Still Life With Crows/ Abridged: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Dorothy would move back to OZ
Review: After reading all of the Preston and Child books (except Brimstone) this is not thier best but still has a feeling of creepiness and terror. Preston and Child do an excellent job of describing Medicine Creek, KS as a dying town trapped by cornfields that acts as cover for the killer. The two convey the atmosphere of a tight knit town (to include gossip abound) and the panic that seizes the town as the murders grow.
The authors use Pendergast as the main character in this novel and true he is in many other novels, but putting the weight of carrying this story just on his sholders tends to leave the reader wanting a more anamated character not one so isolated. The authors do create an intellegent rebel in the form of Corrie Swanson who I found a delight and a breath of fresh air, and I hope to see in further novels. About half-way through the book, I already solved the mystery of Medicine Creek which made me wonder why you needed 150 extra pages that really was unnecessary and tended to make this novel long winded. Overall, a decent read but I recommand The Relic or Reliquary. I have also included a few star reviews for their past work.
RELIC --5 STARS
MOUNT DRAGON--4 STARS
RELIQUARY--5 STARS
RIPTIDE--4 STARS
THUNDERHEAD--5 STARS
THE ICE LIMIT--4 STARS
THE CABINET OF CURIOUSITIES--5 STARS (very disturbing)

Rating:
Summary: Not their best work
Review: Guest reviewer J. Mohlman said it best before me but this book is really not these authors' best work. Much like a straight-to-video film, the novel goes by quickly and then is forgotten. The final act, while the most suspenseful, is very long and eventually I grew tired of waiting for the next neck to be broken or the next ear to be mutilated. There is a definite cut and paste formula to the first half of the novel as well... characters inexplicably venture into dangerous areas alone and are rewarded with a death scene from their POV - a scenario that is repeated several times. A couple of red herrings later and we have our ending, which I will not ruin for those who may want to read the book. I must agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Mohlman again regarding the character Wren from Cabinet of Curiosities. His appearance in the book is completely forced and hints jarringly at some other novel or some other story for no reason. In conclusion I would have to say that this book would be best served as a "beach read" but it is not artfully written and will make no mark on the reader whatsoever other than the occasional gasp of repulsion. You can do much worse, but I would get this book from a used paperback store or library as opposed to shelling out 8 bucks for it.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not great
Review: I am a huge fan of Preston and Child even though the underground stuff is getting redundant and whole theory of monsters living among or beneath us is to some extent absurd. I don't know how they manage to do it but they did it again, this is a cool book to read with similar story lines from their previous books. If you are a fan of Special Agent Pendergast you will worship him in every page of the book, but if you are not and you have never heard of Mr. Perfect or Hercule Poirot you will despise him. The dude knows everything, and by everything I mean every single everything.

Standalone this is an enjoyable book but comparing it with Cabinet of Curiousities and the Relic, the book falls way below par.

Rating:
Summary: It started off all right...then what happened?
Review: First off, let me preface my review by telling you that I've read every one of the Child/Preston books (with the exception of the most recent, Brimstone). I wouldn't have read them all if I didn't love these guys, and I do. However, this is clearly the worst and most disappointing of the bunch, and this is a crime because 2/3 of the way through the book I thought it might actually be the best.

Here's the good. Their best character, Pendergast, is back. A small town setting. Really disturbing murders and a killer who (as you read) becomes more and more mysterious. A couple scary points.

There's very little bad for the first two-thirds of the book. Some of the characters are a little weak, sure, but the plot is so involved that I was glued to the pages. In the final third, the story begins to degenerate into a copy of the last part of "Relic." A bit disheartening, but still very good.

But then...the ending (final 20-30 pages)... Honestly, it reads like a joke. There's a scene where Pendergast explains everything, and it feels like a cross between an episode of Perry Mason and Scooby-Doo. Not only is it completely improbable that Agent Pendergast would be able to figure out the killer, the idea of the killer was the lamest, and most far-fetched idea yet. It was like they got lazy when writing the end and handed the story off to a 5th grader to finish.

Even worse, the plot would occassionaly switch to NYC, where the authors described similar happenings. Thus, the reader is fascinated about how the writers will explain how the killer able to be in two places at once? But lo and hehold, "tee hee...that was all unrelated." They purposely describe NYC events to correspond with what is happening in Kansas, but never explain the NYC events. And the lame explanation of the Kansas events doesn't help.

I'm sure the NYC events will be the subject of a future plot (perhaps Brimstone), as I seem to remember another small cliff hanger in Cabinet of Curiosities. But in this book it only had the unfortunate consequence of fooling the reader into thinking the book's plot was more involved and interesting than it was. Perhaps the duo was afraid readers would guess at the lame ending if they didn't try to throw in unnecessarily distracting red herrings.

Still, I won't give up on these authors and plan on buying Brimstone when it hits paperback. If you're looking for a good story by these guys, check out some of their other works. For adventure, try "The Ice Limit" (my favorite). For a monster story, try "Relic." For a murder mystery, try "Cabinet of Curiosities." For a frustratingly incomplete plot with a juvenile resolution, try "Still Life with Crows."

Rating:
Summary: Another great story from Preston & Child!
Review: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child created an interesting character in agent Pendergast. The plot is fast paced and well written. Be sure to read "Cabinet of Curiosities" first, though. Each book's story stands alone, but "Cabinet" comes before "Still Life" time-wise.

Rating:
Summary: Pendergast is awsome
Review: Sometimes in this dull and drab everyday world you need a character that is bigger and better than life. Agent Pendergast outshines them all. I just simply love the unbelievability of this guy. Can't get enough. As a team P&C rock. I have read all their books and have enjoyed their combined efforts. After reading Utopia I can only hope these guys keep collaborating.

Rating:
Summary: Agent Pendergast Is Back
Review: A highly-orchestrated murder in Kansas draws the attention of Agent Pendergast. It seems like the investigation has just started when the unusual FBI agent steps off a bus and begins poking around.

Pendergast uses his unique style of investigation to get involved in the investigation as well as tick off quite a few locals. But then he tells the local paper that he believes the murderer is local and the town is up in arms.

But soon a second body turns up and it looks like Pendergast just might be right no matter what the town wants to think. Eventually Pendergast and the local Sheriff are each on their own path hunting the killer.

A wonderful read that really kept me going. All of the little details were very well worked out and I especially liked all of the little follow-ups to the previous book (Cabinet of Curiosities). I was strung along trying to solve everything before it was revealed but when the final blow fell right at the end I was unprepared (you'll have to read it to see what I mean).

Rating:
Summary: FINALLY a REAL horror story
Review: I really liked this book. I had gotten away from reading such stories for a long long while. This was finally like the old stephen king books truly creepy and very engrossing !!!!