The Lost Island by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
The Lost Island is Book 3 in the Gideon Crew series.
Gideon has wrapped up his latest mission and he is ready to jump right into the next one. At this point, there’s no question that he will go on working for Eli Glinn at Effective Engineering Solutions. This time he will be utilizing skills from back in the days before he became a nuclear scientist.
There’s a special exhibition at New York’s Morgan Library; the Book of Kells, the finest illuminated manuscript in existence and Ireland’s greatest national treasure. Ireland’s government is reluctant to let the manuscript out of their hands and has insisted upon the highest security measures during the exhibit. Gideon has been tasked with a seemingly impossible assignment; he must steal a single page from the manuscript.
Gideon started stealing from art museums and historical societies when he was a teenager. He knows that every security system is vulnerable, either through technology or social engineering. He will have to use all he knows to turn the impossible to the possible. It is pure entertainment to read as he once more puts his skills to work to obtain his goal.
Having accomplished the impossibility of stealing the page, Gideon then learns from his employer that there is an ancient Greek map hidden under the illumination. This map leads to more than your ordinary treasure.
“The manuscript in question was an early Greek geography, and it described various legendary wonders of the world. Among these was a most intriguing place: an island ‘far in the West, where the earth meets the sky.’ The geography went on to mention a ‘great cave overhung with laurels on the face of a cliff far above the sea.’ There, the manuscript claimed, a ‘secret remedium could be found, the source of eternal healing.’
So now, in the company of his new partner Amy, Gideon sets sail into the dangers of the Mosquito Coast. Their encounters will be life-threatening but they must find out where the map leads and what strange wonder lies at the end. It just might be a priceless discovery that could change the world and possibly save Gideon’s life.
Having read other reviews of this series I have to say I disagree with the harsh criticism that I’ve come across. The authors have drawn from many different areas in this series and they continue to entertain. I have been a diehard fan of Preston & Child for a couple of decades now. So far, the Gideon Crew series has been much lighter fare than the Pendergast books, and each one has been good fun. They delve deeper into the main characters with each book, and at this point in the series, I felt a difference. It seemed to me that the storyline more closely reflected the sense of mystery and adventure I first felt with these authors back when I read Relic all those years ago.
Book Haunt 
This sounds like a great read. I haven’t read much Dan Brown but I enjoyed Angels and Demons. And then I found Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum absolutely brilliant back in the early 1990s. Maybe The Lost Island wouldn’t be quite as lofty on the literary side, but your review does seem to paint a picture of a story that blends both elements of Brown and Eco. I love the idea of swiping a page from the Book of Kells, an ancient map and a secret, forgotten island. This sounds like an engaging series to get into. Thanks for the review. Jay
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I hope you like it if you decide to give it a try Jay! I will have to look into Foucault’s Pendulum. I haven’t read that one.
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I love the Pendergast series, so I really need to catch up on these. Awesome review!💁🏻
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Thank you, I hope you enjoy them!
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