Gideon's Sword

by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, 342 pages

In their most recent collaboration, Preston and Child have created a new protagonist named Gideon Crew. He is younger and more reckless than FBI Special Agent Pendergast, the beloved hero of their other joint series.

(Mini-spoilers follow)

Crew witnessed a horrific event in childhood, which impells him into a world of danger and risk taking as an adult. But just when he retires from being a notorious art thief, a bizarre shadow organization rather forcefully recruits him to make contact with a defecting Chinese scientist. Mayhem and murder result while Crew is being tailed by a notorious Chinese assassin bent on obtaining the same important scientific discovery.

Gideon is smart and likeable and the plot is adrenalin-stoked. However, I didn't find his character as interesting as Pendergast. For me, Pendergast is like an Elvish (think Tolkien, not Keebler) Sherlock Holmes. Incredibly strong, swift and remarkably brilliant, Pendergast is still my favorite hero for a thriller.

If you haven't been spoiled by Special Agent Pendergast, you will probably enjoy Gideon Crew's adventures. That means I am assuming there will be more novels starring Crew. In the meantime, you could check out the first in the Pendergast series, Relic.