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

(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

This is a fantastic series. The novel Brimstone is a set within a series, called the Diogenes Series. Preston and Childs have really upped their game with this novel, and the entire thing literally had me spell-bound.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel by Books On Tape, available at your local Wilbor.com page. The narrator, Scott Brick, was absolutely superb in his many renditions and inflections. This is a semi-large cast, and not one voice sounded like the other, male or female. American or Italian. I don't care that Count Fosco was literally borrowed (or, ripped?) from the pages of Collin Wilkie's novel Moonstone, I thought he was a very well-rounded, self-actualized character, and I enjoyed every scene with him in it. show more (!!!!). The story had me guessing, from one chapter to the next, what on earth could possibly show up next.

HOW is it possible that these authors were able to link together two subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with each other, and still make sense...??!? (Not only make sense, but wow, what a storyline...!). The real Stradivarius violin in danger of being ruined, could not possibly link to someone pretending to be Lucifer, while killing people in a very violent and gory way, and come out comprehensible....but Preston and Childs did this. And they did it amazingly well. This ability makes you want to rush out and purchase the three books in the Diogenes series, just so you can read straight through! I had the hardest time getting through every-day life, so I can get back to this story, and see what happens next. The murder weapon was straight out of sci-fi novels.

In their first two novels together, "Relic" and "Reliquary", authors Preston and Childs created two very memorable characters; Special Agent Pendergast & Lt. D'Agosta. While the books not involving these characters have been good, "Brimstone", which reunites them for the first time since "Reliquary", is the best book they have ever written and is certainly one of the best thriller/mysteries out there today.

Easily better researched and written than other mystery novels, "Brimstone" deals with several bizzare, suppernatural seeming deaths in New York. D'Agosta is back, now an angry Sergeant working in Southampton. Pendergast, who is quickly becoming a bit of a modern day Sherlock Holmes, is attracted to the odd aspects of the killings, as he usually is, but his character and past are fleshed out in ways that will delight long time readers. I dare not spoil them. Pendergast has evolved over the years. The stand alone novel "Still Life With Crows" proved Pendergast could stand by himself. Now, on a much bigger case with a larger canvas, "Brimstone" will aternate make you laugh, or creep you out. It reads as fast as anything that's come out lately, and is far smarter than your average mystery.

"Brimstone" will be a delight for all Preston/Child fans, hopefully the book that puts them firmly on the map for all mystery readers. I believe that even a casual reader can appreciate it's scare factor, the excellent characterization, and the respect the authors show for their readers and their protaganists. "Brimstone" sets not just a high mark for them, but all thrillers to come.

5 stars, & easily one of my favorites. show less

En esta quinta entrega de la serie de Pendergast (y la primera de la trilogía Diógenes) he notado un enorme crecimiento en la historia, no se decir exactamente en qué radica la diferencia, pero sí en que este libro ha sido por mucho el mejor de todos los que he leído hasta el momento.

Por primera vez Pendergast deja de ser una figura de segunda línea, en esta ocasión se convierte (por fin) en el protagonista, en la imagen principal de la historia, conocemos mucho más de él como persona y también sobre su historia, y a pesar de que no se cuenta mucho, si lo suficiente para saber que vienen cosas muy pero que muy interesantes.

Me encanta la manera en que estos autores manejan un thriller muy trepidante metiendo siempre cuestiones show more sobrenaturales, sin que esto caíga nunca en lo rídiculo y siempre terminan siendo, no solo situaciones bien argumentadas si no también bastante bien resueltas al final, por supuesto toda la parte de aventura que maneja y que entre el thriller y las escenas peliculeras definitivamente me entretienen mucho y me la hacen pasar pipa mientras leo, sin duda solo los norteamericanos son capaces de escribir este tipo de thriller de aventuras sin complejo alguno y además les sale bastante bien.

Feliz de haberme decidido a leer esta serie, no sé cuándo llegaré al libro 18, pero mientras tanto, me estoy divirtiendo mucho show less