Two Graves
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"White Fire" the New Pendergast book this year
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I like Pendergast. But I do get aggravated by the books with "cliffhanger" endings. You know, the ones that really should have been one book, not two. But no. I don't want a new character. This new book, White Fire, with more of Corrie sounds like fun. I like her.
I love Pendergast. He is probably the most fascinating character I have read. I also enjoy the supporting characters in his books such as Corrie, Vincent, Nora & Smithback. I haven't read any of the Gideon books yet so I don't know haow that new character stacks up to Pendergast.
Actually, I see this as very good news. The best Pendergast novels, in my opinion, are not the Diogenes or Helen trilogies, but the ones with a complete, wrapped-up story, like "Still Life with Crows". And I'm glad to see Corrie back as a central character. In "Two Graves", her story was superfluous.
Looking forward to the new Pendergast book, he's one of my favorite characters! Also happy Corrie has a main storyline, and of course, Constance is always intriguing !
From the facebook page:"Yes, WHITE FIRE is a stand-alone Pendergast novel. It features Pendergast at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountain West... Talk about a fish out of water."
Rocky Mountain "West". The harsh valley at 13,000 feet elevation looked beautiful, but you need a sense for tundra-esque extremes to call it beautiful.
I liked Still Life with Crows, which was a standalone Pendergast / Corrie novel. If this is in the same vein, I'll be checking it out.
To our fantastic readers:As those of you who follow our Facebook page may have noticed, we now have an amazing cover for our next novel, WHITE FIRE, which will be published 11/12/13. Some at our publishing house are saying it is the best Pendergast book ever. You, the reader, will be the judge of that, but for now we thought that we’d let Linc give you a brief look at how the book came into being.
“One evening, about eighteen months ago, I was in my library, leafing idly through a series of books on nineteenth-century England. In one of them, I was astounded to learn that Oscar Wilde had dined with Arthur Conan Doyle in a London hotel in 1889. It seemed remarkable—almost too good to be true—that the flower of English decadence had supped with the author of the immortal Sherlock Holmes. I couldn’t imagine two more disparate people. And yet not long after that meeting, Wilde published The Picture of Dorian Gray. And Doyle’s nascent Holmes stories saw the detective morphing into a keener, cooler, more ineffable fellow—with a certain addiction. Could these two have possibly influenced each other’s writing?
“I immediately grabbed the phone to call Doug. He researched the fateful meeting and discovered that the answer to my question was yes. He told me that some scholars believe Wilde, a fan of Sherlock Holmes, may have made suggestions to Doyle about how to sharpen the detective's character--and Doyle for his part may have given Wilde crucial information which he used to spectacular effect in Dorian Gray.
"This was pure gold. We knew there had to be a Pendergast story in here somewhere. We began brainstorming—and an extraordinary idea for a novel came to us. We never looked back.”
On the basis of that, Linc immediately wrote the first chapter of what would prove to be our next novel. The chapter takes place in 1889. It is Linc’s reconstruction of what Wilde and Doyle talked about during that momentous London dinner. Now, we are delighted to share with you—our special newsletter subscribers—the conclusion to that chapter of WHITE FIRE. The chapter following will bring the reader to the present day—and to Pendergast’s greatest mystery yet.
…Wilde looked at Doyle with something like amusement. “Did you think that I do not recognize the face of horror when I stare into it? I was once told a story so dreadful, so distressing in its particulars and the extent of its evil, that now I truly believe nothing I hear could ever frighten me again.”
“How interesting,” Doyle replied a little absently.
Wilde regarded him, a small smile forming on his large, pale features. “Would you care to hear it? It is not for the faint of heart.”
The way Wilde phrased this, it sounded like a challenge. “By all means.”
“It was told to me during my lecture tour of America a few years back.” Wilde paused, wetting his thick, red lips with a delicate sip of wine. “Here, lean in a little closer, that’s a good fellow, and I’ll tell it you exactly as it was told to me…”
Ten minutes later, a diner at the restaurant in the Langham Hotel would have been surprised to note—amid the susurrus of genteel conversation and the tinkle of cutlery—a man in the dress of a country doctor by the name of Doyle abruptly rise from his table, very pale. Knocking over his chair in his agitation, one hand to his forehead, the young man staggered from the room, nearly upsetting a waiter’s tray of delicacies. And as he vanished in the direction of the gentlemen’s toilet area, his face displayed a perfect expression of revulsion and horror.
More to come! Until next time, be well, take care, and as always thank you so much for your continued interest and support.
All best,
Doug & Linc
Mark, Thank you for posting this interesting bit from the authors.I will never get tired of reading about Pendergast and can hardly wait to read WHITE FIRE.
Oscar Wilde meets Arthur Conan Doyle? I'm already intrigued!
D'Agosta is Pendergast's Watson. Speaking of Watson and Holmes, the two recent Sherlock Holmes movies, with Jude Law as Dr. Watson, are far more true to Doyle's characterization of him than any other movies. I hated that he was portrayed as a doddering fool in the old Basil Rathbone flicks.
Ken wrote: "D'Agosta is Pendergast's Watson. Speaking of Watson and Holmes, the two recent Sherlock Holmes movies, with Jude Law as Dr. Watson, are far more true to Doyle's characterization of him than any o..."
That said I like the BBC Sherlocks version of Watson the best, while Elementary's Watson is also very good.
"White Fire" is being released on my birthday....what a great present!!! I love Pendergast & D'Agosta.
I preferred Preston and Child when they built thrillers more around science and less around science fiction. Prendergast is feeling tired and worn out.
Mark wrote: "Name: White FireRelease Date: November 12, 2013
Synopsis: Corrie Swanson sets out to solve a long-forgotten mystery. In 1876, in a remote mining camp called Roaring Fork in the Colorado Rockies, s..."
No...he is an interesting character.
I cannot wait! Lincoln and Preston never disappoint.
I have to disagree on the comments that Pendergast is tired and worn out....these books never fail to deliver a great story! I am so looking forward to the new book "White Fire."
I love Pendergast...whacked out polymath (right--the word for someone who knows a lot about a lot of things?)What a character--and I agree with Ken up the posts...I love the stand alones--Still Life with Crows was pretty creepy...and I have to admit my very favorite is The Cabinet of Curiosities (which is NOT a stand alone)...I just reread that two months ago. I have to admit Two Graves was a bit too Boys from Brazil....I think they were stretching connections a bit...
But over all---aces just aces...Can't wait for White Fire.
RELIC, their first, is a classic. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES and STILL LIFE are probably close behind. I'm hearing good things about WHITE FIRE, which I'm happy about...the Gideon Crew novels and TWO GRAVES were a bit disappointing. Doug's nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is terrific, by the way. It's being made into a movie starring George Clooney (presumably playing Doug, I guess). The book is about a true-life serial killer stalking Florence, Italy. Doug and an Italian journalist start to write about the case, and next thing they know, THEY'RE being named as suspects. Doug's chilling experience with Italian police has made him a staunch defender of Amanda Knox.
I highly recommend the Pendergast short story for Kindle Single, "Extraction." It's atmospheric and creepy and exposes a little bit more of the Pendergast family history. Aloysius and Diogenes are young boys in this story.
Sounds creepy....wasn't Fever Dream that had all the weird things about Diogenes and Aloysius childhood....?And I agree Gideon Crewe is a bit disappointing..is he terminal or not?
Anyway I'll check out Extraction...Thanks!
I think FEVER DREAM was the one about the Audubon painting. I think it was another that delved into the brothers' childhoods.
Extraction was awful but it was probably released for promotional purposes so I would not be complaining too much.None but the most hard-core fans would be looking forward to WHITE FIRE as their latest books had been too generic.What really made Pendergast stand apart in the genre was his unique personality now he is just another Bond clone.
Relic was a classic IMO & their books were great till the Diogenes trilogy (book number 7 in the series) since then they have clearly run out of ideas.They are still readable but I don't seek out their books as I used to & would only read them if I had absolutely nothing better to do.
I enjoyed White Fire, much more than Two Graves.The Diogenes trilogy was great, the Helen Trilogy was a bit of a let-down at the end.
But, White Fire was a better story.
I have to agree that the best books were the ones through the Diogenes Trilogy. Relic and Reliquary were excellent books.
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Release Date: November 12, 2013
Synopsis: Corrie Swanson sets out to solve a long-forgotten mystery. In 1876, in a remote mining camp called Roaring Fork in the Colorado Rockies, several miners were killed in devastating grizzly bear attacks. Now the town has become an exclusive ski resort and its historic cemetery has been dug up to make way for development. Corrie has arranged to examine the remains of the dead miners. But in doing so she makes a shocking discovery that threatens the resort's very existence. The town's leaders, trying to stop her from exposing their community's dark and bloody past, arrest and jail her.
Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI arrives to help--just as a series of brutal arson attacks on multimillion dollar homes terrify the town and drive away tourists. Drawn irresistibly into the investigation, Pendergast discovers an unlikely secret in Roaring Fork's past, connecting the resort to a chance meeting between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde. With the town under siege, and Corrie's life in desperate danger, Pendergast must solve the riddle of the past... before the town of the present goes up in flames.
Anybody getting tired from the books on Pendergast?- Should they come up with a new character?