...readers must understand up front that it has been deliberately written to fall into the “lost world” sub-genre of late-Victorian adventure fiction ... It could have been lifted wholesale from a lost manuscript by Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or Jules Verne ... The Pharaoh Key is an entertaining read if approached with appropriately lowered expectations ... a bouncing, page-turning camel ride across an exotic landscape we thought had been left behind a century ago, if it ever existed at all.
Even if readers are new to the Gideon Crew saga, Preston and Child do an admirable job of bringing folks up to speed ... The Pharaoh Key marries high-tech chops with a rollicking Raiders of the Lost Ark-style adventure. Refresh your knowledge of Biblical mysteries, suspend your disbelief, and enjoy the treasure hunt.
The Crew novels have an air of fun and mischief about them ... The Pharaoh Key is never short on surprises or new adventures as they seemingly lurk around every corner ... Thankfully and expectedly, Preston & Child wrap things up in highly honorable fashion and allow for their terrific fictional creation to get the send-off he deserves.
Without question, this is Preston & Child’s best Gideon Crew novel (it’s not even close) ... While the story has all the makings of a last hurrah — Preston & Child hold nothing back ... Fast-paced, well-written, and loads of fun, The Pharaoh Key reads like a mashup between National Treasure, Indiana Jones, and MacGyver. . . if this is the end of Gideon Crew, Preston & Child have saved their very best for last.
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.
This is a cleverly plotted yarn with some laugh-out-loud twists, the best ones involving Garza’s bravery and ingenuity. There are numerous references to earlier books in the series, and fans might like to read Beyond the Ice Limit first. Still, this book stands alone just fine ... When the end of a book with a dying hero makes the reader laugh, that’s a neat trick. This is a great cap on the series.
