went into that. It's the most difficult thing I've ever written from a technical standpoint. At the end I looked fairly mad, with over a dozen printed packets scattered around my desk as I highlighted and cross-checked and flipped pages every time I had to describe something in the book. I listened to the soundracks of Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa on repeat in my headphones to keep the momentum and the feel of the whole sequence.
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