jcarsrud's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting adventure that is predictable, but I like a good “Indiana Jones” story.
cjeanne99's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
A stand alone Gideon Crew novel that refers to the action in The Ice Limit - but it’s not required to know that book to read this one.
Gideon and his co-worker Garza have been terminated without notice from their job with Eli Glenn’s company. As they are preparing to leave, a computer screen lights up - alerting them that a program - that had been running for five years - had finished. Not knowing what it was - but clearly it must be important, Garza copied the program to a flash drive.
Discovering that they needed access to a library on the hard drive - they concoct a plan to visit Eli Glinn and get him to take them to a room with Glinn’s mainframe - a plan that references the death of Sally Britton, the captain of the Rolvaag - and the love of Glinn’s life.
They get what they need - and learn that the computer program had identified an area of Egypt that contains “something”. They travel to Egypt, Crew facing the last two months of his life, and Garza hell bent on finding a treasure worth the millions he believes Glinn owes him.
There’s a disastrous ferry ride, camel negotiations that leave them stranded, sand storm, a woman who is an expert in Egyptian pharaohs who travels with them. They find a community of people who live with no technology and follow primitive farming and hunting methods.
Garza becomes part of the community - Crew and Imogene keep looking for the tomb referenced by the computer program. Turns out to be the tomb of Akhenaten - who believed in monotheism. The three of them leave the community - Garza and Crew to loot the treasure - Imogene to translates texts They are chased by the bully of the community - Crew and Imogene escape as Garza stays behind to fight.
I read The Ice Limit 20 years ago - and I still remember the tension of that novel. I don’t know if it was the audio book narrator - or the text - but this book did not have the same intensity as I usually get from a Preston/Child book.
Gideon and his co-worker Garza have been terminated without notice from their job with Eli Glenn’s company. As they are preparing to leave, a computer screen lights up - alerting them that a program - that had been running for five years - had finished. Not knowing what it was - but clearly it must be important, Garza copied the program to a flash drive.
Discovering that they needed access to a library on the hard drive - they concoct a plan to visit Eli Glinn and get him to take them to a room with Glinn’s mainframe - a plan that references the death of Sally Britton, the captain of the Rolvaag - and the love of Glinn’s life.
They get what they need - and learn that the computer program had identified an area of Egypt that contains “something”. They travel to Egypt, Crew facing the last two months of his life, and Garza hell bent on finding a treasure worth the millions he believes Glinn owes him.
There’s a disastrous ferry ride, camel negotiations that leave them stranded, sand storm, a woman who is an expert in Egyptian pharaohs who travels with them. They find a community of people who live with no technology and follow primitive farming and hunting methods.
Garza becomes part of the community - Crew and Imogene keep looking for the tomb referenced by the computer program. Turns out to be the tomb of Akhenaten - who believed in monotheism. The three of them leave the community - Garza and Crew to loot the treasure - Imogene to translates texts They are chased by the bully of the community - Crew and Imogene escape as Garza stays behind to fight.
Spoiler
Garza lives - and becomes the new chief. Uses his engineering skills to better the community. Imogene turns out to be Glinn’s niece - Crew returns to his home in New Mexico to die. But at the end - Glinn figures out the truth - leaving the possibility of Crew getting a “cure”I read The Ice Limit 20 years ago - and I still remember the tension of that novel. I don’t know if it was the audio book narrator - or the text - but this book did not have the same intensity as I usually get from a Preston/Child book.
jbrito's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chuckri's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
erindigsegypt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
usbsticky's review against another edition
5.0
Spoilers all the way.
As it says somewhere in the book, some of the plot line looks like it's been taken straight out of Sir H. Rider Haggard, namely the part where adventurers journey into unknown Africa and find a heretofore uncontacted tribe.
I actually didn't mind it at all. But I also think that the plot could have been better balanced. HRG was a master of these stories having paved the whole genre with King Solomon's Mines and Allan Quatermain. Both of these stories deal with adventurers who find uncontacted peoples deep in Africa. By the plot having better balance I mean a good intro, a good expedition, a good main story with the discovered peoples and a good ending.
I suppose the Pharaoh Key had elements of all of the above, but the central part was somewhat too short and I wish it could have been longer. But I think it's also the nature of these quick thrillers.
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. The writing was easy to read and get into. The characters were a bit predictable and seemed copied but it was a nice read. I'd like to see what Preston comes up with next in this series.
As it says somewhere in the book, some of the plot line looks like it's been taken straight out of Sir H. Rider Haggard, namely the part where adventurers journey into unknown Africa and find a heretofore uncontacted tribe.
I actually didn't mind it at all. But I also think that the plot could have been better balanced. HRG was a master of these stories having paved the whole genre with King Solomon's Mines and Allan Quatermain. Both of these stories deal with adventurers who find uncontacted peoples deep in Africa. By the plot having better balance I mean a good intro, a good expedition, a good main story with the discovered peoples and a good ending.
I suppose the Pharaoh Key had elements of all of the above, but the central part was somewhat too short and I wish it could have been longer. But I think it's also the nature of these quick thrillers.
Overall, I enjoyed it a lot. The writing was easy to read and get into. The characters were a bit predictable and seemed copied but it was a nice read. I'd like to see what Preston comes up with next in this series.
badwolfbae's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of the better Gideon Crew novels. I figured after finishing Beyond The Ice Limit I might as well just finish the series and I'm glad that I did. I really liked how things went for Garza, and I liked how things went for Gideon too. I liked him the most in this book. However, the audacity of not telling the reader the 11th commandment? Rude.
daneosaur's review against another edition
2.0
Really, I should have stopped reading after finishing the book jacket. Now that was fun to read. The book?, not so much. If I could, I would have given this 1.5 stars. Two feels a bit much. But I just read a solid 1 star and this was a bit better than that
xkay_readsx's review against another edition
4.0
Is this it? The last of Gideon Crew series?
I enjoyed this book especially towards the middle and ending, but unlike Beyond the Ice Limit, this book wasn't as exciting and the plot of treasure hunting in Egypt wasn't unique. I felt like I've seen too many movies or read books like this before. Very much like Clive Cussler novels. BUT, the tribe part was good, and although I dislike Garza at the beginning he came through for me. AND, this felt like Garza book than Gideon. The ending left questions unanswered which pissed me off a little. 😊
I enjoyed this book especially towards the middle and ending, but unlike Beyond the Ice Limit, this book wasn't as exciting and the plot of treasure hunting in Egypt wasn't unique. I felt like I've seen too many movies or read books like this before. Very much like Clive Cussler novels. BUT, the tribe part was good, and although I dislike Garza at the beginning he came through for me. AND, this felt like Garza book than Gideon. The ending left questions unanswered which pissed me off a little. 😊