Thunderhead by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Thunderhead
Book Review: A very satisfying read
Summary: 4 Stars
Thunderhead is the story of a head-strong archeologist on a treacherous search for a fabled city of gold. Her progress is impeded by both her result-hungry team and a pair of antagonists who will stop at nothing to prevent their success. Thunderhead provides the reader with excellently developed characters, plenty of action, and the same entrancing writing the authors are known for. The characters are all unique and well-developed enough that Lincoln and Preston are able to effectively give them the real twists and turns that are so defining in humans. The events that guide the characters are unique and enthralling, and packed full of action to keep interest at a maximum.
I gave Thunderhead a rating of four stars, but it really deserves closer to 4 1/2. After finishing the book, I can only think of two real complaints: 1) It seemed to fall a little too heavily into a stylistic groove paved out in their past works. Although I cannot complain about the addition of Bill Smithback into the text (a character borrowed from The Relic and Reliliqy), it seemed strange how he keeps getting into such amazingly similar sequences and made me wonder if he might possibly just have enough bad luck to be the cause of it all! It didn't make me loose appreciation for the book, (after all, the full path is one of the reasons their books are so great!) but while reading it, the similarity of their past works ebbed at the back of my mind. 2) The epilogue bothered me. I felt that the authors could have fit their amazing explanations in better by offering them in a different way. Instead, it came across as isolated from the hundreds of thoughtfully crafted pages before it and made me wish I had put it down 5-or-so pages early. It does, however sufficiently relate the answers to the biggest mysteries and keep the reader from finishing unsatisfied.
Despite my small complaints, I found Thunderhead to be a strong book, well worth reading. It follows along with Lincoln and Preston's tradition of fantastic work wonderfully and once you start reading, you simply can't put it down (I finished my copy in less than two days!). I will definately be reading it again and highly recommend it to anyone.
Book Review: Action Packed!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was wonderful. It contains some of the characters you've grown to love but was very suspenseful and full of great twists and turns.
Book Review: An Archeological Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
This book, co-authored by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is an archeological thriller. The heroine, Nora Kelly, leads a team in search a lost city of early inhabitants of North America. Ms. Kelly is also on a personal mission as she hopes to find an explanation for the disappearance of her father many years before.The archeology is spiced with the supernatural, science and some romance. Even though the plot, including some of the twists and turns, is predictable, I still found this book to be an irresistible page turner.
This book is good entertainment, even if the minor romance thread borders on silly and is a stereotypical middle age male fantasy.
Book Review: Anasazi and Aztecs and Zombies - Oh, My!
Summary: 5 Stars
Child and Preston have gotten better with each succeeding novel, and Thunderhead is one of their most recent. At their best, they read rather like adult versions of Jonny Quest: exotic locales, a fair share of mystery, a lot of adventure and intrigue, and just a soupcon of sci-fi or the supernatural.The authorial dynamic duo this time take on the mystery of the disappearance of the Anasazi, and the search for a lost city of gold. Their research is up to date, and their posed solution for the Anasazi's disappearance/demise is quite intriguing. Local color is excellent, and the action superior - Douglas Preston once personally retraced Coronado's journey on horseback, and he does a great job making the reader feel the reality of it.
The characters in Thunderhead are what really make it work, though. Bill Smithback, from the Relic books, is much more fully realized here than in his previous appearances. Heroine Nora is as sympathetic as they come: a previous reviewer said Sarah Michelle Gellar would be ideal for the role; they could have gone further, and noticed that the girl who becomes Nora's nemesis could as easily be played by Eliza Dushku, since the dynamic between the two in Thunderhead is a great deal like that of the two antagonistic Slayers in Buffy. The villains of the piece are far from black-hearted ogres, shaded with a very believable moral ambiguity, which is one of the greatest strengths of the book.
My only complaint about Thunderhead is that it had to end. I'm given to understand that Nora and Bill are slated to appear in an upcoming C&P book, and that's good, because they started to feel like old friends by the time I was finished riding this long, involving adventure trail with them.
Book Review: Another Winner From Child & Preston!
Summary: 4 Stars
With Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston you know what you are going to get. A great adventure filled with plot twists and mystery that leads you right threw the entire book. You have great characters, the protagonists are honorable and want things done right and then an antagonist who is after something and will do anything to get it. That is the groundwork for all of the novels of Child and Preston. Safe to say if you enjoy the authors other work you will enjoy this one too.
I read this novel because I loved Relic and Reliquary and want to continue with the Pendergast series. The kicker is that Nora Kelly the main character in this book is adopted into the Pendergast series. So I decided to jump head first into this story and meet Nora Kelly. I enjoyed this character quiet a bit; she is strong willed and has a lot of spirit to her. After receiving a letter written by her father who has been dead for many years, Nora Kelly who is an archeologist sets out on a dig with several others to locate the treasure that her father died trying to find. The characters are strong and well written and there is one character specifically that a Child & Preston fan will recognize. The institute that Kelly works for decided to hire a writer to go along and record the adventure. This author is Bill Smithback, and Smithback once again finds himself in a lot of trouble. As evil and selfishness within the group starts to divide them they must decide if the treasure they seek is worth their lives.
This is another great story from Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston were they tell another great story that is impossible to put down.
Grade: B+