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Summary: A surprise
Review: I was desperate for something to read and picked this up on a whim. What a surprise! What suspense! I'm hooked! I have since read all the Preston/Child books. You should start with this one.
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Summary: Perfect Suspense
Review: This is the first book by this author I ever read and is still a favorite of mine. It is not escapist horror (as in unknown beasts ravage innocent maidens for no rhyme or reason) or sci-fi ("We are Koogans from the planet Doogoo demanding you stop your atomic testing"). No, it is not only intelligent but makes an attempt at halfway serious science.Despite all the scientific writing it is the story and action - especially the riveting journey through the underground tunnels - that is absolutely some of the best suspense ever penned. Very few novels can "scare" the reader or bring them into the story as RELIC seems to do. This appears to be a universal view. And the characters were perfectly matched to their dialogue and action. I also bought RELIQUARY at the same time so am excited about the followup.
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Summary: Anthropology can be a very dangerous science!
Review: I am thoroughly enjoying reading Preston/Child's mysteries. They are unusually intelligent and well-researched books, with interesting and clever characters. Pendergast, who works for the FBI, seems to proceed at his own pace and has a tendency to go over and around anyone who gets in his way. He also tends to speak at a level that neither the politicians nor local police have an inability to deal with. You would think after all the Indiana Jones movies that people would understand that some anthropological and archaeological finds would be better off left alone. Inevitably, someone 'moves' something from its origin, and people start paying the price for not respecting the 'old ways'. This was a very different mystery, in that the information concerning the killer or killers depends upon scientific knowledge. Pendergast seems to be knowledgeable in most areas, and if he doesn't know it, he finds out about it. He warns people not to do certain things or allow certain occasions to happen for fear of what might occur since the murderer is still loose. And as he rightly assumes, people get hurt. Usually, Pendergast finds other intelligent people who are willing to work with his unusual ways in order to put a stop to these horrible occurrences. I am thoroughly enjoying reading about the museums in New York, where Pendergast often has to show up because of odd happenings. The archeological and anthropological areas are a couple of sciences that I did not get a lot of training in school, and often these mysteries give some bibliography to read up on the reality behind Natural History Museums. Maybe Pendergast should come and explore our own Carnegie Museum here in Pittsburgh. If only 10% of what a museum has is on exhibit at any given time...maybe they should give guided tours through the storage areas of the museums! Of course, now I would be hesitant to do it, given reading Preston/Child books! Karen Sadler
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Summary: Relic
Review: Great! I really enjoyed this book. Once again, Child and Preston produce a wonderful book. Thanks...
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Summary: Great Book..........Bad Movie
Review: All I can say is that I finished this book in 6 hours. One of my all time favorites!
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Summary: Yay! Monsters!
Review: This was a fun book. There's nothing like a bunch of highly intelligent people running around in the dark, trying to kill an even smarter, brain-eating monster. The best part of the Preston-Child books I've read (other than Special Agent Pendergast, the hyper cool "well-dressed undertaker") is how the characters more or less end up where they deserve (more or less). Promoted or eaten. It's great! My only "issue" with the books concerning Pendergast (on whom I've developed a slight crush) is the repetition of the word "mellifluous." But other than that, Relic is good, sharp, gooey fun.
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Summary: fast-paced thriller, great setting, interesting characters
Review: This story begins in the Amazon jungle but quickly changes to New York's Museum of Natural History as the mysterious crates of a tragic scientific expedition become the focus of a a homicide investigation. Bodies have been found torn apart in the dark recesses of the Museum, and FBI agent Pendergast joins forces with the NYC police to solve the crimes before the Museum's big exhibition opening and party a couple of days away. But is the killer even human? This is a fun and fast-paced thriller. The NY Natural History Museum is an inspired setting, with loads of creepy objects stored in labyrinthine splendor. Also, the characters are very interesting, and not formulaic (FBI=brilliant, police=bad/stupid) as many thrillers are. The scientists shine as they help solve the mystery, and the suspense is maintained throughout this 470 page book.
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Summary: A great book, Child/Preston do it again.
Review: I don't understand what the person that says "same on those who give this 5 stars" actually means. I read a lot of books, book after book, and these are my favorite authors. Anyway, the book is awesome. Nobody else but Child/Preston could take something so unbelievable, something so tottaly off of the norm, and make it into something that will grasp you from start to end, and make you want to read the sequel. The characters were very put together very well, very believably. The story flows so smoothly too, it is magnificent. The book leaves you wanting more, and that is how it is all the way through. Very good, I would reccomend to any mystery/sci. fi. lover. It is not way out of the realm of possibility, but it still would fall under the sci. fi. category. Very good!
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Summary: I can't believe other gave this a 5 stars; I give it a 3.5
Review: Story is about an archeological find that over the years gets transported back to the States. In that time, something is coming along or following the shipment and in turn leaving dead bodies in its wake. 1) For all the reviewers that gave this a 5 stars, shame on you. You should be out there reading a larger variety of authors then you'll realize this book is fair to good read and not a fantastic one. 2) Pendergrast is a great character and I did look forward to each scene he was in. 3) I did like that the museum scientists were doing a better job of detective work than the actual law enforcement agencies. 4) Too bad very little was done with Lt. D'Agosta and many of the other characters. I felt these characters were forced towards the end and not given room to become three dimensional. 5) Where was the suspense!! If you want suspense read Watchers by Koontz...I had to put that book down at times because it was too suspensful. This story on the other hand had killing scenes telegraphed like a bad B horror flick. 6) I didn't think the authors were that great of writers (I've head this is their first book). Their chapter transitions attempted to keep you hanging and coming back for more but it was fairly amateurish writing overall. 7) Whoever coined the marketing phrase on the cover that states this is "Alien meets Jurassic Park" deserves an award because of all the people who will read this book due to that one line. Too bad this story isn't similar to those two and readers will only find they were dupped by that marketing ploy. Speaking of which, I remember reading Jurassic Park and thinking it was a much better story than this one. OVERALL: This was a superfast, easy read. Thus, if you have nothing else available you won't waste a lot of time if you happen to pick this one up. But if you have time to read there are so many better books out there that you don't have to add this to your list...you can take it or leave it.
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Summary: Bravo! A pleasure I haven't tasted in a long while!
Review: Having never read any works of DP & LC before, I recently read C of C. Loving it, I decided to go back and see what I'd missed starting at the beginning, RELIC. At first I was not as thrilled with the premise, but I quickly caught up with the plot, mystery, characters, and exquisitely delicious setting of the NY Museum of Natural History. Yahoo! What a fabulous story. I called two people when I finished to recommend the book and tell them how horrific it was. Great story, great satisfying ending. Just read it! Better than anything I've read in awhile.
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