Gideon's Sword [Hardcover]

Douglas Preston (Author), Lincoln Child (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 22, 2011

Introducing Gideon Crew: trickster, prodigy, master thief.

At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world-class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down. At twenty-four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: his father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. With her last breath, she begged her son to avenge him.

Now, with a new purpose in his life, Gideon crafts a one-time mission of vengeance, aimed at the perpetrator of his father's destruction. His plan is meticulous, spectacular, and successful.

But from the shadows, someone is watching. A very powerful someone, who is impressed by Gideon's special skills. Someone who has need of just such a renegade. For Gideon, this operation may be only the beginning . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gideon Crew, the hero of Preston and Child’s new novel, has a complicated backstory. As a boy, he watched as his father, who had taken a man hostage, was shot down by a sniper. Less than a decade later, he learned from his mother that his father had been used by the U.S. government as a scapegoat for a failed intelligence project. After dispatching the man responsible for his father’s murder, Gideon is offered a job with a private contractor that does hush-hush work for the government. Gideon’s mission: to intercept a Chinese scientist and relieve him of the plans for a top-secret weapon. The mission doesn’t go as drawn, however, and Gideon is left with a mysterious string of numbers. Now, working mostly alone, he must determine what the numbers mean. This novel (which is apparently the first installment in a new series) isn’t as elegantly written or constructed as the authors’ popular Special Agent Pendergast novels, but it does—once you get past the backstory—hold the reader’s interest, and Gideon is undeniably a big-shouldered character, capable of supporting a series. --David Pitt

Review

The authors push al the right buttons for exciting the reader, and know how to knock together a white-knuckle cliffhanger. BIG ISSUE Preston and Child have crafted an electrifying, riveting thriller on which I could continue to heap praise, but instead I will just offer this: Read the book! -- David Baldacci Fast-paced and action-packed, Gideon's Sword is a clever, high velocity read. -- Kathy Reichs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (February 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780446564328
• ISBN-13: 978-0446564328
• ASIN: 044656432X
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (342 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Douglas Preston, who worked for several years in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, is the author of the acclaimed nonfiction works Dinosaurs in the Attic and Cities of Gold, and the novel, Jennie. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#55 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#68 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#72 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#75 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#97 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#55 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#68 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#72 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#75 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#97 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

298 of 310 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Preston & Child Fall On "Sword" February 27, 2011

By Harvey Kojan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Gee, I almost feel like a traitor writing this. I'm a Preston/Child completist (individual novels included). I've been active on their Facebook page, where -- unlike other authors -- they've made it a point to read and respond to as many questions and comments as possible. So I feel a more personal connection to Doug & Linc than I do with any other authors. I wanted so much to love this new character and series.

Alas, "Gideon's Sword" is easily the weakest effort of their careers.

The whole thing feels "short." Short on substance and, especially, character development. Doug & Linc usually excel at breathing life and depth into their characters. Not here. The CIA agent is the most egregious example. But even Gideon, who benefits from a lengthy back-story which (somewhat awkwardly) opens the novel, just doesn't seem "real" to me.

Any novel in this genre requires some Suspension Of (dis)Belief. But this story's "SOB" quotient is off the charts. There's plenty of page-turning action, but the overall experience is unsatisfying.

If you're just discovering Preston & Child, DON'T start here. They're much better than this.

Here's hoping "Gideon's Sword" is merely an example of the growing pains associated with stepping a bit out of your comfort zone and creating a brand new character and series. I'll sure be rooting like hell that that's the case!

P.S. Please IGNORE any of the reviewer comments about the Kindle edition being a "short story." The Kindle edition contains the entire, 352-page novel. It also has a Q&A with the authors followed by a bonus novel from Brad Meltzer. That's why the Kindle says "38% complete" when you get to the end of the novel. It is NOT a "rip-off" by any means. As I mentioned above, "Gideon" FEELS short, but that's a subjective opinion based on content, not actual length.

120 of 130 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A Fan is Very Disappointed February 24, 2011

By stephen kronwith

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the very first fiction review I've ever written and only the second overall. That just shows how strongly I feel about this book. I have read all the Preston and Child books and many of their individual ones. While some have been better than others at least I got the impression they gave it a good shot and didn't just mail it in for the paycheck. All their books make you suspend logic one way or another, but the amount I had to suspend it in this one was too much. It was just too unbelievable and too many "twists" which could be seen a mile away. And the shortness of it I think just proves that the authors really just wanted to crank something out as fast as possible, probably to satisfy their publishers. Their worst effort by far. Save your money. Even the best have stinkers now and then. Hopefully the next Pendergast will make up for it. If not, it's on to other authors.

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Here's why this book wasn't as great as the rest... February 25, 2011

By Smoochy

Format:Hardcover

This book wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't great either. It reads like a lackluster movie plot - no real depth, unbelievable twists and turns (like in a bad way), large amounts of suspension of disbelief. It's no wonder it reads like a movie plot... the authors were simply churning out a series to be produced by Michael Bay, who Paramount chose as director of the movies this series has already been purchased for. With all the other Preston and Child books, you have massive story lines all going at once. When you finish a chapter, you enter into another storyline. This wasn't the case with this book. You just keep right on going with the same point of view - exactly like a movie would. It really takes away quite a bit of the suspense.

Overall, this is a quick fun read. I hope the next books have a bit more depth than this short story. If you're considering this over another of the duo's work, get the other.