by: Lincoln Childpublished by: Knopf Doubleday
publish date: June 12, 2012
Under the direction of famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the greatest prize of all—Narmer’s crown—might be buried with him. No crown of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer’s is the elusive “double” crown of the two Egypts, supposedly possessed of awesome powers.
The dig itself is located in one of the most forbidding places on earth—the Sudd, a nearly impassable swamp in northern Sudan. Amid the nightmarish, disorienting tangle of mud and dead vegetation, a series of harrowing and inexplicable occurrences are causing people on the expedition to fear a centuries- old curse. With a monumental discovery in reach, Professor Jeremy Logan is brought onto the project to investigate. What he finds will raise new questions . . . and alarm.
Lincoln Child is one of my favorite writers. When he teams up with Douglas Preston to write the Agent Pendergast book, it's nothing but thriller perfection. I had been feeling a little bit let down lately with the Gideon Crew books, because I just don't care for them. The Third Gate made me happy again.
Jeremy Logan was solid character. I think he would be a great foundation to build a series around. I really enjoyed the archaeological aspects of the book. I learned a lot of things that I never knew about before. I never knew there was a giant swamp in Sudan and it sounds like a pretty horrible place.
The Third Gate was back to the more traditional Lincoln Child writing that I really like. I would love to see this continue as a series.
The novel takes us on a journey with Jeremy Logan to the upper reaches of the Nile River to an immense swamp area known as the Sudd in search of the tomb of Narmer. Narmer was an early Egyptian Pharaoh who many in academia believe was the unifier of the upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt. Logan, a history professor and "enigmalogist" (an authority in paranormal occurrences), has been hired by Porter Stone, a well known treasure hunter and the expeditions head, because at the site of the dig mysterious events, such as equipment turning on, voices and ghostly sightings have started to plague the site. Stone suspects these events could be related to the curse placed on the tomb if any violate its sanctity.
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