Reliquary

Rating:
Summary: another essential in the Pendergast canon...
Review: Better than the first novel! Reliquary takes us deep underground to a world of tunnels below the subway sytem of New York... excellent adventure stuff. If you have read Cabinet of Curiosities, you know Agent Pendergast is an amazing, mysterious character. Here, he is more developed than in Relic, not quite the star of CofC. Read and enjoy, and get on the train ride these great authors are taking us on!

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as STILL LIFE WITH CROWS
Review: I became a Preston/Childs fan after reading STILL LIFE WITH CROWS. I'm still impressed with how simpatico these two guys are.
Anyway, I wasn't aware that this was a series and now that I've read another one, working my way backwards, I'm not as impressed.
First off, there are too many featured characters in RELIQUARY. FBI agent Pendergast doesn't even show up until well into the story; yet we have Dr. Margo Green; police lieutenant D'Agosta; Dr. Frock; Smithback, the reporter; Simon Brambell, the medical investigator; Snow, the diver; Hayward, the female police officer; plus a host of minor characters who have their own perspectives just before they're dusted by the wrinklers. It's hard to know for whom to cheer and there's too much distance between each account. It's often necessary to page back to see where they were when last encountered.
Also, maybe I'm too much of a left-brainer but I didn't believe those wrinklers for a second. These two guys seem to be obsessed by monsters and the underworld. In STILL LIFE WITH CROWS it was a cave bigger than the Carlsbad Caverns and a Kong character with the mind of a baby. In this one it's the underworld beneath New York City and a collection of genetic monstrosities.
The most interesting aspect for me was the author's note at the end of the book. I knew there were a lot of uncharted abandoned tunnels beneath NYC but not thirty stories. As many as five thousand "houseless" have lived there; they form their own communities and communicate by tapping on pipes. Even more remarkable is the authors' claim that the Astor Tunnels actually did exist. THE MOLE PEOPLE by Jennifer Toth is a factual account of the homeless beneath the city.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly good; incredibly suspenseful...
Review: I don't know how writers write in the first place; coming up with the ideas, and then creating an entire world and characters and keeping track of it all and binding it together into a novel; this is one of the best I have ever read, and certainly the most original...emphasizing an underground world, a subterranean society, reminding one of the Morlocks in "The Time Machine." This underground group has a basis in fact, and it is chilling and morbidly fascinating to realize that people live, eat, sleep and create their own societies far below the sidewalks of New York. I found the description of an old underground railroad, (created especially for the Vanderbilt crowd so they wouldn't have to mingle wth the "unwashed masses") absolutely astounding; first that it existed at all, and second, that there are still remnants of the railroad and it's former luxurious appointments. Another irony is, it is now in the domain of said unwashed masses...all that beauty, all that expense and luxury now covered with the filth of the underground and it's denizens. The story is fascinating, as always, and keeps you on the edge of your seat, as always...I think Agent Pendergast is one of the best and believable, original characters to emerge from the literary world since Sherlock Holmes, and I have no doubt the two would get along famously. I was enthralled with the vivid descritpion of Pendergast's sumptuous apartment, and especially enthralled with a Bonsai forest on one of his tables; a miniature stand of sugar maples, planted at different times, and just coming into their fall colors. A change of season on a coffee table; fantastic! The most mundane events turn, quickly, into a tragedy of horror beyond belief; and the good guys, some of them, also meet their match at the book's gut-wrenching climax. I automatically buy any books written by Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston because here we are fortunate enough to have authors of sublime excellence in every way. If ONLY the movie, (if there is one, and really, it cries out to be made into a movie), would be adhered to and the screenplay done by the original authors, it would be a true blockbuster. Nevr has there been such a unique and thrilling story...

Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: I love the books of these 2 authors and I really liked this one, however it was not there best effort. I thought it dragged a bit, and the facing of the monsters wasn't really well played out. I will say I did enjoy them bringing back all the charters from the 1st novel and they had some great dialogue, and also thought the conspiracy plot and the method of release was pretty good too, but it just lacked the fun of the first novel I think.

Rating:
Summary: One thing prevented this one from being 5-star.
Review: I won't give anything away, because it is a damn good read and a worthy sequel. It's just one thing that does it. You'll know it when you get there.

Sorry I can't say more, but... that'd give it away.

Rating:
Summary: Every bit the equal of its predecessor
Review: Margo Green, Bill Smithback D'Agosta and Pendergast (from The Relic) are back. A series of brutal killings in NYC seem to be the work of "The Museum Beast". The investigation leads to a mesmerizing underground maze of subway tunnels, sewers and aqueducts which desends level after level beneath the surface. This hidden network of tunnels makes for an even more chilling setting then the museum in The Relic did. The plotting and pacing are terrific. The attention to detail makes the danger feel all the more real. I read most of this book while riding in the Philadelphia subway system. That was the perfect way to read this tale. A great horror yarn and a fascinating look at the hidden, forgotten under-structure of city that is hundreds of years old. This is a tremendous book, but be sure to read The Relic first.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Relic, but still a chilling thriller
Review: Reliquary grabs you at the start and holds on for dear life until the last 50 or so pages. Please understand the whole book is great, but the ending appeared to be a bit contrived, almost as if the authors were tired and said "Let's just end this thing." I would recommend this book to anyone who is an adrenalin junkie ( and who isnt really). Not a book to be read at night or while alone. You will hear strange scrambling noises andsmell goatish odors. Douglas and Childs have not received the recognition they so richly deserve. I know everyone says it, but they did create something to compete with Jurassic Park and then when they wrote this sequal, unlike Crighton and his The Lost World, they did bother to put in time and effort to keep their fans enthralled and scared witless.( Except for the end.) But hey, even with the ending being a bit disappointing the rest of the book is worth the cost of buying this book in hard cover and then after reading it, paying the extra charge on your light bill, because you wont dare turn off the lights for days.Buy it!!!!! Read it!!!!!! Scream for the movie!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Sequel is no "Lost World!"
Review: This is of course a good thing. Lost World by Michael Crichton, while a good book, was too much of a rehash of the first book [Jurassic Park]. Reliquary, however, is as new and as innovative as it's predecessor. Lincoln and Child's enthusiasm for their work is exemplefied in this book to a degree higher than in RELIC, a feat I believed impossible. Our favorite characters are back, Margo, Frock, Pendergast and the rest, but the new characters are just as intriguing as our old favorites. Case in point is Hayward, a street savy ex-DOT cop that saves the day, at first it seems as though she is a distasteful token female tough-person, that many authors feel the need to include ("It's proactive! Tee-hee"), but Hayward turns out to be as intriguing a character as Pendergast did. The plot of Reliquary is carefully, intelligently deployed, and completely fresh. I was afraid that it would suffer from "sequelitis", however, Preston and Child are so innovative and creative, that at times they put Crichton, Clancy and King to shame. If you haven't yet read RELIC, do so, and a couple of hours after you start you will be ready for Reliquary

Rating:
Summary: Crichton for Dummies
Review: This is the second book my these authors I have read. Interesting plotline, and characters. Moves fast and keeps you interested. Along the same lines as Jurassic Park, except you don't have to think as hard. The ending to this one was a bit of a stretch. But when you just need a thrill, it hits the spot. Looking forward to Ice Limit, Thunderhead, and Cabinet of Curiosities.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss it
Review: This story is a sequel to Relic. If you haven't read Relic but plan to, hold off and read Relic first. Relic in my opinion is one of the most suspenseful exciting mystery stories I have ever read.
Reliquary picks up where Relic left off. It also does it one better. It will spoil Relic however of you have not read it, but it is not necessary to read Relic first to get full impact from this book.

This is a certified "can't out down" book and you can just go ahead and dedicate the weekend to it. Once you start reading it will impossible to put down for any length of time.

The gangs all here with Margo Green, Vinnie DAgosta, Frock, Smithback and of course the indefatiguable Pendergast.

This is an essential in the Pendergast series and serves as a great introduciton to one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in contemporary fiction.

The Reliquary is gripping from the first page. NYPD divers discover 2 skeletons while diving for a disgarded heroine package. The remains are fairly fresh but missing the heads and exhibit teeth marks in assorted spots; was it wild dogs, rats or something else? The plot goes into overdrive from there and climaxes in the deep mysterious underground world of New York City's abandoned subway tunnels.

It is part, "Night Stalker" part "X-Files" and all scary.

This is best of genre type novel and raises the bar for semi-supernatural suspense murder mysteries. A movie would an amazing event indeed provided they could find someone to play Pendergast properly.

I discovered Preston and Child with "Cabinet of Curiosities" and have been on a crusade to read everything they have ever written. This book is wonderful and I can't imagine any one being disappointed with it.

Highly recommended!