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4th out of 31 books
—
37 voters
The Explorer's Code: A Novel
by
Kitty Pilgrim (Goodreads Author)
Award-winning CNN journalist Kitty Pilgrim turns her talents to print in The Explorer’s Code, an exciting international thriller that revolves around the quest for a land deed valuable enough to kill for. When the renowned young oceanographer Cordelia Stapleton receives an invitation to accept an award on behalf of her great-great-grandfather, a famous Victorian polar expl...more
Hardcover, 360 pages
Published
June 28th 2011
by Scribner
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Cordelia Stapleton is an oceanographer and the great-great-granddaughter of Elliot Stapleton, a polar explorer. As his only living relative Cordelia is invited to accept the Herodotus Foundation Award in recognition of his work. As well as the award the Foundation will also be presenting Cordelia with Elliot’s journal that has been recovered from an old store room in the Arctic Coal Mining Company.
Cordelia also inherits the land deed to the site of the ACMC owned by Elliot Stapleton. However, t...more
This summer , while in an air port I noticed this book. It totally caught my interest so I put it on my list. Well, I just finished reading it and I have to say it did not meet expectation. The book is about a young female scientist who lives on a submarine. She has dedicated herself to her work. Being an orphan, she has learned how to depend on herself until her great grandfather (who was a polar explorer in the artic) is honored for his life's work and she has to go to Monaco to accept the hon...more
Author Kitty Pilgrim does a terrific job setting up the locations within her debut novel " The Explorer's Code". While I've never been to Monaco, Turkey or the English countryside, Pilgrim is at her best in establishing the locales for mystery-adventure, and connecting the reader to these beautiful locations. One will pick up a strong sense of the mystery and allure of a Turkish bazaar, and the outrageous wealth and glamour of the Monaco coastline.
Unfortunately, the thin plot and inconsistent ch...more
Unfortunately, the thin plot and inconsistent ch...more
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I have actually debated posting this as I find it very difficult to denigrate an author's hard work. Having said that, know that I am considering every word before I post.
This book looked so promising. Just my sort of thing. Adventure, an oceanographer, archeology, the opportunity for romance, some science thrown in...
Unfortunately, The Explorer's Code fell sadly flat. A good story should have an organic feel to it--*This* is the way it happened. This is the way it *had* to happen... Not so in...more
This book looked so promising. Just my sort of thing. Adventure, an oceanographer, archeology, the opportunity for romance, some science thrown in...
Unfortunately, The Explorer's Code fell sadly flat. A good story should have an organic feel to it--*This* is the way it happened. This is the way it *had* to happen... Not so in...more
At first the narative was a little dry and unemotional. It took a while to get past that. I also felt lke Sinclair was patronizing, instead of concerned. These were the only problems I had with the book.
The plot was well written and fast paced. There was more than one time I wondered how our heros were going to get out of a mess. Each time the pair found a clue to the location of the deed, the Russians were on their tail. I didn't know who was a good guy and who was a villian. Spy's aren't very...more
The plot was well written and fast paced. There was more than one time I wondered how our heros were going to get out of a mess. Each time the pair found a clue to the location of the deed, the Russians were on their tail. I didn't know who was a good guy and who was a villian. Spy's aren't very...more
Well then. A VERY watered down international mystery/murder meets VERY watered down romance. I actually bought this at the grocery store on a Sunday (library is closed!) prior to heading out to a water park with my teenaged daughter and a friend. I knew I’d be on my own for the day so was hoping for a fast-paced, mindless, international crime/murder page turner. Mindless, check. The rest, not so much.
To be honest, I was ok for a hundred pages or so. We’ve got characters in Ephesus, Norway, Mona...more
To be honest, I was ok for a hundred pages or so. We’ve got characters in Ephesus, Norway, Mona...more
"Award-winning CNN journalist Kitty Pilgrim turns her talents to print in The Explorer’s Code, an exciting international thriller that revolves around the quest for a land deed valuable enough to kill for. When the renowned young oceanographer
Cordelia Stapleton receives an invitation to accept an award on behalf of her great-great-grandfather, a famous Victorian polar explorer, she has no idea her life is about to change dramatically"
When one reads a debut novel, especially one by a public figu...more
Cordelia Stapleton receives an invitation to accept an award on behalf of her great-great-grandfather, a famous Victorian polar explorer, she has no idea her life is about to change dramatically"
When one reads a debut novel, especially one by a public figu...more
Cordelia Stapleton is thrust into a high-stakes Arctic land grap when she reluctantly accepts an award for her great-grandfather from the Herodotus Foundation, whose founder and director are none other than dashing Archeologist John Sinclair. What follows are increasingly sinister complications that result in inexplicable deaths while a rag-tag group of mercenaries chases Cordelia and John in their race to find the mysterious Arctic land deed. The plot is exciting and engaging, the characters ni...more
Oceanographer Cordelia Stapleton is contacted to receive an award on behalf of for her great-great grandfather, a famous arctic explorer, at the Oceanographic Institute Ball in Monaco. She reluctantly accepts but is surprised with her great-great grandfathers journal at the ceremony by the suave archeologist John Sinclair. Unfortunately, the journal holds the key to the location of a land deed to an internationally desired piece of the arctic that now belongs to Cordelia - if she can find the de...more
This is a debut novel for Kitty Pilgrim, a former CNN broadcast journalist. I enjoyed her foray into writing an international thriller set in exotic locales and full of international good guys and bad guys, sparing nations vying for land rights, and ties back to the early 20th century when the Artic Circle was the new frontier. While many characters are the type of 'stock characters' you expect to find in a thriller, she throws in come curve balls to keep the reader on his/her toes. The book mov...more
A romantic suspense involving an archeologist and an oceanographer when she inherits a family legacy.
My Take
The concept and the characters are great. Unfortunately, the story's execution, in so very many senses of that word, is too surface and immature.
It's---eventually---a sweet romance that finds Cordelia and John entangled in international intrigue with numerous attacks. The odd thing is that the attackers are all so inept and it's a good thing that Pilgrim keeps telling us what everyone is f...more
My Take
The concept and the characters are great. Unfortunately, the story's execution, in so very many senses of that word, is too surface and immature.
It's---eventually---a sweet romance that finds Cordelia and John entangled in international intrigue with numerous attacks. The odd thing is that the attackers are all so inept and it's a good thing that Pilgrim keeps telling us what everyone is f...more
This inaugural book by Kitty Pilgrim was filled with adventure, suspense, intrigue and romance. Oceanographer Cordelia Stapleton finds that her life is turned upside down when she accepts an award posthumously for her great-great-grandfather, a famous Victorian polar explorer. The award is presented by handsome and dashing John Sinclair at the Oceanographic Institute Ball in Monaco. Along with the award, she is given a journal that her great-great-grandfather wrote in 1908. Cordelia discovers t...more
This book could have been a lot better than it was; but I think for a first novel it's a success. Pilgrim's writing strength is in her details - what the characters had for lunch, etc. Excellent in that respect. I think where she falls short is in her characters - they are just a little too stereotypical. I would definitely read another novel by her because I think she will have, by then, found her "voice" as a novelist! This is a light, fun book to read!
This is a summer beach book with adventure and glamorous destinations.
The hero and heroine are two dimensional, beautiful, kind and noble, with
not a flaw between them. Not very real. The story line has a detective
part that i enjoyed, very Sherlockian and it takes the reader from Monaco
to Ephesus to London to Norway with suspense and action. I am also reading
Henry James Wings of the Dove, and he is a much more subtle writer.
Promising, but tough to get into in the beginning, and the book desperately needs a good copyeditor. The dialogue is quite stilted, so I found myself subconsciously rephrasing what the characters said to make them more believable - haven't done that while reading a book before. But the plot ideas were quite good.
A relunctant oceanographer accepts an honor on behalf of her great-grandfather, she also receives a family legacy. This is now her only tangible link to her family, but it holds secrets that others want and show no mercy in attaining it. Jumping from archeological digs in Ephesus to the glitz of Monaco to the serenity of the English countryside and finally to the arctic tundra in Norway, the explorers try to solve the mystery surrounding the journal.
I enjoyed this book, and the only thing I real...more
I enjoyed this book, and the only thing I real...more
An enjoyable read - some romance along with action - a number of surprises - the author was a journalist at CNN for years, this is her first effort in writing a book - I think it was an admirable effort - I will most likely read the next book in this continuing series.
Received this through a Goodreads giveaway. I really wanted to like this book. The overall plot was interesting enough although at times a tad implausible, and this could have been a really good book - in fact, it started out as a really good book. Then I had to push myself to plod through the rest of it. I wasn't invested in any of the characters. They were poorly developed, and there were too many of them that had no bearing on the storyline. Relationships between characters seemed to be way t...more
It was a slow start but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. There were some plot elements that could have been further developed but since this appears to be a first book maybe the author will revisit some of those elements in another book.
I was expecting much more after reading the blurbs on the back cover but I couldn't make it to the end...was flipping pages skimming like crazy and eventually gave up. I can't think of anything good to say about it.
so far it gets 2 stars. neat plot, neat characters, but i HATE the short chapter structure. 3-8 pages per? lazy writing. i may not finish it just because of that, even with the pluses. huge pet peeve of mine
I received this book as a giveaway. I don't really read books like this but I'm glad I signed up for it. It was a really great mystery/thriller/adventure book. I believe this was her first book and since I enjoyed this one, I look forward to anything else she will write.
Good suspense filled first novel from Kitty Pilgrim. I like the way the chapters jumped from one country and place to another as if in a movie. Trying to find the deed is the key element in this novel. A little romance is thrown in, and it is a pretty good book.
Kitty clearly can create a story but this is more a romance than a thriller. Next book should be less predictable (dark haired beauty and dashing tall rich guy) but with same pace and attention to detail.
I'd rate this closer to 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the story and loved the descriptions of all the different places the characters went. I tend to gravitate toward any story where the characters are traveling the globe in search of historical documents. The story moved along pretty quickly. I thought the romantic angle was a little distracting and cheesy. I also got a little bored of the author always having to throw in brand names to prove the characters were wealthy and sophisticated. That could hav...more
This book had a wonderful storyline, but it is my opinion that the author did not write it well. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining to read but left something to be desired.
Interesting read and moved at a decent pace until the last 50-75 pages. These started to drag and slowed down the pace which detracted from the overall enjoyment of the book.
Aug 29, 2011
Genevieve
added it
I don't really want to read this, but didn't want to forget its existence since I was briefly in a band named after Kitty Pilgrim herself. The end.
3 1/2 stars. Pretty clean for just picking it off the shelf. It was a good adventure, I could have done with a few less bad guys.
Aug 22, 2011
shinfu
marked it as to-read
I have just won this book from First Reads. I look forward to reading it. Thanks.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodreads Feedback: What to do about copy not received | 3 | 52 | Oct 17, 2011 05:09pm | |
| female protagonists | 2 | 7 | Sep 15, 2011 06:28am | |
| science as a sub plot | 1 | 3 | Sep 10, 2011 01:22pm |
