Reviews

Angel of Vengeance by Douglas Preston

rmattson81's review against another edition

4.0

Angel of Vengeance is the 22nd book in the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This book cannot be read as a standalone; it's really best to start at the beginning, but at the very least you need to read The Cabinet of Curiousities, Bloodless, and The Cabinet of Dr. Leng first.

Angel of Vengeance picks up where the cliffhanger ending in The Cabinet of Dr. Leng left off. Constance, Pendergast, Vinnie and Diogenes (GASP) are stuck in 1880 NYC in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Dr. Enoch Leng, the Pendergast relative-serial killer-scientist who discovered the Arcanum that has allowed Constance to live a very long life.

This book brought the Leng storyline to a very satisfying conclusion. I really love the Diogenes character, and I enjoyed having him in this book. Some of the plot was bogged down around the middle of the book, but it was well worth the read.

Thanks to the authors, the publisher, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to see what comes next for Pendergast!

kongart's review against another edition

3.0

entertaining as usual, but i hate constance with all my heart.

content warnings: violence, profanity, sensuality/nudity

veganbookie's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious

4.0

mpetruce's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

abidingjedi's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

patrick6367's review against another edition

5.0

This was a five star read for about 90% of the book so I'm going to go ahead and give it five stars overall. As usual the prose, pacing, plotting and action rushes along, sweeps you up and keeps you turning pages long into the night. Yet this particular Pendergast novel both delighted and irritated me more than perhaps any other. I can't vent or crow about it without throwing out major spoilers. I don't normally do spoilers in my reviews. I guess I won't now. Rather, I'll say this: the authors are 22 books into this series and I'm sure it's becoming difficult to keep things fresh and interesting without turning things upside down/sideways etc and letting characters grow and change a bit. There was a big dollop of that in this book and I'm OK with it overall. In fact there is a quasi-redemption arc here that I absolutely loved. There are also a few instances of an old line character doing incredibly stupid things that are completely out of character (or so it seems to me). One of the big draws of the Pendergast books is both the protagonists/villains are actually smart and don't do dumb stuff. So having one of the characters break that mold was super irritating. The redemption arc was sooooo much fun though it more than compensates for the stupid stuff. I'll warn you that, although this book wraps up this story-line, the ending is more than a bit ambiguous. The epilogue I hope is a massive clue about where book #23 is going.

angrycroak555's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

giraffesforabillion's review against another edition

5.0

I enjoyed this one a lot more than the mini-prequel! We had our gang back together--plus one!--and though it was set in the 19th century, it didn't have the Sci fi flare that the previous book did. Pendergast seemed to be tamped down, which was unusual for him and let Constance instead be the star. I didn't expect the moral compass near the end (and lol at that requirement of any time travel book). Can't wait for the Nora Kelly adventure coming up next!

sudari1981's review against another edition

4.0

Wow. What an ending to the previous two books. I really didn’t know what to expect but it wasn’t this and I mean that in a good way. I do feel like they abruptly ended some things that they spent the whole book focusing on, which is why I gave it a 4 out of 5. Kinda wish they had elaborated a little more towards the end for some closure but maybe this means there will be a followup in the next Pendergast book. I also wonder if another spinoff series will arise after how the book ended. We will just have to wait and see.

tillywark's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0