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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
This was a wild ride. It ties in extremely well with the first novel. The twist, though, is totally unexpected and out of nowhere and it was awesome.
I'm curious to see where Pendergast's story goes. I was very interested in the subject of underground Manhattan.
The second book featuring Pendergast...it takes place in New York City again but expands further out than just the Museum of Natural History. Any New Yorker who reads this and isn't haunted by it on every subway ride they ever take after is not paying attention.
I knew I might be disappointed, but alas, I wanted it to be bad intuition. I do not know how anyone could say this was better than the first, especially when I was actually frightened by the first novel. This one...mmmm not at all. In fact, it took me a while to read this because I was so bored the entire time. What an unnecessary sequel. There was a plot point that was only there to set up a ridiculous fight scene near the end that was underwhelming, and the motivations and reveal of the villains was so lackluster and idiotic, I had to laugh. I missed the feeling and terror of Relic, and this just did not deliver.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Back in 1997, there was this pretty decent monster horror movie called Relic. It's kind of hard to find gifs of and, more germane, my reviews these days get less action than the Tastee Freez in my hometown (and that place has been closed for 30 years, babump-tsssss) so, it's not really worth spelunking the Internet for.
Anyway, that movie is based off of the first book and (a small) part of the second book in this series. A lot of stuff was changed but what I find most curious is the main character of this long-running series, FBI agent Pendergast, was written out completely. Several of the other characters in this book such as young biologist Margo Green, Chicago (NYC in the book) cop Vincent D'Agosta, elderly faculty advisor Professor Frock, and conniving competing biologist Greg Kawakita remain, in slighty altered forms.
(Honestly, the Pendergast character is mad entertaining but strains credulity frequently. My favorite oddball fact: he owns an apartment in the Dakota. THE Dakota. And he works for the FBI. Okurr.)
This book picks up around a year and a half after the first book. Our main characters (minus Greg, who seems to have disappeared) are trying to move on with their careers and their bad dreams when a police diver discovers two skeletons. One of them turns out to be the remains of a missing socialite and one turns out to be not exactly human so Lieutenant D'Agosta finds himself needing the expertise of the Museum of Natural History and the fabulous Dr. Margo Green again. Why does this thing look so similar to the museum monster they killed 18 months ago? Is it related to murders of homeless living in the tunnels beneath the city? WTF is track rabbit? (Y'all don't want to know and you probably really want to skip over the brief section where it's eaten.)
This is high quality popcorn reading. Monsters, monster nom noms, science facts, crazy information about the multi-storied tunnels beneath Manhattan that is at least partly true, valiant cops and their incompetent leaders, conniving journalists, mean rich ladies. Lots of savory and sweet ingredients here, mixed well.
I read the first book 20 years ago, so I don't remember it well. I definitely want to continue with this series though for at least a few more books. Fun trivia: co-author Douglas Preston is the brother of Richard Preston, author of [b:The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus|16213|The Hot Zone The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus|Richard Preston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413747743l/16213._SY75_.jpg|909325], amongst other things.
Anyway, that movie is based off of the first book and (a small) part of the second book in this series. A lot of stuff was changed but what I find most curious is the main character of this long-running series, FBI agent Pendergast, was written out completely. Several of the other characters in this book such as young biologist Margo Green, Chicago (NYC in the book) cop Vincent D'Agosta, elderly faculty advisor Professor Frock, and conniving competing biologist Greg Kawakita remain, in slighty altered forms.
(Honestly, the Pendergast character is mad entertaining but strains credulity frequently. My favorite oddball fact: he owns an apartment in the Dakota. THE Dakota. And he works for the FBI. Okurr.)
This book picks up around a year and a half after the first book. Our main characters (minus Greg, who seems to have disappeared) are trying to move on with their careers and their bad dreams when a police diver discovers two skeletons. One of them turns out to be the remains of a missing socialite and one turns out to be not exactly human so Lieutenant D'Agosta finds himself needing the expertise of the Museum of Natural History and the fabulous Dr. Margo Green again. Why does this thing look so similar to the museum monster they killed 18 months ago? Is it related to murders of homeless living in the tunnels beneath the city? WTF is track rabbit? (Y'all don't want to know and you probably really want to skip over the brief section where it's eaten.)
This is high quality popcorn reading. Monsters, monster nom noms, science facts, crazy information about the multi-storied tunnels beneath Manhattan that is at least partly true, valiant cops and their incompetent leaders, conniving journalists, mean rich ladies. Lots of savory and sweet ingredients here, mixed well.
I read the first book 20 years ago, so I don't remember it well. I definitely want to continue with this series though for at least a few more books. Fun trivia: co-author Douglas Preston is the brother of Richard Preston, author of [b:The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus|16213|The Hot Zone The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus|Richard Preston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413747743l/16213._SY75_.jpg|909325], amongst other things.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is very similar to the first book, [b:Relic|67035|Relic (Pendergast, #1)|Douglas Preston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1389576748s/67035.jpg|23046]. The setting is less interesting because little of it actually takes place in the museum. It is set around (and under) the city of New York. The underground setting is kind of malleable. It is alternately structured and unknowable as suits the authors' purposes at different times. At all times, I had a hard time imagining the structure of the tunnels that is so important to the book's plot throughout.
The "clueless authorities respond with over-bearing knee-jerk reaction leading to large scale disaster" element is familiar from the first book but starts to feel more comic than dramatic here. I like most of the main ensemble of characters except Margot Green. It appears the authors are trying to write her as a strong and independent character who can hold her own as an equal with the men, but she is too whiny for me to respect her. She has a certain resolve, but her internal dialogue is frequently about how shaken up she is by the events of her past and how she is struggling to manage her emotions. It seems like the authors wanted to give her a certain sensitivity as a woman to keep her from being too masculine, but they didn't know how to write sensitivity without weakness. To counter this, they gave her strong actions, but this just leads to incongruity, not balance. That might sound like the ingredients for some sort of complex and nuanced internal/external persona interplay, but in this case, it isn't.
The "clueless authorities respond with over-bearing knee-jerk reaction leading to large scale disaster" element is familiar from the first book but starts to feel more comic than dramatic here. I like most of the main ensemble of characters except Margot Green. It appears the authors are trying to write her as a strong and independent character who can hold her own as an equal with the men, but she is too whiny for me to respect her. She has a certain resolve, but her internal dialogue is frequently about how shaken up she is by the events of her past and how she is struggling to manage her emotions. It seems like the authors wanted to give her a certain sensitivity as a woman to keep her from being too masculine, but they didn't know how to write sensitivity without weakness. To counter this, they gave her strong actions, but this just leads to incongruity, not balance. That might sound like the ingredients for some sort of complex and nuanced internal/external persona interplay, but in this case, it isn't.