Douglas Preston
Author of Relic
About the Author
Douglas Jerome Preston was born on May 20, 1956 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received a B.A. in English literature from Pomona College in 1978. His career began at the American Museum of Natural History, where he worked as an editor and writer from 1978 to 1985. He also was a lecturer in English show more at Princeton University. He became a full-time writer of both fiction and nonfiction books in 1986. Many of his fiction works are co-written with Lincoln Child including Relic, Riptide, Thunderhead, The Wheel of Darkness, Cemetery Dance, and Gideon's Corpse. His nonfiction works include Dinosaurs in the Attic; Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado; Talking to the Ground; and The Royal Road. He has written for numerous magazines including The New Yorker; Natural History; Harper's; Smithsonian; National Geographic; and Travel and Leisure. He became a New York Times Best Selling author with his titles Two Graves and Crimson Shores which he co-wrote with Lincoln Child, and his titles White Fire, The Lost Island Blue Labyrinth and The Lost City of the Monkey God. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
This author is Douglas Preston. DO NOT COMBINE THIS PAGE WITH ANY JOINT PAGES OF DOUGLAS PRESTON AND LINCOLN CHILD Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are two different people, who have written books collaboratively and separately. Their author pages should not be combined with each other, or with any of the variants using both their names. Please see "Who Should/Shouldn't Get combined" on the Author wiki page. Thank you.
Series
Works by Douglas Preston
Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History (1986) 334 copies, 11 reviews
The Lost Tomb and Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder (2023) 293 copies, 9 reviews
The Diogenes Trilogy: Brimstone, Dance of Death, and The Book of the Dead (2012) 31 copies, 1 review
Old Bones – Der Fluch der Wüste: Der 5. Band der Action-reichen Cold-Case-Reihe (Ein Fall für Nora Kelly und Corrie Swanson, Band 5) (2026) 5 copies
Who is Gideon Crew? 3 copies
The Lost Island [First 11 Chapters] 3 copies
Origines 2 copies
Two Graves [First 9 Chapters] 2 copies
Lost City of Monkey God, The 2 copies
Pendergast The Beginning 1 copy
Strangers 1 copy
Turmeluksen joki 1 copy
Desperation 1 copy
By The Sword 1 copy
Extinction Cash & Colcord #1 1 copy
Gideon's Child 1 copy
Associated Works
The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives (2009) — Contributor — 240 copies, 5 reviews
Reader's Digest Select Editions 1999 v06 #246: The Devil's Teardrop / Lake News / Thunderhead / A Walk to Remember (1999) 55 copies, 1 review
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Last Juror • The Various Haunts of Men • The Codex • Life and Limb (2004) 15 copies
Australian Reader's Digest Select Editions: The Ambler Warning • True Believer • Tyrannosaur Canyon • Quite Honestly (2006) 12 copies, 1 review
Livros Condensados: Sorriso Assassino | Comam Bolos! | O Códice | A Morte e a Vida de Charlie St. Cloud (2005) 6 copies
Livros Condensados: O Martelo do Paraíso | És Minha | A Ilha Maldita | Amy e os Gansos Bravos (1999) — Author — 5 copies
Reader's Digest Select Editions: The Last Juror | The Various Haunts of Men | The Codex | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2004) — Author — 5 copies
Livros Condensados: Terreno Minado | O Homem dos Sete Ofícios | Frente de Tempestade | Um Raio de Luz (2001) — Author — 4 copies
Australian Reader's Digest Select Editions: Tripwire • Thunderhead • Lake News • Flight of Eagles (2000) 4 copies
Válogatott könyvek 2001/5 Ken Follett - Visszaszámlálás; Rosamunde Pilcher - Téli napforduló; Michael Palmer - A beteg; Douglas Preston és Lincoln Child - Viharfelhő (2001) — Contributor — 2 copies
Het Beste Boek 237: De codex / De eerste gast / Voltreffer / De pianist — Author — 2 copies, 1 review
Contracorrente / O bebê de alguém / A espiã improvável / Luz das estrelas — Contributor — 1 copy
Advogado de porta de cadeia / Os anjos de Morgan Hill / O vale do tiranossauro / Sobrevivendo com lobos — Contributor — 1 copy
Det Bästas Bokval (2005) vol 240 : Nattväktarna; Nätterna vid havet; Kodex; Damernas detektivbyrå — Author — 1 copy
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher, Bestseller-Sonderband - Der Codex. Das Wunder der Liebe. April in Paris (2010) — Author — 1 copy
Kirjavaliot - Suden läheisyys / Kuu paistaa haudallesi / Kirottu kuilu / Kolme toivomusta (1999) 1 copy
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher 278 - Der Canyon. Die Heideärztin. Gambling. Die Sturmfängerin (2008) — Author — 1 copy
Reader's Digest Select Editions: The Eleventh Commandment | The Currency Lads | Riptide | Firebird (1999) — Author — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Preston, Douglas J.
- Birthdate
- 1956-05-26
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Pomona College
Cambridge School of Weston - Occupations
- editor
writer
manager of publications
professor
research associate
School of American Research (Boardmember) - Organizations
- American Museum of Natural History
The Atlantic Monthly
Smithsonian
The New Yorker
Laboratory of Anthropology (Santa Fe)
PEN New Mexico - Agent
- Eric Simonoff (Janklow & Nesbit Associates)
Matthew Snyder - Relationships
- Preston, Richard (brother)
Dickinson, Emily (Ancestor)
Preston, Aletheia (daughter) - Short biography
- Douglas Preston is the author of thirty-five books, both fiction and nonfiction, twenty-two of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. He has worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a film. His latest book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in an unexplored valley deep in the Honduran jungle. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. He is past co-president of International Thriller Writers and serves on the board of the Authors Guild. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
New York, New York, USA
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Round Pond, Maine, USA - Map Location
- Massachusetts, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- This author is Douglas Preston. DO NOT COMBINE THIS PAGE WITH ANY JOINT PAGES OF DOUGLAS PRESTON AND LINCOLN CHILD Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are two different people, who have written books collaboratively and separately. Their author pages should not be combined with each other, or with any of the variants using both their names. Please see "Who Should/Shouldn't Get combined" on the Author wiki page. Thank you.
Members
Reviews
Siempre me han llamado la atención los libros escritos a cuatro manos. No tengo claro cómo se coordinan a la hora de llevar a cabo el trabajo. ¿Un capítulo cada uno? ¿Uno tiene las ideas y otro redacta? Me parece que debe tener más ventajas que inconvenientes, ya que si uno de los dos se atasca en algún punto de la trama, siempre es más fácil salir del apuro consultando al otro. Lo que sí tengo claro es que el dúo Preston-Child realiza su trabajo de maravilla. Saben escribir, show more bien, muy bien.
‘El relicario’ (Reliquary, 1997) es la secuela de ‘The Relic (El ídolo perdido)’, primer libro de la serie del agente del FBI Pendergast, y absoluto best seller internacional, con adaptación cinematográfica incluida. Hay que empezar diciendo que este segundo libro es mucho mejor que el anterior. Tal vez pueda leerse de manera independiente, pero no lo aconsejo, ya que la historia retoma los hechos poco después de lo acontecido en ‘The Relic’ y es fácil perder todo el entramado que se forma alrededor.
En cuanto a la historia de ‘El relicario’, nos encontramos otra vez en Nueva York. La novela empieza con la aparición de dos esqueletos en las aguas residuales de un río, con claras deformidades. Es entonces cuando entran en la investigación viejos conocidos, como son el teniente D’Agosta y Margo Green, conservadora del Museo de Historia Natural. Parece que algo se está cociendo en los subterráneos de Manhattan, verdadero laberinto y un mundo aparte.
La acción no decae en ningún momento, y vamos conociendo un poco más al enigmático agente Pendergast, cuyo protagonismo es mayor que en la primera novela. Impresionante todo el tercio final, que se lee casi sin respiración. Douglas Preston y Lincoln Child dignifican el tan denostado (a mi entender injustamente) género del best seller. show less
‘El relicario’ (Reliquary, 1997) es la secuela de ‘The Relic (El ídolo perdido)’, primer libro de la serie del agente del FBI Pendergast, y absoluto best seller internacional, con adaptación cinematográfica incluida. Hay que empezar diciendo que este segundo libro es mucho mejor que el anterior. Tal vez pueda leerse de manera independiente, pero no lo aconsejo, ya que la historia retoma los hechos poco después de lo acontecido en ‘The Relic’ y es fácil perder todo el entramado que se forma alrededor.
En cuanto a la historia de ‘El relicario’, nos encontramos otra vez en Nueva York. La novela empieza con la aparición de dos esqueletos en las aguas residuales de un río, con claras deformidades. Es entonces cuando entran en la investigación viejos conocidos, como son el teniente D’Agosta y Margo Green, conservadora del Museo de Historia Natural. Parece que algo se está cociendo en los subterráneos de Manhattan, verdadero laberinto y un mundo aparte.
La acción no decae en ningún momento, y vamos conociendo un poco más al enigmático agente Pendergast, cuyo protagonismo es mayor que en la primera novela. Impresionante todo el tercio final, que se lee casi sin respiración. Douglas Preston y Lincoln Child dignifican el tan denostado (a mi entender injustamente) género del best seller. show less
There are three iconic literary detectives to my mind. Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, and Aloysius Pendergast. All three are brilliant, have extraordinary powers of observation, and are charmingly quirky. Pendergast is back in action in the latest novel from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Bloodless. This may be their best book since Relic!
Bloodless opens with a recounting of the hijacking by D. B. Cooper, who threatened to blow up a plane, received a ransom of $200,000, and disappeared out show more the back of the plane on a rainy night, never to be heard from again. Fifty years later, Pendergast is diverted from Florida to Savannah, Georgia, along with his reluctant partner, Agent Coldmoon, and his ward, Constance. Bodies have turned up completely drained of blood in the iconic Southern city and there is pressure to solve the crimes before panic sets in. Savannah is a ghost-haunted city and rumors of the Savannah Vampire are already stirring.
The mystery deepens as bodies continue to appear. The situation is complicated by the presence of a ghost-hunting TV crew as well as a novelist debunking paranormal investigators. Pendergast pursues the scant evidence and the potential link to the D. B. Cooper incident, that leads to a terrifying, unearthly evil.
Preston and Child are masters at creating an atmosphere that feels haunting and almost supernatural. They manage to marry an intense thriller with science that borders on the mystical. They bring Savannah to life with its history, architecture, pace of life, humidity, lush greenery, and its foreboding cemeteries. The characters are second to none, from the iconic Pendergast to his stolid partner Coldmoon, the strange Constance, and a cast of colorful interlopers.
Amazingly, Preston and Child recapture the wonder and thrill of the first Pendergast adventure with a story that pulls you in with its mystery, baffles and entertains you all along the way and concludes with a rush that will have you on the edge of your seat and flipping pages all the way to the end. Bloodless is one of the best entries in the series and one of the best thrillers of the year. Perfect for both long-time fans and new fans alike.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less
Bloodless opens with a recounting of the hijacking by D. B. Cooper, who threatened to blow up a plane, received a ransom of $200,000, and disappeared out show more the back of the plane on a rainy night, never to be heard from again. Fifty years later, Pendergast is diverted from Florida to Savannah, Georgia, along with his reluctant partner, Agent Coldmoon, and his ward, Constance. Bodies have turned up completely drained of blood in the iconic Southern city and there is pressure to solve the crimes before panic sets in. Savannah is a ghost-haunted city and rumors of the Savannah Vampire are already stirring.
The mystery deepens as bodies continue to appear. The situation is complicated by the presence of a ghost-hunting TV crew as well as a novelist debunking paranormal investigators. Pendergast pursues the scant evidence and the potential link to the D. B. Cooper incident, that leads to a terrifying, unearthly evil.
Preston and Child are masters at creating an atmosphere that feels haunting and almost supernatural. They manage to marry an intense thriller with science that borders on the mystical. They bring Savannah to life with its history, architecture, pace of life, humidity, lush greenery, and its foreboding cemeteries. The characters are second to none, from the iconic Pendergast to his stolid partner Coldmoon, the strange Constance, and a cast of colorful interlopers.
Amazingly, Preston and Child recapture the wonder and thrill of the first Pendergast adventure with a story that pulls you in with its mystery, baffles and entertains you all along the way and concludes with a rush that will have you on the edge of your seat and flipping pages all the way to the end. Bloodless is one of the best entries in the series and one of the best thrillers of the year. Perfect for both long-time fans and new fans alike.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. show less
In Extinction, Douglas Preston sets a murder investigation against the backdrop of a Colorado resort where scientists have resurrected Pleistocene megafauna such as the mammoth, giant sloth, and indricothere for wealthy visitors to see. Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Frances Cash and sheriff James Colcord go in to investigate as the case takes twists and turns that reveal the cooperation they receive is as manufactured as their environment. Preston brilliantly develops his characters show more and the story has the feel of a true-crime Jurassic Park, even as characters caution that the de-extinction of Pleistocene animals is nothing like Jurassic Park (p. 58). Though the premise may resemble Crichton’s book, Preston is more focused on the human criminal element than the techno-thriller focus of Crichton’s writing. That said, he does end with a character observing in a manner similar to Spielberg’s film adaptation, “That’s the problem with science… If something can be done, it will be done – no matter how dangerous” (p. 358). Fans of Preston’s writing will find plenty to enjoy here with a mystery and characters that keep the story moving along and just enough real-world science for the premise to feel plausible. Further, he includes some nice Easter Eggs to his work with Lincoln Child in the Pendergast (p. 24) and Nora Kelly novels (p. 93) as well as his own book about the Monster of Florence (p. 75). A fun read for those looking for something scientifically possible in their crime fiction. show less
In The Pharaoh Key, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child pick up with Gideon Crew who learns that his medical condition and its associated death sentence continue to hang over his head. Meanwhile, his former employer – Eli Glinn, of Effective Engineering Solutions – has shut down the company following their most recent mission. Gideon and his coworker, Manuel Garza, are given the chance to clear out the remainder of their property from the office. Garza fumes over the unceremonious end to show more their jobs while Gideon feels apathetic. They learn that a computer program recently decrypted the Phaistos Disc, an ancient object with unknown writing and symbols. Thinking that it holds the secret to a treasure and wanting some last measure of security, Garza and Gideon heist the translation and plan an expedition to recover and sell whatever treasure the disc leads them to. They travel to a remote region of Egypt and find more and more complications, from disasters surrounding their means of travel to a compelling Lara Croft-type character named Imogen Blackburn to the discovery of an extant Coptic village in a mist valley cut off from the outside world. The story is a great adventure story from Preston & Child, masters of the thriller. They instantly drop the reader in the adventure, making them care about these characters while they take them from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. The story has a great MacGuffin that works well as a main subject for the quest while Imogen Blackburn nicely balances out the Gideon-Garza dynamic. Even as the twists and turns resemble an adventure serial, Preston & Child keep the reader involved and pay off their MacGuffin in a satisfying way. David W. Collins does an admirable job reading the story, creating distinct voices for each character with particular emphasis on Garza’s NYC accent. The story will appeal to fans of Gideon Crew and to Preston & Child’s writing. show less
Lists
Books Read in 2023 (23)
True Crime (1)
2010s (1)
Page Turners (1)
To Read (1)
May Books (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 114
- Also by
- 31
- Members
- 85,906
- Popularity
- #127
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 2,688
- ISBNs
- 1,917
- Languages
- 25
- Favorited
- 183
