The Book of the Dead
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
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Read in October, 2007
The Book of the Dead is the last of three in the Agent Pendergast series. I'm not sure why it's a trilogy, though, because there are actually six or 7 books with that character and they're all somehow related. Dance of Death and this book focus on the hatred and battle between the Pendergast brothers, FBI Special Agent Aloysius and his brilliant but murderously pathological brother Diogenes. The previous book left off with Diogenes framing his brother for some horrific crimes an...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Nicole / Smart People
I normally never buy NY Times bestsellers, as it's usually the morons of America that cause the shittiest books ever written to end up on this list. The Book of the Dead was an exception I made. This time American readers got it RIGHT! I just finished this book and I'm still reeling.
This book is the way a thriller/myster should be written. It's full of complex, well-developed characters, it has an evil genius (part Hannibal Lecter, part Sideshow Bob) conspiring to ruin lives, a coo...more
This book is the way a thriller/myster should be written. It's full of complex, well-developed characters, it has an evil genius (part Hannibal Lecter, part Sideshow Bob) conspiring to ruin lives, a coo...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in February, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in March, 2008
I like the Lincoln and Child books. Not sure why. There's nothing all that remarkable about them, but they are just entertaining stories that are not completely predictable and mindless. I remember reading Relic when I was a kid and loving that, and I have read several more of their novels set in/around the Natural History Museum. Also read The Ice Limit randomly a few years ago and thought it was great.
Now, I saw The Book of the Dead on some shelf somewhere and decided to read it, not r...more
Now, I saw The Book of the Dead on some shelf somewhere and decided to read it, not r...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Suspense and mystery lovers
One dreary December evening some years ago, I slogged in to my local Fred Meyer, stamping snow off my shoes, and encountered a tall, friendly, dapper gentlemen hawking paperback books near the door. He introduced himself as Douglas Preston and said the book, Relic, was being made into a movie. I thought, Yeah, sure. So why are you standing here in a deserted grocery store in Kennewick, Washington, on a night like this? I sort of felt sorry for the guy, so I bought the book.
Abou...more
Abou...more
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Read in May, 2008
I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, "Brimstone" featuring Special Agent Pendergast and his evil brother. The first book was novel, this one was much less so. I felt the plot was more contrived, straining credulity, melodramatic and predictable. Other than that it was a fun fluff listen. There was more reference to madness and supernatural or B grade science fiction over tones blended into a pot boiler thriller/mystery.
I don't know that I'll bother reading the middle book th...more
I don't know that I'll bother reading the middle book th...more
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Read in July, 2007
Thanks Sally! I was in the airport looking for a book to read on the plane and I remembered Lincoln Child's name from your reviews so I picked up this one. It's a terrific mystery thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed it but was left with some questions. For instance, why did Diogenes attack Margo Green in the first place? Maybe I could answer some of them if I re-read it...something I might do sometime.
I might also find some answers in Child's other books. There's a note at the end of The B...more
I might also find some answers in Child's other books. There's a note at the end of The B...more
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This is the latest book in the series featuring Agent Pendergast, and the final book in the Diogenes trilogy. As I’ve said before, Pendergast, in my opinion, is one of the greatest literary heroes ever created, and I certainly was not disappointed in The Book of the Dead. In fact, Pendergast, having been through so much in the previous book, Dance of Death, becomes an even more complex character and actually shows his more vulnerable side. Secrets are finally revealed about his relationship wi...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
people who like crime dramas mixed with very slight supernatural themes
This book is in the middle of a series of books about an extraordinary FBI agent and his seemingly neverending battle with his extraordinary criminal brother who looks very much like him. Since I read this book without reading any of the others, I was left wondering about the nature of some of the characters, because several seem to have relatively mystical backgrounds which are explained by science, and yet still remain mysterious. If you've seen "The Prestige" you understand the sort...more
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Read in June, 2007
Haven't read anything by this collaborative team before, but it is a pleasant surprise to say the least. There are several areas towards the end where the authors do such a phenomenal job of describing an altercation that it reminds me of the way a Stephen King passage can make you queasy. I could easily picture this book as a movie; must be because of how the authors get you wrapped up in the sounds, smells, etc. of the characters’ experience. I like the way they describe elements from the ...more
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Read in July, 2008
A few years ago, I read a book called Cabinet of Curiosities. It was a great book about murders taking place in and around museums. Anyway, I picked up this book and started reading it and realized these were the same characters. It turns out that the authors have written several books with these characters and that this (Book of the Dead) is the third in a trilogy and Cabinet was the first. All the books are stand alone, but I love when you run into the same characters and see what happened...more
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Read in September, 2007
This book ends the trilogy of Preston and Child that includes Brimstone and Dance of Death finally finding out what happens to our fateful Agent Pendergast. I am a die hard fan of anything these guys write and have been reading everything since The Relic came out all those many years ago. Not once have I lost interest in the story or the characters and I cannot wait from book to book on what the outcomes are going to be. This book does not disappoint with a combination of crime thriller, anci...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
someone trapped in a well with nothing better to do.
This was a bummer of a read, but I blame this on the marketing strategy rather than anything else. The teaser on the back claims that this is both a gothic thriller AND a mystery. What the book failed to indicate was that this volume was actually the third in an unofficial trilogy. This problem remained unaddressed until the afterword where the authors answered a few questions regarding the order a reader should pursue their books.
Without the background of the first two novels, The Book of...more
Without the background of the first two novels, The Book of...more
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Read in July, 2007
Good audiobook - I liked it. The story kept you guessing through the entire book. Some of the action later in the book becomes a little hard to believe; however, it is a book and not intended to be reality. If you have read other of the Penderast stories, you become to expect some activities a little on the edge. Entertaining book, well read (listened to it on audio book) and one that was easy to follow while I drove back and forth to work (often letting my mind wander). Having an understan...more
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recommends it for:
a quick read
Every reader should have at least one mass market paperback author they can count on for when their flight gets cancelled at an airport.
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's books read like the summer blockbuster that you're ashamed to admit to your friend that you love.
Well, hear me now: I am not ashamed. Well, maybe a tiny bit, but despite the cheesy titles their books are fairly inventive, gripping, and well written, and with Stephen King in semi-retirement (or at least retirement fr...more
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's books read like the summer blockbuster that you're ashamed to admit to your friend that you love.
Well, hear me now: I am not ashamed. Well, maybe a tiny bit, but despite the cheesy titles their books are fairly inventive, gripping, and well written, and with Stephen King in semi-retirement (or at least retirement fr...more
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Read in June, 2006
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Read in August, 2007
I was stuck in a Wisconsin airport and needed to buy a book. The cover looked good, so I bought it. Big mistake. The first half of this novel begins as an interesting crime/police-procedural that catches your interest. But the second half deteriorates into a preposterous comic book where the main characters suddenly have superhuman abilities and events occur that are wholly inexplicable. By the end I could only wish I had lost the book at another airport while half way through it. This book has ...more
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recommends it for:
mystery thrillers
I've never read any of the Pendergast novels, and it would probably had helped if I had. This is still a good book to read but I recommend you read Cabinet of Curosities or and Dance with Death, which are to two preceding books of the Diogenes Trilogy. (with book of the dead being the conclusion). It's still a stand alone book, but it may flow easier if the other two are read first. Otherwise it was a really interesting read. It did bog down a bit in the beginning, but that may be due to not rea...more
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Read in October, 2007
The main reason I picked this book up was that I was alone for lunch and the cover grabbed my attention. I bought it, read maybe three pages during lunch and put it down for a couple months. When I went back to read it, I realized that it wasn't really so much about Egypt as I would like, but it was a well-written adventure book. It wasn't until I'd finished the book that I realized it was part of a series. I seem to have a habit of doing that. I plan to read the rest of the series if I can...more
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Read in July, 2007
So far it is interesting, but I feel like I am missing out by not having read the 6 or so books that come before it. I'm having a tough time keeping all of the stories straight without the background info, but I think it might motivate me to go back and check out more of them.
Now that I'm done-- moved up to a 4 star. I was about to give up on it, but the second half was very exciting and the 8,000 subplots came together. I think I'll be going back to read some of the others in the series.
Now that I'm done-- moved up to a 4 star. I was about to give up on it, but the second half was very exciting and the 8,000 subplots came together. I think I'll be going back to read some of the others in the series.
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