Thunderhead
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
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Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln ChildEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-06-01
ISBN: 0446608378
Number of pages: 546
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Thunderhead
Book Review: Fun stuff; I want more!
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been meaning to try a Preston/Child book for some time now and finally got around to it! I have the first three books in the Pendergast series but didn't want to start that yet, so I opted for this stand-alone featuring archaeologist Nora Kelley, and although it's not technically part of the Pendergast series and he doesn't appear in this story, Nora does appear in at least one of the Pendergast books. I like those loose connections the authors maintain; reminds me of Stephen King.
As mentioned, Nora is an archaeologist and currently employed by the fictional Santa Fe Archaeological Institute in New Mexico, her specialty being ancient cultures of the Southwest. Nora's father, an archaeologist as well, disappeared sixteen years before in a system of remote caverns while hunting for the lost city of Quivira, a legendary Anasazi city of gold. As with other lost `gold cities', it's presumed by most that its existence is a myth; a tale passed down over the centuries, its purpose lost to time. Nora has largely put the pain of her father's disappearance behind her until some unknown source forwards an old, dog-eared envelope to her, and inside is a letter from her father, postmarked sixteen years prior, claiming that Quivira is indeed real and he has found it at last.
Nora embarks on a determined mission to retrace her father's last quest, using what clues she can glean from the letter and enlisting the help of the Institute and a few other friends with specific skills (high-tech satellite-assisted topographical mapping, for one) to find the ruin. Along for the ride are a few fellow professionals, including journalist Bill Smithback, who apparently figures in the first few Pendergast novels as well (Relic for sure, I know). Their journey into the treacherous, uncharted cavern country is detailed and fairly nail-biting, and what they find when they reach their destination is fascinating and not at all what any of them expected. The truth is much darker than anyone had imagined, but at the same time will constitute one of the most significant discoveries about the Anasazi and their mysterious collapse. There's a steep price to pay, however, when an inexplicable illness befalls one of their number, their horses are mutilated, and it becomes evident they're being stalked through the trails by something perhaps not entirely human.
It makes me wish I had studied archaeology! Man, what a cool job! Of course most archaeologists would probably disagree and say that it's mostly just digging around in the dirt looking for scraps, but hey, I bet it beats sitting behind this desk!
I enjoyed this tremendously and think the Preston/Child books are going to constitute a healthy chunk of my `lighter' reading this year, when I need breathers between the heavier lit and non-fic. It is SO refreshing to read something interesting, about fascinating subjects like archaeology, for instance, that can actually feature a lead female character who doesn't obsess endlessly about some man or other. I just can't take that garbage anymore and am starting to think Nathaniel Hawthorne was - and is still - right in his opinion of most female authors. (I hate to say that about my own gender, but GEEZ! There's more to life than The Endless Search for the Perfect Man, or The Endless Complaining About My Father / Husband / Boyfriend, or the Endless Pontificating about Anything and Everything to Do with the Male Gender and the Trodden-Upon Female, etc. Oy!)
Anyway, Preston and Child don't focus overmuch on character development, true, but that's fine because a) it's developed enough for this and b) that's not the primary focus of their stories anyway. These are just solid, intelligent adventure thrills. When it comes to light fiction and genre reading this is a welcome and refreshing change for me. I could live vicariously through the characters and as a bonus I feel like I learned a little something, too.
Summary of 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 t unravel the greatest riddle of American archeology. but what she unearths will be the newest of horrors...Literature & Fiction Books
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