Gideon’s Corpse by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

A long time ago I read the first Gideon Crew novel, Gideon’s Sword. I couldn’t get over the slim premise, the predictable plot and the fact that the hero’s catchphrase was ‘sink me’.

I took the novel much too seriously. Aware of this, I decided to try the second Gideon novel, Gideon’s Corpse.

An apparent nuclear terrorist attempt against the United States leads Gideon on a wild ride through movie sets, conspiracies and set ups.

I read Preston and Child’s more recent book, The Scorpion’s Tail, earlier this year and I believe they used the same research for both these books as the plots share a lot of similarities even if the execution is very different.

The plot of Gideon’s Corpse is ridiculous. There is zero suspension of disbelief, but, like a crazy action movie, you either go with it and enjoy each overblown set piece after the next, or you throw it away in disgust.

If you are looking for entertaining, if implausible, action sequences, this book has them in spades. Gideon duels with chainsaws, has a lightening fast hate to love romance, performs physically impossible feats and partakes in a car chase with a tank.

As much as I love Preston and Child’s other works, I’m afraid I didn’t find this novel very memorable. I did find it highly entertaining, however, especially as I imagined the cast of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 riffing it as I read.

I award Gideon’s Corpse…

Gideon’s Corpse is available for $4.69 ebook and $8.00 print book on Amazon.

---

Click on the book names to read my review of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s Pendergast novels: Crooked River and Verses for the Dead, The Scorpion’s Tail.