Preston & Child

[Oberon]

Here's a great team of horror/thriller writers, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, who keep getting better with each story.

Beginning with The Relic and sequel Reliquary, they combine a Crichton-type expertise with a Dean Koontz style of characterizations, with various characters finding life and their ways into newer stories. The one who has definitely emerged as their star is Aloysius Pendergast, a cross between Mulder Fox and Sherlock Holmes. The first book used the NYC Museum of Metropolitan Art almost as a character, exploring it thoroughly as the "haunted house" for a creature of horrific danger. In the sequel, they focused on the great underground labrynth of tunnels that really exist beneath NYC. Almost like the Aliens sequel to Alien, the danger in Reliquary is raised by the increase in numbers of deadly creatures.

Riptide, departed from their favored NY setting and took on a real-life mystery -- Nova Scotia's Oak Island's "Money Pit" -- and a high-tech attempt to excavate the treasure purported to be buried there. Not so much horror as high adventure with a dash of the supernatural. Prolly too many villains hurt the suspense, but a fine page-turner.

Anyone else like these writers? I will return with more titles, if no one else will help me fill out the list ...

 

[Sell Sword]

I just finished the Cabinet of Curiosities

These guys rock! I'm hoping to read Still Life With Crows and Brimstone by June in time for the release of Dance of Death. Pendergast and D'Agosta are the team!

Cabinet of Curiosities blew Relic and Reliquary out of the water (imho). Eventually I would like to read the rest of their stand-alone novels. Nora Kelly from Cabinet of Curiosities is in the novel Thunderhead.

 

[Oberon]

They also have written separately, and the results have been very good.

I think Mount Dragon and The Ice Limit are the other standalones, where you don't have crossover characters. For any who have read the latter ... well, yeah! [Didn't want to go too far into spoiler territory!]

 

[Oberon]

Preston has a good one out now called The Codex; kinda Indiana Jones-ish.

Child wrote last year's "Utopia" Disneyland-esque disaster novel.

Anyone else have comments?

 

[Dogtanian]

Child wrote last year's "Utopia" Disneyland-esque disaster novel.

Anyone else have comments?

Thats sounds quite interesting. Have you read it?

 

[Oberon]

Yes, got it from the library a few years back. It involved an enclosed entertainment park and the computer-controlled security and rides threatened by an eco-terrorist. Much like a Crichton thriller but without the didactics, which I enjoy about Crichton almost as much as his stories ...

 

[andrew935]

I dislike Pendegast, he is very unreal. The discriptions of him like being able to take many bullets without pain is plain stupid. Also, in Cabinet of Curositys, he goes back to the olden times in his mind and is able to find out where was the killer`s hiding place! That was plain stupid.

 

[justgoofin]

I dislike Pendegast, he is very unreal. The discriptions of him like being able to take many bullets without pain is plain stupid. Also, in Cabinet of Curositys, he goes back to the olden times in his mind and is able to find out where was the killer`s hiding place! That was plain stupid.

I have to say I agree with you on this character, they got away with a few in Cabinet of Curiosity. Overall I love the stories these guys come up with, I've read every one of thier books and will probably continue to.

 

[lorrekarloff]

The Cabinet of Curiosities is the first and only of theirs that I have read. It was recommended by a friend who listened to the audiobook version, which is abridged, so I read it instead and loved it! I haven't read much for mystery lately-now with all the encouragement and recommendations here, I have to read some more of their work.

My poor to-be-read list just gets bigger every time I'm here. Thanks!

 

[Oberon]

I don't know ... Pendergast is an acquired taste. He's a throwback to pulp fiction, I like to think, in the Doc Savage/Fu Manchu line blended to Sherlock Holmes. Cabinet went over the top, I think, but Crows and Brimstone have levelled him off to a degree. I must admit, I like the non-Pendergast-centered novels more ...

Nora Kelly from Cabinet of Curiosities is in the novel Thunderhead.

As is Smithback, who is carried over from the Relic books.

 

[Sell Sword]

Just picked up Still Life With Crows today from the Library. I wonder if I can finish this book as well as Brismstone before Dance of Death comes out on June 14th...probably not.

 

[cajunmama]

I read the Relic not too long ago, my first Preston & Child experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I am eager to get my hands on the sequel.

 

[direstraits]

I'm almost done with Brimstone, my first Preston and Child. I wouldn't have bought this if not for this thread. The blame, of course, I would place squarely on Oberon's shoulders...

I was due to read Guy Gavriel Kay when I bought this last week for a song, and decided to have a peek. Big mistake. Now I'm almost finished, and want to post my impressions.

First, the language. Gosh, I think I shouldn't be reading this so close to finishing Saramago and concurrently reading it with Eco, but the language used by Preston and Child is a little irritating. I don't know - I think Crichton writes better, and I also love Crichton.

The story, however, is interesting, engaging and exciting. The short chapters are really contributing to my lack of sleep, because it's always "Oh hell, one more chapter!" The mystery is so compelling that I have to read on just to see what happens.

I have to agree with andrew, however. I find Pendergast a little hard to believe, and more than a little unreal. Cultured, yes, but inhuman perception is really taking it too far. Like Holmes, and yet unlike Holmes. For me, D'Agosta is the star of the show. So far, anyway.

I still have Relic sitting in the shelves - I guess I can safely say I will definately read it.

ds

 

[Oberon]

I'll take the blame, gladly! I don't particularly like the short choppy chapter style that seems to be the norm for American writers now. Relic is early vintage, too, and they get better style-wise and such, tho I think their storytelling exceeds their dialogue and character building.

I'm 1/3 of the way into Tyrannosaur Canyon by Preston and hopelessy hooked as usual.

 

[hippotatomus]

The Cabinet of Curiosites

I've read a few of Preston and Child's books... and I have to say the Cabinet of Curiosities is the BEST one by far !!!!
They're awesome.... that book should not be missed.

 

[Sell Sword]

I'm 1/3 of the way into Tyrannosaur Canyon by Preston and hopelessy hooked as usual.

I just picked this book up on audio CD for Mrs. Sell Sword, I'll get to it eventually!

 

[Sell Sword]

I've read a few of Preston and Child's books... and I have to say the Cabinet of Curiosities is the BEST one by far !!!!
They're awesome.... that book should not be missed.

I agree! The Cabinet was my favorite as well, I had a hard time putting that one down!

 

[Madeline]

I guess I'm a late bloomer, I just started reading Preston and Child again. I started with the Ice Limit and skipped around. Since you said The Cabinet of Curosities was very good, I dug down and found it. I'll start it next. Also there is a new one coming out called The Book of The Dead which I'm also looking forward to.

 

[Bountyhunter]

Ah, I'm glad there are other who feel the same way I do about Preston and Child. Definitely a great team of writers, I love their work.

I've read Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities, and I tried Still Life With Crows but at the time, I just didn't really get into it so I put it down.

But right now, I'm reading Brimstone and so far, I'm lovin' it.

 

[Madeline]

I've read a few of Preston and Child's books... and I have to say the Cabinet of Curiosities is the BEST one by far !!!!
They're awesome.... that book should not be missed.

I just finished Cabinet of Curiosities and I really didn't want to put it down.