Brimstone

“While dead men tell no tales, their corpses often speak volumes.”

Opening with one of the most intriguing mystery starters ever, Brimstone makes it seem like the devil himself has come to settle scores. Like many other Pendergast novels, sometimes it seems like the story is Paranormally focused, but by the end that's not always the case. I won't say whether it is or isn't this time around, just like Relic and Still Life with Crows, things are usually more than they initially seem, even if what they initially seem is already downright fascinating without adding more plot point brownie points on top.

The creepy atmosphere is well-maintained, although it dwindles down into more of a whodunnit. Finally at the end it almost feels like a show more spy action-adventure novel. The authors are excellent at weaving up interesting, complex storylines that borrow a little of this and that from various genres. Even Pendergast himself feels little like James Bond. Really there isn't anyone else out there like him, which makes the stories seem even more unique, but you can pick up other far-out there traits shared with other detectives. While the book starts strong, it stays fascinating, but the ending is a little weak in comparison to the rest of the book. Usually the endings of these are showstoppers, so this was a little surprising.

Pendergast doesn't go as far out into Super-Pendergast territory as some of his previous novels, and we get returning characters such as Vincent D'Agosta. This was a treat since I always loved the guy, although he's now had major changes in his life and has to deal with demotion, depression, and self-doubt. It was interesting seeing him deal with his issues and getting a new lease on life, thanks to the supportive friendliness of our pale crusader.

While the fifth in a series, it's also the first of a trilogy focusing on the mystery of Pendergast's long-lost and apparently twisted, evil brother Diogenes.

Overall another psychologically gripping story, but in this case I kind of wish more of a supernatural bend would have come into play. Outstanding characters, well-placed tension, and groovy atmosphere support it up against any weight of plot pitfalls though, so this is another one highly recommended in the long-running series. show less

From the wealthy mansions of the Hamptons to crumbling ancient castles in Italy, Agent Pendergast investigates the strange Faust-like death of Art Critic Jeremy Grove. Grove's body, discovered in a locked room, is strangely burned, as if it burned from the inside out. Pendergast joins forces with two police officers he has worked with before: Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Heywood. As other bodies are found, similarly burned, the three investigators try to unravel the mystery. Is the devil himself coming to Earth to claim these men? If not, how are the bodies being burned, and who is behind the killings?

I love the Agent Pendergast series. Each novel is creepy and thrilling. Brimstone is the 5th novel in the Pendergast series. I listened to show more the audiobook version of this book. The narrator was Actor Rene Auberjonois. He did a wonderful job, reading clearly and using proper accents for Pendergast (New Orleans southern drawl), the east coast, and Italian characters. I have hearing loss, but was easily able to hear and understand all parts of this audiobook.

This story was another awesome Agent Pendergast thriller. The idea that Satan himself might be coming to collect on debts owed by nefarious, greedy characters was intriguing. The mystery had many twists and turns. I didn't see the ending coming....the tale ends on a wonderfully chilling final twist.

I'm definitely going to be reading more of this series. It's creepy-cool without being overly gory or cheesy. The books are well-written and the plots are complex but entertaining. I recommend this series for readers who like supernatural thrillers and action/adventure.

There are 16 books in the Agent Pendergast series. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are also the authors of many other books. To find out more about their collaborative novels, check out their website at www.prestonchild.com show less

(12) I had no idea I was picking this up in the middle of a series. It definitely can be read as a stand-alone. Not sure why I read it - an unsolicited lend that I grabbed off the shelf when I needed something mindless. And mindless it pretty much was. A brilliant eccentric FBI agent (Agent Pendergast of the series, I guess) and a couple of New York cops that must be recurring characters catch a murder case that seems to be spontaneous human combustion due to the devil. Or at least that is the story put out by the New York Post setting off a frenzy of religious zealots thinking it is the end of days. Meanwhile Pedergrast and friends believe it is a homicide especially after several more in the victims circle end up similarly torched. show more The mystery takes them to Florence and an old medieval castle. And that is not all - a shoot out with Chinese businessmen over rocket technology, a Stradivarius violin, a wand that melts people, and most ridiculous of all - Count Fosco, ripped from the pages of 'The Woman in White' without even an acknowledgement of such plagiarism until the author's note. Sigh.

There were actually parts of the book I liked. I thought the whole set up with the spontaneous human combustion and the history of the phenomena and the exploration of an old pact with the devil with all the literary and historic references was quite good. But 700 pages later with the over the top aforementioned disparate plot point all spooling out. It was just too much. It 'jumped the shark,' as they say.

I try to avoid a lot of genre mystery stuff for all the reasons. Thin unbelievable characters, preposterous plot twists, countless peril and rescue scenes. I probably won't read the ones that came before or after in the series, unless I really need something mindless in an airport sometime. Though it does end in a cliffhanger, so maybe I'll change my mind. show less

An acquaintance recommended Preston & Child to me. Brimstone is my introduction to Special Agent Pendergast. It took me almost a year to listen to all 16 compact discs. I wasn't exactly grabbed at first. Then, especially after the visit to Pendergast's home, I got more interested. Was this book in the urban fantasy genre? The murders are gruesome and certainly seem to be the result of black magic. I count several urban fantasies among my favorite series, so I was all set to enjoy.

Around CD eleven, I was ready to give up in disgust. The book seemed to be headed for the kind of conspiracy that annoyed me so much in my least favorite episodes of 'The X-Files'. Besides, my local library was open again and I'd been vaccinated against show more Covid-19. I started checking out audio books again. Brimstone was allowed to languish unfinished for a little over seven months until the Omicron variant made me decide to stick to my own audio books again.

I'm glad to say that with CD twelve, the direction I feared disappeared. The book was good again. The last disc was pure torture to listen because I couldn't be sure of the outcome. I loved the villain's fate and the very end. I also enjoyed the outcomes of the Preacher Buck subplot. It helps that this book came out in 2004, before the revelations of the worst about the New York City Police Department and its officers.

There was no point in feeling smug about figuring out what the villain intended to do to Pendergast from his first hint. The epilogue left me feeling chagrined. It has been too long since I last read The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (and Marian Halcombe was my favorite character anyway). I had not recognized the homage done in Brimstone.

Scott Brick's narration was very good. show less

Pendergast is my new favorite detective! It would have seemed this modern-day Holmes faced his ultimate challenge in Brimstone but for the great teaser for the next story. Pendergast's ever-cool demeanor and eccentric ways have captured my interest. I liked seeing Pendergast and D’Agosta share the limelight pretty equally this time, with intriguing insights into both characters. The villain was a fascinating creation. Be sure to read the authors’ note at the end regarding him. The secondary villain that served to annoy Sgt. Hayward seemed a bit extraneous (and long-winded). But the story and the suspense soon got back on track every time. I admit I didn’t see the final resolution to the mystery coming (not before Pendergast, at show more least), and that was refreshing. Overall an exciting and enjoyable installment in the Pendergast series. And a note on the audiobook, which I listened to: Scott Brick has been great in the Pendergast series, and in Brimstone his Italian was fairly good. (It can ruin an audiobook experience to have a narrator mangle a language!) It was quite fun to see D'Agosta's discovery about his language skills! show less

Review by Jeremy Taylor

When a man is found horrendously burned in a locked room reeking of sulfer with a cloven hoof print burned into the floor beside his bed, investigators are stymied. When news gets out that more bodies of prominent, wealthy citizens have been discovered under similar circumstances, the public reaches the obvious conclusion—Satan has come to earth and is killing off the most evil among us.

Special Agent Pendergast appears on the scene to assist with the investigation, teaming up with his old pal Sergeant Vincent D’Agosta to track down the truth. Together Pendergast and D’Agosta travel from Northampton, New York to the Italian countryside in their quest to solve the mystery of the increasingly lengthy list of show more gruesome deaths. What they discover is shocking: the murdered men had known each other for many years, and more than two decades before they had joined together in a midnight ritual that may only now be coming back to haunt them. But are these deaths truly supernatural, or is there a sinister human plot at work?

Pendergast and D’Agosta need to find the truth fast—before the growing panic in New York sets off a chain reaction that could lead to disaster. As thousands gather in Central Park to either welcome Satan or pray for his defeat, as modern prophets predict an impending apocalypse, as the clock ticks slowly toward crisis, it is up to these two investigators to find the truth before it is too late.

This is the best book yet by Preston and Child. It is thoughtful, suspenseful, provocative, and for the most part excellently written. As in all their books, the authors’ extensive research is easily apparent. Brimstone displays the best character work these authors have managed to date. In an interesting twist, one of the most enjoyable characters, Count Fosko, is “borrowed” from a book called The Woman in White by Victorian author Wilkie Collins, as admitted by the authors in a closing note. The book is also unexpectedly religious in theme. Although the primary religious figure is a preacher who turns out to have a messiah complex, the sermons he preaches prior to his downfall are spot-on from an Evangelical perspective.

The plot is pretty complex. In addition to the main investigation of the appalling deaths, the authors have thrown in a search for a priceless Stradivarius violin gone missing, two romances, some very interesting background information on Agent Pendergast (including his first name, Aloysius), and lots of discussions about art, literature, religion, culture (most notably Italian culture), and more. Through it all, the underlying tension never lets up, and the reader finishes the book feeling almost out of breath. The ending is a cliffhanger obviously intended to dovetail with the opening of the next book in what the authors have termed their “Pendergast Trilogy.”

Brimstone is also the most thoughtful book written by these authors, perhaps because of the prominence of religious themes and symbolism. In this, it is reminiscent of Dan Brown’s work at times. In one chilling scene, a professor relates how his study of the “golden ratio” has revealed that many of humanity’s most awful events (the biblical flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the sack of Rome, the burning of London, the Holocaust, the September 11 attacks, etc.) relate to each other by date in a way that predicts the next major catastrophe should occur in 2004 (the publication date of the novel). In another pensive moment, Pendergast says, “The twentieth century showed us the evil face of physics. This century will show us the evil face of biology. This will be humanity’s last century. . . . May God prove me wrong.”

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it does have drawbacks. One problem is the fact that D’Agosta carries on a sexual relationship with Captain Laura Haywood, who last appeared in Reliquary, while still married to, albeit estranged from, his wife. One scene in particular contains needless and unfortunate descriptions of a sexual encounter between these two otherwise very likable characters. The detailed descriptions of gruesome death may be a sticking point for some readers as well.

In a few instances the writing is a bit stilted, as when the authors set up the plot for the next book by having Pendergast receive a letter from his diabolical brother, informing him that the brother plans to commit an unspeakable crime very soon. Clearly, the next book will find Pendergast searching for his elusive brother and attempting to thwart his evil plan. Pendergast’s unquestioned ability to get out of even the most seemingly hopeless situations by whatever means the authors can imagine (picking the lock on a pair of handcuffs with a needle drawn from the cuff of his shirt, for instance) is another example. But these minor hitches can be overlooked given the strength of the rest of the book.

Overall, this book is excellent, and I look forward with great anticipation to the next novel by these authors.

(http://www.cerebralexchange.com/books/reviews.asp?host=1&book=167) show less

Once again Preston and Child have written an exciting suspense. With much of the book set in Italy, this novel reminded me of the books by Dan Brown. What I particularly enjoy about the books starring Agent Pendergast is the hint of supernatural and unknown that's woven into the otherwise traditional mystery. Extremely well-written, these novels are about the only mysteries that I'm willing to read because they keep me thinking from beginning to end.