Rating: 
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!
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
Summary: Made me sweat
Review: I have read several works of Preston and Child. I have read their works in the following order: THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, MOUNT DRAGON, and RELIC. Currently, I am reading the follow-up to RELIC - a novel entitled, RELIQUARY. I made one big mistake by reading Preston and Child's THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES prior to reading RELIC. Some of the characters in THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES can be found in the RELIC. If I explain the reasoning for my mistake, I will ruin the intrigue of the central plot of THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. Thus, I will offer no explanation, but rather just ask you to trust me: read RELIC and RELIQUARY prior to reading THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. RELIC ends with, "there is a knock on the door." This leads into the next novel RELIQUARY. I cannot express my delight of reading Preston and Child. There is an intensity of their writing that induces me to forget that I am reading a book. When I am involved in reading their novels, my mind travels with the characters in the novel. I find myself sweating and sitting on the edge of my chair. Their writing is quite astonishing. In addition, they bring in technology and the anthropological/biological sciences in a remarkable manner. That last time I took a biology course was in the 70's. Although I didn't believe this while I was in college, I certainly had a great biology professor. I had to employ my basic of knowledge of biology to comprehend the storyline. My biology course not a waste of time. I will continue to read Preston and Child, but will make sure I'll read them in order of their publication dates. I give you the same recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Proper
Review: The mousy museam girl; the genius lethal albino FBI agent; the brilliant crippled professor; the ambitious young research fellow; the slovenly-but-smart NY cop. And the monster in the basement, of course. I got the sequel, too. :)
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent & Creepy!
Review: Awesome story! I couldn't put it down right up until the very end! It's terrifying in its plausability. The authors make you believe! I was very scared when I was reading it, but I was compeled to finish it. If you're a Crighton fan, as I am, this is like taking Crighton to the next level. The movie doesn't do the story justice- the reader's imagination is much better. A great book for any sci-fi fan. Definitely pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: One of seven masterpieces by Preston and child
Review: This is the two author's first novel together; they have written seven total with a eighth due out next year. The imagination, thoughts, and ideas that went into this novel is mindboggling. I have several favorite authors I read, but I have to say Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child are hands down the best. If you've see the movie and haven't read the book you will be kicking yourself for wasting time with that waste of film, the movie does the book no justice. For example I read the book first and found out there was a movie, I think I watched maybe 10 minutes and turned it off it was disgusting. The sequel Reliquary might even be better it's hard to say. Both books were brilliantly written. Once I read the Relic, I had to find the other books the authors had written together. In my opinion Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child are top of the class. But hey don't take my word for it read for your self and you too will be hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Freakin' Wicked!
Review: Didja see the movie? Didja like it? Yeah...it was okay. I sure hope that doesn't stop anyone from making or going to any future films made from the books of this fantastic writing team! Didn't see the movie? No big deal. This is definitely a case of "the book is better". Far better! Someone or someTHING is going around slaughtering people in New York, and it all seems to center around one particular museum. Yeah, yeah, there's the obligatory big-thing that gets ruined in the form of a new gallery theme that goes horribly awry when the murderer decides to drop by, but Child and Preston have the magical ability to take plausible circumstances and turn them horrifically askew without the word "cliche" popping up in your mind at all. These guys can write! They can be technical without getting textbook about it like Crichton's works. They can explore characters without diverging from the main storyline which, with their books, always moves along like some tribal wardrum, beating slowly but rhythmically somewhere in the distance--just enough to set your nerves on edge--then gradually getting louder and picking up the pace until the wonderfully satisfying frenzied climax is reached...and you're hooked on their books like I am. It began for me with The Relic. Original idea mixed with childlike enthusiasm and great research adds up to awesome book. Not a classic--just a heck of a great read!
Rating:
Summary: Not up to their later works
Review: It's difficult for me to criticize Preston and Child too much, because I've enjoyed every book they've written, until this one. Because it was an early work, Relic has several problems. Foremost, the writing is mediocre. When characters make statements, and they are described as "He exploded", or "She exclaimed", among many other wrenching phrases, then you know that the writer is trying too hard. Just say "said". Characters: At the first of the book, they are very hard to tell apart. There are no tags, other than the fact that Cuthbert is Scottish (with almost no inflection in his voice), and Dr. Frock is in a wheelchair. Pendergast is fairly well written, and likable, as is Margo. Smithback is mostly annoying. Other than these, the personalities run together. Coffee is a complete stereotype, and then he simply disappears near the end. I suppose it's because he shows up in Reliquary later. The language is horrible, and I really wanted the creature to kill Arbogast just to shut him up. Preston and Child also seem to be enamored with the idea of pools of blood covering the floor, and guts strewn everywhere. Fine for horror fans, I suppose, but a little much for others. I'm certain that if I had read Relic first, then I wouldn't have picked up their later works which, in my opinion, are much better. The best is Riptide, followed by The Ice Limit and Thunderhead. In all of these books, the writing style has matured, the science is more accurate, the language isn't nearly as foul, and the gore is minimized. Hopefully the trend will continue.
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!
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