Gideon's Sword

BONUS FREE BOOK: this edition includes a complimentary novel by Brad Meltzer, The Zero Game. GIDEON'S SWORD Introducing Gideon Crew: trickster, prodigy, master thief At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world-class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down. At twenty-four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: His father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. With her last breath, she begged her son to avenge him. Now, with a new purpose in his life, Gideon crafts a one-time mission of vengeance, aimed at the perpetrator of his father's destruction. His plan is meticulous, spectacular, and successful. But from the shadows, someone is watching. A very powerful someone, who is impressed by Gideon's special skills. Someone who has need of just such a renegade. For Gideon, this operation may be only the beginning . . . From Booklist Gideon Crew, the hero of Preston and Childs new novel, has a complicated backstory. As a boy, he watched as his father, who had taken a man hostage, was shot down by a sniper. Less than a decade later, he learned from his mother that his father had been used by the U.S. government as a scapegoat for a failed intelligence project. After dispatching the man responsible for his fathers murder, Gideon is offered a job with a private contractor that does hush-hush work for the government. Gideons mission: to intercept a Chinese scientist and relieve him of the plans for a top-secret weapon. The mission doesnt go as drawn, however, and Gideon is left with a mysterious string of numbers. Now, working mostly alone, he must determine what the numbers mean. This novel (which is apparently the first installment in a new series) isnt as elegantly written or constructed as the authors popular Special Agent Pendergast novels, but it doesonce you get past the backstoryhold the readers interest, and Gideon is undeniably a big-shouldered character, capable of supporting a series. --David Pitt Review The authors push al the right buttons for exciting the reader, and know how to knock together a white-knuckle cliffhanger. BIG ISSUE Preston and Child have crafted an electrifying, riveting thriller on which I could continue to heap praise, but instead I will just offer this: Read the book! -- David Baldacci Fast-paced and action-packed, Gideon's Sword is a clever, high velocity read. -- Kathy Reichs More Tags : 4L Version : 5.0 The New York Times bestselling author of The Millionaires and The First Counsel returns to Washington, D.C., with the story of an insider's game that turns deadly. Matthew Mercer and Harris Sandler are best friends who have plum jobs as senior staffers to well-respected congressmen. But after a decade in Washington, idealism has faded to disillusionment, and they're bored. Then one of them finds out about the clandestine Zero Game. It starts out as good fun-a simple wager between friends. But when someone close to them ends up dead, Harris and Matthew realize the game is far more sinister than they ever imagined-and that they're about to be the game's next victims. On the run, they turn to the only person they can trust: a 16-year-old Senate page who can move around the Capitol undetected. As a ruthless killer creeps closer, this idealistic page not only holds the key to saving their lives, but is also determined to redeem them in the process. Come play The Zero Game-you can bet your life on it.