A well-written, occasionally problematic suspense-fantasy featuring a pair of continuing characters in a series, Aloysius Pendergast, an FBI special agent, and his ward, Constance Greene. Pendergast has brought his ward to a remote Tibetan Buddhist monastery to recover from an earlier trauma, and is told that a previous visitor has stolen away an ancient device, the Agozyen, to transform a corrupt and selfish world. Constance Greene later learns that the Agozyen's purpose is to cleanse the earth of humanity, for a fresh start. Pendergast and Greene are asked to track the thief and retrieve the object to its safe hiding place. Their pursuit takes them to a cruise ship reminiscent of the Titanic. The action and scenes are interesting and well-composed, but Pendergast's immense erudition and skills, ranging from Tibetan mysticism to classic art to techniques of card counting by gamblers, with a host of FBI skills thrown in, come across as too unbelievable. Kind of a James Bond in a higher reading group. Also, the Agozyen itself turned out to be something quite different from the ancient supervirus I anticipated, and the mystical aspect of it was less satisfyingly explained than the more sci-fi approach I had expected might have been. Still, a decent guilty read that makes me want to explore the others in the series. ( )

predictable ( )

I just finished reading the eighth book in this series, and I thought rather than reviewing all eight individually, or reviewing the eighth without giving you any background, I would review the series as a whole instead.
Aloysius Pendergast is an FBI agent with a decidedly unorthodox approach. The crimes he investigates tend to be not entirely of this world. Not that there are ghosties and ghoulies, but rather strange forces that cannot be entirely explained by logic.

These books have that perfect balance of scary where they are definitely creepy, but they aren't going to give you nightmares. I love them! The action is fast paced and these books are total page-turners, guaranteed to keep you up all night reading.

Pendergast himself has the potential to be one of the iconic sleuths. His eccentricities and strange methods make the books stand out from the crowd. Lincoln and Child, who each have books published solo, make a dynamic writing team! I abosolutely recommend this series.

For the most part, the novels in this series are stand-alone and can be read out of order without too much trouble. However, I think they're better in sequence:
1. Relic
2. Reliquary
3. The Cabinet of Curiosities
4. Still Life With Crows
5. Brimstone (Diogenes Trilogy Book One)
6. Dance of Death (Diogenes Trilogy Book Two)
7. The Book of the Dead (Diogenes Trilogy Book Three)
8. The Wheel of Darkness
9. Cemetary Dance ( )

Spooky, smart, mysterious, set on a boat, what could be bad? ( )

My review is here:
http://moosplace.blogspot.com/2008/12... ( )