Customer Reviews

Reliquary

5 star:		(108)
4 star:		(62)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Members of New York City's Police Scuba Squad discover two headless skeletons, one of which is hideously deformed, in the Humboldt Kill, aka "Cloaca Maxima, named after the great central sewer of ancient Rome" for obvious reasons. NYPD Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta is called in to investigate the who, why, what, where, etc., of the decapitated corpses, and discovers a link between them and a series of murders plaguing the city's underground homeless population. The violent deaths of the anonymous "houseless," the so-called "mole" people, have not been a priority for the powers that be, but when one of the corpses is identified as that of a wealthy socialite, priorities change fast!

The inability to discover the identity, or the species (?), of the unusually malformed skeleton, leads Lt. D'Agosta to enlist the aid of his old friend, anthropologist Margo Green, an assistant curator at the New York Museum of Natural History, and her former professor and mentor, the retired scientist Dr. Frock. FBI Special Agent Prendergast hooks up with the Doctor, the Lieutenant, and the professor, and they are later joined by journalist Bill Smithback. After finding some fascinating new evidence, the team attempts to discover if there is a link between the mole people's brutal murders, the two skeletons found in the Kill, and the Museum Beast incident of the previous year. It is important to note that "Reliquary" is the sequel to "Relic," and though this reads well as a stand-alone novel, it has strong ties to the first book in terms of plot, and characters. Green, D'Agosta, Prendergast, Frock and Smithback all worked together on the Museum Beast case. Enough background information is woven into this storyline so that one need not be familiar with "Relic" to enjoy this book.

The plot and sub-plots take some twists and turns, but everything leads our diverse team of sleuths and experts downward, deep into the dark maze of abandoned subway tunnels and sewers that lie beneath the streets of New York. One of the aspects of "Reliquary" that most intrigues me, is the factual, rather than the fictional. Much of the information included about the world underneath the streets of Manhattan is fact. "It has been estimated that as many as five thousand homeless people have lived in the vast warren of underground tracks, subway tunnels, ancient aqueducts, coal tunnels, waiting rooms, disused gas mains, etc., which riddle underground Manhattan. Grand Station alone sits above seven stories of tunnels." The Author's Note contains more information on this subject.

I don't want to interject spoilers, so suffice it to say that there are some creepy critters hanging out with the regulars below the Big Apple's glittering sidewalks. One of Margo Green's friends and colleagues, a gifted scientist, had been working secretly, on his own, with some of the plant fibers the now dead Museum Monster needed in order to feed. The man came up with much more than he bargained for, and consequently placed not only the population of New York at risk, but the entire ecosystem of our planet...and worse!! Yoiks!

This book starts off with a bang, that is to say, quickly with lots of scariness - which is good. However, the pace slows significantly about halfway through. The concept that "less is more" is seemingly unknown to Misters Preston and Child. I have encountered problems with their tendency to over-write before. Repetitiveness may cause boredom in the reader, and frequent exposure can take the scariness out of monsters. I think "Reliquary" is about 50-75 pages too long. The authors build suspense to a fever pitch, the tension peaks, begins to fall-off, and their point is still not made, nor are the mysteries solved. The lack of a taut narrative, really distracts from the horror and suspense. And, I was/am extremely disappointed in the ending. Not credible at all!! Here I have trekked through the smelly sludge of centuries, thirty stories beneath the city surface, seemingly forever, in order to accompany our protagonists, especially Agent Prendergast, who is superb...for this kind of finale??

If you enjoy Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, then by all means pick-up a copy of "Reliquary." It has its good moments and is entertaining, especially, when exploring the belly of the beast.

JANA

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 and
smell 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!!!!

As the sequel to "Relic" this is also fast paced and has information that makes me want even more information, about the underground of New York City, the history of it, and the way it relates to us on the verge of a new millenium. The main characters could be fleshed out more, but they are still more developed than the average "thriller" cast. And most readers will be able to relate to the bureaucratic nonsense and enjoy the justice served to most of the worst offenders. Most of the writing is fast paced and the opening scene is unbelievably graphic, brilliant considering it takes place in total darkness, under water, muck, and sewage of New York water ways. That scene alone left me with a case of claustrophobia. There are characters to love and ones to hate and ones that you only know exist, but have no idea who or what they are until too late. This is a great escape book, you want to use it to escape, but when you've finished you're glad to escape back to the real world as we hope we know it.

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 wiht the vivid descritpion of Pendergasy's sumptuous apartment, and espceially enthralled wiht 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 with 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, if adhered to and the screenplay done by the original authors, a true blockbuster. Nevr has there been such a unique and thrilling story...

Recently, I read an interview with Douglas Preston where he commented that RELIQUARY was probably the least successful of the "Agent Pendergast" books that he co-writes with Lincoln Child. After reading this book, I'm inclined to agree with him.

RELIQUARY is the second Pendergast novel and a direct sequel to the first book RELIC. It pretty much re-introduces all the major characters of THE RELIC and many additional ones. And this is the major flaw with RELIQUARY: there are simply too many characters and plot threads in this book, which don't really tie together in a satisfaying manner.

There's also a "been there, done that" quality to RELIQUARY that makes it a rather tiresome read. Preston and Child reuse many of the plot devices from THE RELIC, and there is little in this novel that is particularly original or inspired.

And most importantly, Pendergast only plays a supporting role in RELIQUARY, and the novel suffers in every scene where he is absent. Characters like Margot, Smithback and D'Agosta are simply not interesting enough to carry scenes on their own, and all of the other supporting characters are either too bland or cartoonish. I think the smartest move that Preston and Child ever made was to elevate Pendergast as the central character in this series, starting with the next entry, CABINET OF THE CURIOUSITIES.

That being said, I didn't hate RELIQUARY. It's a decent adventure story, and there's no denying that Preston and Child are very intelligent writers. Still, this is far from their best effort, and I wouldn't recommend this to anybody as their first Pendergast book.

One imagines there are inherent difficulties in collaborative work, but Preston and Child are so successful that one hopes they've found some mutually satisfying solution, so that they never stop! RELIC was a fine thriller, set in the NY Museum of Natural History, a dark labyrinth of curious objects. This time the pivotal scenes take place below New York City, in the dark labyrinths of subway tunnels, sewer drains and abandoned egresses, while the characters are the same. This is a true sequel, so do yourself a big favor and read RELIC first. You'll find the same main characters: anthropologist Margo Green, FBI Special Agent Pendergast, police lieutenant D'Agosta and reporter Bill Smithback, and it's nice to see them because they're all interesting and intelligent characters. A new character is introduced, Sargeant Hayward, who is also intelligent and cynical about her idiotic and sexist superiors. She gravitates toward our group, in a sort of Ayn Rand meets Stephen King way.

This time out someone or something has been killing homeless people, and our protagonists must learn about and enter the frightening depths below The City. The plot intensifies as they realize that one of the victims is someone they knew during the events of the first book.

My only complaint is that the book took a while to get going, for me at least, and really only took off after page 100, when Pendergast showed up. From there it is a superb thriller, and I stayed up to finish it until 4 am, turning pages quickly, interested in all the story threads as they played out and converged.

Masterful, intelligent and thrilling, this is a great read -- but read RELIC first!!

The Reliquary was a great book. If your'e looking for a suspenseful, fascinating novel about the underground of New York City. Most of the facts surrounding the mole people of New York City are true, so it made for an excellent read. Unfortunately I never read The Relic, so i'm not getting the full effect of the book and its meanings. I definately recommend this book.

A police diver discovers two headless bodies in the waterways of New York City which are sent to the Museum of Natural History for analysis. Margo Green and Professor Frock, anthropologists for the museum, determine that one is a wealthy young socialite who disappeared a few months before. The other, however, is much more difficult, and has many features that appear non-human, and bear strong resemblances to the Mbwun creature from the prequel "Relic." Other characters from the previous book include Lt. D'Agosta, and Bill Smithback, a reporter for the NY Post. Everything points to a race of Mbwun creatures living deep in the forgotten tunnels and sewers beneath the city.

Not having read "Relic" before "Reliquary", it's still a very exciting and interesting book. The underground homeless, or "Mole People," and strange monsters with mostly likeable characters combine for a story that is at times hard to put down. The ending gets a bit wild but everything is tied together pretty well. A fun book I can confidently recommend.

If you haven't read 'Relic' yet, this review won't mean as much to you. Still, 'Reliquary' is an amazing addition to Preston and Child's growing library of masterpieces-- not QUITE as good as its prequel, but a harrowing read nonetheless.

All our old friends come back; the intelligent and determined Margo Green, the brilliant Dr. Frock, the charming yet enigmatic Agent Pendergast, the touchy but good-natured Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, and the witty, sarcastic Bill Smithback return in this horrifying nail-biter of a story. While having a new threat introduced to the plot, it still resonates with the evil danger of the first book, and the reassuring presences of its familiar characters give you incentive to read, and find out if they come out okay.

Packed with plenty of action, horror, frequent bursts of wicked humor, and plot twists enough to knock you out of your chair, 'Reliquary' is a must-read for everyone who read the first Museum Beast best-seller, and a soon-enough read for those who haven't read 'Relic' yet. Either way, you MUST get your hands on this book. The only-- ONLY reason I didn't give it five stars was the fact that our sophisticated Southern gentleman, Agent Pendergast's first name still remains a mystery.

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.