Reliquary

Liked this one more than the first. Had it figured out about 1/2 way through. Preston and Child make Pendergast *just* interesting enough to keep me reading! ( )

I really tried getting into this book. I pushed myself to get even halfway through it. But, it never reeled me in like other Preston/Child books have. They usually snag me from the very beginning but not this one. I liked how all the characters from The Relic have stayed the same, but the mystery, the intrigue, and the adventure was missing... or at least sparse. As a sequel to The Relic it would have been nice to have semblance of similarity, but there was nothing similar whatsoever. Moving on. ( )

I like the Pendergast series generally, but this has the feel of a bad action movie sequel - lots of running around, and not so much thinking. If you enjoyed the pace of the first novel, and wanted more of it, this is te book for you. ( )

Six-word review: Gross but fun monster chase underground.

Extended review: Like the first book in the Agent Pendergast series, this isn't glorious writing. Authors who would use phrases such as "gurgling silently" (when "gurgle" is a word of sound) and "lambent darkness" ("lambent" means "glowing") have a command of the language that fails to excite admiration. But it is adequate to the purpose, which is to entertain with fast-moving narrative, vivid description, and page-turning suspense, throwing in enough social relevance to add some ballast. Several characters are both likeable and interesting, and I hope to see one or more of them in another installment.

So three and a half stars for this one are a good mark, not half-hearted at all but fully appreciative of the value of setting a goal that's within one's reach. ( )

In the harrowing sequel to Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's debut suspense novel, "Relic", FBI agent Pendergast and the other players from the first novel are dealing with a series of macabre murders that have apparently been committed by strange denizens of the lowest underground lairs beneath the surface of Manhattan. This book also introduces a new character who recurs in later books, the formidable Sergeant Susan Hayward. Pendergast and company face danger from human dwellers of the underground of Manhattan, and not so human, to learn the true story of the Museum Beast from "Relic" and his strangely mutated progeny. ( )