The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3)

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The Book of the Dead (Pendergast #7)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 12,320 ratings · 546 reviews

A brilliant FBI agent, rotting away in a high security prison for a murder he did not commit.

His brilliant, psychotic brother, about to perpetrate a horrific crime.

A young woman with an extraordinary past, on the edge of a violent breakdown.

An ancient Egyptian tomb about to be unveiled at a celebrity-studded New York gala, an enigmatic curse released.

Memento Mori

Hardcover, 454 pages

Published August 1st 2009 by Warner Books (first published January 1st 2006)

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Jul 07, 2008 La Petite Américaine rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Nicole / Smart People

Shelves: kicked_ass, guilty-pleasures

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 cooped-up myst...more 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 cooped-up mysterious girl living in a NYC mansion, seduction, explosions, hypnosis, prison escapes, murders, light shows, ancietnt Egyptian curses, a final showdown on a FRICKIN VOLCANO in Italy, AND A BOMBSHELL ENDING! Christ, this book RULES! -- and it's all written in such a fast-paced way that you NEVER get bored. Extra bonuses?

1) You can NEVER predict anything. Any half-wit could have predicted the ending of The Da Vinci Code, and elements of other great thrillers like Red Dragon and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo also have predictable parts. Not this one. The writers are too smart for you, and they stay 10 steps ahead at all times.

2) The two main characters KICK ASS. The evil genius isn't just bad, he's a meniachal nut-case that you almost have to admire for his psychotic brilliance. His brother, the equally brilliant FBI agent, gets his ass kicked just enough to make him believable, but not a wussy. ROCK ON.

3) I didn't even know until half way through the book that it's the most recent in a series. They give away nothing about the other books, so I can go back to number one and start reading without knowing what happened. WOOHOO!

4) Most importantly, this book isn't just a story. When a book is just a story, I get driven nuts. Good authors, like these ones, include other shit in their books because they're SMART and they know how to keep a reader interested. This book will have you googling shit, looking for places on maps, trying to find out more information about historical figures, downloading classical musicians you'd never ever heard of, and checking up on Oscar Wilde quotes, etc. THIS, to me, is what makes a novel great: elements of intelligence, and not just a stupid story. Think I'm wrong? Uhhh, two words for you: Ken Follet. Here are some more: A.S. Byatt. William Styron. Margaret Atwood. I can keep this up all day.

Anyway, AWESOME READ, am SO going to read this entire series. ROCK AND ROLL!! (less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Suspense and mystery lovers

Shelves: mystery-suspense

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.

About 24 hours later,...more

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Aug 09, 2008 JoJo rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to JoJo by: found in bargain bin at borders

Shelves: edge-of-your-seat

i found this book in the bargain bin at the borders where my sister works. the cover interested me and i asked my sister about it, and when she said that people asked her about it a lot, i bought it since with my discount it came to about $2. was a great book and i'm sorry i read it first because its the last book in a trilogy made by the two authors about their FBI protagonist, special agent pendergast. i highly suggest this book, its awesome and i rarely care much for mass market paperback thr...more

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Oct 11, 2007 Irishcoda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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 and then stealing m...more 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 and then stealing millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the Museum of History. Aloysius goes to prison and Diogenes drops out of sight...or does he? These two books reunite some old favorite characters from early stories.

Of the Pendergast trilogy, I was most disappointed in this book. I know I'm in the minority because most people really enjoyed the series and I wondered if I missed the boat somehow. The first part of the book was too slow for me. There was too much time spent on trying to break Pendergast in prison and police captain Laura Hayward being too proud to listen to Detective D'Agosta. One thing is for sure: poor Museum of Natural History, site of more brutal serial killings than any where else in the world probably. Two murders occurred before the opening of the Tomb of Senef...given the past history of disaster within the museum you'd think everyone would be more cautious? I guess those monkeys never learn. The one thread I found spooky was when Hugo Menzies/Diogenes came visiting Margo Green. Very creepy!

There was a character that turned me off and why was his last scene with the warden necessary? Agent Coffey. The man should have been deposited in a prison himself, not deported to another FBI office! Everyone of the books has had the prerequisite Ass in Charge.

A plotline that was a total turn off but ended out well: Diogenes seducing Constance Green. I guess it was predictable but it was done too easily. What came later was awesome!

The second part of the book was a lot more interesting and the only reason I gave the book 3 stars. At that point, Pendergast has been broken out of one of those "no one can escape from here prisons" and reunited with his old crime fighting buddy Vincent D'Agosta. Laura Hayward's come to her senses and realizes she needs to unite with D'Agosta and Pendergast to save all those unfortunates in the Tomb of Senef...oh, and she loves him, too.

Best of all was the sudden change in Constance Greene. Her pursuit and battle with Diogenes scenes were the best I've read in a long time.

I felt cheated by "The Event". I absolutely can see one brother goading another into trouble, I just can't see that particular outcome. Diogenes supposedly suffered brain damage in the ventromedial frontal cortex from the incident, which involved lights and sound. For revenge, he wanted to induce it in millions of people. His first two victims had total psychotic breaks and became violent. They were beyond reason and so I wondered how Diogenes was able to think at all or be around people--years of self control? Too weird. I couldn't find any information on the so-called "Higginbottom region" but maybe it's out there somewhere.

I know there's at least one more book now, one that focuses more on Constance Green. I haven't decided whether I want to read it or not. I've been alternately exasperated, bored, and enthralled with the story so far...not sure I've been enthralled enough to move on to the next level.

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Apr 25, 2012 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was so interesting that I read it in one day! I could not put it down! It's rare for me to do this, unless it captivates my imagination, and 'rings true'.

I think information on the Lincoln - Child books are becoming confusing. I read this about two years ago, but do not recall Detective Pendergast, being mentioned anywhere in the storyline. I am not a fan of the Pendergast series, which is written solely by, I believe Child. However, when the two of them get together,...it's always a...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Jessi Hafeman rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this book at my library book store. The cover interested me, and since it was $2, I bought it. I'm sorry I read it first because it’s the last book in a trilogy. Good suspense, mystery, and surprise throughout it, but not always fully explained. I thought everything was overall fleshed out, I never understood the character of Constance. Her “mysterious past” was never fully brought out. Everything else I felt comfortable with and was brought up to speed on. The main characters had a stro...more I found this book at my library book store. The cover interested me, and since it was $2, I bought it. I'm sorry I read it first because it’s the last book in a trilogy. Good suspense, mystery, and surprise throughout it, but not always fully explained. I thought everything was overall fleshed out, I never understood the character of Constance. Her “mysterious past” was never fully brought out. Everything else I felt comfortable with and was brought up to speed on. The main characters had a strong voice, so I could connect to them while missing pieces about them from the previous books.

While there were good moments, there were also bad moments. First of all, I’m sick of the stereotypical prison guards who like to beat the prisoners. It’s not true. My dad worked in the Federal Prison System, and they did not take pleasure in finding moments to raise their night sticks to a rowdy prisoner. Get over the stereotype and find something fresh. The authors put this mentality in most of the FBI and cop characters as well. While they take you into the mind of side characters, they provide nothing more than the boring cookie-cut personae. It was a disappointment.

Another disappointment was the way women were handled in this story. While they try to make them smart, they also have every guy in the book give them the once over and think about how hot they are. And if they’re overweight, it’s mentioned in about every other word. Every pudgy body part is pointed out and demeaned as an overweight female character moves. I was rather turned off by the portrayal of the women in the book. Yes, there were overweight men, but the observation of their weight was only mentioned once. Big miss in the women category. None were interesting.

I enjoyed the working on the Tomb of Senef scenes. I think there was a fun amount of history added in here and there. But when the overall deception behind the museum exhibit was discovered, it kind of fizzled out. The “Event” was not all that impressive or frightening. There were no repercussions for the museum for what happened, no explanation of what the results were for the lead curator, no follow-up on some of the victims, etc. All of a sudden, the authors take you on a completely different route. It felt like a “second ending” that was not cohesive with the preceding storyline. In fact, overall the characters suffer no ills for many law-breaking moments. It was a big let down. You cannot escape from a federal prison without repercussions. Charges do not just up and disappear in the wind. Everything wrapped up too cleanly. There should have been another book of the after-museum events to give justice to all these loose ends.

Perhaps my feelings would be different if I had read the previous books. I think the authors are smart and talented, but they seriously need to work on the female counterparts in their stories. Please stop taking about their hotness or their weight! Thankfully, they do get the intriguing villain character right. I would enjoy reading more of Diogenes and his very layered cunning.
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May 31, 2011 Colleen Toyama rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was happy to discover Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs because now I have a whole new series of books to read. I'm about halfway through their books and loved every one of them so far.

Spoilers below...

I admit that as much as I love their books, the Diogenes trilogy are my least favorites because I don't like having to put up with the same killer through three books...in the same way I didn't like that CSI had that recurring serial killer character throughout this whole 2011 seasson---I turn...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I enjoyed Douglas Preston's recent best-selling sci-fi thriller, Impact (also reviewed here on Facebook), but did not much like this one, a bit of airport trash he co-wrote with Lincoln Child. It's not as bad as Ted Bell's Spy (reviewed here: http://pwoodford.net/blog/?p=1314), but it's pretty bad all the same. My biggest problem? The Book of the Dead is one of a series of novels, with a cast of characters introduced (and presumably more fully developed) in earlier novels. Unfortunately, though...more I enjoyed Douglas Preston's recent best-selling sci-fi thriller, Impact (also reviewed here on Facebook), but did not much like this one, a bit of airport trash he co-wrote with Lincoln Child. It's not as bad as Ted Bell's Spy (reviewed here: http://pwoodford.net/blog/?p=1314), but it's pretty bad all the same. My biggest problem? The Book of the Dead is one of a series of novels, with a cast of characters introduced (and presumably more fully developed) in earlier novels. Unfortunately, though I think the authors intended it to be, it is anything but a stand-alone novel. Odd and peripheral characters are constantly being introduced with no explanation of what may have gone before -- two separate female characters had apparently been attacked and almost murdered in previous novels; another seems to a scientific and philosophical experiment, a 100-year-old savant in the body of a woman in her 20s, with the social skills and worldly experience of a home-schooled 12-year-old -- and you never quite grasp who these people are or why they are important. The main characters, two brothers, are well explained, though improbable -- one is an evil genius, the other a good genius, each gifted with essentially superhuman powers. And there's a female police captain, who is always referred to by her title, which is Captain of Homicide -- a most un-American kind of title, although she's NYPD. In parts of the book it is all too clear that two writers are at work, often at cross purposes. In a climactic scene, the evil brother retreats to his volcanic island fortress, and suspecting that the 100-year-old 20-year-old woman has tracked him down and is even now climbing the volcano to reach his fortress, barricades himself deep within, surrounded by 3-foot-thick stone walls -- yet he not only hears her knock on the door, he says "who's there?" in response. The plot, the cliffhangers, the main characters (and some of the peripheral ones) all have this in common: they are impossible, utterly removed from life as we know it. And yet this is not a comic book, or a fantasy like Harry Potter -- it's supposed to be a thriller, based in modern life and experience, and thus remotely possible. Well, it ain't, and I didn't like it.(less)

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Jul 01, 2010 Johnny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, mystery

Warning: I tend to enjoy books in a series more and more when I've developed a "relationship" with the characters. This may not be the best written book in the series, but it feels like it to me because it is so true to the characters.

Raise your hand if you really think a detective can be as near-omniscient as Sherlock Holmes. Uh huh! I didn’t think so. Now, that being said, if you still enjoy suspending your disbelief enough to enjoy the improbable mastery of minutiae that Arthur Conan Doyle as...more Warning: I tend to enjoy books in a series more and more when I've developed a "relationship" with the characters. This may not be the best written book in the series, but it feels like it to me because it is so true to the characters.

Raise your hand if you really think a detective can be as near-omniscient as Sherlock Holmes. Uh huh! I didn’t think so. Now, that being said, if you still enjoy suspending your disbelief enough to enjoy the improbable mastery of minutiae that Arthur Conan Doyle ascribed to Holmes, you would probably enjoy the Pendergast novels of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. Sadly, I’m not the first to make this comparison. Some of the dust jackets of the hardbound versions of these novels compare Special F.B.I. Agent Pendergast and the Consulting Detective known as Holmes. The dust jackets also compare Pendergast’s master criminal brother, Diogenes, with Sherlock’s smarter brother, Mycroft.
Indeed, without unleashing a full-blown spoiler, let’s just say that there is a scene in The Book of the Dead that is eerily similar (with a few vital differences) to a certain incident at Reichenbach Falls in the Holmes canon. And how about all of those wonderful disguises used by both Aloysius and Diogenes Pendergast?! Aren’t those sort of the Holmesian stock-in-trade?
Frankly, if I had to believe the martial arts prowess demonstrated in one scene combined with the improbable escape in another, I would have exiled Child and Preston from the Wilsonian Library long ago. However, it isn’t so much the verisimilitude of the plots that work for me as the atmosphere these books create. Although they are clearly set in the latter part of the 20th century or first part of this century, they have atmospherics redolent of medieval Italy, antebellum U.S., the Napoleonic Era, and ancient Egypt. Child and Preston have an amazing ability to intertwine history and mystery within a modern conundrum. Not content with locked room mysteries, they insist on locked museum and locked prison mysteries, in spite of high-tech surveillance equipment and fail-safe procedures. Ancient artifacts and legends are juxtaposed against surprisingly modern technologies and methodologies.
Most amazing to me in this novel was an introspective journey taken by Agent Pendergast at a critical point in the plot. The discipline in building and deconstructing a mental edifice in which to store one’s memory was remarkable. For the purposes of the novel, it was an amazing way to handle exposition of the plot without resorting to a hokey dialogue. It was as suspenseful as many of the action scenes.
Speaking of “exposition” of the plot, there is also a lot of unveiling of character backgrounds and motivations, as well as a horrifying revelation at or near the end. There is a marvelous interplay between loyalty and betrayal played off between the various ongoing relationships we have seen developing in the course of the series, as well as the new one developing in this book. It may well be because of my interesting in the Ancient Near East in general and in Egyptology in specific that I found this book more satisfying than usual, but I think this may have been the best yet.
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Jun 03, 2010 Mike Moore rated it 2 of 5 stars

Remember those old movies that blended cartoons and live action? Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Cool World? This book reminded me of those, perhaps more the latter than the former.

The book starts with promise, presenting some compelling scenes and introducing some believable characters. Than we're introduced to the villain and the hero, two ridiculous cartoons striding through a world of normals. The plot quickly spins out of the realm of the remotely plausible, as the cartoons seem to infect...more Remember those old movies that blended cartoons and live action? Like Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Cool World? This book reminded me of those, perhaps more the latter than the former.

The book starts with promise, presenting some compelling scenes and introducing some believable characters. Than we're introduced to the villain and the hero, two ridiculous cartoons striding through a world of normals. The plot quickly spins out of the realm of the remotely plausible, as the cartoons seem to infect those around them, transforming the hapless humans into wacky, goofy caricatures that can then careen wildly through what's left of my credulity.

Any attempt to prevent spoilers ends here.

I'm actually not that hard a case for this kind of thing. I'm generally happy to suspend disbelief and accept the world that the author wants to present, as long as its consistent and fulfills its objective (in this case, pure entertainment). So, even though I couldn't read the scenes with Diogenes Pendergast without seeing a wild eyed animated Christopher Lloyd in my mind, I was enjoying the book enough for a generally favorable (three stars) review. There were two things that lost me though.

First, I really want characters to have legitimate motivation. Even the villains? Especially the villains! In this book, Diogenes is motivated to spend about a billion dollars, wantonly destroy half a million more in diamonds, dedicate about 15 years of his life to performing about 500 man-years of work in a variety of disciplines that are not remotely related (yeah okay, he's a cartoon, whatever), and kill dozens of people because... well, because he's just crazy like that. You know, there was this thing that happened to him when he was a kid, and it just made him... crazy like that. That's beyond what I can will away by suspension of disbelief.

Second, there's Constance. Why is she there? Why should we care about her? And why does Diogenes risk his whole plan to sneak into her room and seduce her? Okay fine, he's crazy like that he doesn't need a reason, but these are still the most ridiculous and seemingly pointless scenes of the whole book, and that's really saying something.

Well, it turns out that the reason for it all is so that Constance can come from out of nowhere in the end of the book and kill Diogenes by wrestling him into a live volcano. Yeah. A live volcano. She has to do it, because the main character can't bring himself to. She falls in as well. I'm pretty sure the volcano has some ominous name, like Mount Doom or the Gate of Hell or something.

So we have pages and pages of painful scenes that have the sole purpose of manufacturing Golumn so that she can jump into a volcano. It's transparent in retrospect, because there was no other possible reason for those scenes to exist. That's beyond sloppy storytelling. (less)

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May 25, 2009 Teresa Watson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Things are not going well for Special Agent Pendergast. He's been locked up in a federal prison for a murder he did not commit. His friends, Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, Proctor, Pendergast's butler, and Constance Greene, Pendergast's ward, know who the real killer is: Diogenes, Pendergast's evil brother. The only way they can catch Diogenes is to break his wrongly accused brother out of prison.

At the New York Museum of Natural History, a generous benefactor has donated 10 million dollars to reopen the...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Meredith added it · review of another edition

Shelves: great-escape, abandonment-issues, audio, bromance, detective, fiction, horror, mystery, reporter, road-trip, series, suspense

Lots of threads coming together in this one.

If you like a great escape story, this is the one for you. Pendergast is locked up in prison, awaiting trial. And as we might guess, if anyone has a hope of getting out of an inescapable prison, it's Pendergast.

Diogenes has multiple plans of insidious evil, including against Margo Greene

D'agosta is trying to juggle loyalty and love.

Hayward can't quite put the Pendergast case to rest, no longer satisfied with how neatly (too neatly) all the evidence h...more

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Jun 09, 2010 Derek rated it 4 of 5 stars

The last book in the "Diogenes" trilogy is a fitting finale. Filled with lots of derring-do and thrills, this one is set largely back at the museum where RELIC, RELIQUARY, and CABINET OF CURIOUSITIES were set. This time there is a long-lost Egyptian tomb, curses, and, oh, yes, Pendergast's evil younger brother causing problems.

I enjoyed a lot of the backstory revealed in this book, although there were a few sections (paricularly involving Constance and Diogenes) where I felt some more editing wo...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Cassie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Book of the Dead is the gripping conclusion to the trilogy. The beginning was a bit slow after the exciting finish of the last book but picked up quickly once the story started moving.

Diogenes is definitely a psychopath but he comes off simultaneously as a little more homicidal and a little less insane in this book. I liked how Preston and Child let us into his psyche for an extended period. He still intrigues me...

Constance has a bigger role in this book. I really think she's a love her or...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Mazel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Au Museum d’Histoire naturelle de New York, Nora Kelly se prépare à présenter au public le sarcophage de la momie égyptienne Senef. Mais c’est oublier la malédiction qui semble lui être attachée…

En effet, plusieurs employés sombrent dans la folie et assassinent leurs collègues.

Pendant ce temps, avec l’aide de ses amis D’Agosta et Constance, Pendergast parvient à s’échapper de prison. Très vite, il comprend que le responsable des meurtres n’est autre que Diogène, son propre frère.

Le soir de l’ou...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2010, own, reviewed

A friend gave me this book, and when I started reading it I had no clue it was actually part of a series (and in fact the last book in a trilogy within that series). I had noticed it in passing at bookstores and such, and always assumed it was a stand-alone book. So when I began reading it, (and subsequently had the feeling I was missing something big) I looked it up online and discovered the truth.

I think it says something about this book that I still enjoyed it, despite my lack of knowledge ab...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Ward Bond added it · review of another edition

Review

'a thrilling, nail-biting adventurous journey' (_SOUTH WALES ARGUS_ )

Product Description

The New York Museum of Natural History receives their stolen gem collection back...ground down to dust. Diogenes, the psychotic killer who stole them in DANCE OF DEATH, is throwing down the gauntlet to both the city and to his brother, FBI Agent Pendergast, who is currently incarcerated in a maximum security prison. To quell the PR nightmare of the gem fiasco, the museum decides to reopen the Tomb

...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Joe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am fan of Preston & Child, however the Agent Pendegrast books do not rank among my favorites.
"Book of the Dead" is fast paced and action packed but relies heavily on relationships developed in previous novels. Events happen quickly with little or no set up. The characters suffer little or no consequences when they break the law, and plot lines are tied up with an abrupt "Oh, never mind."
"Book of the Dead is simplistic to put it mildly, perhaps due to laziness on the part of the authors. Wh...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Lynette rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 27, 2011 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Well, I guess the magnificent run of Pendergast novels couldn't last forever. This was a good book, but I felt cheated. The Tomb of Senef with its colourful history and its macabre 'curse' offered so many real opportunities. In the end, when The Event was revealed, the whole thing just fell flat. Also, I wasn't too impressed with the wrap-up of the whole Diogenes sequence. What's this? Is this the same Diogenes who was so masterfully powerful in Dance of Death (Pendergast, #6)? I don't want to r...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lou by: Bill

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 02, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you haven't read Preston & Child, you're really missing out on one of the best series of thrillers written, period. Forget James Patterson, folks, these guys know what they're doing and do it better than pretty much anyone. Why? Thorough, well-researched storylines, but not the type (i.e. Da Vinci Code) that bogs down the thrust of the storytelling. Oh yeah, and most of their novels feature one of the most compelling protagonists in modern fiction...Special Agent Pendergast. Many of their...more If you haven't read Preston & Child, you're really missing out on one of the best series of thrillers written, period. Forget James Patterson, folks, these guys know what they're doing and do it better than pretty much anyone. Why? Thorough, well-researched storylines, but not the type (i.e. Da Vinci Code) that bogs down the thrust of the storytelling. Oh yeah, and most of their novels feature one of the most compelling protagonists in modern fiction...Special Agent Pendergast. Many of their books feature Pendergast as well as a host of recurring characters, and a few are stand-alones, but to make it simple, start with Relic (and no, if you've seen the awful Pendergast-less movie, there is NO comparison), and its sequel, Reliquary, and go on to Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows, and on to what is referred to as "The Diogenes trilogy", which is Brimstone, Dance of Death, and The Book of the Dead.

Which is where this review begins. Needless to say, for those not drawn into the fold, as it were, I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum (so don't read on any further). The novel completes the Diogenes Trilogy, which pits Pendergast against his diabolical younger brother, Diogenes, who--in the previous novel--concocted an elaborate scheme to eventually send his brother to prison, for a crime he didn't commit. But this was only the tip of the iceberg. Diogenes has a much larger, deadlier plan. While NYPD cop, D'Agosta, is on the brink of possibly losing his job (helping Pendergast in the previous novel) he is enlisted in probably one of the coolest prison-break plots to free Pendergast, Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback (museum curator/archeologist and investigative journalist for the Times, and married) become embroiled in a mystery surrounding the NY Museum of Natural History, where the diamond collection was stolen (in the last novel) and returned, completely destroyed and pulverized to dust...and why and by whom? The museum's hierarchy decide to best way to circumvent the "bad press" and public outcry is to reopen a revitalized century-old Egyptian exhibit, The Tomb of Senef. Of course, in the process of doing so, mysterious and gruesome murders occur, causing some to think the Grand Reopening of the Tomb should be postponed, but of course the show must go on! As Diogenes's plan unfolds, which entails secretive visits to Pendergasts' young ward from The Cabinet of Curiousities, Constance Greene, in order to seduce her with his version of the truth, Pendergast manages to escape prison in an attempt to thwart Diogenes's Coup de Grace at the museum's Grand Reopening of the Tomb. This might seem like a LOT going on and it is, but the authors deftly and smartly interweave the plot and subplots in such a way to make it seamless. The stunning climax is fitting, and the surprise at the end will leave readers wanting to pick up the next novel, The Wheel of Darkness. Highly recommended!(less)

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Mar 09, 2012 A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL ACTUALLY REVIEW SOMETHING OK BECAUSE I AM PISSED.

this was so spectacular but the end was RAGE INDUCING. not only was I denied an absolutely fascinating, enthralling and tense final confrontation between two brothers, but (view spoiler). I was already upset that Pendergast and Diogenes never had a serious conversation outside of when they "spoke" at th...more

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May 13, 2012 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Final volume of the trilogy centered on Agent Pendergast, the Book of the Dead explains the relationship between Pendergast and his brother Dionysius. Special Agent Pendergast is in federal prisons for murders he did not commit, the diamond collection of the NY Museum of Natural History is returned ground to powder, the museum reopens an ancient Egyptian tomb and curse seems to come back to life.

All of this has been carefully plotted and implemented by Pendergast's Machiavellian brother. Why and...more

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Dec 16, 2008 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 20, 2008 Sophiene rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

I just love the mix of history and thriller. Especially the museum history is fascinating. I'll try to get more of these.

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Apr 18, 2013 Barry Simiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nota bad read. Having not read any of the other Pendergast books i sort of jumped in the middle. There's a lot of backstory I need to make up i guess. The book itself is well researched and well written. The plot points fall where one would expect plot points to fall, a little formulaic, but the plot points themselves are delicious in places. Pendergast seems to be something I have not yet seen. His "ward" seems almost vampyric as does he himself and his brother. The ,man himself is almost a mac...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Talia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Woo! This installment of Agent Pendergast and Co.'s adventures was a bit different from the previous. First, Pendergast was indisposed for a good part of the book, so I got to follow the storylines of several other characters. Diogenes, Pendergast's evil brother, was in full form, artfully plotting after Constance. He's such a shady fellow. Boo, Diogenes, boo!

When I finally got to see Pendergast, I was NOT disappointed. In this book, readers gained a lot of insight into his character - what make...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Out of all the Pendergast books so far, this is my least favorite. Using same exact plot devices is getting a bit ridiculous "disaster will strike at a New York Museum exhibit opening" "some one will die a gruesome death that cannot be explained in the Museum" " Smart characters cannot put 2 and 2 together"

I like these reads they are fast paced and entertaining, but for the first time I found myself jerked out of the story by repeated plot devices and predictability of the narrative. For exampl...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Amy Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars

While a little on the predictable side, this is an exciting story that will hold your attention and keep you coming back for more! I stayed up late on several nights, just not wanting to put the book down. The characters are unique, interesting, and quirky.

There are 2 authors and it does feel like the story is coming from 2 directions. However, it does come together nicely...so it works!

This is from a series and "The Book Of The Dead" is book 6 or 7? in the series it was the first one I had rea...more

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About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two fr...more Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)

As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.

After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.

In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.

Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.

Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...(less)

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Books by Douglas Preston

The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)

Brimstone (Pendergast, #5; Diogenes, #1)

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The Book of the Dead (Pendergast #7)

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