It’ll be difficult to do justice to my pleasure with only words, but as with most anything dear to me, I’ll do my level best. Fair warning: many likely spoilers ahead. Likewise, like some other things attached to me, this will be long and distinguished.
I write in praise not only of their most recent work (The Scorpion’s Tail), but in awe overall of the literary universe created by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (aka The Gents). Their individual works, separately, are excellent....but their combined efforts with regards to the expanding “PenderVerse” are amazing. It’s tough to think of any other fiction world which is at once so capable of drawing me into it, and so immediately relatable to the “real” world.
Every single work is readable, entertaining. More importantly they are ENGAGING. The obvious research, the attention to continuity and detail (even in ‘crossover’ or ‘spinoff’ tales) is consistently impressive. I know, since I am an unrepentant dick and exacting consumer. My first contact with The Gents was an email, offering my services, having caught some minor (nigh negligible) technical errors. (Their response was polite and gracious; having read Relic and Reliquary a few years after their initial publication, they’d already added technical-consulting expertise.)
Working further backwards, The Gents themselves. In correspondence, they elevated themselves by even friggin’ REPLYING to a reader who was gleefully poking holes in their work. Beyond that, they were not adversarial or distant at all in doing so. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both authors three times now, at book signings/releases in NYC, Coral Gables and Orlando. Every single time, both were funny, forthcoming, engaging and polite. For any author to be so accessible, AND pleasant, consistently, would be remarkable. Over such a period of time, for both to be so, well that’s just plain unusual in my experience.
The first time I got to meet them, it was Mr. Preston I saw initially. Dressed and behaving unassumedly, he walked up and said “nice lid”, gesturing to my cowboy hat. (He’s done this each time I’ve met him.....I doubt very seriously he remembers me, which in my mind suggests a worthy consistency and genuineness). I was starstruck, probably saying something dumb in return. As that evening, and all subsequent meetings with both authors, progressed I was amazed that persons so justifiably famous were that easy-going, and that eager to converse with fans in a small, informal group.
I take this moment to encourage anyone reading this to join our small, varied band of superfans, the Penderpeeps (or whatever we are calling ourselves at present). The access to and engagement with both the authors and fellow fans (especially at the “PenderCons”) has been outstanding, and well worth the zero-cost informal “membership”. Mr. Elyse Salpeter, a talented and humble author herself, is as good a point of contact as any.
Moving to the work at hand...........The Scorpion’s Tail is, as expected, twisty, involved, and crescendo-paced. I’ve made a lot of notes, questions and comments, which I’ll probably dump at a later time. The novel will no doubt have you looking up words, places, events, and tech, like most of The Gents’ works. It’ll also keep you eager to turn the page; no dull bits in my opinion, and a signature tidal-wave of confluences, reveals, and exposition. The characters grow, continually both within this novel and in their larger arcs...which leads to my next and final point.
I’m very heavily invested in many technical aspects of the work of several recurring characters, both as a reader and as an active professional. I’m a court-vetted, career SME in several areas that the gents return to repeatedly for plot devices, references, etc. Each time I meet them I make an effort to shake their hands and thank them for writing me and my kind in interesting, detailed, compelling. authentic, and usually positive ways. Increasingly, in many works, across various media, it is not so. The Scorpion’s Tail is no exception. If you’re interested not just in sleuth/mystery/action tales, but the real-world tricks/tools of the trade(s), you’ll get a real kick out of this book.
In closing, I wish you, the reader, the very best. These works are among the most complex, surprisingly shocking, and safest respites you’re likely to find from the “real world”. They may also illuminate your understanding of certain parts of it.
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
|
Audio CD, CD, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $24.88 | $6.26 |
An unexpectedly heartfelt tale of a friendship between a boy and an origami crane that continues throughout the boy’s life.| Learn more
Frequently bought together
- +
- +
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Popular Highlights in this book
“Traditional Apache beliefs. How to live a good life. He talked about the importance of treating everything in the world as sacred.”Highlighted by 68 Kindle readers- “The Puebloans had come to think of gold as an accursed metal that made Spaniards crazy, the thing most responsible for their enslavement in the mines. They are said to have blocked up and hidden those mines so the Spanish couldn’t reopen them if they returned. And when the Spanish did return in 1692, some of the mines did, as far as we know, remain hidden.”Highlighted by 57 Kindle readers
- “Do you know why 3M called it Scotch tape?” “No idea.” “Because when it was first being developed, adhesive was applied only along the edges, instead of the entire strip. Someone joked that such parsimoniousness was typically Scotch—the Scottish people being stereotyped at the time for their, shall we say, excessive frugality.”Highlighted by 57 Kindle readers
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
I have read every book by these guys and I am done! I am so sick of the filthy language I can't stand it. I know maybe I'm being prudish, but I do not think that 2 people as supposedly intelligent as they are can't come up with other words to express the point they are bringing across. Not even through chapter 3 and have counted at least 6 f_bombs. I'm done, returned it to the library already, thankful I didn't spend money on this trash. I have a book signed by them apologizing for all the f-bombs, I'm guessing they were just joking, because the language has gotten even worse. I can't tell you if there story was good, because I never finished and couldn't get through even the third chapter, but if you don't mind vulgarity than this might be a good book for you. But, I am done and will not pick another Lincoln and Child publication. I would have given it a 0, but that's not an option.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Jon Doe
Nora and Corrie together again
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 24, 2021
TechGeek
Preston & Child just keep getting better...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 2, 2021
