Rating: 
Summary: Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston--The Relic (1995)
Review: Although a fairly blatant spoof of the Michael Crichton formula, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's "The Relic" is a superb, fast-paced suspense/horror read that is one of the best of its kind produced in the middle 1990's. The authors use excellent characterization, an in-depth look at museum politics, some soft humor, and stupendously eerie sequences that will have readers' hair standing straight up.Preparing for a special new exhibit at Chicago's Natural History Museum, scientist Margo Green receives some unusual crates with incredible artifacts from the Kothoga indian tribe. Inside many of the crates is a strange plant and nothing more, which seems awfully fishy to the scientist and she researches the relics further. As she gets closer to the truth and the the museum gets closer and closer to the grand opening of their new exhibit, a horrific monster begins to terrorize the building. With the help of her long-time friend Mr. Frock and a rogue FBI agent who investigated similar murders in New Orleans, Margo Green fights for her live against a creature that embodies more secrets than she could imagine. Preston and Child produce a tremendous tale, splicing several genres together that will satisfy fans of Koontz, Crichton, Grisham, King, and Deaver. Stylishly scary, eloquently written, and a fantastic, whoulda-thunk it finale that will astonish. Adapted into a very well-made motion picture a couple years after its release--the book is far better, emphasizing the personalities of the main characters to their entirity and adding numerous extra plot twists. Simply excellent.
Rating:
Summary: RELIC a.k.a. MBWUN
Review: Although a fairly blatant spoof of the Michael Crichton formula, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's "The Relic" is a superb, fast-paced suspense/horror read that is one of the best of its kind produced in the middle 1990's. The authors use excellent characterization, an in-depth look at museum politics, some soft humor, and stupendously eerie sequences that will have readers' hair standing straight up. Preparing for a special new exhibit at Chicago's Natural History Museum, scientist Margo Green receives some unusual crates with incredible artifacts from the Kothoga indian tribe. Inside many of the crates is a strange plant and nothing more, which seems awfully fishy to the scientist and she researches the relics further. As she gets closer to the truth and the the museum gets closer and closer to the grand opening of their new exhibit, a horrific monster begins to terrorize the building. With the help of her long-time friend Mr. Frock and a rogue FBI agent who investigated similar murders in New Orleans, Margo Green fights for her live against a creature that embodies more secrets than she could imagine. Preston and Child produce a tremendous tale, splicing several genres together that will satisfy fans of Koontz, Crichton, Grisham, King, and Deaver. Stylishly scary, eloquently written, and a fantastic, whoulda-thunk it finale that will astonish. Adapted into a very well-made motion picture a couple years after its release--the book is far better, emphasizing the personalities of the main characters to their entirity and adding numerous extra plot twists. Simply excellent.
Rating: 
Summary: don't let the movie sway you
Review: how they could make the movie and leave out Pendergast is beyond me...
This is a great book. Fast-paced, thrilling, suspenseful, it has elements of sci-fi, mystery as well as adventure... and best of all, it introduces a truly great character, Agent Pendergast. He's here in more or less seminal form, merely the promise of the Agent Pendergast we see in Cabinet of Curiosities, but still very good.
Great book, mediocre movie. Read the book, skip the video.
Rating:
Summary: Very clever
Review: I had seen the movie adaptation years ago and enjoyed it, but for some reason I put off reading the book. I finally decided to read it and wow, I was very pleasantly surprised. Normally books-to-movies always feel like they're lacking in some area, but "The Relic" blew me away.
It was such a smart idea for a thriller/horror, and it was done with class and taste. The pace of the story is also nice, everything is explained well so when you get to the final confrontation you're perched on the edge of your chair. The style in this book is also amazing. The visuals created and the depth of each character is fantastic.
If you have seen/liked the movie then know that the book is MILES better.
Rating:
Summary: This book will scare you!
Review: I read Relic over three months ago, and it is still fresh in mymind. This book is great! Preston and Child show themselves to be apowerful emerging force in the thriller/sci-fi field. The setting for the story (the American Museum of Natural History in New York City) is realistic and frightening at the same time. Several scenes make good use of the museum's dark corridors and lonely exhibitions. The character development throughout the story is superb, and you actually find yourself cheering for some characters, and heckling others. My personal favorite is the ever-so-cool (almost Holmesian) Special Agent Pendergast. The plot is interesting, and yet equally as terrifying. It is not the gore that will scare you, but Mbwun, the creature itself. This thing is something out of a nightmare! The descriptions of this thing are so detailed that, in the darkness, you will find yourself listening to hear the tread of those stealthly feet, smelling the air to detect that pungent, goatish odor, and straining your eyes to see that looming shadow against shadows and those feral red eyes that announce its presence. Perhaps the greatest surprise of the entire book comes in the epilogue when..., well, if you want to find out, you are going to have to read the book yourself. Truly, this book has everything a person could hope for in a novel. So read Relic, and you will never look at a museum the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: The First book is still the best for Preston Child
Review: I recently decided to pick up the first book written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and give it a go. I am a huge fan of these two, and for some odd reason, I never picked up The Relic. No I am mad at myself for not picking it up earlier. Having read Reliquary and all of their other books, I had the basic story line of The Relic down before I opened the cover, so I was not expecting much. Well, I was wrong, this book is filled with incredible action, and details that keeps it moving at such a fast pace. One mistake leads to another, and things just keep moving. I enjoyed meeting Agent Pengergrast for the first time, and I though the other characters were developed very well. All in all, this is the first Preston Child book, and it is still the best, Cabinet of Curiosities comes in a close second! This book is highly recommended! Also, if you have seen the movie, pick up the book, there are so many differences that it is almost a whole new story!
Rating:
Summary: Debut title for author duo... One of the best books out
Review: Not much to say other than this was one of the best conceived and written books of its kind I have ever read. Preston and Child do not write with such a "sterile" style as Crichton, and that really gives them the edge. This is a scary damn read. Very much so.
Rating: 
Summary: ok 2 1/2 stars
Review: read only if desparate. im giving it more than 1 star purely due to the chapter 63, or the epilogue if you must. i found that the book dragged on too much and was relieved when i finally finished it [i would have stopped reading if i could but i just cant not finish a book]. the ending sort of made the whole ordeal worth while - i actually gasped and almost dropped my coffee when i read it. if you cant be bothered reading the whole goddamn book just read chapters 1, 3, 4, 14, 62 and 63. i lost interest often and found myself having to read the same sentence/page over and over sometimes because it wasnt catching if you know what i mean. just bored me and made me anxious to finish it. the characters didnt really do anything for me either. maybe if it were written by different people/person, it may be worthwhile but do yourself a favour and read something else. i suggest the da vinci code or deception point, both by dan brown. hope i helped you.
Rating:
Summary: A good ride
Review: The book was pretty good. I enjoyed the ride. However, I'm not sure it was as good as many of these reviews would make you think. It was just a good horror book.
Rating:
Summary: Beastology
Review: The most I think about the story I am to review, the most I am out of words to express its brilliance. First, I have to say that this is one of the most captivating and absorbing stories I have ever read. Each page makes you submerge into the story with such a passion that it makes this book the more fluid and entertaining to read. Gifted with an amazing start, as well as a solid plot the book leads the path to an unpredictable ending which certainly took me by surprise. Despite almost the entire story is narrated from inside a museum the experience is far from boring (it'd be the same that saying that Stephen King's "Misery" was a piece of trash because it all happened inside a house). If you're into this kind of story, or you liked Jaws and Jurassic Park, then you have a valuable reason to buy and read this book. You won't be disappointed.
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