The Pharaoh Key
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4.1 • 535 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Don't miss the this exciting, New York Times bestselling adventure from Preston & Child, in which the secrets of a mysterious ancient tablet may point the way to untold treasure--or unspeakable danger.
"I just want to be crystal clear about this: if it has value, we're gonna steal it. Are you with me?"Effective Engineering Solutions has been inexplicably shut down and the head of the company, Eli Glinn, has all but vanished. Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Gideon Crew is contacted by one of his coworkers at EES, Manuel Garza, who tells him the two have mere hours to collect their belongings before the office closes forever. After years of dedicated service and several high-risk missions, theirs seems like the most ignoble of terminations-until Gideon and Garza happen upon an incredible discovery.After centuries of silence, a code-breaking machine at EES has cracked the long-awaited translation of a centuries-old stone tablet, the Phaistos Disc, that dates back to an otherwise completely unknown, ancient civilization. The mysteries of the message itself hint at incredible treasures, and perhaps even a world-altering secret. No one remains at EES to take on this most remarkable mission but Gideon and Garza. The two agree to solve the mystery of the disc's message and split the spoils: the perfect parting gift their employer doesn't know he has given.What lies at the end of the trail may save Gideon's life-or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. As Gideon and Garza soon discover, some missions are more dangerous than others. But as Gideon has proved again and again, there's no such thing as too great a risk when you're living on borrowed time.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Set in the Egyptian desert, the final installment of the Gideon Crew series is an action-adventure thriller as relentless as the Saharan sun. The Pharaoh Key finds the terminally ill Gideon teaming up with engineering savant Manuel Garza on a treasure hunt. We had a lot of fun following all the scary obstacles the renegade explorers encounter—including a ferryboat disaster, a violent sandstorm, and a one-eyed demon leopard—and seeing how they finagle their way out of disaster. Paced like a wild camel chase, Preston and Child’s novel is a satisfying finale and an irresistible standalone read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The entertaining fifth Gideon Crew novel from bestsellers Preston and Child (after 2016's Beyond the Ice Limit) takes professional thief Gideon and his courageous sidekick, Manuel Garza, from New York City where their employer, Effective Engineering Solutions, has suddenly ceased operations to Egypt in search of a treasure that was the object of EES's last, unfinished case. Before their departure, Gideon and Manuel make a final visit to EES's Manhattan office, where they surreptitiously download a picture of the ancient Phaistos Disk; they soon succeed in breaking the code inscribed on the disk and revealing the treasure's exact location in the Hala'ib Triangle. In the course of their quest, Gideon and Garza escape from a sinking ship on the Red Sea, join forces with an attractive British geologist named Imogen Blackburn, and discover a lost civilization in a remote valley. The authors keep the tone light and the reader guessing right up to the open ending, which leaves some major plot points unresolved. Fans of the Indiana Jones movies will find plenty to like.
Customer Reviews
The Pharaoh Key
Hmmm...Great story that seemingly guarantees more adventures from Dr. Gideon et al
Surprisingly bad
It’s sad to see people who normally do good work put out garbage. It’s like they quit trying after the first 20 pages and just tried to end it as soon as possible. The story was painfully boring and required effort to slog through. Dialogue was forced and contrived. Written at the 8th grade reading level or below.
Comic Book Pablum
How disappointing to see these talented authors, or their proxies, produce such nonsensical foolishness. Words fail me.