Customer Reviews

Relic (Pendergast)

5 star:		(254)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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!

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.

I don't give out 5 star reviews lightly, but in this case I do not hesitate much. Generally, 5 stars is reserved for "imporant" or "artful" fiction, but this book is simply a masteripiece and the crown jewel of monster fiction.

We've ALL read books where someone wanders off into the darkness and gets maimed, and most of the time in some pretty vivid, arresting descriptions. But were we ever really frightened. Did we feel not just tension, but a plummeting, primitive fear?

RELIC certainly provides that, but never before have I been so frightened for characters that I didn't really care about. I admit that I am not a huge fan of this science-laden gibberish mingled with action, but it is quite clear that Lincoln and Child have a solid understanding of horror.

Perhaps there is something about their diction, which despite its sometimes convoluted, scientific nature, is always quick and flab-less. Perhaps it is that they have finally touched upon the haunted museum idea. Perhaps it is because despite the science and complicated passages, they still allow the book to boil to down to basic monster fiction.

And it works. Boy does it ever work. I can't remember ever REALLY being uneasy and frightened reading a book, but RELIC is a lean, visceral and frightening book, harrowing and gruesome. Read it.

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.

Douglas Preston and Lincon Child truly deliver a terrifying thriller here. This book has been quoted as "Jurassic Park came to New York City". While I love Crichton, I found this novel much scarier than either Jurassic Park or it's sequel. Definetly a classic, you'll find yourself shifting your body constantly to get comfortable and clenching your teeth as you read your way through this thriller. And compared to it's sequel "Reliquary"? I found it about equal, each book having it's own perks. Another book I would suggest if you liked these two, is the thriller "Hunter" by James Byron Huggins. The monster in Relic and in this novel are very comparable, only it takes place out in the wild and the novel centers more around a single main protagonist. All in all, it takes a monster similar to that of the Relic, and puts it's own very differant twist on it. Very exciting and scary!

The Relic is great, simly great. Mysterious murders start to take place at the NY Museum of Natural History. And it looks like no human is involved, but something that has no explanation. Agent Pendergrast is introduced here for the first time by Douglas Preston team. The action is awesome, mystery unrevealing at an excellent paste. Great ending. A classic gem.

I remember the first time that I ever read this book: I was 15 years old- and thought it was the coolest book ever written. Now- five years later- I've become the biggest Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child fan in the world! (sorry to those that think they are the biggest fans) I think the reason that so many people love these authors' books is because they are SO complex- yet are easy to read, and everything is aways explained in the end. In the Relic- the authors actualy make it seem like you are a character in the book! You're walking down a dark hallway in a museum knowing that the beast can get you at any moment! You hear a noise- then a smell hits you- you want to run- but then all is quiet. Your flashlight suddenly stops working. You turn around- only to face your death. You then realize your sitting in your bed shaking with fear- but you just can't put the book down! So you keep on reading all night long and finally at 3 AM you go to sleep. You can't wait till the next day when you'll be able to read the next chapter! Once you're done with this book- you move on to it's sequel- then you read all the other books written by these talented authors. Once you've read all five of their books, you start all over again- knowing that this Summer they'll have another great novel coming out!--- That's what makes me the BIGGEST Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child fan.

WOW! Cool! Fantastic! those are just SOME of the words that come to mind while pondering how great this book really is. Forget the comparisons between Jurassic Park and 'Relic' since they are so different, it's difficult to even compare, let alone be fair. Also, if you have seen the movie, DO NOT LET IT KEEP YOU FROM READING THIS SUPERIOR STORY. The movie, well, let's not mince words, it SUCKED. It was fodder for those who have absolutely NO imagination (my apologies for those who actually enjoyed this drivel--but compared to the book, that is truly what it is). Read this book and be totally enthralled with the characters and the situations they are in, and you just cannot help but realize how downright freaky and terrifying the location of this story really is. Oh, by the way, the sequel is trash compared to this. I have read everything by these authors thus far, and 'Reliquary' is the ONLY book to this point that isn't completely captivating.

It's okay, though (read it first, even though its a sequel, you won't lose too much). READ THIS BOOK! Thank me later (you WILL). Let me know what you thought rmgomske@lightcom.net Enjoy!

A few years ago I rented the movie THE RELIC. I found the film to be entertaining and enjoyable, but thought it would have been better if it had been written better. At the time I didn't realize the movie had been based upon a novel by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Not long ago I discovered this and decided to pick up the original novel and read it. Had the filmmakers stuck with some of the finer points of the novel, the movie would have been much better.

The book moves at a very fast pace and is highly engrossing. There is quite a bit of scientific jargon that sometimes slows one down (after reading THE RELIC, I did some research and learned some things I didn't know or had forgotten about biology), but I was able to read the entire novel (468 pages, 474 if you include the preview for THE RELIQUARY) in two days.

The story takes place in the New York Museum of Natural History. The Museum has seen declining numbers in recent years and is in need of new funds. The people in charge decide to open a major exhibit entitled "Superstition" to build public interest and support. Days before the exhibit opens a brutal murder is committed. The body has been mutilated in a very peculiar way that suggests the killer isn't human. Leading the police investigation is Lt. Vincent D'Agosta. D'Agosta wants to shut the museum down, but his superiors and museum officials oppose the idea. Instead things proceed as though nothing is wrong until another murder occurs. Some wish the exhibit to be closed until the killer is captured, but museum officials continue to push to allow the exhibit to open as planned. A special FBI agent from out of state, Pendergast, arrives on the scene and begins working with museum researcher Margo Green and Lt. D'Agosta in an attempt to uncover the real killer and decipher what their motive is.

As interesting as I found THE RELIC to be there are points in the novel that are quite predictable. For instance, when learning about the museum's security doors, it is obvious how they will come into play later on in the story. Nevertheless, unlike some novels that I have read, THE RELIC is written in such a way that these predictable outcomes did not detour my enjoyment in reading the story.

Some of the events of the novel might seem far fetched, but this is a work of fiction. Preston & Child are popular fiction authors, but they are known to do a great deal of research before writing their books. As unbelievable as some of the ideas and events might seem, they are nevertheless grounded in science.

THE RELIC was the first novel by Preston and Child and they use it to introduce one of the more fascinating characters of current pop fiction, Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, a modern-day American version of Sherlock Holmes. I found the character of Pendergast to be fascinating and look forward to reading more Pendergast adventures in other Preston & Child novels.

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.