Artifact

Artifact is the Matthew J. Costello 1992 archaeological thriller set at a contemporary Mesoamerican dig where a discovered relic begins producing effects that the academic protagonists are unwilling to call supernatural. The book sits in the long tradition of the archaeological-curse novel that Indiana Jones popularized for film, and Costello handles the form with the relaxed confidence of someone who has written extensively across genres.

The dig-site material in Artifact is the book's strongest texture. Costello has clearly done the Mayan-and-Aztec research, and the procedural scenes (the survey work, the carbon-dating, the conservation protocols) are rendered with the kind of attention the form does not require. Fans of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston's Pendergast novels or Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series will find the early-90s precursor texture familiar.

The thriller machinery in the back half is competent rather than memorable. The closing chapters resolve cleanly.

Three stars. A reliable 90s archaeological thriller. Recommended for readers who like Preston-and-Child's Relic or Steve Berry's historical thrillers. The Artifact Matthew J. Costello entry is not essential but provides a serviceable evening's reading.