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Nora Kelly #0A
Thunderhead
Nora Kelly, a young archaeologist in Santa Fe, receives a letter written sixteen years ago, yet mysteriously mailed only recently. In it her father, long believed dead, hints at a fantastic discovery that will make him famous and rich---the lost city of an ancient civilization that suddenly vanished a thousand years ago. Now Nora is leading an expedition into a harsh, remote corner of Utah's canyon country. Searching for her father and his glory, Nora begins to unravel the greatest riddle of American archeology. but what she unearths will be the newest of horrors...
531 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
1234 people are currently reading
12943 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Preston
216 books13.3k followersDouglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)
As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.
After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.
In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.
Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.
Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.
After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.
In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.
Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.
Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,271 reviews
August 15, 2017
Hell yes! Thunderhead was an entertaining and thrilling adventure! It was a griping read from the last 1/4 until the end. I could not put this book down!
I loved this book because of the setting and subject material. I’ve always enjoyed archaeology and the journey to explore hidden places, cultures and religions. It felt very much like reading a Indiana Jones book. It was right on target with that feeling. A group of archaeologists are on an expedition to the caves of Utah to explore a hidden city with historical speculation that it could contain gold.
It’s hard to classify this as horror. This book felt more like a thriller with adventure, action and suspense thrown in. I really enjoyed reading about the Anasazi culture, traditions and superstitions. Good stuff. This book had a great plot, excellent scientific material thrown in and wonderful characters.
I just love the combo writing of Preston and Childs. They are just brilliant. I'm looking forward to reading all of their books now!
I loved this book because of the setting and subject material. I’ve always enjoyed archaeology and the journey to explore hidden places, cultures and religions. It felt very much like reading a Indiana Jones book. It was right on target with that feeling. A group of archaeologists are on an expedition to the caves of Utah to explore a hidden city with historical speculation that it could contain gold.
It’s hard to classify this as horror. This book felt more like a thriller with adventure, action and suspense thrown in. I really enjoyed reading about the Anasazi culture, traditions and superstitions. Good stuff. This book had a great plot, excellent scientific material thrown in and wonderful characters.
I just love the combo writing of Preston and Childs. They are just brilliant. I'm looking forward to reading all of their books now!
February 17, 2016
Amazing! Preston & Child do it again. This book is soooooo good from page one until the very end. Excitement, suspense, mystery, gore, betrayal, etc. it's all there and there is a lot of it! Also, it is obvious that they put so much research into their books - but the history parts of it are not dry, they just make it more intriguing!
Note: This is not a Pendergast novel, but it falls between Reliquary and Cabinet of Curiosities.
If you like a great story with great mystery and some scares and gore, bring an umbrella for the Thunderhead!
Note: This is not a Pendergast novel, but it falls between Reliquary and Cabinet of Curiosities.
If you like a great story with great mystery and some scares and gore, bring an umbrella for the Thunderhead!
June 3, 2016
Under certain circumstances, I can get on board with suspension of disbelief.
“So, wait—no one recognizes that he’s Clark Kent because he takes off his glasses, gives himself a spit curl, and wears his underwear outside his pants? That makes sense.”
It’s all about context—if I’m being asked to accept that a man can fly, obliterate things with heat beams from his eyes, and lift an elephant over his head without breaking a sweat, I can make some allowances for bending the rules of common sense a little.
Thrillers, however, are sometimes a struggle for me. I’m not a habitual reader of them in part because they often ask for that same suspension of disbelief, but do so in an environment where science and facts take center stage as various plot machinations unfold.
Case in point: Thunderhead, in which archaeological techniques and satellite mapping tools are meticulously described and deployed, but wherein characters seem to be generally unconcerned that someone has . Maybe I’m naïve, but I just feel like I’d be mildly concerned if someone I had been knocking back an espresso with the day before suddenly had his intestines used for an advanced origami project.
I don’t have a problem with the is-it-magic-or-isn’t-it conundrum presented by the book’s antagonists—I’ve bought into the fact that, in this world, the impossible is at least potentially possible as long as there’s some rational or scientific reason for it. But, when characters behave irrationally because to do so otherwise would derail the plot, I struggle a little.
Still, there’s no denying that Preston and Child can throw down some thrills, and it’s always good to see Bill Smithback in action. So, I’m looking forward to jumping back into the adventures of old Pendergast in The Cabinet of Curiosities.
“So, wait—no one recognizes that he’s Clark Kent because he takes off his glasses, gives himself a spit curl, and wears his underwear outside his pants? That makes sense.”
It’s all about context—if I’m being asked to accept that a man can fly, obliterate things with heat beams from his eyes, and lift an elephant over his head without breaking a sweat, I can make some allowances for bending the rules of common sense a little.
Thrillers, however, are sometimes a struggle for me. I’m not a habitual reader of them in part because they often ask for that same suspension of disbelief, but do so in an environment where science and facts take center stage as various plot machinations unfold.
Case in point: Thunderhead, in which archaeological techniques and satellite mapping tools are meticulously described and deployed, but wherein characters seem to be generally unconcerned that someone has . Maybe I’m naïve, but I just feel like I’d be mildly concerned if someone I had been knocking back an espresso with the day before suddenly had his intestines used for an advanced origami project.
I don’t have a problem with the is-it-magic-or-isn’t-it conundrum presented by the book’s antagonists—I’ve bought into the fact that, in this world, the impossible is at least potentially possible as long as there’s some rational or scientific reason for it. But, when characters behave irrationally because to do so otherwise would derail the plot, I struggle a little.
Still, there’s no denying that Preston and Child can throw down some thrills, and it’s always good to see Bill Smithback in action. So, I’m looking forward to jumping back into the adventures of old Pendergast in The Cabinet of Curiosities.
April 6, 2023
“We realize that we know next to nothing about the Anasazi”
“After three decades of mysterious and inexplicable discoveries … we don’t understand their culture, we don’t understand their religion. We cannot read their petroglyphs and pictographs. We do not know what languages they might have spoken. We do not know why they covered the Southwest wit lighthouses, shrines, roads, and signaling stations.”
Nora Kelly is a dedicated young archeologist figuratively following in her father’s footsteps trying to uncover the answers to the host of questions about the Anasazi, an enigmatic southwest US aboriginal culture. When she receives a letter from her father, long thought to be dead, that hints at the existence of Quivira, a mythical Anasazi city, the El Dorado and the Rosetta Stone of their culture as it were, she rapidly puts together an expedition into the difficult, isolated heart of Utah’s wilderness canyon country. With the help of the puzzling instructions contained in that letter, Nora now sets out in search of her father’s literal footsteps to find Quivira, an unprecedented archeological achievement that would completely eclipse the likes of Howard Carter’s celebrated discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
But someone (or something) does not want her to succeed and it seems they are willing to go so far as gruesome ritualistic murder to stop her. And there seems to be reason to believe that those who would stop them are “the spotted-clay witches, the skinwalkers, the wolfskin runners”.
THUNDERHEAD is 10% horror and supernatural, 30% extended informative, educational, and spectacularly interesting essay on the search for the history of the Anasazi and the minutiae of archeological techniques and research, 50% high speed suspense thriller with spills, chills, twists, and turns, and, last but not least, 10% reserved for the requisite inclusion of a little boy-girl action and romance. Oh, and did I say that it’s a 100% enjoyable addition to the Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child canon and a great start to the new Nora Kelly series. Between Nora Kelly and the re-appearance of New York Times journalist Bill Smithback of Aloysius Pendergast RELIC fame, the series promises to be thoroughly entertaining. I’m definitely looking forward to the next entry, OLD BONES.
Paul Weiss
“After three decades of mysterious and inexplicable discoveries … we don’t understand their culture, we don’t understand their religion. We cannot read their petroglyphs and pictographs. We do not know what languages they might have spoken. We do not know why they covered the Southwest wit lighthouses, shrines, roads, and signaling stations.”
Nora Kelly is a dedicated young archeologist figuratively following in her father’s footsteps trying to uncover the answers to the host of questions about the Anasazi, an enigmatic southwest US aboriginal culture. When she receives a letter from her father, long thought to be dead, that hints at the existence of Quivira, a mythical Anasazi city, the El Dorado and the Rosetta Stone of their culture as it were, she rapidly puts together an expedition into the difficult, isolated heart of Utah’s wilderness canyon country. With the help of the puzzling instructions contained in that letter, Nora now sets out in search of her father’s literal footsteps to find Quivira, an unprecedented archeological achievement that would completely eclipse the likes of Howard Carter’s celebrated discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
But someone (or something) does not want her to succeed and it seems they are willing to go so far as gruesome ritualistic murder to stop her. And there seems to be reason to believe that those who would stop them are “the spotted-clay witches, the skinwalkers, the wolfskin runners”.
THUNDERHEAD is 10% horror and supernatural, 30% extended informative, educational, and spectacularly interesting essay on the search for the history of the Anasazi and the minutiae of archeological techniques and research, 50% high speed suspense thriller with spills, chills, twists, and turns, and, last but not least, 10% reserved for the requisite inclusion of a little boy-girl action and romance. Oh, and did I say that it’s a 100% enjoyable addition to the Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child canon and a great start to the new Nora Kelly series. Between Nora Kelly and the re-appearance of New York Times journalist Bill Smithback of Aloysius Pendergast RELIC fame, the series promises to be thoroughly entertaining. I’m definitely looking forward to the next entry, OLD BONES.
Paul Weiss
January 18, 2021
This was good! Real goood!!
4.5-5 ⭐
My head hurts so much after I finished reading. It was a very intense and a suspenseful read. I'm not sure if I really want to write a full review as it could spoil the surprises. Best to know as little as possible and just that it's the first in Nora Kelly series. Nora works at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. It's related to a lost civilization in the southern Utah canyons, treasure hunt and you want a strong stomach for what's to come.
There's no doubt the authors did extensive research for the story. It's also important to read the notes at the end to know what is real and what's fictitious.
On a side note, I've spent a long time reading this not because it's boring, but I'm just sick of reading on the Kindle where I have to flip 8 times to read two pages of the real book. It makes me feel (mentally) that the chapters were so long when they weren't.
Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go and burn some essential oils to calm my nerves.
4.5-5 ⭐
My head hurts so much after I finished reading. It was a very intense and a suspenseful read. I'm not sure if I really want to write a full review as it could spoil the surprises. Best to know as little as possible and just that it's the first in Nora Kelly series. Nora works at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. It's related to a lost civilization in the southern Utah canyons, treasure hunt and you want a strong stomach for what's to come.
There's no doubt the authors did extensive research for the story. It's also important to read the notes at the end to know what is real and what's fictitious.
On a side note, I've spent a long time reading this not because it's boring, but I'm just sick of reading on the Kindle where I have to flip 8 times to read two pages of the real book. It makes me feel (mentally) that the chapters were so long when they weren't.
Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go and burn some essential oils to calm my nerves.
August 2, 2018
Wow, what a book. Truly fascinating and captivating. The story was well layered slowly unearthing bits and pieces (pun intended?). I can’t get enough of these authors and looking forward to reading more of their works, highly recommend to pretty much everyone.
March 8, 2008
This is the first Preston/Child book I read. After reading this, I have devoured every single one of their books since. It crackles with intelligence and suspense. It is extremely addictive and the setting is by far one of the most interesting and memorable, practically a character in and of itself. A must read. Plus they continue characters throughout their books, not all at once, but here and there. Smithback and Nora in particular from this book. I loved it!
August 11, 2017
What a fun thrill ride in this one, filled with lots of action, great characters and a well-researched and interesting storyline.
May 24, 2017
The authors delivered a rousing, suspense thriller in a book that simply, could not be put down. Built upon previous scenes, the momentum of the storyline gained steam as it cunningly, cut it's way through chapter to chapter. It's never too much to expect a fitting ending and that too was delivered in style. All I ask for from any novel is one thing - to be entertained. This book took first prize gloriously.
Patraic Kelly, an archaeologist had gone missing sixteen years ago while in search of the ancient, lost city of Quivira. This was home to the Anasazi Indians of Utah. Hundreds of years ago, some explorers claimed that Quivira was the largest and wealthiest Indian site in all of North America. Though none of them had ever seen it. Some leading experts in the field of archaeology denounced the city as nothing more than a myth. Not everyone agreed.
The daughter of the missing archaeologist, Nora Kelly, Ph.D., is a tenured employee at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. Like father - like daughter. One day, out of the clear blue, she received an old, weathered, letter from her, assumed deceased father, that had been written sixteen years ago. In it, he claimed he found the lost city of Quivira. He provided a hand-drawn map with extremely complicated directions to its general location. It was in the remote area of Chaco Canyon. She thought, Who on Earth mailed it?
Shortly thereafter, things took an eerie turn. One night she was attacked by someone dressed up as half-animal, half-human. He had asked about the letter. She narrowly escaped with her life. What did all that mean, she wondered?
She convinced the head of the Institute, Dr. Goddard, to organize an expedition for the lost city. If found, it could be the discovery of the century. He eagerly agreed and placed Nora in charge of the team. It consisted of eight members, each contributing their own area of expertise to the mission.
With clear skies, the expedition got underway, the only way possible, on horseback. No one was prepared for the unexpected hazards they encountered along the way. They were isolated amongst a complex, scattered arrangement of backcountry canyons that turned in every which direction. As days passed, some had begun to doubt the existence of the city. Hope was fading.
Persistence paid off. Quivira had been discovered built into a canyon wall. It was more than anyone could have hoped for. Many artifacts in the ancient city were discovered in perfect condition, a rare archaeological find. They would go down in history.
Without their knowledge, they had been followed. There were evil forces at work that didn't want them to leave this site alive. No one could know of its existence.
While documenting the site, they had come under attack from something that appeared, not of this world. Members of the team died in some of the most horrific ways. It was no longer a scientific expedition. It was now a matter of survival. War had been declared.
They were divided. A momentous discovery had been made. Their lives would be forever changed. How in the world could they possibly leave? Yet if they stayed, it could mean their certain deaths.
Patraic Kelly, an archaeologist had gone missing sixteen years ago while in search of the ancient, lost city of Quivira. This was home to the Anasazi Indians of Utah. Hundreds of years ago, some explorers claimed that Quivira was the largest and wealthiest Indian site in all of North America. Though none of them had ever seen it. Some leading experts in the field of archaeology denounced the city as nothing more than a myth. Not everyone agreed.
The daughter of the missing archaeologist, Nora Kelly, Ph.D., is a tenured employee at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. Like father - like daughter. One day, out of the clear blue, she received an old, weathered, letter from her, assumed deceased father, that had been written sixteen years ago. In it, he claimed he found the lost city of Quivira. He provided a hand-drawn map with extremely complicated directions to its general location. It was in the remote area of Chaco Canyon. She thought, Who on Earth mailed it?
Shortly thereafter, things took an eerie turn. One night she was attacked by someone dressed up as half-animal, half-human. He had asked about the letter. She narrowly escaped with her life. What did all that mean, she wondered?
She convinced the head of the Institute, Dr. Goddard, to organize an expedition for the lost city. If found, it could be the discovery of the century. He eagerly agreed and placed Nora in charge of the team. It consisted of eight members, each contributing their own area of expertise to the mission.
With clear skies, the expedition got underway, the only way possible, on horseback. No one was prepared for the unexpected hazards they encountered along the way. They were isolated amongst a complex, scattered arrangement of backcountry canyons that turned in every which direction. As days passed, some had begun to doubt the existence of the city. Hope was fading.
Persistence paid off. Quivira had been discovered built into a canyon wall. It was more than anyone could have hoped for. Many artifacts in the ancient city were discovered in perfect condition, a rare archaeological find. They would go down in history.
Without their knowledge, they had been followed. There were evil forces at work that didn't want them to leave this site alive. No one could know of its existence.
While documenting the site, they had come under attack from something that appeared, not of this world. Members of the team died in some of the most horrific ways. It was no longer a scientific expedition. It was now a matter of survival. War had been declared.
They were divided. A momentous discovery had been made. Their lives would be forever changed. How in the world could they possibly leave? Yet if they stayed, it could mean their certain deaths.
March 2, 2024
I was introduced to Nora Kelly in a later segment of the publishing series and found the character engaging due to her similarity to Indiana Jones. Nora holds a PhD in archeology and works for the Santa Fe Archeological Institute, an organization known for their prowess.
The story opens when Nora travels to her childhood home which was inherited when her father passed years previous. As she looks through the dilapidated structure, she's accosted by a stranger covered in animal fur who demands she gives him 'the letter'. Fleeing from the scene in her truck, she slams into the mailboxes; among the mail that spills out is a letter from her father telling her about his discovery of Quivira, an ancient Indian settlement known, but never uncovered.
Nora goes to work the following day and 'demands' the Institute fund an expedition since the letter presents evidence. But when the director rejects her proposal claiming lack of funding, she threatens to resign and storms out and speaks with her brother Skip. During the conversation, he mentions a colleague at Jet Propulsion Laboratories whose position is associated with radar scanning equipment on an orbiting device. She networks through JPL and connects with Peter Holroyd who has access to the unusual maps. As they dig into the technology, she realizes the scanning device could be used to uncover the ancient trails leading into Quivira.
Not long after she's summoned by Dr. Goddard, the chairman of the institute where she presents the letter and findings from Holroyd. Goddard was well acquainted with the ancient Indian city and offered to fund an expedition with Nora as director. The catch was his daughter Sloane would be part of the team.
When she arrives by helicopter at the site, she's introduced to an interesting group. Among them a snooty journalist, well known archeological scientists, a 5 star chef and cowboy who manages the horses they'll be using to make their way to the site. A day later when the team arrives after being floated across the lake, Sloane Goddard is delivered by helicopter dressed to the nines. An attractive, fit ivy league grad in archeology, she's unhappy Daddy didn't put her in charge, but accepts it nonetheless.
The journey to the ancient location is filled with twists and turns, along with ups and downs with the team members. Using radar scans Holroyd has been accessing they find the unknown passage and set up camp. Over the course of the following days, they make astounding discoveries that confirm what Nora's father claimed in the letter, among them the discovery of the mythological city. With communication equipment mounted above the treacherous area, Nora excitedly tells Goddard of the discovery though like all good mysteries, darkness looms in the form of skinwalkers, Indian medicine men whose goal is to protect the city from discovery.
The authors do a masterful job of pacing and momentum building and as the story nears the finish, it becomes a page turner of epic proportions. Illuminating, engaging, informative and immersive, mystery lovers of all types will enjoy it!
The story opens when Nora travels to her childhood home which was inherited when her father passed years previous. As she looks through the dilapidated structure, she's accosted by a stranger covered in animal fur who demands she gives him 'the letter'. Fleeing from the scene in her truck, she slams into the mailboxes; among the mail that spills out is a letter from her father telling her about his discovery of Quivira, an ancient Indian settlement known, but never uncovered.
Nora goes to work the following day and 'demands' the Institute fund an expedition since the letter presents evidence. But when the director rejects her proposal claiming lack of funding, she threatens to resign and storms out and speaks with her brother Skip. During the conversation, he mentions a colleague at Jet Propulsion Laboratories whose position is associated with radar scanning equipment on an orbiting device. She networks through JPL and connects with Peter Holroyd who has access to the unusual maps. As they dig into the technology, she realizes the scanning device could be used to uncover the ancient trails leading into Quivira.
Not long after she's summoned by Dr. Goddard, the chairman of the institute where she presents the letter and findings from Holroyd. Goddard was well acquainted with the ancient Indian city and offered to fund an expedition with Nora as director. The catch was his daughter Sloane would be part of the team.
When she arrives by helicopter at the site, she's introduced to an interesting group. Among them a snooty journalist, well known archeological scientists, a 5 star chef and cowboy who manages the horses they'll be using to make their way to the site. A day later when the team arrives after being floated across the lake, Sloane Goddard is delivered by helicopter dressed to the nines. An attractive, fit ivy league grad in archeology, she's unhappy Daddy didn't put her in charge, but accepts it nonetheless.
The journey to the ancient location is filled with twists and turns, along with ups and downs with the team members. Using radar scans Holroyd has been accessing they find the unknown passage and set up camp. Over the course of the following days, they make astounding discoveries that confirm what Nora's father claimed in the letter, among them the discovery of the mythological city. With communication equipment mounted above the treacherous area, Nora excitedly tells Goddard of the discovery though like all good mysteries, darkness looms in the form of skinwalkers, Indian medicine men whose goal is to protect the city from discovery.
The authors do a masterful job of pacing and momentum building and as the story nears the finish, it becomes a page turner of epic proportions. Illuminating, engaging, informative and immersive, mystery lovers of all types will enjoy it!
January 19, 2018
Preston and Child's favorite word is purchase. In this and many of their other novels, characters (and horses) struggle to "get a purchase" on slippery footing or rockface fingerholds. They lose a purchase, they maintain a purchase, they scrabble for purchase. Dozens and dozens of times. Rarely however do they actually purchase something in a retail setting.
Their second favorite word is susurrus, and again this pops up numerous times over tens of books. Someone hears "a faint susurrus of wind." Someone again hears "a susurrus of wind." Someone's voice drops to an almost "feline susurrus." Looking this up in the Morrium-Wobster dictionary reveals its meaning as "the soft murmuring or rustling of anal flatulence."
I think in a thriller this is trying too hard: "An amber-colored sun was sinking into a scrim of dirty clouds behind the snowcapped Jemez Mountains, drawing a counterpane of shade across the landscape." "A nearby sprinkler head winked and nodded in the sun, jetting water in a regular, palsied cadence." Preston and Child bring out the SAT words: "He waggled the disk and it flashed in the dim light, sending out a coruscation of color." "A clonus of horror trembled along the animal's flanks." "Its moiled foot ran at least thirty miles along the spine of the plateau..."
I waited eagerly for the sentence "The horse's hooves scrabbled for purchase, its palsied clonus moiling in a coruscation of susurrus." Maybe the next book.
July 30, 2011
This the third Preston and Child novel that I have read and I enjoyed it very much. This one did not include agent Pendergast, but did lay the background for how Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback first met, prior to their starring roles in "Cabinet of Curiosities" . The story was continually exciting and had just the right blend of detailed archaeology and the hint of the supernatural. This was a straight up adventure novel with the details of the expedition exceptionally well drawn and the characters all contributing to the realistic atmosphere of life on the trail. These guys really know how to tell an exciting and scary story, which is simultaneously well grounded in reality. This story doesn't require as much of a suspension of disbelief as the other books of theirs that I have read. All of the events are consistent with the real world, even if some of the timing was a little convenient. What I especially like is how well these folks lay the foundation for the perils which threaten each of the characters. I am continually impressed by how well they build suspense prior to the opening of each door in Santa Fe or the passing of each concealed or dangerous area along the trail. Very few movies contain as much suspense and action as this book. I I have to mention one personal aspect of this book. It reminded me of all the adventure stories I read as young teenager, immersing me in the expedition and keeping me enthralled to the very end.
January 13, 2019
'Thunderhead' by authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is an exciting adventure tale. It reminds me of Indiana Jones, but instead of Harrison Ford, we have a female protagonist, Nora Kelly, an assistant professor at The Santa Fe Archaeological Institute. Our intrepid archaeologist, fights peril at ever turn in a suspense laden narrative. Two things I love about this novel: Firstly, is how the authors throw in so many archaeological facts, especially about the Anasazi, an ancient North American people, and the ruins of the cliff dwellers in Utah, their potsherds, and other relics and artifacts. Secondly, descriptions of the group dynamics of the team that searches for the ancient city of Quivira, "The House of the Bloody Cliff," are stellar.
Outsized egos are part of the equation on the team that's selected by Ernest Goddard, Chairman of the Board of The Santa Fe Institute. Only Peter Holroyd is selected by Nora, a favor returned for his help in procuring satellite images of the ancient Anasazi trail that Nora believes her father followed sixteen years old on a trip from which he never returned. Other members of the team are Luigi Bonarotti, camp manager and cook, who serves haute cuisine on the trail, Roscoe Swire, poet cowboy and wrangler, who memorializes the spirit of his horses in his journal, and Bill Smithback, a journalist and author, who arrives in a stretch limo, amid a flurry of fanfare, threatening the clandestine nature of the venture. The remaining members of the team are the archaeologists, Aaron Black, a famous geochronologist, a scientist who determines the age of things (he delves into ancient trash dumps to learn what he can about the people, studying hair, bones, feces, etc.), Enrique Aragon, an anthropologist and medical doctor, and Sloane Goddard, Ernest Goddard's daughter. Sloane is an archaeologist, pilot, experienced mountain climber, horseback rider, beautiful, and all things extraordinaire, with something to prove to her father, who has always expected her to be number one, always come out on top, and never settle for the number two spot. Nora rounds out the crew as its director; all answer to her.
Nora is trying to prove that Quivira exists so that she can prove to herself that her father was not just a dreamer, that the trail he followed sixteen years ago does indeed lead to Quivira. Nora's father lit the fire of archaeology in her; he was a man who told her and her brother, Skip he loved them every day. Sloane and the other archaeologists desire their names in the archaeological hall of fame; they want recognition. Sloane confides in Nora that her father never told her he loved her. When the strenuous trek up the canyons weighs on the team members, fissures appear in the group. With ever mounting tensions, dissent and divisiveness proliferates.
Another beautiful thing to love about 'Thunderhead' is the gorgeous descriptive language of the environment and nature, or perhaps its just the way the authors build suspense against the natural backdrop. Either way, I could make visual pictures in my mind of the ruins, the kivas, the high canyon walls and narrow slot canyons, the horses and their behaviors, and I could hear the sounds of thunder reverberate against the walls of massive rock. Recommended.
Outsized egos are part of the equation on the team that's selected by Ernest Goddard, Chairman of the Board of The Santa Fe Institute. Only Peter Holroyd is selected by Nora, a favor returned for his help in procuring satellite images of the ancient Anasazi trail that Nora believes her father followed sixteen years old on a trip from which he never returned. Other members of the team are Luigi Bonarotti, camp manager and cook, who serves haute cuisine on the trail, Roscoe Swire, poet cowboy and wrangler, who memorializes the spirit of his horses in his journal, and Bill Smithback, a journalist and author, who arrives in a stretch limo, amid a flurry of fanfare, threatening the clandestine nature of the venture. The remaining members of the team are the archaeologists, Aaron Black, a famous geochronologist, a scientist who determines the age of things (he delves into ancient trash dumps to learn what he can about the people, studying hair, bones, feces, etc.), Enrique Aragon, an anthropologist and medical doctor, and Sloane Goddard, Ernest Goddard's daughter. Sloane is an archaeologist, pilot, experienced mountain climber, horseback rider, beautiful, and all things extraordinaire, with something to prove to her father, who has always expected her to be number one, always come out on top, and never settle for the number two spot. Nora rounds out the crew as its director; all answer to her.
Nora is trying to prove that Quivira exists so that she can prove to herself that her father was not just a dreamer, that the trail he followed sixteen years ago does indeed lead to Quivira. Nora's father lit the fire of archaeology in her; he was a man who told her and her brother, Skip he loved them every day. Sloane and the other archaeologists desire their names in the archaeological hall of fame; they want recognition. Sloane confides in Nora that her father never told her he loved her. When the strenuous trek up the canyons weighs on the team members, fissures appear in the group. With ever mounting tensions, dissent and divisiveness proliferates.
Another beautiful thing to love about 'Thunderhead' is the gorgeous descriptive language of the environment and nature, or perhaps its just the way the authors build suspense against the natural backdrop. Either way, I could make visual pictures in my mind of the ruins, the kivas, the high canyon walls and narrow slot canyons, the horses and their behaviors, and I could hear the sounds of thunder reverberate against the walls of massive rock. Recommended.
December 29, 2020
The sequence of 7.5-minute maps—the most detailed U.S. Geological Survey maps made—covered an exceedingly remote area of southern Utah, framed by Lake Powell to the south and east and Bryce Canyon to the west. It was almost entirely Bureau of Land Management country: federal land that, in effect, nobody had any use for. Nora had a good idea of what the area was like: slickrock sandstone country, bisected by a diagonal—trending maze of deep canyons and escarpments, sheer walls, and barren scabland. It was into this desolate triangle, sixteen years before, that her father had disappeared…
First published in the late 90’s, “Thunderhead” follows the fictional archaeological expedition to find the lost city of Quivira that brought the Spanish explorer, Coronado, to the Southwest of Utah in 1540, looking for the Seven Cities of Gold. Nora Kelly, a research associate at the Santa Fe archaeological institute, stops by the empty family home and is attacked by two men wearing masks and animal skins, escaping with help from her neighbour. There she finds a letter from her father, penned to her late mother, yet mailed from Escalante, Utah, only five weeks earlier, with directions to the fabled city built by the Anasazi people.
With her supervisor unwilling to back an expedition, Nora reaches out to a bored technician at JPL, to ‘acquire’ satellite imagery over the area and finds enough evidence to convince the institute’s director to finance the venture. He arranges for a top scientific team to accompany Nora, among them his own daughter, Sloane.
This adventure story had just about everything. The setting, close to the Kaiparowits Plateau in Utah, is accessible only by foot and horseback, reached by barge across Lake Powell from Wahweap Marina in Page, Arizona. Two feisty female protagonists, a group riven by professional vanities, dogged by a sinister American Indian witchcraft cult known as Skinwalkers, determined that no one from the expedition leaves the city alive. And that’s before the “Thunderhead” in the title sweeps away everything in its path.
There’s a wealth of information here on a wide range of subjects, from archaeology and anthropology, to geomorphology to rock climbing to native medicines and poisons - but the authors ensure the story is not lost in the detail. (I enjoyed the descriptions of the vegetation and sounds of canyon wrens flitting around.) In the end it is about human frailty, driven not just for knowledge but recognition among their peers, the group is blinkered by the untouched relics as they survey the city, documenting and sampling, puzzling over grisly finds, and only belatedly asking the key questions of why the city was abandoned, and why the people of the nearest Indian village avoided the valley.
Verdict: a satisfying story for readers who love a good adventure novel.
First published in the late 90’s, “Thunderhead” follows the fictional archaeological expedition to find the lost city of Quivira that brought the Spanish explorer, Coronado, to the Southwest of Utah in 1540, looking for the Seven Cities of Gold. Nora Kelly, a research associate at the Santa Fe archaeological institute, stops by the empty family home and is attacked by two men wearing masks and animal skins, escaping with help from her neighbour. There she finds a letter from her father, penned to her late mother, yet mailed from Escalante, Utah, only five weeks earlier, with directions to the fabled city built by the Anasazi people.
With her supervisor unwilling to back an expedition, Nora reaches out to a bored technician at JPL, to ‘acquire’ satellite imagery over the area and finds enough evidence to convince the institute’s director to finance the venture. He arranges for a top scientific team to accompany Nora, among them his own daughter, Sloane.
This adventure story had just about everything. The setting, close to the Kaiparowits Plateau in Utah, is accessible only by foot and horseback, reached by barge across Lake Powell from Wahweap Marina in Page, Arizona. Two feisty female protagonists, a group riven by professional vanities, dogged by a sinister American Indian witchcraft cult known as Skinwalkers, determined that no one from the expedition leaves the city alive. And that’s before the “Thunderhead” in the title sweeps away everything in its path.
There’s a wealth of information here on a wide range of subjects, from archaeology and anthropology, to geomorphology to rock climbing to native medicines and poisons - but the authors ensure the story is not lost in the detail. (I enjoyed the descriptions of the vegetation and sounds of canyon wrens flitting around.) In the end it is about human frailty, driven not just for knowledge but recognition among their peers, the group is blinkered by the untouched relics as they survey the city, documenting and sampling, puzzling over grisly finds, and only belatedly asking the key questions of why the city was abandoned, and why the people of the nearest Indian village avoided the valley.
Verdict: a satisfying story for readers who love a good adventure novel.
May 6, 2021
I forgot how much I enjoy books like this! :)
It's like Indiana Jones, but with gore, death, terror and horror added!
The story is a historical horror/mystery where almost everybody die a horrendous ritualistic death!
So, if you're squeamish beware! LOL
There are some little things that didn't made sense to me, like all those highly trained archeologists entering a tomb like walking in a closet! Or going into a deep canyons and think that they'll be able to connect with the satellite and get the info about where they are and where to go...
That was very stupid of them!
Also, some behaviours were unbelievable. Some of the characters were obviously unbalanced and I just couldn't believe that nobody noticed that they were not sane!
Still I enjoyed the adventure!
It's like Indiana Jones, but with gore, death, terror and horror added!
The story is a historical horror/mystery where almost everybody die a horrendous ritualistic death!
So, if you're squeamish beware! LOL
There are some little things that didn't made sense to me, like all those highly trained archeologists entering a tomb like walking in a closet! Or going into a deep canyons and think that they'll be able to connect with the satellite and get the info about where they are and where to go...
That was very stupid of them!
Also, some behaviours were unbelievable. Some of the characters were obviously unbalanced and I just couldn't believe that nobody noticed that they were not sane!
Still I enjoyed the adventure!
March 7, 2020
A spine-chilling and thrilling archaeological mystery with great characters.
It is recommended to read this title before the 3rd book in the Pendergast series, The Cabinet of Curiosities. Even though our intriguing Special Agent doesn't appear in Thunderhead, the main character here, Nora Kelly, will start to feature more prominently in some of the future Pendergast titles.
It is recommended to read this title before the 3rd book in the Pendergast series, The Cabinet of Curiosities. Even though our intriguing Special Agent doesn't appear in Thunderhead, the main character here, Nora Kelly, will start to feature more prominently in some of the future Pendergast titles.
July 17, 2015
This is the first book from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child that I absolutely hated. It is so boring and just plods along like it has no place to go. UGH!
Even the characters are boring and uninteresting: Nora Kelly, Peter Holyrood, Bill Smithback, Aaron Black, Roscoe Swire, Sloane Goddard and Luigi Bonarotti. There wasn't a pleasant person in the entire group. All they did was bitch and moan about the travel to the Anasazi site of Quivira. I thought all archeologists did was tromp from site to site. What did these guys think, that a long lost city was out in the open for all to find. Hello! It's only now being found for a reason. Even after they finally get to Quivira and the shit hits the fan, they are still angry and annoying. Damn what a waste of 481 pages!
Even the characters are boring and uninteresting: Nora Kelly, Peter Holyrood, Bill Smithback, Aaron Black, Roscoe Swire, Sloane Goddard and Luigi Bonarotti. There wasn't a pleasant person in the entire group. All they did was bitch and moan about the travel to the Anasazi site of Quivira. I thought all archeologists did was tromp from site to site. What did these guys think, that a long lost city was out in the open for all to find. Hello! It's only now being found for a reason. Even after they finally get to Quivira and the shit hits the fan, they are still angry and annoying. Damn what a waste of 481 pages!
July 1, 2024
To my surprise I rediscovered this particular book in my collection. I must have read it at some point but I can not claim any memory of doing so..Anyhow an early book by Mesieurs Preston & Child not having a certain FBI agent involved. Nora Kelly has yet to meet the influential Pendergast.
Nora & Skip Kelly lost their father to the wilderness and his quest for the legendary Anazasi city. When Nora is an established but untenured archeologist 16 years later she receives a letter from her father who claims to have finaly have found a legendary Anazasi city which could answer many questions about this culture and why it dissapeared so long ago.
However with the letter something dark also enters Nora's and Skips' life.
When Nora gets an expedition going into the wastelands and desert looking for archeological wonder. However before they can claim victory Nora and her people find out that there is a reason this city was not found before.
This is an amazing thriller with plenty of time to tell about modern archeology and have the thriller aspect also being told completely satisfactory.
Both writers were already delivering excellent thrillers full of Americana and yet it feels miles away from their recent output. This book really works for me and was just what attracted me to these writers.
If you have not read this book please correct that mistake if you are new to their output you going to get a brilliant entry.
Nora & Skip Kelly lost their father to the wilderness and his quest for the legendary Anazasi city. When Nora is an established but untenured archeologist 16 years later she receives a letter from her father who claims to have finaly have found a legendary Anazasi city which could answer many questions about this culture and why it dissapeared so long ago.
However with the letter something dark also enters Nora's and Skips' life.
When Nora gets an expedition going into the wastelands and desert looking for archeological wonder. However before they can claim victory Nora and her people find out that there is a reason this city was not found before.
This is an amazing thriller with plenty of time to tell about modern archeology and have the thriller aspect also being told completely satisfactory.
Both writers were already delivering excellent thrillers full of Americana and yet it feels miles away from their recent output. This book really works for me and was just what attracted me to these writers.
If you have not read this book please correct that mistake if you are new to their output you going to get a brilliant entry.
July 30, 2014
I so often wish that GR had a half star rating for this indeed was really and three and a half star book. This was a well done story that kept one's interest going through page one until the end. I liked the characters and the way the story never became bogged down with meandering thoughts often found in longer books.
Having read Preston and Childs' books previously, I have come to expect that element of surprise and the ability to engage the reader so much so that it is often hard to put the book down. Including the idea of archaeology and intermingling the evil that our ancient ancestors often dabbled with, made this book a real page turner.
Having read Preston and Childs' books previously, I have come to expect that element of surprise and the ability to engage the reader so much so that it is often hard to put the book down. Including the idea of archaeology and intermingling the evil that our ancient ancestors often dabbled with, made this book a real page turner.
November 24, 2024
After having read all of the Nora Kelly books starting with book one, and working my way through the Pedergast series, I discovered this book written several years ago. I always wondered how Nora met Bill, which happened before she was introduced in the Pedergast books. I was also curious as to the events that took place in Utah where they met. Now I have my answers.
For those reading the whole Pendergast Universe, this book would come after the events taking place in Relic and The Reliquary, but before Cabinet of Curiosities.
It took a bit for the momentum to build in this story but then it really took off. What a thriller! There were some wonderful characters and I absolutely loved Roscoe Swire, and his beloved horses. Roscoe reminded me of Forrie Smith’s character Lloyd in Yellowstone. And, I grew to loathe other characters as well. Makes for quite the page-turner! I don’t know how these authors continue to come up with such unique stories but keep them coming!
For those reading the whole Pendergast Universe, this book would come after the events taking place in Relic and The Reliquary, but before Cabinet of Curiosities.
It took a bit for the momentum to build in this story but then it really took off. What a thriller! There were some wonderful characters and I absolutely loved Roscoe Swire, and his beloved horses. Roscoe reminded me of Forrie Smith’s character Lloyd in Yellowstone. And, I grew to loathe other characters as well. Makes for quite the page-turner! I don’t know how these authors continue to come up with such unique stories but keep them coming!
January 16, 2022
A rip-snorting archaeological thriller set in the American Southwest replete with Native American black magic and stalking killers! Archaeologist Nora Kelly receives a mysterious letter from her father -- 16 years after he disappeared epwhile trying to track down the ancient Anasazi city of Quivira. Suddenly she's being attacked at her old homestead by some animalistic men who are covered in fur, super humanly strong and smell strangely of flowers!
She gains support for her claim that she can find this city and an expedition is funded. Off go a set of intrepid explorers all with disparate personalities in search of the mysterious city. Great storytelling, believable science & medicine, plausible theories and enough thrills and chills for anyone! Mr. Preston & Mr. Child are certainly becoming my fast favorites.
She gains support for her claim that she can find this city and an expedition is funded. Off go a set of intrepid explorers all with disparate personalities in search of the mysterious city. Great storytelling, believable science & medicine, plausible theories and enough thrills and chills for anyone! Mr. Preston & Mr. Child are certainly becoming my fast favorites.
September 23, 2017
This turned out to be a much better non-detour from the Pendergast series than I thought it would be. Nora is a fantastic character, very resourceful, and I can't wait to see how she fits in with the rest of the cast in the series. (Also, Smithback.... ehhhhh but I might be warming to him.)
March 3, 2022
Nora is an archaeology professor in New Mexico who believes she has a way to find a lost city: Quivira. She is able to convince some others to help mount an expedition. I usually like books with a Southwest setting, especially mysteries, but didn’t really like or connect with any of the characters (except one who died a gruesome death). I was turned off by grisly details of animal abuse, and ultimately didn’t even care about the expedition. Very disappointed.
December 12, 2020
This was my first read by these authors and I was NOT disappointed!
I knew a little about Skinwalkers, and that's probably what reeled me in. At east from the blurb. But by the end of chapter 2 I was hooked, and if I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it.
The writing is descriptive, well-paced and informed. (In fact, there's a list of books at the end that the authors consulted while writing Thunderhead). The pacing is excellent, and the story is riddled with so many layers of suspense that sometimes I found myself holding my breath!
If you like treasure hunts, pick up a copy of this book.
I knew a little about Skinwalkers, and that's probably what reeled me in. At east from the blurb. But by the end of chapter 2 I was hooked, and if I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it.
The writing is descriptive, well-paced and informed. (In fact, there's a list of books at the end that the authors consulted while writing Thunderhead). The pacing is excellent, and the story is riddled with so many layers of suspense that sometimes I found myself holding my breath!
If you like treasure hunts, pick up a copy of this book.
February 9, 2025
The first 25% of the story set up I found slow paced though vital to the story overall. Once the expedition was underway, however, I never lost interest in it and the thriller elements that come toward the end were worth the wait.
The setting is Santa Fe, New Mexico, and remote Utah with detailed description of the geography as they travel by horse to a nearly inaccessible canyon. On this journey a survivalist mindset is vital. And Nora Kelly, an archaeologist and expedition leader, has her hands full with keeping peace among some of her members (and their egos) while navigating impossible terrain to locate a ruin that has been only rumored to exist.
This is a make-or-break situation for Nora’s career. An expedition of this scale requires enormous funding and if she doesn’t deliver a new discovery, she will be out a job at the university. She is sure of the hints on the whereabouts of the lost city she is seeking that were found in a mysterious letter she recently received written by her father who has been missing for sixteen years and presumed dead. He spent his life looking for this ruin and its rumor of gold. Just before she leaves on the expedition, Nora comes under attack by shadowy half human/animal figures. Someone or some superstitious force doesn’t want her anywhere near the lost city of Quivira.
This was unputdownable once it got going well. Everything about it was enjoyable: the writing, the characters, their motivations, the descriptions, the myths. The plot was intriguing. Great action and danger. Satisfying conclusion.
I will definitely continue with this series.
The setting is Santa Fe, New Mexico, and remote Utah with detailed description of the geography as they travel by horse to a nearly inaccessible canyon. On this journey a survivalist mindset is vital. And Nora Kelly, an archaeologist and expedition leader, has her hands full with keeping peace among some of her members (and their egos) while navigating impossible terrain to locate a ruin that has been only rumored to exist.
This is a make-or-break situation for Nora’s career. An expedition of this scale requires enormous funding and if she doesn’t deliver a new discovery, she will be out a job at the university. She is sure of the hints on the whereabouts of the lost city she is seeking that were found in a mysterious letter she recently received written by her father who has been missing for sixteen years and presumed dead. He spent his life looking for this ruin and its rumor of gold. Just before she leaves on the expedition, Nora comes under attack by shadowy half human/animal figures. Someone or some superstitious force doesn’t want her anywhere near the lost city of Quivira.
This was unputdownable once it got going well. Everything about it was enjoyable: the writing, the characters, their motivations, the descriptions, the myths. The plot was intriguing. Great action and danger. Satisfying conclusion.
I will definitely continue with this series.
May 30, 2008
Easily my favorite of all the books cowritten by these authors. I remember being absolutely hooked by this book, experiencing the adrenaline rush in real-time, the first time I read it, and I've reread it countless times since then. Perhaps I like it better because it doesn't have FBI Special Agent Pendergast in it (who has become rather unbelievable in the most recent Preston/Child books). As always with these authors' better books, the interwoven archaeological facts and level of detail are impressive. Nora, the protagonist, is especially compelling and interesting.
July 24, 2019
5 stars....easily. The setting, the characters, and the story are great. After starting this novel, all I wanted to do was read!
October 12, 2023
There’s something so satisfying about a solidly done action/adventure thriller - although this is far from Egypt and has less humor it reminded me a bit of The Mummy. People go explore, there’s ancient and dark evils swirling, people fight to make it out alive, some of them fail, and it’s overall just *fun*
December 14, 2024
This book was a fun ride. It started off pretty slow but the historical aspects made it beyond interesting and intriguing. I loved the fact that they actually found the “hidden” city they set out for and it was so fascinating imagining all the finds and living through the excitement of the characters. I’m learning the hard way these authors have a tendency to kill many and any of the side characters they wish. This book was no different. I was shocked by who some of the characters really were-when their true colors shined. I never saw the betrayal from Sloane coming at least not to the extent that she would try to murder Nora and the others. I’m still peeved over the fact that Sloane and her father were not truthful about they’re hopes in finding a cache of pottery given Nora was the one holding all the cards, most importantly the directions! That being said the endings always seem to be on fast forward and while the overarching plot is concluded you’re left with many minor questions over trivial things. I’m sad for Nora that her find turned out so abysmally and laden with death. She had a few days living her best life only for it all to be taken away. It’s worse knowing eventually others will go on, rightly prepared of course now that they know the place is essentially poisonous, continuing her work and not leaving well enough alone as Nora decides to do. I devoured the historical side to the story especially the connection between the Aztecs and Native Americans, it was so fascinating to me. The hardest part was witnessing the loss of all their horses, it was brutal each time and just sad. Sometimes I hate the realistic side of fiction lol. Overall this story wasn’t initially exciting, but damn if I didn’t get sucked in anyways. Things really picked up once their expedition began and it really rarely let up making for a very thrilling and compelling read.
**2024 Re-Read**
I think this book was even better the second time around. While I remembered quite a bit of the story, I was able to focus more on the little things that skipped my mind. Smithback may be a little annoying and overconfident but I appreciate his candor and he's actually a decent person on the inside. When it comes to Nora, it's awesome to watch her work and talk about her passion. She takes everything very seriously but always stops to take a moment and appreciate things which I must say can't be easy considering how monotonous and bring her job can be on the regular. Sure digs and adventures are fun but the majority of time as a curator/archeologist is spent cataloging shards of artifacts and notating every detail. This time a missing letter from her long lost father arrives and sets Nora off on an adventure that will give her answers but also put her life on the line. Such a fun and exciting read though I do wish they got to explore the city a bit more or explain how/if they'll ever return cause what a find that is!!!
**2024 Re-Read**
I think this book was even better the second time around. While I remembered quite a bit of the story, I was able to focus more on the little things that skipped my mind. Smithback may be a little annoying and overconfident but I appreciate his candor and he's actually a decent person on the inside. When it comes to Nora, it's awesome to watch her work and talk about her passion. She takes everything very seriously but always stops to take a moment and appreciate things which I must say can't be easy considering how monotonous and bring her job can be on the regular. Sure digs and adventures are fun but the majority of time as a curator/archeologist is spent cataloging shards of artifacts and notating every detail. This time a missing letter from her long lost father arrives and sets Nora off on an adventure that will give her answers but also put her life on the line. Such a fun and exciting read though I do wish they got to explore the city a bit more or explain how/if they'll ever return cause what a find that is!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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