The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)

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The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast #3)

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 · rating details · 14,704 ratings · 873 reviews

In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house is discovered. Inside are thirty-six bodies all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago. While FBI agent Pendergast investigates the old crimes, identical killings start to terrorize the city. The nightmare has begun. Again.

Mass Market Paperback, 629 pages

Published June 1st 2003 by Grand Central Publishing (first published 2002)

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Sep 01, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay...I gave it a 5 star. Not many of those on my list, but I gave Relic a 4 and the only way to up that was a 5. I'm a little surprised at myself for the rating. This is a very good read and I have it on my shelf. I obtained it after listening to the audio (in a vehicle). I only do that if I figure I'll possibly reread at some point.

The atmosphere in this book combined with the imaginative story line is, if not great, just short of it. These books seem to have a largely female readership... No...more

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Apr 12, 2008 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Cabinet of Curiosities was tough to rate. It was a good book with a well thought out story and an interesting premise, but it just didn't catch my attention like The Book of the Dead managed to.

Agent Pendergast is a great charcter. He's most easily described as a modern day Sherlock Holmes, yet there is a lot more to him than that. His charcter and manner, as well as his intelligence and formidability make him stand out in the Mystery/Thriller category. A good cast of supporting charcters h...more

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Feb 16, 2008 Kirsten rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-pre-12-07, from-library, fiction

Sadly, I've now read all of the Pendergast novels, at least until the new one comes out this summer. Fortunately, I seem to have inadvertantly saved the best for last! Cabinet of Curiosities is definitely my favorite of all of them. At a construction site in New York City, workers unearth more than thirty skeletons, evidence of a serial killer operating more than 100 years ago. Soon afterward, a chilling series of copycat murders are perpetrated by a killer dubbed The Surgeon by the press. Agent...more

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Jan 09, 2008 Paul rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: faves

Since I have a hearty bus commute these days, I do a lot of reading. Though I love fine literature, at times, when on the bus, I just want a good pulpy detective novel and this is one of the best I have read so far. Co written by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs, this ghoulish, gothic tale set against the backdrop of contemporary Manhattan is one of those books that will keep you up till 3 AM if you aren't careful. These authors have written quite a number of books together and though I have...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Cornerofmadness rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I’m still very busy reading the Pendergast series out of order (go me.) This is book three. If you don’t like some preternatural aspects to your mysteries, stop now. They’re in most of the Pendergast books and I love that melding of the paranormal and mystery so. I thought this was a good mystery but a bit too long. There was one whole plot thread I skimmed in its entirety.

Nora Kelly is an archeologist in the Museum of Natural History in NYC. She’s facing a petty museum lawyer, Brisbane, who th...more I’m still very busy reading the Pendergast series out of order (go me.) This is book three. If you don’t like some preternatural aspects to your mysteries, stop now. They’re in most of the Pendergast books and I love that melding of the paranormal and mystery so. I thought this was a good mystery but a bit too long. There was one whole plot thread I skimmed in its entirety.

Nora Kelly is an archeologist in the Museum of Natural History in NYC. She’s facing a petty museum lawyer, Brisbane, who thinks the academic side of the museum, is pointless and the money is better spent on making flashy exhibits and petty functionaries such as him. Nora’s been in a bit of trouble in her career and needs this job.

Bill Smithback was the journalist from book one and he’s made a bit of a name for himself off those exploits. He and Nora are an item and yet he keeps making mistake after mistake with her in this to the point I wanted to skim some of HIS chapters too.

Pendergast is in town (his loosey goosey FBI ties are plain in this). He’s interested in the torn down 1800’s hundreds tenement housing that revealed a basement filled with the victims of a serial killer from that time period. Fairhaven, who owns and is using this property, has it all swept up under the covers. Nora was roped into helping Pendergast only to get a reprimand. Smithback wants to expose what Fairhaven has done. Worse, his article seems to have kicked off a copycat killer who takes his victims and dissects out the cauda equina (a spray of nerves off the terminal end of the spinal cord) and is using them to somehow extend his life (don’t think too hard on this because it really doesn’t make a lot of sense but it’s supposed to be out there alchemic hooey).

Enoch Leng, the killer, was tied into the titular cabinet of curiosities which were often kept by wealthy men in the 17th through 19th centuries, the precursors to museums really. He worked with one such cabinet, culling his victims from its visitors. However, the copycat killer, if it is one and not Leng as it might just be possible, knows they’re on to him and is out to get them, especially Pendergast.

The mystery itself was interesting, and in need of suspicion of disbelief (as most Pendergast books do but again, I like the preternatural stuff so I’m happy to do it.) What bothered me was the captain Cussler storyline. The police captain hates the cop he assigned to work with Pendergast and that was okay but then he thinks he’s found the killer. Okay, a chapter even two on that wouldn’t have been bad bit for a good hundred pages it flips between Pendergast and his companions and the captain and he gets more ridiculous with each moment until I finally stopped reading those chapters period. I didn’t think they added a thing. I do like this series. One day I might actually read all of it.
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Mar 05, 2013 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wish I had read this book before the others I read that showcased Agent Pendergast! In previous reviews I've written, I mentioned how Pendergast seems to be part investigator and part David Copperfield. In this earlier book, it clearly states that the Pendergast family has magician blood running through their veins. Perhaps those latter books don't seem so far-fetched anymore (well, maybe not). The synopsis of this book is well stated. The mystery begins with a construction site unearthing a t...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Red Heaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Before picking this up, I had only read two of Douglas Preston's solo efforts and neither was particularly enjoyable, so I had some reservations. Sure enough, I was not prepared for Pendergast. I thought he would be a run-of-the-mill law enforcement agent, much like in the film version of The Relic. It took a while to adjust to how peculiar and offbeat he is, but by the end of the book, I found I liked the character and am eager to read more.

The other two main characters, Nora Kelly and Bill Smi...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Teresa Mayfield rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved Relic, possibly because I volunteer in the collection at The Field Museum where parts of the movie version were filmed. I had no idea that The Cabinet of Curiosities existed until a museum studies classmate asked for museum themed books for her book club. As soon as I saw the title, I knew that I had to read it.

If you have ever worked in or just loved a natural history museum, I recommend that you read both books. Of course you may never feel comfortable alone in a room full of shelving...more I loved Relic, possibly because I volunteer in the collection at The Field Museum where parts of the movie version were filmed. I had no idea that The Cabinet of Curiosities existed until a museum studies classmate asked for museum themed books for her book club. As soon as I saw the title, I knew that I had to read it.

If you have ever worked in or just loved a natural history museum, I recommend that you read both books. Of course you may never feel comfortable alone in a room full of shelving and specimens or even in a quiet exhibition hall, but you will also appreciate the specialness of that place.

Reading Preston and Child's descriptions of museum spaces and inner workings, I kept thinking to myself, "Do these guys work in a museum?". Sure enough, according to his bio on www.prestonchild.com Preston was editor, writer and manager of publications at AMNH. Which explains why the portrayals of the maze-like shadowy quietness of a large natural history collection is so perfect. As are the depictions of the tensions between museum staff and public perceptions of the museum from admiration to despising it as a welfare program.

The path of the story from 100 year old murders to present day crimes in some ways mirrors the museum. Secrets stored in locked underground facilities seem to be safe, but one never knows when just the right person will arrive and release them. Just as one never knows if those secrets will be for the betterment or the detriment of mankind once they are revealed. There are important ideas and information locked up in natural history collections and this story hints at how they can be lost if the collections are not studied.

Some of the descriptions of the crimes in this book are quite graphic, but if you can get over that and Agent Pendergast's 007-like skills, the story is compelling and it is hard to put down once you have started. I want more mystery in the museum, but for now I may have to settle for Agent Pendergast's Files. Hint, hint Mssrs. Preston & Child.(less)

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Aug 13, 2012 David Atchley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have been collaborating on a series of novels whose main character is Agent Aloysius Pendergast.

The books need to be read in the sequence that they were written to get the full enjoyment from them. The authors have also written stand-alone books, which are also quite good.

In each of the Pendergast books, the authors have listed the sequence of books. Some are better than others, but it is the mystery behind Agent Pendergast that is the most intriguing part of...more

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Jun 23, 2012 ConvincoDude rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventures, crime-thrillers, freaky-supernatural-adventures, thrillers, science-fiction, why-isn-t-this-a-bloody-movie-yet

Preston and Child took five years after Reliquary to present us with a continuation of the Pendergast series. I didn't read this until very recently, but had I been old enough for Preston and Child in the late 90s-early 2000s, I would have probably considered this one worth the wait.

I enjoyed the previous pair of books in the series, Relic and the aforementioned Reliquary, but I considered this one a step above the previous two because this one was just more my thing. I am a little leery of mons...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Sharron rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was my first audiobook ever and my very first read by Lincoln and Child. I'm no published author but I am a big critic of the horror/thriller genre itself and this book did not fail to satisfy me. If you're into a dark, morbid premise then the authors do not disappoint. The ability to not only build suspense but maintain it-they do it well. Innovative twists and turns? Absolutely. I was guessing until the end.

My only "bone to pick" (no pun intended) was the stereotyped, FLAT characters. By...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Charlie (NJBiblio) rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Cabinet of Curiosities is the third in the Pendergast series by Preston and Lincoln, but the first book I have ever read by these authors. I found this during the Borders liquidation sitting alone and was simply intrigued by the description. I was not at all disappointed.

The character of Pendergast is rather unique. Even though I missed the first two installments, where I am sure there is a better fleshing out of the character, I felt that I did get to know, and really like him in this work....more

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Jan 13, 2012 Hugues rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Après avoir découvert le duo Preston et Child l'année dernière avec Relic, je n'ai pas pu mettre la main sur le 2e tome des enquêtes de l'inspecteur Pendergast à la bibliothèque et me suis rabattu sur le 3e, curieusement intitulé "La chambre des curiosités" comme si la notion de cabinet de curiosité n'existait pas en français...
Lors du creusement des fondations d'un futur immeuble, on retrouve dans une ancienne cave à charbon datant de la fin du XIXe siècle, trente six squelettes de jeunes gens...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Trae added it

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child released their 3rd book featuring Special Agent Pendergast in 2002, and since I'm new to the authors, I've just gotten around to reading it. When a brutal 36 person ancient murder scene is unearthed at a construction site, SA Pendergast and archeologist Nora Kelly dive into the investigation of an old doctor who performed brutal surgeries on living people. But just as they get deep into their findings, a fresh run of murders occur that have strange similarities...more Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child released their 3rd book featuring Special Agent Pendergast in 2002, and since I'm new to the authors, I've just gotten around to reading it. When a brutal 36 person ancient murder scene is unearthed at a construction site, SA Pendergast and archeologist Nora Kelly dive into the investigation of an old doctor who performed brutal surgeries on living people. But just as they get deep into their findings, a fresh run of murders occur that have strange similarities to the ancient surgeon. This book was a step up from it's predecessor, Reliquary, but still had it's highs and lows.

The Cabinet of Curiosities (CoC) pick up not long after Reliquary but more easily fits right after Preston and Child's book Thunderhead. I had not read thunderhead prior to reading this book, and the more I read CoC, the more I wish I had. Protagonists Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback's relationship seems chiefly pulled from experiences outlined in Thunderhead, and oftentimes CoC made me feel "out-of-the-loop" due to me not having read Thunderhead. Interestingly enough, this could have been called Book 4 of the Smithback series instead of Book 3 of the Pendergast series...we'll see if Bill remains in the subsequent books.

Once of my complaints about Reliquary is that in diving into the "mole-men" world, the authors chose to do some radical things that really turned me away from that book. Also the surprise ending, although completely from left field and unexpected, sort of made me sad. CoC does a much better job of keeping that from happening. My biggest issue I had with CoC is that the action didn't remain high as it did in Relic. There were times that I could put the book down and not return to it for days and feel ok about it.

All in all, though, the story is gripping and interesting. It had me excited, hopeful, and sad all at the same time. The insights to how these Cabinets of Curiosities were developed and curated is very interesting. Preston and Child do a great job of shadowing stressful scenes and only giving out the necessary information. Once again, they kept me guessing with how the outcome would occur and once again hit you with things you don't expect.

Preston and Child do a great job of making the unexpected happen, and keep this within the controls of the story. To often authors try a surprise scene that feels like it violates the story, and CoC is not guilty of this. I would recommend this book to any thrill seekers, but be aware the action comes and goes.(less)

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Jul 01, 2011 Emilie Smart rated it 3 of 5 stars

I kind of like Preston & Child's Pendergast character. Maybe it's because he's from New Orleans. Maybe it's because he's a strange guy. Whatever... I like him and I generally enjoy the books he appears in.

Cabinet of Curiosities is the latest of his appearances that I've read. It's not as good as some of them, but it's still fun. The setting makes it -- the NYC Museum of Natural History takes center stage. Also -- NYC at the turn of the century is there. The characters interacting with Specia...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Hazel Bright rated it 1 of 5 stars

***please note: serious spoilers in this review***

This book started out in an interesting fashion, but a lot didn't make sense. For example, 1) I never understood what Nora found attractive in Smithback, he seemed like a fop and a simp. Maybe she wants to get a divorce in a later book in the series. 2) I never saw why Pendergast chose Nora. 3) Very dumb epiphanies - the final room to room walkthrough with the insects, then the lizards, then the clothing, then finally the armor - somehow help the...more ***please note: serious spoilers in this review***

This book started out in an interesting fashion, but a lot didn't make sense. For example, 1) I never understood what Nora found attractive in Smithback, he seemed like a fop and a simp. Maybe she wants to get a divorce in a later book in the series. 2) I never saw why Pendergast chose Nora. 3) Very dumb epiphanies - the final room to room walkthrough with the insects, then the lizards, then the clothing, then finally the armor - somehow help the mad scientist who uses these things to help him achieve his lifelong goal of - wait for it - devising the ultimate poison. Wait a minute - what? I read this part twice just to make sure I wasn't missing something. The ultimate poison? That's worth becoming a serial killer who tortures his prey so he can extend his life by several hundred years? To accomplish this? Huh?

Even worse, there was a much better answer: Mad scientist guy should have been developing a way to generate life from a chemical soup and then speed evolution in order to shape a new series of life forms to suit his desires. Hey we've already got a guy that has lived an extra hundred years, and could have lived two hundred extra years. We've got a guy that can time travel in his head. So why not have a mad scientist who can create and shape life itself? That would have made him like a god. But no, these authors decided that the ultimate poison (which they never even bothered to explain) was the reason. And I wonder if they had intended something like the scenario I described above, but changed it to the ultimate poison because talk of evolution is taboo and perhaps people are too dumb to understand something as complicated as spontaneous generation.

I also hate dumb secret family revelations, you know the ones: "He is my father!" "He is my half-brother!" "She is my grandmother!" and in this one, it was "He is my uncle!" I knock off a star whenever a writer pulls that dumb stunt.

I got through the book so I originally gave it two stars, though I had to remove one. There were some good parts. These guys are, without a doubt, creative, but I fear they are equally lazy. It felt like they suddenly realized that they had written the requisite 350 pages and then called, "Quittin' time! It's quittin' time! Clean up the kitchen, whatcha got Linc, ultimate poison, Douggie, done, type it up and let's get outa here, cause it's quittin' time!"(less)

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Jan 02, 2010 Brian Steele rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Perhaps the greatest find I’ve made in the last few years from out of all the fiction literature I’ve read are the ‘Pendergast Books’ by authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Each formidable writers on their own, together they have been quietly releasing a somewhat interlocking series of novels based around a cast of characters. Most prominent among them is the eccentric FBI Agent Pendergast, a character surrounded by mystery and danger. Although the first unofficial book in the series was...more

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Jun 14, 2011 Kyle rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Cabinet of Curiosities is the third book featuring a character named Pendergast, but it seems to be a stand-alone novel if you are new to the series like me. There are several references to previous books, but I didn't feel like I missed anything essential to understand this tale. While this wasn't a deep scholarly work, I found it to be an enjoyable page turner where I anxiously wanted to find out what happens next!

The book is set in modern-day New York, but does an interesting job of mixin...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Vickie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Definitely a summertime "junk food" novel! So...mildly creepy, uber-gruesome at times, horror wannabe book, that fits better in the mystery category than horror (except for the weird paranormal trips taken by Pendergast and a sci-fi fascination with immortality.) I enjoyed the story itself and I'm a sucker for fiction that sneaks in a bit of education via pseudo historical documents and secret archives (think The Historian, The DaVinci Code, A Discovery of Witches.) Overall, I'd call it a really...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Dhuaine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-mystery, horror

36 skeletons discovered on construction site, dated XIX century. New bodies popping up, murdered in the same exact fashion. Agent Pendergast, thinking the murderer the same in both cases.

And that's it. Half of the surprise stuff was revealed in the blurb and no, there isn't much more behind it. Basically the entire plot boils down to tracking the culprit and Final Confrontation with Miracle Out of the Blue ending. The ending was botched totally and completely; I couldn't believe it could end via...more

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Feb 14, 2010 Zell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Super Pendergast returns! Praise HIS might!

Yes, THAT was the worst part of this book. When I was reading about his "super powers" I thought something like: "What the hell?! Is that Marvel or something?". Meditation, ability to experience historical events and play chess or bridge in the mind. Pendergast is the type of person who knows EVERYTHING better than you and probably can speak fluently in more than 90% of known languages. Add to this incredible stamina and nearly absolute resistance to a...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Marieanne Fabiano rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is completely out of the genre that I normally read. It fell into my hands because my husband and I decided, on a whim, to trade books. In other words, he would give me one of the books that he loved and I am going to give him one of my favorite books. After this little challenge I have to say, I LOVED THIS BOOK and am still thinking about it right now! I sailed through it in record time and read it at every free moment I had. I will most assuredly be reading the remaining books in thi...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Cmorice added it · review of another edition

Les travaux de construction d’une tour à Manhattan mettent à jour un charnier, des dizaines de squelettes d’adolescents enfouis là depuis plus d’un siècle. L’enquête menée par l’agent du FBI Pendergast, aidé par l’archéologue Nora Kelly et le journaliste William Smithback, va mettre en évidence les agissements d’un savant fou dans les années 1880. Le problème, c’est que d’étranges meurtres se produisent encore et que quelqu’un semble très intéressé par les archives du Muséum d’histoire naturelle...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Joey Francisco rated it 4 of 5 stars

Upon recommendation from a fellow writer I read this book, and loved it, all but for the ending. It was dark, looming, deliciously decadent in the splendour of the past and it of course appealed to my love of museums and science.

I recommend this book and give it four stars, and truly wish I could have given it five. Preston & Child are consummate writers, and I applaud them for this work, and because it was so well-written, it allowed me to breeze through and read all 629 pages in a mere fo...more Upon recommendation from a fellow writer I read this book, and loved it, all but for the ending. It was dark, looming, deliciously decadent in the splendour of the past and it of course appealed to my love of museums and science.

I recommend this book and give it four stars, and truly wish I could have given it five. Preston & Child are consummate writers, and I applaud them for this work, and because it was so well-written, it allowed me to breeze through and read all 629 pages in a mere four days. It has that feel you want in a thriller, a perfect American gothic, but as I hinted to, the ending is what keeps it from becoming THE new American gothic. I'll discuss that later, but again, my congratulations to Preston & Child, and I will read more from them.

The characters were well-formed and dialogue seemed to flow naturally, not forced, and the story unfolds luxuriantly before your eyes. From the world of the museum archaeologist Nora, to the chrome and glass skyscraper owned by Fairhaven, it's perfect. And for those who love science and the arcane, or for fans of say, Phantom of the Opera, this book is for you. And of course, I am a new fan of the imaginative character, the F.B.I. agent Pendergast.

Now for the only downfall of this book~ the ending. And it's sad, because this book truly could have been, in my opinion, one of the best thrillers written, but I have some issues as a medical professional that unfortunately require me to make certain remarks.

If you havent' read the book, then stop reading my review riiiight about now.

1) Before venturing out to find the hiding place of a killer who may be still alive and possibly torturing the person you love, wouldn't you bring your phone? I found it highly unlikely that neither Nora nor Pendergast had a cellphone. Surely one of them would have had one. But of course even if they did, reception could be poor in a deep, dungeon-like mad scientist's lair. I just found this odd.

2)Nora is an archaeologist, and we find out at the end, that she too, conveniently studied pre-med in college before taking that shift into archaeology. But here's the clencher: as a pre-med student you do not learn medical procedures until you are actually accepted and in professional school, and that would be after a few years of taking specific coursework that is NOT offered when you are in the undergrad classes. Nora could not possibly have known about the effects of hypovolemia or how to save someone who has bled out. Plus she would have had no idea how to properly irrigate or dress a wound. As a "candy striper" (incidentally which in truth do not exist in hospitals any more) they were in the past, limited to handing out books or magazines and certainly would have had no clinical experience whatsoever. I found the end and the sudden shift in her background forced and simply unbelievable. All of it. Exsanguination & vasospasms? All of that would have not been in Nora's relam of knowledge with her education.

3)Pendergast is a wildly entertaining character and even with his background as a magician (as were his ancestors), suddenly he's now a surgeon too? And of course I found the fact he could perform surgery on himself laughable. Where's the mirror? How could in great pain, his hand be steady and him able to know how to lift which vein and cauterize which area? How would he know how to use the tools? Again, this was something the authors had to write in or else the main character of their series would have met an untimely demise. How could an archaeologist be his first assist while performing his own surgery? How could Pendergast suddenly find a syringe in a drawer and vial and know how much of a handy-dandy anesthetic to give to Pendergast to keep him sleeping "comfortably" until help arrived? Again, this simply can.not.happen. Never. Not ever. And while it's fun to read, my thinking brain screams that this section should have been revisited for accuracy.

3)The scientist/madman Leng was brilliant! I loved how this character came to lifethrough papers read and through Pendergast's dialogue, but the real reason Leng wanted to extend his life was sadly, anti-climactic. Wanting to rid the world of humans via poison? That didn't seem right. It would have been truly exciting if perhaps the reason he was extending his life to perform his experiments was to resurrect the dead, and that's what I had expected and hoped to see, hence his penchant for the voodoo priestess and all in Leng's past. I had so hoped to see this "shambling" shell of a man at the end be someone he had resurrected from the dead, instead of who it was. I just had wanted to see Leng alive a little longer, and a different kind of creation come to life in that catacomb of a laboratory.

But despite these shortcomings, I loved it. I loved it enough to read it quickly cover to cover and it was good. Perfection won't exist in any book,even in five star books I've rated and I understand that, and if this site could give an extra half star, I'd give this one 4.5.

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Feb 22, 2012 Claudette rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Mar 07, 2011 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From Publishers Weekly: In seven bestselling novels (from Relic to The Ice Limit), Preston and Child have delivered a body of science-based thrillers that for high excitement and robust scientific imaginings rival those of Michael Crichton. Their eighth outing is another richly entertaining tale, about the hunt for a seemingly immortal serial killer at work in New York City. Preston and Child revive characters and settings from earlier novels, often a red flag that authorial imagination is tirin...more

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Jan 24, 2009 Jared rated it 4 of 5 stars

It almost pains me to give this book 4 stars instead of 5, but I think I need to reserve that rating for books that keep my head spinning long after I'm done with it. I love the Douglas/Child writing team, and this is yet another grand accomplishment by them. Their books are creepy, with just enough detail to conjure up vivid images without spoon-feeding it to you. Read the part in this book about the landlord going down into the locked basement where his tenant has been spending a lot of time a...more

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Aug 21, 2011 X5-494 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dieser Thriller fängt – wie ich finde – wirklich sehr langsam an, aber wenn man zum so ca. letzten Drittel kommt, dann kann man das Buch fast nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.

„Formula“ dreht sich im großen und ganzen um vier Hauptpersonen, von denen ich nur eine wirklich sympathisch finde, aber die anderen sind auch ganz okay. Eine der vier Personen ist mir persönlich ein bisschen auf den Senkel gegangen (und – oh Wunder! – es war mal nicht die weibliche), aber nie so, dass ich das Buch nicht weit...more Dieser Thriller fängt – wie ich finde – wirklich sehr langsam an, aber wenn man zum so ca. letzten Drittel kommt, dann kann man das Buch fast nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.

„Formula“ dreht sich im großen und ganzen um vier Hauptpersonen, von denen ich nur eine wirklich sympathisch finde, aber die anderen sind auch ganz okay. Eine der vier Personen ist mir persönlich ein bisschen auf den Senkel gegangen (und – oh Wunder! – es war mal nicht die weibliche), aber nie so, dass ich das Buch nicht weiterlesen wollte.

Agent Pendergast kommt vielleicht ein kleines bisschen wie ein „moderner Sherlock Holmes“ rüber, aber das tut er im besten Sinne. Und mit etwas mehr Gefühl. ;) NEIN! Keine Panik! Er wird in keine (an den Haaren herbeigezogene oder überhaupt eine) Lovestory verstrickt (was mir übrigens noch mit am besten gefällt *lach*), er ist nur nicht ganz so nüchtern und stoisch wie Holmes.

Das Buch rutscht ab und zu mal ein minimales bisschen in den Bereich des „Übernatürlichen“, aber deswegen ist es bei weitem kein Fantasy-Roman. Ähnlich wie „Das verlorene Symbol“ von Dan Brown ist es definitiv im Hier und Jetzt und in der Realität angesiedelt, man muss die Grenzen dieser Realität nur ab und an ein wenig „großzügiger“ auslegen.

Was ein weing stört (mich zumindest) sind die etwa zehn Trilliarden Nebencharaktere, die gerne auch nur einmal auftauchen und für den Fall eigentlich gar nicht so wichtig sind. Außerdem war ich noch nie ein Freund davon, dass man zwei, drei, vier Seiten aus der Sicht des am Ende dieser vier Seiten grausam hingemeuchelten Opfers schreibt. Oder etwas in der Art wie: „Am nächsten Morgen kam der Gerichtsmediziner Dr. Sowieso in die Pathologie, trank einen Kaffee, untersuchte die Leiche, stellte das und das fest und schrieb einen Bericht darüber.“ – Nur um danach im ganzen Buch nie wieder eine Rolle zu spielen.

Aber gut. Wahrscheinlich mussten die Herren Autoren auf eine gewisse Seitenzahl kommen. Wie auch immer. Ein wenig „Straffung“ hätte dem Buch sicher nicht geschadet, aber gerade ab der zweiten Hälfte wird es richtig spannend.
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Mar 21, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was by far, for me anyway, the best of the three Pendergast novels for me. I'm late to the game in reading these books, but I'm enjoying getting caught up for certain. We learn more about Agent Pendergast in this book, not a lot - he's still pretty much a mystery, but we get a glimpse of some backstory, what makes him tick. We also get a new cast of characters assisting him from Relic and Reliquary, though one or two from those two make an appearance as well.

The crime this book covers is in...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Ubik 2.0 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Confesso che già al terzo episodio della serie, Preston & Child stanno cominciando a stufarmi. Il romanzo vive per lo più di rendita sui pregi già espressi nelle opere precedenti: il principale è l'ambientazione in una Manhattan sotterranea e misteriosa di cui P.& C. si mostrano indubbiamente profondi conoscitori (le fognature, l'acquedotto, soprattutto il Museo di Storia Naturale che ritorna anche in questo romanzo fra le principali locations). Vi è poi il personaggio principale, l'agen...more Confesso che già al terzo episodio della serie, Preston & Child stanno cominciando a stufarmi. Il romanzo vive per lo più di rendita sui pregi già espressi nelle opere precedenti: il principale è l'ambientazione in una Manhattan sotterranea e misteriosa di cui P.& C. si mostrano indubbiamente profondi conoscitori (le fognature, l'acquedotto, soprattutto il Museo di Storia Naturale che ritorna anche in questo romanzo fra le principali locations). Vi è poi il personaggio principale, l'agente federale Pendergrass, uomo dal fisico e dalle capacità investigative molto particolari.

Rispetto a questi punti di forza "La stanza degli orrori" non fa neanche un passo avanti: cambia ovviamente il (serial) killer anche se abbastanza ricalcato sulle orme degli assassini/mostri dei romanzi precedenti (Relic soprattutto), cambia la protagonista femminile che è sempre una studiosa che fa parte del personale del Museo ma è sempre avvenente e soprattutto si rivela insospettabile donna d'azione (!), cambiano alcuni luoghi lugubri e misteriosi, sebbene ritorni il Museo coi suoi sotterranei e i corridoi male illuminati ricolmi di scheletri di animali preistorici, antichi strumenti di guerra e di tortura, volumi rarissimi e ovviamente passaggi segreti e anfratti quasi invisibili: ottimo territorio per un'entità maligna che agisce nell'ombra.

Quanto a Pendergrass resta un protagonista originale già per il fatto di essere un "federale" contrapposto agli stupidi capi della polizia, all'opposto di quanto accade in molti thriller di altri autori, Connelly in primis dove il detective Bosch del LAPD fatica più a liberarsi dagli invadenti federali che dai malviventi! Peraltro in questo episodio P. si denota soprattutto per alcuni imprevisti errori che rischiano di pregiudicare il buon esito dell'indagine.

Ma soprattutto "La stanza degli orrori", contro il deterioramento dei punti forti della serie, non presenta alcun elemento importante di novitàe questo contribuisce in modo decisivo a far perdere interesse nel racconto.(less)

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

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

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The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast #3)

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