Gideon's Sword - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are best selling authors as a duo and with their individual projects. I have read everything they've written, enjoying their sense of adventure in all they pursue.

I was excited to pick up Gideon's Sword - the first book introducing what will be a new series and character. I wasn't as excited when I finished it though.

Gideon Crew was deeply affected by the violent and somewhat mysterious death of his father when he was a young boy. He grew up swearing to avenge his death. He is highly educated but makes his living as a thief. This sets up the back story. Gideon is approached by a mysterious government agency to retrieve the plans for a new weapon before they fall into the wrong hands.

Gideon is described as incredibly good looking with black hair and brilliant blue eyes. Women find him irresistible, but everyone seems to fall for his gift of gab. This seems to be his best weapon. Unfortunately I just found his glibness grating and those who seemed to fall for his increasingly obvious ploys gullible.

Gideon's Sword is full of action and the plot is fast paced. But is also somewhat far fetched in places. Gideon ends up with a dead man's suit after posing as his next of kin. I'm not sure why the police would not have objected as this was a murder. Gideon careens from one outlandish, improbable situation to another, talking his way through all of them. He seems somewhat callous in nature as well. He's not opposed to using unsuspecting others to further his own means. The tenderness he professes to feel for one such citizen falls flat.

I found the use of  Hart Island, New York as a setting for part of the novel fascinating and went off to read more on the web.

So all the right elements are here - dynamic, good looking, intelligent bad boy does the impossible for shadowy organization with lots of hair raising situations. And yes, that is accomplished. But it just didn't make me a believer. Yes, the Pendergast novels are more 'out there' if you will. But I like Pendergast as a character and all those who populate that series and the plotlines grab me.

If these authors are new to you, I suggest you start with their backlist. You can find Preston & Child on Facebook.

 The ending of  Gideon's Sword has been set up for book number two.  Read an excerpt of Gideon's Sword.