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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Another Pendergast. I believe this is the one when we are introduced to Constance, but I could be wrong. In any case, its about "cabinets of curiosity" which were essentially museums in turn of the century New York, before a museum like the Natural History Museum existed. Oh, and its also about a mysterious murder. Go figure.
I think this one threw me for a loop. I don't remember figuring this one out.
I think this one threw me for a loop. I don't remember figuring this one out.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love the collaborations between Preston and Child. The mix of thriller and a tiny bit of sci fi is perfect for me. I can't wait to read more in the Pendergast series. He's quite the interesting character.
I’m still very busy reading the Pendergast series out of order (go me.) This is book three. If you don’t like some preternatural aspects to your mysteries, stop now. They’re in most of the Pendergast books and I love that melding of the paranormal and mystery so. I thought this was a good mystery but a bit too long. There was one whole plot thread I skimmed in its entirety.
Nora Kelly is an archeologist in the Museum of Natural History in NYC. She’s facing a petty museum lawyer, Brisbane, who thinks the academic side of the museum, is pointless and the money is better spent on making flashy exhibits and petty functionaries such as him. Nora’s been in a bit of trouble in her career and needs this job.
Bill Smithback was the journalist from book one and he’s made a bit of a name for himself off those exploits. He and Nora are an item and yet he keeps making mistake after mistake with her in this to the point I wanted to skim some of HIS chapters too.
Pendergast is in town (his loosey goosey FBI ties are plain in this). He’s interested in the torn down 1800’s hundreds tenement housing that revealed a basement filled with the victims of a serial killer from that time period. Fairhaven, who owns and is using this property, has it all swept up under the covers. Nora was roped into helping Pendergast only to get a reprimand. Smithback wants to expose what Fairhaven has done. Worse, his article seems to have kicked off a copycat killer who takes his victims and dissects out the cauda equina (a spray of nerves off the terminal end of the spinal cord) and is using them to somehow extend his life (don’t think too hard on this because it really doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s supposed to be out there alchemic hooey).
Enoch Leng, the killer, was tied into the titular cabinet of curiosities which were often kept by wealthy men in the 17th through 19th centuries, the precursors to museums really. He worked with one such cabinet, culling his victims from its visitors. However, the copycat killer, if it is one and not Leng as it might just be possible, knows they’re on to him and is out to get them, especially Pendergast.
The mystery itself was interesting, and in need of suspicion of disbelief (as most Pendergast books do but again, I like the preternatural stuff so I’m happy to do it.) What bothered me was the captain Cussler storyline. The police captain hates the cop he assigned to work with Pendergast and that was okay but then he thinks he’s found the killer. Okay, a chapter even two on that wouldn’t have been bad bit for a good hundred pages it flips between Pendergast and his companions and the captain and he gets more ridiculous with each moment until I finally stopped reading those chapters period. I didn’t think they added a thing. I do like this series. One day I might actually read all of it.
Nora Kelly is an archeologist in the Museum of Natural History in NYC. She’s facing a petty museum lawyer, Brisbane, who thinks the academic side of the museum, is pointless and the money is better spent on making flashy exhibits and petty functionaries such as him. Nora’s been in a bit of trouble in her career and needs this job.
Bill Smithback was the journalist from book one and he’s made a bit of a name for himself off those exploits. He and Nora are an item and yet he keeps making mistake after mistake with her in this to the point I wanted to skim some of HIS chapters too.
Pendergast is in town (his loosey goosey FBI ties are plain in this). He’s interested in the torn down 1800’s hundreds tenement housing that revealed a basement filled with the victims of a serial killer from that time period. Fairhaven, who owns and is using this property, has it all swept up under the covers. Nora was roped into helping Pendergast only to get a reprimand. Smithback wants to expose what Fairhaven has done. Worse, his article seems to have kicked off a copycat killer who takes his victims and dissects out the cauda equina (a spray of nerves off the terminal end of the spinal cord) and is using them to somehow extend his life (don’t think too hard on this because it really doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s supposed to be out there alchemic hooey).
Enoch Leng, the killer, was tied into the titular cabinet of curiosities which were often kept by wealthy men in the 17th through 19th centuries, the precursors to museums really. He worked with one such cabinet, culling his victims from its visitors. However, the copycat killer, if it is one and not Leng as it might just be possible, knows they’re on to him and is out to get them, especially Pendergast.
The mystery itself was interesting, and in need of suspicion of disbelief (as most Pendergast books do but again, I like the preternatural stuff so I’m happy to do it.) What bothered me was the captain Cussler storyline. The police captain hates the cop he assigned to work with Pendergast and that was okay but then he thinks he’s found the killer. Okay, a chapter even two on that wouldn’t have been bad bit for a good hundred pages it flips between Pendergast and his companions and the captain and he gets more ridiculous with each moment until I finally stopped reading those chapters period. I didn’t think they added a thing. I do like this series. One day I might actually read all of it.
This book was a letdown. The plot was less interesting and the action less engaging than the first two books in this series. The "ambiance" was less meaningful, and the big reveal was underwhelming.
I read this book because I generally like the sciency thriller plots of Preston and Child, but Pendergast is still not my favorite character. Sherlock Holmes was explicitly noted to have huge gaps in his basic understanding of the world in order to accommodate the extensive yet focused knowledge relevant to detecting. Pendergast by contrast apparently is an expert on every recondite, self-indulgent monograph ever written at any time and in any field. He is also an expert on human nature, and he is a bleeding heart humanitarian. Also, he's got loads of money and carte blanche from the FBI. This beggars belief. It is almost more like reading a super hero comic book than a crime thriller. I think I'll switch to a different series next time I try Preston and Child.
I read this book because I generally like the sciency thriller plots of Preston and Child, but Pendergast is still not my favorite character. Sherlock Holmes was explicitly noted to have huge gaps in his basic understanding of the world in order to accommodate the extensive yet focused knowledge relevant to detecting. Pendergast by contrast apparently is an expert on every recondite, self-indulgent monograph ever written at any time and in any field. He is also an expert on human nature, and he is a bleeding heart humanitarian. Also, he's got loads of money and carte blanche from the FBI. This beggars belief. It is almost more like reading a super hero comic book than a crime thriller. I think I'll switch to a different series next time I try Preston and Child.
Each book in this series has been worse than the one before. Relic is a suspense novel that respected the bounderies within suspension of disbelief. Reliquary was a natural progression that felt uninspired. Now this book...this book. Oh boy.
All attempts of natural progression within the series established universe has been tossed out the window. The suspension of disbelief is snapped. Pendergast has went from the series Sherlock Holmes stand in to a literal practitioner of sorcery. Through meditation he can now TIME TRAVEL. The time travel aspect is thrown in with such abandon that you would assume that the authors just figured time traveling was a standard occurance in everyday life. "Oh time travel? Don't we all meditate our way back in time."
Let's get to the villain. In the previous two novels our antagonist/antagonists weren't entirely out of the realms of impossibility. Hey, who's to say what beasts lurk in the depths of the rainforest. It's not implausible to imagine some undiscovered predator out there. But this book? Oh we're dealing with eternal life baby! That's right. Count em. TWO absurd concepts jammed into the series within the same book.
The craziest part? Judging by the site people were just totally chill about this. "Time travel? Alright. Immortality? Sure." Almost none of the reviews I've seen on here bother to bring it up. I'm going to assume this is because, as far as airport thrillers go, this book is pretty old. So what we have here is reviews of long time fans of the series.
That said I didn't hate the book. It had it's fun moments, even if it treaded into the cliche a lot. I think if I read another book in the series the supernatural elements may feel less jarring. I think it was those elements being so obviously shoehorned in that gave me literary whiplash.
2/5
All attempts of natural progression within the series established universe has been tossed out the window. The suspension of disbelief is snapped. Pendergast has went from the series Sherlock Holmes stand in to a literal practitioner of sorcery. Through meditation he can now TIME TRAVEL. The time travel aspect is thrown in with such abandon that you would assume that the authors just figured time traveling was a standard occurance in everyday life. "Oh time travel? Don't we all meditate our way back in time."
Let's get to the villain. In the previous two novels our antagonist/antagonists weren't entirely out of the realms of impossibility. Hey, who's to say what beasts lurk in the depths of the rainforest. It's not implausible to imagine some undiscovered predator out there. But this book? Oh we're dealing with eternal life baby! That's right. Count em. TWO absurd concepts jammed into the series within the same book.
The craziest part? Judging by the site people were just totally chill about this. "Time travel? Alright. Immortality? Sure." Almost none of the reviews I've seen on here bother to bring it up. I'm going to assume this is because, as far as airport thrillers go, this book is pretty old. So what we have here is reviews of long time fans of the series.
That said I didn't hate the book. It had it's fun moments, even if it treaded into the cliche a lot. I think if I read another book in the series the supernatural elements may feel less jarring. I think it was those elements being so obviously shoehorned in that gave me literary whiplash.
2/5
I quite liked this, stupidity aside. Ok, so it's not as good as Relic/Reliquary, feeling smaller and more contained with less use of location as a character and Pendergast comes across almost superhuman (?supernatural, with his memory shenanigans). Yet it's entertaining. There's just something about the odd mix of police/archaeological procedural/supernatural/thriller/serial killer concoction that keeps the interest.
I thought the identity of the killer was fairly obvious though and despite the grand schemes and revelations contained, it does all feel somewhat insignificant.
I listened to the audiobook version and Rene Auberjonois does a brilliant job as narrator, really selling it and elevating the quality. However, at the very end, it turns out this was the abridged version! Argghhhh!
Not happy, I feel annoyed and cheated. Frankly, as much as it tempts me, I'm just not going to read it to see what I've missed (the Irish policeman character has been removed from what I can tell). So, now I feel like I've not really experienced it. Can I even make a judgement on the quality knowing I've not experienced the original work?
More annoying still, I have the others already from the library and now I'm not sure whether to listen or not - the narrator did such a good job and it was a great commuting book, but actively going in knowing they're abridged...
I don't think I can. Quandary.
So, 3 stars story, 4 stars narration, 1 stars abridgement. Rounded up.
P.s. I had to mention this here as I keep forgetting - what is it with adding music to audiobooks. It's terrible and always completely random and in this case drowns out the narration. Just stop it!
I thought the identity of the killer was fairly obvious though and despite the grand schemes and revelations contained, it does all feel somewhat insignificant.
I listened to the audiobook version and Rene Auberjonois does a brilliant job as narrator, really selling it and elevating the quality. However, at the very end, it turns out this was the abridged version! Argghhhh!
Not happy, I feel annoyed and cheated. Frankly, as much as it tempts me, I'm just not going to read it to see what I've missed (the Irish policeman character has been removed from what I can tell). So, now I feel like I've not really experienced it. Can I even make a judgement on the quality knowing I've not experienced the original work?
More annoying still, I have the others already from the library and now I'm not sure whether to listen or not - the narrator did such a good job and it was a great commuting book, but actively going in knowing they're abridged...
I don't think I can. Quandary.
So, 3 stars story, 4 stars narration, 1 stars abridgement. Rounded up.
P.s. I had to mention this here as I keep forgetting - what is it with adding music to audiobooks. It's terrible and always completely random and in this case drowns out the narration. Just stop it!
I loved this book. I started at the beginning with Relic and am progressing through the Pendergast novels. Cabinet kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn't put it down and just had to keep reading more, even though my eyes couldn't take it. It was intense, gruesome, and I caught a few things towards the end that make me think there will be connections in the upcoming Pendergast novels! I'm excited to read the next one...Still Life With Crows.