I've read all the Pendergast books. I finished Book of the Dead a few weeks ago. I like the idea of underground tunnels and underground spaces. Even when Pendergast travels outside of New York he finds his way underground.

(way off topic) If you too like underground spaces, you should check out the movie Dark Days.

I liked the Ice Limit and I liked how they brought Eli Glinn into the later Pendergast books.

To tell the truth, like most books, Preston-Childs books are only fillers to pass the time while I anxiously await the next Repairman Jack novel.

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.

Now I'm reading Relic.

I am ashamed to say, this is my first Preston & Child book. I bought already RELIC and RELIQUALY and CABINET OF CURIOSITIES and RIPTIDE and THUNDERHEAD and STILL LIFE WITH CROW and BLIMSTONE and DANCE OF DEATH and THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. But I hadn't time to read them. These days I was reading FPW's works and Richard Matheson's works.

Now I'm reading Relic.

I am ashamed to say, this is my first Preston & Child book. I bought already RELIC and RELIQUALY and CABINET OF CURIOSITIES and RIPTIDE and THUNDERHEAD and STILL LIFE WITH CROW and BLIMSTONE and DANCE OF DEATH and THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. But I hadn't time to read them. These days I was reading FPW's works and Richard Matheson's works.

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.

Kenji,

I'm sure you will enjoy most of the Preston-Childs books. Read them in order for the most fun. They are full of adventure, spookiness, and interesting characters.

I have to agree with Lokheed that Reliquary wasn't so good, but there are elements and characters in it that come up again in later books, so it's worth reading at least for that.

Enjoy!

When I first read "Reliquary," I thought the same as Lokheed and Webby. But I read it again recently and enjoyed it much more. I'd forgotten about the Big Bad Guy twist. I was taken in. I fell for it. And there was a wee bit of shadowing of that particular character that could lead one to believe where he wound up.

I'd also forgotten many of the characters who show up on P/C's later novels. So it was fun to re-read and re-discover.

I recently purchased all of the Pendergast novels, largely due to the fact that so many people from this forum seem to love them. I devoured the books - couldn't put them down. I can't wait for more Pendergast.

Did the talked about "Book of the Dead discussion" ever take place?

-Luthie

Kenji,

I'm sure you will enjoy most of the Preston-Childs books. Read them in order for the most fun. They are full of adventure, spookiness, and interesting characters.

Enjoy!

Yeah, I'm enjoying Relic.

Now I got why movie was so bad. Because Pendergast didn't appear in the movie. Pendergust is cool like Lincoln Rhyme.

Yeah, I'm enjoying Relic.

Now I got why movie was so bad. Because Pendergast didn't appear in the movie. Pendergust is cool like Lincoln Rhyme.

Exactly! I couldn't believe they left him out of the movie since he was probably the most interesting character in the book, but that's Hollywood I guess.

Exactly! I couldn't believe they left him out of the movie since he was probably the most interesting character in the book, but that's Hollywood I guess.

But who could play perfectly Pendergast? I thought Christopher Walken would be good.

But who could play perfectly Pendergast? I thought Christopher Walken would be good.

Christopher Walken might be a little too old. What about Val Kilmer? He was great as Doc Holliday, complete with Southern accent, in the movie Tombstone. Have you ever seen that one?