Rating: 
Summary: This is a great book, period.
Review: This is one of their best. The story grips you from the very first, and does not let go. It keeps your interest, and you do not want to put it down for wanting to find out what happens next. The characters, once again, are very well developed, and flow smoothly with the plot. And the story is masterfully pit together into a believable tale, that no other author would be able to pull off. Bottom line, great book! I reccomend this bood to anybody that likes a good mystery, action and thriler!
Rating:
Summary: Super-cool read.
Review: Top notch blood-pumping adventure suspense led me to buy everything by this unstoppable pair of excellent story craftsmen. These guys simply write the coolest books. I really hadn't read anything in years, but due to this novel I've regained my lost love for plowing through a great book. A real page burner-turner RIPTIDE delivers the goods. Buried pirate booty never looked so appealing and deadly spooky as the writers have accomplished. The story flows along at break neck pace, and when it's over you crave more. I highly recommend any title in the Preston/ Child collection.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Whenever you start to read a book by Preston and Child you can be sure it will be a page burner. And sure enough this is here the case, too. Story, characters and plot are very well developed and believable, although the novel is in parts a horror story rather than a thriller with all the mysterious elements such a story needs. A surprise ending helps to make this book one of the outstanding examples of its genre.
Rating:
Summary: 100% Fun!
Review: I've read other books by Child/Preston (Relic and Reliquary) and found them fun but the writing just a little rough. But Riptide, now--Wow! They have really hit their stride on this one. The pacing is great and the thought they put into how to approach the diabolically clever puzzle of the treasure pit is impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book right to the end, even sneaking out to sit in my car at work to finish it! In the first few pages of the book, we are introduced to the main character, Malin Hatch, as a boy, and see the gruesome tragedy that shadows the rest of his life, but that will not be fully explained until the end of the book. Then we skip forward 30 years. Ladies and gentlemen, THAT's what I call a "hook!" I was certainly hooked until the very end. I'm certain you will enjoy this roller coaster ride of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Rip-Roaring Good Time!
Review: I was telling a friend about this book and he'd never heard of the authors before, so I said, "'ya know how little boys can dream up all kinds of stories about rocketships and monsters and cowboys and the like? These guys write like that--but from a grown-up point of view." Okay, here's another one. Y'know the pulse-pounding excitement you felt the first time you saw Jurassic Park on film...the sudden danger, the cool weapons, the technical talk, the very real people in horrifically unreal circumstances? That's your average Child/Preston book! RipTide is about legendary pirate treasure on an unsafe island and the brilliant, wealthy people who've gone after it. It's about a grown man seeking the answers to his brother's mysterious disappearance when they were exploring the island as children. It's about going back home and finding nearly everything changed, while some things seem to stay the same. It's action, mystery, a touch of lusty romance, intrigue, horror, and more twists and turns than loops and whorls across an ancient pirate's treasure map. Kick back, don't let anybody interrupt you, and just have fun with this one, folks. For the grand adventurer in all of us. A blast!
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable read, indeed!
Review: This was my first book of the two authors and it was a great start! This was a real page turner and I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and characters. I even imagined actors to some of the main characters. (Max Von Snydow as Leiderman, Hugh Jackman as Hatch etc) I would definitely recommend this book. If you are looking to become engrossed in a good read, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Fictional Oak Island Money Pit tale.
Review: As someone who has researched and written on Oak Island for years, Riptide presented a great account and enjoyable scenario. A fast read and hard to put down book. Drawing heavily on the real story in terms of its long and frustrating history, its unbelievable complications, the authors created a romantic background and a great solution. The solution to the real Money Pit is in Europe, and Oak Island buffs can only hope for an equally speedy dig to happen someday.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining/Fun read - not life changing!
Review: I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a simple, entertaining, adventurous read. While I would not rate this book as one of the 'best ever', I did enjoy it. The story is based, somewhat, on the Legend of Oak Island and the infamous Money Pit and the fact that we would finally find out what was at the bottom of that pit, at least fictionally speaking. There was a good mix of characters, although they lacked depth, a good mix of adventure, mystery, and action. I would have rated the book higher if the ending was not so anticlamitic. I had hoped that everything was leading to a big WOW for and ending, but instead all I got was an Oh!?! The ending was not what I had expected for a Child/Preston book. With that said, I would still encourage everyone who enjoys the action/adventure style of writting to check this book out.
Rating:
Summary: Tainted Maine buried treasure
Review: Preston & Child's "Riptide" is a high tech buried treasure adventure. The central character is Dr. Malin Hatch, a research physician originally from Stormhaven, Maine. Hatch is the owner of Ragged Island, 6 miles out of Stormhaven harbor. Ragged Island has been purported to be the location of the vast treasure hoard of the notorious pirate Red Ned Ockham. Speculation has it that the treasure is buried in what is known as the Water Pit. Many groups have tried unsuccessfully to uncover the treasure and the island is laced with numerous shafts and rusted remnants of drilling machinery. The treasure and fog enshrouded Ragged Island itself are said to be cursed. Many tragedies surround the island including the deaths of Hatch's young brother Johnny and his father. Captain Gerard Neidelman representing a modern high tech corporation convinces Hatch to allow him to excavate the Water Pit for the treasure. Neidelman and his group have uncovered a secret encoded manuscript of the architect of the Water Pit, named Macallan. Macallan was taken prisoner by Ockham and forced to construct the booby trapped treasure trove. They break the code and using the most modern and sophisticated drilling devices actually succeed in uncovering the treasure which is estimated in value at two billion dollars. All does not end happly ever after, as there is a very satisfying twist of the plot that is sure to surprise the reader.
Rating:
Summary: Ripping Good Read
Review: Preston and Child took a lot of the real-life Oak Island's history and invented a Maine island just like it - that is, an island that is an enormous baffle-trap, protecting an unknown treasure. The real Oak Island traps are believed to have been constructed by Elizabethans, and P&C manage to work that in, as well. They've even done some good research into the best methods to beat the engineering marvel that is Oak Island's series of traps - which, to date, have all failed. This was the writing duo's first really good book, where they got their formula and their style down. The ultimate treasure (and menace) of the island - which they amplify into a giant deathtrap - isn't all that credible, but is convincingly enough drawn to suspend disbelief and enjoy the sheer roller coaster ride to the book's dramatically satisfying conclusion. Anyone who likes good thrillers or detective stories will enjoy this one, but especially if they have a taste for pirates, Elizabethan history or engineering marvels. The characters aren't as well drawn as in the authors' later books, but they're better than in their preceding ones. Riptide is well-plotted, suspenseful, and maintains a high degree of interest throughout. Enjoy.
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