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Thunderhead is a 1999 thriller novel published by Grand Central Publishing. Although it is technically a standalone novel, it introduces Dr. Nora Kelly, who later appears as a supporting character in the Agent Pendergast series, and features Bill Smithback, a longtime Pendergast associate.

Cover Synopsis[]

"Nora Kelly, a young archaeologist in Santa Fe, receives a letter written sixteen 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 t unravel the greatest riddle of American archeology. but what she unearths will be the newest of horrors..."

-Publisher's synopsis

Spoiler Synopsis[]

Anthropologist Nora Kelly finds a letter that was written sixteen years ago, but mysteriously sent to her only recently. The letter is written by her father, long believed dead. The letter states that he had found the lost city of gold, Quivira. Kelly organizes an expedition into a harsh, remote corner of Utah's canyon country. A portion of the team learns that the city of Quivira held not gold, but micaceous, golden colored pottery, and that it also was a center for an Aztec death cult, which had enslaved the native Anasazi people. The Aztec rulers used black magic, aided by a powder of the fungus Coccidioides immitis which could kill by causing coccidioidomycosis. Kelly's teammate, Sloane, attempts to kill Kelly to be the sole person who can claim the find, not suspecting what Kelly has learned about the fungal infection, and neither parties realizing until very late that they are being tracked by contemporary practitioners of the cult, who have enhanced their ability to stalk and fight with traditional hallucinogens such as psilocybin, mescaline, and datura.

Notes[]

  • Bill Smithback appears as a main character, fresh off the success of his books, the in-universe versions of Relic and Reliquary. By the time of the events of The Cabinet of Curiosities, he had published a book about the Quivira expedition called Thunderhead.
  • Nora Kelly returned as a major supporting character in the Agent Pendergast series, starting with The Cabinet of Curiosities, Thunderhead is considered the start of the Nora Kelly Series, but Old Bones is the official start of her series with Corrie Swanson
  • The character of Nora Kelly is modelled on the amateur archaeologist and writer Nora Benjamin Kubie, grandmother of Lincoln Child.

Characters[]

  • Nora Kelly
  • Bill Smithback
  • Skip Kelly
  • Luigi Bonarotti (Camp Cook)
  • Roscoe Swire (Horse Wrangler)
  • Sloane Goddard (archaeologist & Photographer)
  • Aaron Black (geochronologist)
  • Enrique Aragon (anthropologist & Medical Doctor)
  • Ernest Goddard (Santa Fe Archaeological Institute chairman of the board)
  • Peter Holroyd (remote sensing and computer specialist)
  • Leland Watkins (Boss at the The Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
  • John Beiyoodzin (Nankoweap Native)
  • Teresa Gonzales (Nora & Skips Past Neighbour)

Horses and their riders: Hurricane Deck & Beetlebum (Smithback's), Locoweed & Hoosegow (Black), Fiddlehead & Crow Bait (Kelly), Mestizo & Sweetgrass (Swire) - Other Horses names: Hoosegow, Crow Bait, Compañero, Arbuckle

Locations[]

  • Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Quivira
  • Utah
  • Santa Fe Archaeological Institute

Spoiler Section[]

Notable Deaths[]

  • Luigi Bonarotti
  • Roscoe Swire
  • Sloane Goddard
  • Aaron Black
  • Enrique Aragon
  • Peter Holroyd
  • Teresa Gonzales
  • Thurber (Nora's Dog)
  • *Padraic Kelly

Total Body Count: 9 humans, 12-16 Horses, and one Dog (Thurber)

*Padraic Kelly, Nora's father, was presumed to be dead but his body had never been found, and it is found during the course of this novel

Antagonists[]

  • Skinwalkers (2)
  • Sloane Goddard
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