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melbsreads 's review for:
Gideon's Sword
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Plot summary: When he was 12, Gideon Crew saw his father branded a traitor and killed by the police. At the age of 24, his dying mother tells him that his father was set up, and to get revenge on the man who did it. He plots his revenge for years. Then he gets offered a job by a shady sort-of-government agency, and all hell breaks loose.
Thoughts: Um. First of all, confusion as to why the book blurb makes such a huge deal of the whole revenging-his-father thing. Because that part of the story is over in the first 50 pages. The remaining 300-odd pages are a completely different book. So yeah. That was weird.
Second, Gideon isn't really a likeable character. He can do EVERYTHING (he has a PhD from MIT, works at Los Alamos building nuclear weapons, is an art thief who's never been caught, is a master of disguise, can con pretty much anyone, blah blah blah), and find anyone. Oh, and he treats women like they're disposable.
Third, this happens (paraphrased): "You should come and help Shady Sort-Of-Government Agency because here's an x-ray of your head - you're dying of a terminal illness and probably only have a year to live". If I'd just been told I had a year to live, I would a) seek a second opinion from someone who WASN'T a shady sort-of-government agency, and b) not take on a mission that would possibly get me killed. Also, I'm pretty sure the terminal illness thing is going to turn out to be a big fat shady sort-of-government agency lie, because why would you create a new series about a guy who's going to die soon??
Fourth, the whole thing seemed completely implausible, and while it was a fast-paced book I really didn't care what happened in the end. Mostly because it was reasonably predictable.
I've loved Lincoln and Child's other books, so this was a major disappointment. Stick to the Agent Pendergast books and don't bother with this.
Thoughts: Um. First of all, confusion as to why the book blurb makes such a huge deal of the whole revenging-his-father thing. Because that part of the story is over in the first 50 pages. The remaining 300-odd pages are a completely different book. So yeah. That was weird.
Second, Gideon isn't really a likeable character. He can do EVERYTHING (he has a PhD from MIT, works at Los Alamos building nuclear weapons, is an art thief who's never been caught, is a master of disguise, can con pretty much anyone, blah blah blah), and find anyone. Oh, and he treats women like they're disposable.
Third, this happens (paraphrased): "You should come and help Shady Sort-Of-Government Agency because here's an x-ray of your head - you're dying of a terminal illness and probably only have a year to live". If I'd just been told I had a year to live, I would a) seek a second opinion from someone who WASN'T a shady sort-of-government agency, and b) not take on a mission that would possibly get me killed. Also, I'm pretty sure the terminal illness thing is going to turn out to be a big fat shady sort-of-government agency lie, because why would you create a new series about a guy who's going to die soon??
Fourth, the whole thing seemed completely implausible, and while it was a fast-paced book I really didn't care what happened in the end. Mostly because it was reasonably predictable.
I've loved Lincoln and Child's other books, so this was a major disappointment. Stick to the Agent Pendergast books and don't bother with this.