White Fire

An interesting and exciting addition to the Pendergast series, though different in some ways. A lot of character time was given to Corrie Swanson, especially in the beginning, so that I started to feel like it was her story and not Pendergast's. I like the character Corrie, but I'm reading for Pendergast, so I was a bit disappointed in how much I didn't get of him.

The mystery unraveled slowly at first, then became two mysteries that slowly merged into one. It definitely finished better than it started. More suspenseful, more exciting -- and an ending not for the faint of heart!

The Sherlock Holmes angle was fascinating. At first, it seemed an odd direction for Pendergast to take. And the Holmes story in the middle of the Pendergast show more story was interesting -- but at the same time, it was in the middle of the story. It did kind of bring the Pendergast story to a halt, killing the momentum and suspense. By the time I'd finished the Holmes story, I'd forgotten what was going on in Roaring Forks. So I'm not sure how successful that was as a device.

There were some great Pendergast moments here, like his entrance to the town. The Pendergast we see here is not the same as we've seen. He went through the harrowing events of the last three books, and had spent time "recovering." So far, that seemed to mean ignoring everyone and drinking heavily. But it seems Corrie's situation may have pulled him out of his funk. We'll have to see what he does for his next trick. show less

Sorry, but dropping a loaded magazine on the floor won't make the bullets eject all over the place.

A good outing. Corrie is an idiot. Sure, she's young, but she keeps making the same dumb mistakes over and over, then apologizing, over and over. Tiresome. At least she has the wit to partially get herself out of the shit she gets into. I wished for more comeuppance for the bad guys and I like the Conan-Doyle/Holmes tie.

"Knocking over his chair in his agitation, one hand to his forehead, the man staggered from the room, nearly upsetting a waiter's tray of delicacies. And as he vanished in the direction of the gentlemen's toilet area, his face displayed a perfect expression of revulsion.
The last two sentences of the Prologue of White Fire, the latest novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, describes the exit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle after his dinner companion, Oscar Wilde, tells him about an event in Roaring Fork, Colorado, that he learned of while on his US tour in the late 1880's. A story so gruesome, so vile and disturbing, that he could not bring himself to commit it to paper. But would Conan Doyle? And why would it matter in a Twenty-First show more Century thriller?

Chapter One begins in the present day, with criminal justice student Corrie Swanson working to find a thesis acceptable to her hard to please adviser at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a retired NYPD Detective who was a, "strikingly handsome man with salt-and-pepper hair, wonderful teeth, trim and fit, a good dresser, articulate, soft-spoken, intelligent, and successful. Everything he did, he did well, and as a result he was an accomplished asshole indeed." Finally, and not without some deceit, Corrie's third thesis idea was approved: she would spend winter break studying the bones of miners killed in the late 1880's, presumably by a grizzly bear. She was off to Roaring Fork, Colorado, to start her research.
With its mining days behind it, Roaring Fork was now populated by the super rich. Being a millionaire wasn't good enough; it took a few hundred million dollars to be noticed. Corrie immediately set out to work examining the bones of the a miner, but after she got one quick peek, she was suddenly and inexplicably refused access. That peek showed her enough to know that the dead miner was not killed by a grizzly bear, but likely murdered. And she was intent not only to prove it, but to prove who the killers were, over one hundred thirty years later. Whoever revoked her access to the bones didn't want her to solve the century old mystery, and will stop at nothing to stop her.

White Fire is the thirteenth in the series co-written by Preston and Child featuring the mysterious FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast, "...his scultped, albaster face...hair, so blond it was almost white...eyes of such pale gray-blue that, even across the room, he looked almost like an alien." It was my second read of the series, following Still Life with Crows.
There were similarities between the two books. Like Still Life, there is a mystery that appears surreal, crimes so heinous it must be a monster or ghost that is the guilty party. But other than a reader's inferences, Preston and Child never took the books in the direction of the paranormal. Instead, Special Agent Pendergast, with deduction skills matched only by Sherlock Holmes, solves the mystery with worldly explanation.

White Fire is well balanced between compelling characters, a good, multi-layered plot, and thrills that kept coming. I enjoyed the injection of literary history about Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And, while I won't include any spoilers, the ending, and the solution to many of the book's mysteries, made a social statement about our power elite, environment, and how the two are still often connected to the sins of the Nineteenth Century. show less

I've been enjoying Preston & Child's work ever since my brother bestowed a copy of "Still Life With Crows" on me many years ago. That gifting was because of my love for all things subterranean, but it was through that peculiar, dark door that I discovered the rest of their works, and especially those featuring that most curious of characters, Aloysius X. L. Pendergast. What a story, what a construction, this Pendergast! Every story seems completely original with his sombre presence. Mind you, even the books he's NOT in are pretty darned entertaining, but he's so multi-dimensional, so unlike your usual continuing hero-type (I'm looking at YOU, Dirk Pitt) that I look forward to every appearance, and it pleases me to report that "White show more Fire" does not disappoint. Better still, this story, much like "Still Life", is a stand-alone story…you don't have to be familiar at all with the Pendergast oeuvre to enjoy it. So dive right in! Mind the water though…

My only complaint may be my own fault. You need to read Pendergast books slowly, so as to absorb every detail, and as the story gets progressively more exciting I tend to rush. Then I have to go back re-read where I think I might've missed something. But that's okay; these stories bear up to repeated readings. That's why I keep all of my Preston & Child, I know I'll be reading them again. Much like I am with "Riptide" right now, in fact! show less

I think I have to start by saying that I’m a huge fan of Preston & Child’s writing. It’s no surprise that I enjoyed White Fire, as much as I did, because of that. I had some books in the Pendergast series to read first, in order to be able to read this one (though they stand alone in ways, I enjoy the series much more by reading them in order), so my anticipation built with each closing of one of those books. That anticipation paid off.

I feel that White Fire is one of the best Pendergast novels to date. With the recent life-changing events of the Helen Trilogy, to Pendergast’s life, I thought it was great that the authors were able to make him an even more complex, mysterious, but all the more imperfect and human than has been show more portrayed in the past. The reader gets to see a somewhat new side of Pendergast that I have no doubt will be expanded on even further in future books.

The story itself was filled with everything that’s great with the books of this series. The mystery, combined with scenes of action and suspense, didn’t fail to keep me engrossed in the pages. I also think it was great that Corrie Swanson, only a minor and (in my opinion) almost unnecessary recurring character, was finally given the time to show her worth. I understand now the reason she was only given minor roles in the past. This book is largely about her finding her way and who she wants to become. I almost feel like she’s a little Pendergast at this point. She is picking up many of his skills even if she is not always as good in execution as he is.

It’s hard to go into review of the storyline itself when dealing with a mystery and to avoid spoiling things. Yet, I do want to make mention of one of my favorite aspects of the plot (since it’s not much of a secret due to the description). The inclusion of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde into this book added a new dimension to the series. Fans will agree that Pendergast is a somewhat modern-day Sherlock Holmes type character. While I haven’t read Holmes myself, yet, I know enough about him to assert that quality on our dear Special Agent Pendergast. I think the way Preston & Child worked these two authors and Holmes into their story was unexpected and well executed. It helped in keeping the series fresh and is one of the reasons it hasn’t become dull or repetitive to me.

These two authors have invented such an intriguing, complex, and exciting series/character, that I have no doubt that whatever they write next, after White Fire will be just as explosive as this book. I think there are some big things in store for readers soon as Pendergast becomes more and more exposed to the readers. I can only hope the fourteenth book comes sooner rather than later. show less

White Fire opens with a prologue set in London in 1889. Oscar Wilde tells Arthur Conan Doyle a story he had heard in America so horrible that Doyle immediately feels compelled to leave.

In the present, Corrie, Pendergast’s young protégé has stumbled upon the perfect tale for her thesis. Roaring Fork, an uber-rich ski resort in Colorado, has moved a century-old graveyard to make way for a new development. Among the uncovered bones are those of some miners which appear to have been eaten by a grizzly. However, Corrie may have bitten off more than she can chew as her investigation takes her in some rather unanticipated directions which soon land her in jail. In desperation, she contacts Pendergast for help. He arrives in the town just show more as the first of a series of brutal arsonist attacks occurs. Soon, it becomes apparent to Pendergast that these crimes are linked to the attacks against the miners a century earlier and, with a winter storm setting in, things are about to get much, much worse.

White Fire has to be one of the best, most kick-ass, certainly the most delicious edition to the Pendergast series yet. For anyone who believes that the series was losing its edge, this will definitely revive your faith in it and, for anyone who has never read the series, White Fire will whet your appetite for more? show less

This is one of my favorite Agent Pendergast novels. I relish the settings, the atmosphere and the surroundings that provide the feeling of dread and the suspense that pervades all of these novels. Many involve NYC and the Museum of Natural History. Amazing the information to be gleaned throughout these books. But the small town locales always have a certain appeal for me. The locals and their ways, the ability of Pendergast to either amuse or harass citizens, some of who wrongly anticipate standing in the way of his investigation. Love the mixing of history and the current cases relevance to it. Don't relish coming to the end of this series, though the authors have many books to their credit. We shall see. lol. White Fire has a show more particularly claustrophobic feel to it, taking place in a Colorado Ski Resort, designed for the rich, and hiding their secrets. Roaring Fork and Sherlock Holmes are in the mix this time, and Pendergast is in a hurry. People are being dispatched in horrible house fires, and he may have the only answers as to why. show less