Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Thunderhead

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $30.41

Buy for $30.41

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Nora Kelly, a young archaeologist in Santa Fe, receives a letter written 16 years ago, yet mysteriously mailed only recently. In it, her father, long believed dead, hints at a fantastic discovery that will make him famous and rich - the lost city of an ancient civilization that suddenly vanished a thousand years ago.

Now Nora is leading an expedition into a harsh, remote corner of Utah's canyon country. Searching for her father and his glory, Nora begins to unravel the greatest riddle of American archeology. but what she unearths will be the newest of horrors.

©2000 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Spellbinding as ever." ( Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about Thunderhead

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,921
  • 4 Stars
    1,586
  • 3 Stars
    554
  • 2 Stars
    109
  • 1 Stars
    56
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,773
  • 4 Stars
    1,063
  • 3 Stars
    251
  • 2 Stars
    87
  • 1 Stars
    49
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,501
  • 4 Stars
    1,157
  • 3 Stars
    399
  • 2 Stars
    99
  • 1 Stars
    47

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Distracting narrator

Scott Brick is so popular. I don't get it! Most of the time he sounds like he needs oxygen. At the end of the story, which should have been a thoughtful and sentimental moment, he was so overly dramatic that I burst out laughing. I never got very attached to any characters - didn't feel like I knew them. I did love the red rock setting though, and the archaeology aspect of the story. This was my first Preston/Child book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

great story

Loved the story. The narrator sounds like he is going to cry with every word, or, like he is exhausted and can't get out another word...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story, lacking narrator

What did you love best about Thunderhead?

Bill Smithback!

What did you like best about this story?

Preston and Child are great at building tension and knowing when and how to leave characters and storylines hanging to keep you invested in the plot.

What three words best describe Scott Brick’s voice?

In this particular book: indifferent, flat, and dull.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not going to drop spoilers, but I really enjoyed watching Nora's relationship with Smithback evolve.

Any additional comments?

While I enjoy Preston and Child's storytelling, I was not especially fond of Scott Brick's narration in this particular instance. This is the kind of story that is intense and gripping, and Brick's narration is a mismatch here. It was really hard to get into the story at first because the narration is so quiet and reserved.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This is more like it

Looking at my reviews, I noticed I was long on negatives and short on positives, so let me say that I really enjoy listening to Scott Brick. Every time I listen to one of his narrations, I feel like I'm on vacation at the beach - probably because that's where I first started listening to Audible books and Scott narrated the first book I listened to. Oh and the book was great too!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

EXCELLENT!

What a fantastic story! For me, this was like Tony Hillerman meets (female) Indiana Jones. I loved everything about it. The visuals created by the the writing are so intense and vivid that you see, smell, hear, feel everything. I will absolutely search for more by these authors, and this narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

just me

The story was fun. The part I do not like personally is the switching of the reader in each chapter. it is bothersome and so I won't get another book in this series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

tinderhooks

as usual, many twists, great plot, characteristics. abit too gross at times and could been have handled with the skill the authors possess. the narrator always bring you back into the novel and keep you interested

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Overly dramatic in writing and telling.

A potentially intriguing story is brutalized by excessive description and dramatic unfolding of events, both in the main narrative and in dialogue. This is only exacerbated by the consummately expressive tones of the narrator. It's a well-researched, well thought-out novel, but the characters are flat and unbelievable, and the themes are in your face. In the closing chapter you hear the tired allusion to the Injustices perpetrated by the white man, but otherwise it offers no deeper message than the story itself. There's undoubtedly another book that deserves to be higher on your list than this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good read

Started slow, but grew very intresting. Enjoyed it very much. Ending was a pleasant surprise.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I love these authors!

They provide an excellent story in a well researched historical background.
This story Is not your usual mystery, but in the context of the struggle between good versus evil, the characters are revealed.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!