is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of SUPER SHRED, SHRED, THE 4 DAY DIET, THE FAT SMASH DIET and EXTREME FAT SMASH DIET among 7 other books including, SHRED Diet Cookbook, EAT, Happy, and The Blackbird Papers. The Ancient Nine is both a coming of age novel and a swiftly plotted story that lets readers into the ultimate of closed worlds with all of its dark historical secrets and unyielding power. Who are The Ancient Nine? And why is Spencer-along with his best friend Dalton Winthrop-summoned to the deathbed of Dalton’s uncle just as Spencer is being punched for the club? What does the lore about a missing page from one of Harvard’s most historic books mean? And how does it connect to religion, murder, and to the King James Bible, if not to King James himself? Because at the heart of the Delphic, secured deep inside its guarded mansion club, is another secret society: a shadowy group of powerful men known as The Ancient Nine. The Delphic Club is known as “the Gas” for its crest of three gas-lit flames, and as Spencer is considered for membership, he’s plunged not only into the secret world of male privilege that the Gas represents, but also into a century-old club mystery.

But Spencer is about to be introduced to the most mysterious inner sanctum of the inner sanctum: to his surprise, he’s in the running to be “punched” for one of Harvard’s elite final clubs. The friends he’s made when he hits the storied ivy-clad campus from a very different life in urban Chicago are a happy bonus.

Spencer Collins thinks his life at Harvard will be all about basketball and pre-med hard workouts and grinding work in class.

Ian Smith’s novel is unmissable.' -Harlan Coben, author of Missing You 'Pulls you into the depths of a secret world from the first page.

The ancient nine ian smith