Lokheed Wrote:I've just finished reading Relic and Reliquary back to back in the last few days (my son has been in the hospital with pancreatitis for over two weeks now, so I have a fair amount of time lately to just sit and read while I wait for things to happen). I liked Relic quite a bit, aside from one scene. There is a point towards the end of the book where the authors apparently decided that some exposition was required, and so they had three characters basically sit around and tell each other in great detail what they had all done five years earlier. It was clunky dialog that no human being would ever speak, and doubly so because none of the information was new to anyone involved in the conversation.

Reliquary, on the other hand, I thought was a real dud. In the same way that Star Trek writers continually fall back onto the "captain good, admiral bad" trope, it seemed like every single protagonist in the story had to deal with an immediate superior who was willfully ignorant. That happened in Relic to a much lesser extent, but in Reliquary I rapidly got tired of it. Also, the reveal at the climax as to the identity of the Big Bad was just ridiculous. It didn't come from any organic character progression, it was simply a random choice purely for the purpose of being a "twist" with no logic or substance behind it.

Honestly, if I didn't have my wife telling me how good the Pendergast books are I probably wouldn't bother to read another one.

Maggers Wrote:Sorry, Terry, while I usually agree with you, I have to disagree with each one of those. Especially Mitchum and Peck. Pendergast is patrician and very light in his coloring, nearly albino, except for his eyes. He's tall and thin. I don't see him as any of those dark actors who are much more macho than I see Pendergast as being.

KRW Wrote:Follow your instinct. The Pendegast novels are not worthy of your time. (BLECH)


Ken

webby Wrote:Ack! Pendergast is great! I could hardly stand the wait for Book of the Dead. Ok, he's no RJ, but who is?

I think Pendergast appeals more to those who really like Sherlock Holmes. He's hard to warm up to - certainly not a character that inspires instant sympathy or even fondness. His emotions are buried deep but they are there and he is worth getting to know.

Kramerica Industries Wrote:Hey everyone. I really dig the Preston-Childs novels and to a lesser extent their individual efforts (Just finished Preston's "The Codex" a few days ago). I turned a good friend on to FPW and in turn she got me hooked on P & C. The Relic and Thunderhead are my two favorites. I enjoy Nora Kelly almost as much as Pendergast. "Cabinet" is a great read as well and really set the tone for the following novels. Mount Dragon and Riptide I found a bit lacking. DOD was pretty good but I have my issues with it as a few things perturbed me. I'm game for any discussion... As for who I always imagined playing Pendergast? Strangely I kept picturing Christopher Lloyd from the Back to the Future films but lately I've been seeing him as Bill Nighy (Underworld) as well. Speaking of DHP I could see him as Diogenes for sure and probably will from now on since one of you brought him up. I do hope they take a break from Pendergast for a while and do something new. I'm still eagerly awaiting an explanation of how Eli Glinn is even alive. That's been bugging me for a while but they keep mentioning sequels to the Ice Limit within their other Novels so at some point they've gotta come clean.....

Scott Hajek Wrote:I've read them all. Just finished "Book of the Dead" and would like to discuss it with anyone.... I've got issues with it.

I have truly enjoyed all their books. They are fast, fun reads.

The Advesary Wrote:I read all of the preston-child books about pendergast, if you wanna chat about it let me know.

I'm looking for some other books to read, any ideas for me?