Helpful Score: 2
I am a long time fan of Preston and Child, and have eagerly awaited every installment of the Pendergast series. I picked this book up soon after it was published, hoping for another good series from these beloved authors.
It just isn't present in this book. It is an ok book, just didn't measure up to my expectations. I gave 3 stars because I am hoping this is a hiccup in the writers' progress and not a trend.
It just isn't present in this book. It is an ok book, just didn't measure up to my expectations. I gave 3 stars because I am hoping this is a hiccup in the writers' progress and not a trend.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an exciting and interesting read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I put it down after reading halfway !
I found it derivative and formulaic - another tragic, heroic, genius, forced to fight evil. I don't know if I'll pick it back up.
Preston & Child seem to be "jumping on the bandwagon"!
I found it derivative and formulaic - another tragic, heroic, genius, forced to fight evil. I don't know if I'll pick it back up.
Preston & Child seem to be "jumping on the bandwagon"!
The book was not up to the standards I have come to expect from these two authors. My primary compliant is
the character, to me, is not likeable. I did not have any empathy with him. I did not understand how he he morphed into the person who continually lied and changed appearences.
If they wrote a second book with character I would read it and if I felt the same after it I would not read any others with Gideon as the main character.
the character, to me, is not likeable. I did not have any empathy with him. I did not understand how he he morphed into the person who continually lied and changed appearences.
If they wrote a second book with character I would read it and if I felt the same after it I would not read any others with Gideon as the main character.
Anything written by these authors is terrific. The story mixes just the right combination of characters to make the story line interesting as well as tying one character in with another. This is a book that you don't want to put down and you could find yourself still reading when the sun comes up.
Gideon is tasked with uncovering and finding what a dangerous mysterious secret weapon is - but the defecting Chinese physicist with the answer is killed before he could find out. Reminds me of a James Bond thriller, with action in New York & Hong Kong as Gideon stays one step ahead of the bad guys who want to prevent the Americans from finding out what it is. Gideons' history/motives/ loyalties and background are explained in this first in the series. An entertaining and unpredictable read, and, like Bond, Gideon survives to fight evil another day.
I don't think this book was Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's best effort. Gideon Crew spent ten years exacting revenge on his father's murder by US operatives. Then he is approached by a contractor to the US government and asked to do the impossible with no backup or support except cash. This is a guy who works at a power plant with absolutely no covert experience at all. It just wasn't a believable setup. And the outrageous stuff he did, I kept thinking "yeah that would work...not!"
The part that really cemented the end for me was when Gideon and the bad guy are getting ready to fight and hop on backhoes and instantly know how to operate them and do unbelievable maneuvers. For my job, I drive a forklift and I can guarantee you that you don't just hop on up and know how all the handles work without trial and error and major mishaps especially in the heat of kill or be killed battle. I understand that out of this world things occur in books but this was just one ridiculous event after another. And to top it off, Gideon is not a particularly likable fellow. I will not be continuing this series.
The part that really cemented the end for me was when Gideon and the bad guy are getting ready to fight and hop on backhoes and instantly know how to operate them and do unbelievable maneuvers. For my job, I drive a forklift and I can guarantee you that you don't just hop on up and know how all the handles work without trial and error and major mishaps especially in the heat of kill or be killed battle. I understand that out of this world things occur in books but this was just one ridiculous event after another. And to top it off, Gideon is not a particularly likable fellow. I will not be continuing this series.
Preston and Child never fail to deliver, whether in collaboration or singly. "Gideon's Sword" is no exception.
This story has a real twist...the hero learns he has a year or less to live near the beginning of the book!
As he struggles to deal with this fact he is drafted into a mission with world-changing potential.
Gideon soon finds himself persued by Nodding Crane, an extremely dangerous assasin working for the Chinese who are determined to recover their secret.
The plot is straight-forward and moves along very smoothly toward an edge-of-the-seat climax on an abandoned island.
As is always the case with these two authors the characters are easily identified with, the action is solid and plentiful. The facts are well researched and believable...except maybe the final battle which might strain the imagination somewhat.
In my opinion, Preston and Child are amoung the best adventure novelists ever. Read their books. I was a believer after my first novel.
This story has a real twist...the hero learns he has a year or less to live near the beginning of the book!
As he struggles to deal with this fact he is drafted into a mission with world-changing potential.
Gideon soon finds himself persued by Nodding Crane, an extremely dangerous assasin working for the Chinese who are determined to recover their secret.
The plot is straight-forward and moves along very smoothly toward an edge-of-the-seat climax on an abandoned island.
As is always the case with these two authors the characters are easily identified with, the action is solid and plentiful. The facts are well researched and believable...except maybe the final battle which might strain the imagination somewhat.
In my opinion, Preston and Child are amoung the best adventure novelists ever. Read their books. I was a believer after my first novel.
Gideon Crew is a likable rogue who inhabits the shared universe of Preston & Child's book series. As a child a tragic wrong destroys his life and sets him on a course of becoming a professional thief while looking to avenge his fathers death.
When Gideon schemes catches the attention of an unusual private organization, he is given the chance to act as a sanctioned agent in a case of stolen foreign technology. It's a fast moving techno thriller ( without the paranormal aspects of the Pendergast novels). Another great read by Preston & Child
When Gideon schemes catches the attention of an unusual private organization, he is given the chance to act as a sanctioned agent in a case of stolen foreign technology. It's a fast moving techno thriller ( without the paranormal aspects of the Pendergast novels). Another great read by Preston & Child
Wonderful read. Went thru it in 3 nights pre-bed reading. I couldn't help but think of the 40's and 50's saturday afternoon movies where the hero at the end of the show on one saturday ends by being thrown off the cliff, and in the start of the next saturday's show the announcer says "escaping from the cliff fall....". Or is being torn to pieces in a burning building by a tiger at the end, the next saturday the announcer says "escaping from the lion and the burning building, our hero goes to town.....or whatever". It seems Gideon is about to die many many times but is saved from left field somewhere. Trying to guess what comes out of left field is part of the fun read this book is. I've ordered the next in the series.
great book,a different type of hero
I was disappointed with this first installment. Such shallow character development, shallow reading...Blah. I would much rather re-read all of the Agent Pendergast books...
I love this writing team...and because of that I am willing to invest more of my time in the next book, but I hope they get it right with the next one...
I love this writing team...and because of that I am willing to invest more of my time in the next book, but I hope they get it right with the next one...
Very good book! I read it in one day.
