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Jan 04, 2012

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

Well boys and girls we have a new vocabulary word today! Our word for the day is "ludicrous". Can you say that word boys and girls? That's "lu·di·crous". Do you know what that word means children? Here is a definition: lu·di·crous: –adjective
causing laughter because of absurdity; provoking or deserving derision; ridiculous; laughable.

So now we know a new word and we know what it means, let's use it in a sentence, okay?

"Ludicrous, this boo More...

19 comments like (20 people liked it)

May 14, 2011

Andres rated it:

As a fan of all the other books these guys have written together I was disappointed that their next book wasn't a Pendergast adventure, but was excited that a new book (and series) was in the works. Having finished it not 2 minutes ago, I wish it had been the next Pendergast (or even a stand-alone).

It was a quick, fun read but was ultimately disappointing since it doesn't match the level of smart thriller action and mystery (and interesting characters) they've established in their pr More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2011

Pauline rated it:

This book is absurd. Completely off of its rocker. Now, I'm all fine and dandy with some unrealistic nuances in any type of mystery/thriller novel since it comes with the territory-genius detective, amazing tracking skills etc etc. However, this book takes it way far up to the next level. Gideon can do everything (went to MIT! has a PhD! is a thief! can hack into government databases without breaking a sweat! can con a man with his amazing acting skills! and more!) On top of that he has a tragic More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

CasadeSlutne rated it:

I have been a fan of Preston and Child's entire joint career. I was very excited to see that they were finally writing another story that wasn't part of the Pendergast cycle. I love Agent Pendergast, but I was ready for a new story.

This book falls completely flat and is very disappointing. In all honesty, after the bizarre first 50 pages (which should've been either a stand alone novella or it's own book), this book is the story of the movie The Saint. The characters are one dimensi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Colleen rated it:

When I was in college I had a writing class with a famous author. In it he said the worst books had revenge as a plot and one should never do that. I disagreed in my head because I love novels & films with revenge as a central point.

And that's what this series is. Parts were a tad unbelievable, but really, most spy/thriller novels have to accept a suspension of disbelief. Yeah, Preston & Child's heroes are always a little affected. Pendergast with his fancy apartment in Dakota, sipp More...

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Jan 28, 2012

Felicia rated it:

Received for review
Book Release Date: 2/22/11

What I Loved: Gideon Crew is an interesting mix of smart, wily, driven, and enigmatic. It was really nice not knowing what he would do or what lengths he would go to in order to complete his mission. His methods were clever and well thought out. He never seemed to be out of sorts no matter what situation he was put in too.

What I Liked: This book actually had two cases: 1) for revenge and 2) for money/patriotism/what the he More...

2 comments like

Nov 27, 2011

Andre rated it:

When he was twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father’s murder. Over the course of the following twenty years, he plotted his revenge. Gideon’s vengeful machinations, however, draw the attention of a shadowy organization which believes his unique skill-set could be of great use to them.

Such is the set up for the new novel, Gideon’s Sword, by frequent collaborators Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Preston and Child are better known for their series of thrillers featuring FBI agent Aloy More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Jordan rated it:

At face value “Gideon’s Sword” isn’t all that bad of a book. The plot is ok, the pacing is done well, it’s 380 pages so it’s a quick read, and even the chapters are nice and short and make for good stopping points throughout.

However once you take a second look, the problems start.

First and foremost, it’s almost impossible to miss the huge emblazoned “Preston & Child” plastered across this book’s cover. While this seems like the makings of a perfect novel with the author’s nam More...

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Nov 07, 2011

D.L. rated it:

Gideon Crew’s life was changed when his father was killed. When he finds out why, he devotes his life to clearing his father’s name and avenging his death. This brings him to the attention of a certain U.S. Government contractor who has another mission for him.
To avoid spoilers, suffice it to say that this is a spy versus spy type adventure with larger than life characters so be ready to suspend disbelief for the sake of the story. Some aspects are predictable but there are plenty of surpri More...

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Oct 11, 2011

Suspense Magazine rated it:

Irreparably damaged as a young boy, Gideon Crew lost his innocence on a stifling, summer day as he witnessed the unexpected slaughter of his father at the hands of the military. Haunted by the images, his elevated intelligence and uncanny knack for spinning tales made Gideon the perfect petty criminal but floundering without purpose. A deathbed demand from his mother offered with vital details surrounding that fateful day, changed the game and Gideon Crew became a man with a mission. He would se More...

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Jul 07, 2011

Mary rated it:

This book was a real hit with me so you can imagine my shock when I went to the book's page on Amazon and found that the book was really slammed by reviewers. I read a wide variety of different types of fiction and found this book was not lacking in the least.

At the beginning of this story we learn that Gideon Crew witnessed his father's death as a young boy. He grows up thinking that his father was a traitor to his country only to learn later that he was no traitor at all. Looking to More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 23, 2011

Dan rated it:

Gideon’s father is killed in front of him after being called a traitor by his own government. Years later while his mother is dying, she tells Gideon the truth and to avenge his father’s death. And with that in mind, Gideon plans to expose the truth and avenge his dad. This all happens in the beginning of the book. Gideon is then hired by a contractor of the government to intercept a possible Chinese defector that has some secret to expose. Well, this defector is killed (with Gideon by his side) More...

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May 10, 2011

Kelly rated it:

The authors have done their usual fine job of creating an intricate plot as well as throwing in lotsand lots of fast moving action. The story is that of Gideon Crew, who as a young man, had watched his father gunned down. As an adult he is called to his mother’s bedside who tells him that his father was framed and to take revenge on the individuals responsible. Gideon does so in short order, well within the first third of the book. I was somewhat surprised by this as I expected this to be the en More...

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May 05, 2011

C. Janet rated it:

I simply love anything by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, whether written solo or co-authored...

Gideon is a refreshing new character in their seemingly endless imagination... it seemed to me that perhaps they were trying to create a similar "Mr. P" (A.X.L. Pendergast, Special FBI Agent) character who was kind of the same (invincible) but with almost totally opposite physical & personality characteristics...i.e. Mr P is almost like an albino with light hair & light complexio More...

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Apr 16, 2011

Patty rated it:

This book starts out with a bang and takes off from there. A somewhat short front story is told to introduce the reader to Gideon Crew. Once he fulfills his mother's dying wish he thinks he is going to settle down into his life; pay off his bills, find a wife, have some kids, fish. Little does he know that his life is about to change in a very dramatic way.

Gideon is walking to his favorite fishing hole when he is approached by a man with an amazing offer. He flies off to New York More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Luanne rated it:

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 weap More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 15, 2011

Lori L rated it:

In Gideon's Sword authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are taking a huge risk by introducing a new character, Gideon Crew, and a new series. This is risky because fans of their wildly popular Pendergast novels aren't likely to warm up to a new character competing for Preston and Child's attention. While I include myself in their fan base, writing both together and separately, I'm willing to give this interloper named Gideon Crew a chance.

From the synopsis, I thought the story woul More...

0 comments like

Mar 07, 2011

Giovanni rated it:

Sincerely, this is my first read of this dynamic duo. Go ahead and chuckle at my expense, I understand. Interesting plotline in Gideon’s Sword: A family wronged and father framed by a government employee to cover his tracks as many people die heinous deaths for no reason other than the government employee’s stupidity and arrogance. Original and thought provoking, I mean the way they went about it, the narrative, not the over used and tired plotline, hahaha, gotcha. Really though, let’s check ou More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2011

Perry rated it:

I'm really becoming a big fan of Douglas Preston's books as well as the ones he cowrote with Lincoln Child. Gideon's Sword is their first book of a new series, featuring a new main character called Gideon Crew. Crew had a rough childhood after his father was framed for creating a secret government code that was easily cracked by the Soviets during the Cold War, resulting in the death of several U.S. spies. In this book, he gets his revenge on the man who framed his father and that leads him i More...

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Mar 01, 2011

Dan rated it:

I am not a long time reader of Preston and Child novels. So I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought there was lots of action and it held my attention for wanting to know how it was going to end.

The first part of the book gives the background of Gideon Crew. His childhood was a mess because his father was killed by government snipers when he took a fellow government employee hostage. Gideon watched that happen and it totally affected him. His mother became an alcoholic and their lives More...

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Feb 28, 2011

Karen rated it:

I have long been a fan of Preston & Child. They're Pendergrast books are great reads with interesting characters and good plots. That said I have to say I am disappointed in their newest series, the Gideon Crew books of which Gideon's Sword is the first. The biggest problem with the series as I see it at this point is Gideon is just not that interesting of a character.

Gideon has the misfortune of watching his father be killed when he is 12 as part of a government coverup and spends the next part More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2011

Maria rated it:

Gideon's Sword has got to be one of the most fun and exciting books I've read in a long time! I think one of the greatest reasons I enjoyed this book so much is that I had no expectations to begin with. I had no idea who the authors were, how many books they'd written or what kind of reception they've ever received. So I just jumped into the book with an open-mind and I prepared myself for whatever the book might throw at me. I was enthralled the minute I read the first chapter! At one point (ab More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2011

Deborah rated it:

Certainly an action filled book with more twists and turns than a kaleidoscope. Featuring Gideon Crew who as a child of 12 watched his father shot and killed and at 24 succeeds in fulfilling a deathbed promise to his mother for revenge, putting him in the scope of those wishing to use him as a government operative.

Gideon's assignment is to intercept a Chinese scientist with the plans for a new weapon of mass destruction, but the scientist is murdered. Gideon must track down the missing More...

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Feb 15, 2011

Debbie rated it:

I am a huge fan of Preston's & Child's Agent Pendergast books and was a little disappointed to hear that their latest book was about a new character but I should have known better. This was another great book and an interesting introduction to a new series.

From the book description I thought the story was going to revolve around Gideon trying to figure out who was responsible for murdering his father but that really only takes up a small part of the story. After he solves that and More...

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Jan 23, 2011

Patricia rated it:

At the age of twelve, Gideon Crew watched as his father was murdered. Gideon’s father was accused of treason and gunned down. A failed intelligence project was blamed on Gideon’s father. At the age of twenty-four Gideon learned from his dying mother that his father had been set-up. His mother requested that Gideon avenge his father and her last words were “you’ll figure out a way”. Gideon did figure out a way and destroyed the man that had destroyed his father.

Once he has accompli More...

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Nov 10, 2010

Spynonu rated it:

I was hoping to see a totally new character from these authors but instead they combined the traits of two of their most popular characters and gave him a twist. Gideon is interesting but they missed an opportunity to make him REALLY interesting but giving him a talent that is all his own. Gideon ends up being a regurgitation of Pendergast and D'Agosta in personality and isn't nearly as interesting.

P and C like to write what they know so you will see familiar themes of fine food, fin More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

David rated it:

Take a brief trip to Amazon.com, find this book and you'll see a ton of negative reviews. I believe the current average is 2 out of 5 stars. Here is a rare case where I just cannot see what the complaining is about. Preston and Child are authors who are average at best when they write alone, but come up with special books when they collaborate. The Pendergast series is rightly acclaimed, filled with the most charismatic detective since Poirot, Michael Crichton-like science elements, interest More...

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Apr 12, 2011

Danny rated it:

So the co-written Preston-Child books are some of my guilty pleasures, but I liked them because they had the patina of culture on them. That patina may be starting to turn into plain old tarnish, unfortunately.

This is the start of a new series for the authors, with a new character called Gideon Crew. (Wherefore art thou Agent Pendergast?) Crew is interesting enough, but his back story was ridiculously rushed, and more than once I thought to myself, "Why are these characters wh More...

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Mar 27, 2011

Bob rated it:

A new character as Preston and Child introduce Gideon Crew in this new series. Gideon’s father was working for the government and found a flaw in a cryptology formula but his warnings were ignored and a number of agents were compromised and killed when the soviets broke the code. His superiors made him the scapegoat and he was murdered to keep things quiet. Gideon’s mother raised him but he was given a hard time growing up and turned to thieving art from small museums. Long harboring the pla More...

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Mar 02, 2011

Randy rated it:

First in a new series from the best selling authors.

At age twelve, Gideon Crew saw his father declared a traitor and shot down by a sniper while his hands were in the air. At age twenty, called to his dying mother's bed, she reveals that his father had been a scapegoat to hide a screw-up. He was told of the man responsible and a promise of vengeance extracted.

Education came first and the search for evidence next.

Now in his mid-thirties, Gideon Crew is ready. He plan More...

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