My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Gideon Crew--brilliant scientist, master thief, intrepid adventurer--is shocked when his former employer, Eli Glinn, vanishes without a trace, and Glinn's high-tech lab Effective Engineering Solutions shuts down seemingly overnight.
Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Crew is contacted by one of his former coworkers at EES, Manuel Garza, who has a bead on one final treasure hinted at in EES's final case, the long-awaited translation of a centuries-old stone tablet of a previously undiscovered civilization: The Phaistos Disc.
What lies at the end of the trail will either save Gideon's life--or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. Crew once again faces incredible odds--but as Gideon has proved again and again, there's no such thing as too great a risk when you're living on borrowed time.
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The Gideon Crew series is Douglas Preston and Lincon Child's other series besides the Pendergast series. I'm much more familiar with the Pendergast series (having read all the books published) while I have only read Beyond the Ice Limit before I read The Pharaoh Key. Still, it's Douglas Preston and Lincon Child and I just love reading anything they write (together or separately).
If you have read Beyond the Ice Limit then you know that Gideon Crew is living on borrowed time. He's dying and there is nothing to do about it. Well, he could go out with a bang while haunting a lost treasure with Manuel Gaza his former coworker at EES (Effective Engineering Solutions that has now shut down by Eli Glinn, its creator). So, off they go to Egypt to find the location that has now been revealed on The Phaistos Disc. And hopefully, survive the journey...
Eli Glinn is hardly in this book, it's Gideon and Gaza (and a fellow traveler that shows up later) and I like Gideon although I found Gaza to be a bit trying in this book. Still, I kind of miss Pendergast. Wouldn't it be great if he showed up in this series?
Storywise is this book not as thrilling as Beyond the Ice Limit. I never really felt truly pulled into the story. Don't take me wrong I enjoy the book, it's good and the pace is even. It's just that it felt so safe. I was never worried about what would happen to Gideon nor Gaza. It felt like "Oh they will be saved in the last minute" all through the book. And, nothing really surprised me, the book just felt ... too safe. I would have loved more suspense, or at least felt the story gripping me more. I liked it, and I want to read more and hopefully, the next book will rock my boat a bit more!
If you have read Beyond the Ice Limit then you know that Gideon Crew is living on borrowed time. He's dying and there is nothing to do about it. Well, he could go out with a bang while haunting a lost treasure with Manuel Gaza his former coworker at EES (Effective Engineering Solutions that has now shut down by Eli Glinn, its creator). So, off they go to Egypt to find the location that has now been revealed on The Phaistos Disc. And hopefully, survive the journey...
Eli Glinn is hardly in this book, it's Gideon and Gaza (and a fellow traveler that shows up later) and I like Gideon although I found Gaza to be a bit trying in this book. Still, I kind of miss Pendergast. Wouldn't it be great if he showed up in this series?
Storywise is this book not as thrilling as Beyond the Ice Limit. I never really felt truly pulled into the story. Don't take me wrong I enjoy the book, it's good and the pace is even. It's just that it felt so safe. I was never worried about what would happen to Gideon nor Gaza. It felt like "Oh they will be saved in the last minute" all through the book. And, nothing really surprised me, the book just felt ... too safe. I would have loved more suspense, or at least felt the story gripping me more. I liked it, and I want to read more and hopefully, the next book will rock my boat a bit more!
I want to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
The Pharaoh Key by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
thnaks
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