The idea of the “paranormal” or the “woo-woo” element
is strikingly popular these days. If such books bother you, or you find them
offensive, The Third Gate by Lincoln Child is not for you. The paranormal as well as the idea of near
death experiences play a major role in this novel.
Professor Jeremy Logan bills himself as an
“Enigmologist” and is quite successful at it in addition to being a professor
of Medieval History at Yale. What really
drives him is explaining the unexplainable---whether it be spiritual or
scientific. It is precisely that aspect of his life that, after considerable
cloak and dagger, will have him stationed in the legendary “Sudd.”
“’Imagine: a
region thousands of square miles across, not so much swap as a labyrinth of
papyrus reeds and water logged trunks. And mud. Mud everywhere, mud more treacherous
than quicksand. The Sudd isn’t deep,
often just thirty or forty feet in places, but in addition to being horribly honeycombed
with braided undergrowth, its water is so full of silt, divers can’t see an
inch beyond their faces. The water’s full of crocodiles by day, the air full of
mosquitoes by night.’” (pages 45-46)
It is in this wet and foul place treasure hunter
Porter Stone has assembled a team of scientists and workers of all types and
placed them on a floating multiarmed station with any equipment they need. They
are to locate the tomb of King Narmer. The pharaoh that many believe united all
of Egypt thousands of years ago long before the birth of those who built the
pyramids in Egypt. Time is of the
essence as the Af’ayalah Dam is near completion near where the team is working.
When the dam is completed it will not only destroy a legendary ecosystem, its
deep waters will flood the area making it impossible to find the tomb.
Not only is time running out to find it there seems
to be a curse on the project. Beyond the fact that every tomb has a curse on it
of some type to protect it, there are very strange happenings at the isolated
station. Scientists and others report hearing voices chanting ancient texts,
figures appearing out in the marsh, floating lights, and various other strange
occurrences are happening. As the days
progress and some sort of entity makes its presence known more and more
survival becomes an issue for Logan and others as they work to discover the
tomb and true history of King Narmer.
Despite its heavy use of the paranormal and near
death experiences, at its heart this is an adventure story featuring modern day
scientific explorers pushing the envelope in their quest for knowledge. In this
case it is a legendary King of Egypt, an inhospitable place with difficult and
dangerous working conditions, and a group of folks who will start to crack in
various ways under the increasing pressure of isolation. Add in the element of the strange using near
death experience – little of which can be revealed without undermining the book
and is not mentioned on the jacket copy for good reason- and all the elements
are there for quite the thriller.
As the author notes he has taken considerable
liberties with Egyptian History to tell this tale. A tale that borders on the fantastic by the
end while still being utterly believable.
The Third Gate, while a little bit more out there than some of
his other books, is still a very good one. Not only should it appeal to mainstream
readers, it should also appeal to those who deliberately look for a bit of the
strange or paranormal in their reads.
The
Third Gate
Lincoln
Child
Doubleday
(Random House)
June
2012
ISBN#
978-0-385-53138-2
320
Pages
$25.95
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano,
Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012
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2 comments:
I'm a fan of both Child and Preston, both together and as single authors. I read an ARC of this thriller and enjoyed it very much.
I just received last week their new thriller, TWO GRAVE, an Agent Pndergast novel.
I am too, Randy. I am several books behind. The only reason I got this one was because it was something new--not Pendergast--and therefore not part of something that needs to be read in order.
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