Three of my favourite genres---science fiction, horror, thriller---come together for this exciting beach read which kept me up way past my bedtime. Lots of dark claustrophobic spaces and just enough gore to make the monster all too real, and I appreciated the fact that the novel's main protagonist, special agent Pendergast, was not just another comic book know-it-all hero. It's a shame they made it into such a crappy movie. ( )

(1995)First book by the two authors. Fair horror tale of a monster who hides in the basement of a natural history museum in New York City. Awakened and looking for food brings FBI agent Pendergast into the case. Very readable but not all that good.(PW)A monster on the loose in New York City's American Museum of Natural History provides the hook for this high-concept, high-energy thriller. A statue of the mad god Mbwun, a monstrous mix of man and reptile, was discovered by a Museum expedition to South America in 1987. Now, it is about to become part of the new Superstition Exhibition at the museum (here renamed the "New York Museum of Natural History"). But as the exhibition's opening night approaches, the museum may have to be shut down due to a series of savage murders that seem to be the work of a maniac-or a living version of Mbwun. When the museum's director pulls strings to ensure that the gala affair takes place, it's up to a small band of believers, led by graduate student Margo Green, her controversial adviser and an FBI agent who investigated similar killings in New Orleans, to stop the monster-if the culprit is indeed a monster-from going on a rampage. Less horror then action-adventure, the narrative builds to a superbly exciting climax, and then offers a final twist to boot. With its close-up view of museum life and politics, plausible scientific background, sharply drawn characters and a plot line that's blissfully free of gratuitous romance, this well-crafted novel offers first-rate thrills and chills.

A creature inadvertently brought to the Museum of Natural History from an expedition wreaks havoc. FBI Special Agent Pendergast is introduced. ( )

I have to put this up front, if you are not a fan of gory murders full of graphic detail in your book, or get bored with scientific theories in your fiction this may not be the book for you.

This book is the first collaborative work of Preston and Child, and also the first in the Pendergast series. Unlike most of the books in this series it cannot be read as a standalone and is followed on by Reliquary; the other two books that must be read in order in the series are Dance of Death/Book of the Dead. But I digress, I’m reviewing Relic not the entire, to date, 14 book series. I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend and, not knowing what to expect, was taken by surprise; it is the first book written by these two Authors I have read.

I found the characters both intriguing and infuriating at the same time, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the aforementioned Pendergast was not actually the main protagonist in this book, rather took a secondary place to another. I thought this was a great way of introducing a character that would eventually become the focus of a lengthy series, rather than having him leap out of the pages at the reader full bore and in your face. It actually is one of the reasons I will probably continue to read more in this series, he intrigued me and made me want to find out more about him. In creating the characters in this book, the Authors supplied enough details about them to allow the readers imagination to fill in the blanks or speculate as to what might follow. It is not only Pendergast that the Authors decided to just give ‘tasters’ to the character personality, they applied this to all the characters in the book and, while I found it an interesting way to lead into a series, I would have preferred to have more background on some of those characters who were probably not going to make it out of the end jacket alive, and this is the reasoning behind my 4 thumbs review.

It is a fast paced book, full of twists and turns that I really didn’t see coming. This edge of the seat action kept me turning the pages until to my surprise I had finished the book in a day. The idea of the entirety of the story line taking place in a Museum, and the suspense this brings with it makes this a book a would recommend to anyone who enjoys a book full of twists, turns and a little humour in places.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2015/07/13/review-relic-pendergast-1-douglas-preston-...





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Pretty good, I suppose. Not my usual kind of fare but I really like Pendergast. ( )