Thunderhead
Douglas Preston, Lincoln ChildBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Archaeologist Nora Kelly is adrift in her career and her personal life when a violent, inexplicable incident leaves her in possession of a mysterious letter. Written by her father, who vanished sixteen years ago in the remote desert, the letter reveals the location of a legendary site hidden in the red rock canyon country of southern Utah: Quivira, the Anasazi Indians' wondrous lost city of gold..
"Convinced that her father truly had found Quivira, Nora puts together an expedition and takes a team up Lake Powell to the mouth of Serpentine Canyon. In the stark labyrinth of canyons and slickrock desert she will find the answer to both her greatest hopes and her deepest nightmare. For hidden in the shadows of the sunbaked cliffs are untold treasures, the solution to the greatest riddle of American archaeology - and implacable, suffocating death.
Synopsis
Authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child blew readers away with their 1995 debut, Relic, which "Twister" producer Gale Anne Hurd brought to the silver screen several summers ago. Preston, who many may recognize as the brother of Hot Zone author Richard Preston, and Child, an acclaimed editor and horror fiction anthologist before taking up the pen himself, have become the hottest writing team working today; their knack for producing hair-raising, vastly original storylines and smooth, searing prose is without a doubt second to none. Their new novel, Thunderhead — the sinister tale of an ill-fated team searching for a lost city of gold in southern Utah — is a titan of a summer read. One of Preston and Child's biggest fans, action/adventure star Jack Du Brul, remarks on Thunderhead below.
Publishers Weekly
The adventure is marginally higher than the suspense in Preston and Child's sturdy new tale of scientific derring-do, concerning a search for Quivira, the legendary Anasazi Indian City of Gold. With four high-concept thrillers behind them, from 1995's Relic to last year's Riptide, the authors know what buttons to push and levers to yank — perhaps too well. The novel has a clockwork feel, from its first tick — the spooky stalking of archeologist Nora Kelly on an isolated New Mexican ranch — to its last tock. Playing it safe, Preston and Child take no missteps as Nora finds an old letter from her long-missing father with clues to Quivira's location; leads an expedition of central-casting types (a leathery old cowboy, a beautiful female photographer, the jokey journalist who figured in Relic and Reliquary, etc.); after much difficulty, discovers Quivira, which is revealed as a repository of ancient evil; and encounters death by way of the Native American witches who threatened her at the novel's start. It's all predictable but rarely dull. The authors display deep affection for the pulp they're recycling, talent for exciting set pieces — a hazardous ascent along a ridge toward Quivira and the flash-flooding of the canyon harboring the city are showcases of action writing — and, always their ace, the ability to infuse every aspect of their story with authentic techno-scientific lore. This is a novel in which the archeological niceties of ancient black-on-yellow micaceous pottery are as important to plot as the caliber of the gun the heroine wields. Fans of the authors' similarly inspired, and similarly metronomic, scientific textbooks-cum-thrillers should find this one much to their taste. Simultaneous audio.
Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewHave you read Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child? I did, and it scared the hell out of me. Then came the writing team's follow-up, Reliquary; one of the best sequels I've ever read — and I don't really like horror fiction. So, when a friend told me about Riptide, a rousing adventure story about the search for a lost pirate treasure, I bought it that day and finished it that night. Now, continuing with pure adventure, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child bring us Thunderhead, a romp that's as thrilling as anything I've read this year.
Thunderhead is the story of a scientific expedition in the deserts of the American Southwest. A team of scientists is looking for the ancient city of Quivira, the mythical capital of the Anasazi Indians, one of the most secretive and least understood of all Native American tribes. Legend has it that Quivira was the repository for all of the tribe's treasures — gold that countless Spanish conquistadors lost their lives searching for. What the legends don't mention is why the Anasazi vanished. Unknown to the expedition's leader, Nora Kelly — an archaeologist whose father vanished 15 years earlier looking for Quivira — the evil that befell the tribe is still around.
A couple of coincidences kickstart Thunderhead, but once the tale gets going, once Nora, along with a group of scientists, adventurers, and the daughter of the director of the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, starts to follow a tenuous map left by her missing father, the early conveniences are quickly forgotten. Duringtheperilous journey, the team is dogged by two horrifying creatures that will do anything to make certain the band doesn't find the city. By ferryboat, by raft, and finally, by horse, the team wanders deeper and deeper into southern Utah's deadly maze of canyons, each step taking them closer to a place where nature's fury and an ancient curse wait to destroy anyone who comes too close.
On the verge of the greatest discovery since King Tut's tomb, Nora finds her group falling apart — derailed by the hardships of their quest and conflicting personal agendas. It's not long before their horses begin to die mysteriously, and then some of the scientists. Cut off from the outside world, with friends and coworkers dropping around her, Nora must race to save her own life. She may have figured out what killed the Anasazi just in time to find it's killing her too.
In the tradition of H. Rider Haggard and with the stylistic power of Wilbur Smith, the cutting-edge science of Michael Crichton, and the tension that has made their previous books bestsellers, Preston and Child's Thunderhead is the perfect summer read.
—Jack Du Brul
Publishers Weekly -
The adventure is marginally higher than the suspense in Preston and Child's sturdy new tale of scientific derring-do, concerning a search for Quivira, the legendary Anasazi Indian City of Gold. With four high-concept thrillers behind them, from 1995's Relic to last year's Riptide, the authors know what buttons to push and levers to yank — perhaps too well. The novel has a clockwork feel, from its first tick — the spooky stalking of archeologist Nora Kelly on an isolated New Mexican ranch — to its last tock. Playing it safe, Preston and Child take no missteps as Nora finds an old letter from her long-missing father with clues to Quivira's location; leads an expedition of central-casting types (a leathery old cowboy, a beautiful female photographer, the jokey journalist who figured in Relic and Reliquary, etc.); after much difficulty, discovers Quivira, which is revealed as a repository of ancient evil; and encounters death by way of the Native American witches who threatened her at the novel's start. It's all predictable but rarely dull. The authors display deep affection for the pulp they're recycling, talent for exciting set pieces — a hazardous ascent along a ridge toward Quivira and the flash-flooding of the canyon harboring the city are showcases of action writing — and, always their ace, the ability to infuse every aspect of their story with authentic techno-scientific lore. This is a novel in which the archeological niceties of ancient black-on-yellow micaceous pottery are as important to plot as the caliber of the gun the heroine wields. Fans of the authors' similarly inspired, and similarly metronomic, scientific textbooks-cum-thrillers should find this one much to their taste. Simultaneous audio.Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Nora Kelly's pursuit of the legendary Anasazi city of Quivivra, which she believes was discovered by her father, results in monumental obstacles. A story filled with excitement, a sense of place, and personable characters, delivered as a quick-paced race against evil and the forces of nature. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.From The Critics
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are known for writing novels that blend the occult, mythology, archeology, and science. Thunderhead is one of their best efforts. The novel merges the disappearance of the Anasazi from Southwestern United States centuries ago with an archeological team trying to discover that past before it kills them.Thunderhead starts with Nora Kelly receiving a letter from her father sixteen years after he disappeared in the canyon country northwest of Santa Fee. In the letter, her father claims to have discovered Quivira, Coronado's fabled City of God. Nora, now an archeologist, puts together a team to re-discover Quivira and to justify her father's loss from her childhood. Gathering experts from across the world and using satellite imaging, the team leaves to find Quivira. But occult forces have already started killing to preserve the secrets of the past. The story dissolves into a race of discovery and survival.
I would rate Thunderhead a "B". The novel does not disappoint the reader. It is a very solid story that is a joy to read. The archeology, mythology, and science are seamlessly melded into the mystery. The fudging of facts in the novel are only those few that are required to make the story work. Thunderhead would've been an "A" except for the talk back factor. I give A's to stories that draw me close enough to the characters that I find myself talking back to the book.
Jack Du Brul
Jack Du Brul Reviews Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln ChildHave you read Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child? I did, and it scared the hell out of me. Then came the writing team's follow-up, Reliquary; one of the best sequels I've ever read -- and I don't really like horror fiction. So, when a friend told me about Riptide, a rousing adventure story about the search for a lost pirate treasure, I bought it that day and finished it that night. Now, continuing with pure adventure, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child bring us Thunderhead, a romp that's as thrilling as anything I've read this year.
Thunderhead is the story of a scientific expedition in the deserts of the American Southwest. A team of scientists is looking for the ancient city of Quivira, the mythical capital of the Anasazi Indians, one of the most secretive and least understood of all Native American tribes. Legend has it that Quivira was the repository for all of the tribe's treasures -- gold that countless Spanish conquistadors lost their lives searching for. What the legends don't mention is why the Anasazi vanished. Unknown to the expedition's leader, Nora Kelly -- an archaeologist whose father vanished 15 years earlier looking for Quivira -- the evil that befell the tribe is still around.
A couple of coincidences kickstart Thunderhead, but once the tale gets going, once Nora, along with a group of scientists, adventurers, and the daughter of the director of the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, starts to follow a tenuous map left by her missing father, the early conveniences are quickly forgotten. During the perilous journey, the team is dogged by two horrifying creatures that will do anything to make certain the band doesn't find the city. By ferryboat, by raft, and finally, by horse, the team wanders deeper and deeper into southern Utah's deadly maze of canyons, each step taking them closer to a place where nature's fury and an ancient curse wait to destroy anyone who comes too close.
On the verge of the greatest discovery since King Tut's tomb, Nora finds her group falling apart -- derailed by the hardships of their quest and conflicting personal agendas. It's not long before their horses begin to die mysteriously, and then some of the scientists. Cut off from the outside world, with friends and coworkers dropping around her, Nora must race to save her own life. She may have figured out what killed the Anasazi just in time to find it's killing her too.
In the tradition of H. Rider Haggard and with the stylistic power of Wilbur Smith, the cutting-edge science of Michael Crichton, and the tension that has made their previous books bestsellers, Preston and Child's Thunderhead is the perfect summer read.
--Jack Du Brul
Called "a helluva writer" by Clive Cussler, Jack Du Brul is a hot young writer destined to reach the forefront of the thriller scene. His first novel, Vulcan's Forge, which features the hard-drinking, charismatic geologist Philip Mercer, is now available in paperback. Du Brul's new Philip Mercer page-turner, Charon's Landing, has just hit stores in hardcover.