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Summary: Curiously Predictable
Review: I love Preston/Child books. I've read them all. It hurts to say I think this is their worst. (Their worst, however, is better than some author's best) I found the story predictable...almost as if I'd read it before. They can do much better and I hope they do in the future. Most of their books are a breath of fresh air in a stale world of repetitive plotlines. C'mon Doug and Lincoln. Pull out the stops for the next one. Matt Reilly and Jim Rollins are gaining on you!
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Summary: Another good read
Review: I became quickly addicted to all Preston-Child works beginning with The Relic. I have remained so, browsing bookstores regularly with anticipation of upcoming works (I don't even wait for paperback anymore). The Cabinet of Curiosities is by far the most engrossing work they have penned. I simply don't posess knowledge of all of the adjectives needed to decribe this book. Pick it up, and I guarantee a marathon of reading until four o'clock in the morning, accompanied by intense pains of hunger and bladder infections just because you won't want to put it down. Pendergast shines, Smithback slithers (just a bit), and Kelly is just as rational and scientific as ever. It is so intensely refreshing to read a work that is unafraid to merge the boundaries of science and horror. A crime drama, a scientific mystery, an intense fingernail-biting thriller (if you can put it down). Run, don't walk to the nearest store to get it. Turn the ringer off on the phone, lock the doors, and say goodbye to whatever reality you subscibe to. If you don't absolutely love it, you should stick to tame guys, like King or Koontz.
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Summary: . . . And in the center ring . . .
Review: Preston and Child have done it again with the grisly and riveting Cabinet of Curiosities. Many of these two-writer teams seem to fade after one attempt. The solo writer at his or her craft seems to be faced with one complication after another as it is. Ego. Talent. Marketing. Agents. Publishers. Schedule. Plot. It would seem exponentially more complex with two.Yet, they seem to have struck paydirt. In Cabinet of Curiosities, there are some of the older characters from earlier works. However I think you can just as well start here. That other books may have been "better" or "more interesting" or "more frightening" are probably examples of differing tastes. What is important is that with Preston and Child, each novel has its own legs. Nora Kelly, brilliant archeologist and the compassionate but spooky Special Agent Pendergast team up to investigate a string of serial killings . . .from 130 years ago. Nora reluctantly, Pendergast relentlessly. The archives, alleyways, basements and characters are scary. You can almost hear that organ music in the background. Murder most foul! Relentless pursuit of justice! Reincarnation! Retribution! What else can you ask for? Tough to put down.
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Summary: AWESOME BOOK!
Review: Once you start you can't put it down!
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Summary: Horror pulp! Yay!
Review: I loved this one as much as "Relic." Preston & Child sometimes stray into oddball other areas in their works, but they are really horror writers in the classic "pulp" tradition (which seems to be active again!!!). 'The Cabinet of Curiosities' is one of my favorite books of 2002, right up there with "Night of the Beast" by Harry Shannon and Douglas Clegg's more subtle "The Hour Before Dark." Horror pulp is making a real comeback. Yay!
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Summary: I couldn't put it down...
Review: Previous reviews gave a good summary of the book, so I'll just add my personal opinion: it was excellent! Once more Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child captivated me with their story telling, keeping me guessing with the twists and turns in the plot. I think anyone who liked Relic and Reliquary as much as I did will enjoy this book.
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Summary: The cabinet of curiosities
Review: Doug Preston & Lincoln Child have written a number of popular books. My assessment is that they are incapable of publishing a book that I don't like. I've read the relic series, riptide, ice limit, thunderhead, and mount dragon, and cabinet of curiosities. They're all wonderful, only they keep raising the standard for wonderful. I can't wait for their next book to come out. Their writing is a delight, and I hope they sell a zillion books so they keep coming back with more offerings.
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Summary: ANOTHER Home Run from two exceptional authors
Review: I have a small list of "MUST READ" authors, and Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child are ON that list. 'The Cabinet of Curiosities' is easily one of my favorite novels from these two incredibly gifted storytellers. It also reunites 3 characters from several of their previous novels. FBI Agent Pendergast is without-a-doubt one of my favorite characters in ALL of modern fiction...I'd go into details and explain more, but I'd need a whole lot more room than I have available here. Journalist Bill Simithback, who is mostly referred to in 'Cabinet' as William, certainly provides a great deal to this tale, especially towards the end. Nora Kelly, whom we first got to know in the fantastic, 'Thunderhead'. All three characters play pivotal roles in what is at once a modern murder/mystery/thriller masterpiece with supernatural undertones. Has a mad scientist actually perfected a formula for extending life? Dr. Enoch Leng seems to be one of the most brutal and sadistic serial killers in American history, but he doesn't murder for the joy of taking life, his profoundly disturbing experiments come to light quite by accident when a century-old crime scene is uncovered in lower Manhattan. Agent Pendergast shows up out of nowhere with a curiously obsessive interest in the murders -- which we won't get to figure out until right towards the very end. He pulls Nora Kelly away from her duties at the New York Museum of Natural History...at first she is totally puzzled at why she of all people is called in to help. What could Pendergast possibly hope to accomplish in solving this crime? Surely the killer has been dead for half-a-century by now...right? His connection to Enoch Leng and his bizarre scientific research is quite an interesting one, THAT'S for sure. There are a few true surprises at the end of this tale, and getting there certainly WAS a journey well worth taking. ... ... Because like I said, I have a very small list of "Must Read" authors, and after having read ALL of their books thus far, they have EARNED that right in my opinion by continuously writing incredible novels of adventure & mystery. GREAT read!!
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Summary: well written and fast paced
Review: I am a huge fan of books with a historical basis. On the same coin I am also very critical of these books. This makes me very picky in the books I chose to read and the ones I actually finish. Once again, Douglas Preston and Lincoln child did not dissapoint. This book is a perfect mix of museum intrigue, suspense, and horror all against a rich backdrop of 19th century New York. Their attention to detail is key to making the fantastic story seem possible. In addition, Preston and Child do an excellent job of writing women. They do not fall into the trap of describing female characters in terms of her long legs and breast size that seems so typical in these sort of novels. Nora Kelly, first introduced in Thunderhead, is a believable woman and museum professional. I think female readers will appreciate this apparently unique view in a male dominated genre. The book left me with only one pressing question: When is the next one coming out???? Pendergrast fans will love this book. Make sure to read the alternate ending posted on the official webpage:
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Summary: The Whole Book is a Curiosity
Review: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are at it again. They return to New York City, the scene of their first successful novel, "Relic", and they bring along one of the characters from that story. In a nutshell, when work begins on a future apartment house in lower Manhattan, excavation uncovers some grossly murdered individuals who met their demise in the 1870s. As the story unfolds, a serial killer with the same M.O. begins to terrorize every street and boulevard in old New York. Exciting? You bet. Still, as Lieutentant Columbo might say, it is those little odds and ends that just don't add up that do not give this book the same whack as previous efforts by the co-authors. We do see some familiar faces here. Special Agent Pendergast is back for an encore appearnace from "Relic" ( and everyone at the New York - read: American - Museum of Natural History remembers him ). Archaeologist Dr. Nora Kelly and reporter William Smithback from "Thunderhead" are also main characters. But it is Pendergast who really provides the loose ends that cause an otherwise action-packed adventure to not quite hold together at times. For example, why does he draft Nora to study the remains at the site of a Donald Trump-wannabe developer? For that matter, how does he know all about this and where does he come from? If Pendergast is, indeed, from the New Orleans office then why does he live at the famed Dakota on Central Park West? Pendergast is on the scene before the present day serial killer even appears, almost as if he (Pendergast) had some premonition that this would be happening. His explanation of his presence and his recruitment of Nora leave both her and the reader, I might add, unconvinced, and his esoteric knowledge of interior decorating, art, and opera, among other things, are a tad unbelieveable at times. Nora is easily the most believeable and most professional of all of the characters. But, her posing as a prostitute to get access to some of the remains is somewhat comical. Smithback, her erstwhile boy friend, is more of a pain in the behind than a help. While this somewhat entertaining tale might have been eagerly awaited, if I were to introduce someone to the writing of Preston and Childs, I might choose another avenue. While no one would ever consider "Relic" great literature, that story really moves. I, personally, think "The Ice Limit", "Thunderhead", and "Mount Dragon" were their most polished efforts. Still, as Special Agent Pendergast said, "Unsolved murders are always the most interesting, don't you think?"
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