Brimstone

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Behind the gates of a fabulous Hampton estate, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers the carnage of a gruesome crime, a nightmare of seemingly supernatural origin. The smoldering remains of infamous art critic Jeremy Grove, a melted cross branding his chest, are found in a locked, barricaded attic. The hoofprint singed into the floorboards and the smell of brimstone recall the legendary horrors that befall those who make a pact with the Devil.

Reuniting with police officers Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Hayward, Pendergast combs New York hoping for a simple explanation: a villain who is merely a man. But his search takes him beyond the exclusive clubs and luxury penthouses of Manhattan to a crumbling, legend-shrouded castle in the Italian countryside, where 30 years ago four men conjured something...unspeakable.

Featuring bone-chilling suspense and Preston and Child's trademark meticulous research and vivid detail, Brimstone is the duo's, and Pendergast's, most dangerous and gripping adventure yet.

©2004 Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Lincoln Child (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Fiction (Abridged), 2005

"The perfect thriller to stuff into a beach bag....Fans of cerebral action adventure novels know that, outside of Michael Crichton, no one delivers the goods like the veteran writing team of Preston and Child." (Publishers Weekly)
"A highly compelling thriller." (Entertainment Weekly)

The Devil Wants His Due

Pendergast just gets better and better, and I enjoy the people he surrounds himself with. Vincent D'Agosta is a good guy!

In this book, Pendergast and Vincent D'Agosta get swept up into investigating several murders committed by none other than Lucifer himself.

Starting in New York and making a whirlwind tour through Northern Italy, this book is constant action.

I particularly enjoyed the musical aspect of it, and at the risk of alienating all who have read these books before me, I liked Viola Maskelene. I'm sure I'll be banished for that comment.

Preston and Child never cease to amaze me with the wealth of action, emotion and humanity they craft into their books. Each story gets better.

Don't be so serious!

For me, reading is an escape and a great pleasure. I have read the previous negative reviews and I hope that they do not deter others from enjoying this series. I am a huge fan of "Pendergast" and enjoy his gentlemanly demeanor and the cast of characters that he draws upon. The authors always provide an entertaining read and for those who cannot make a leap of imagination here and there, too bad for you. The best part of these books is that they are always a learning experience. So, sit back, put your day behind you and enjoy a little fiction that is infused with alot of reality.

This is a smoker!

Is the devil real or just a myth? This is a very good question. There is an even more pressing question. Why are people being killed in such a horrific way? Ahhh…that’s the mystery and one I could not put down. FBI Agent Pendergast must make sense of these strange murders and there is no one better to complete the task. Authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have given us another wopping good tale. I personally like stories where the action is nonstop and the characters are very well developed. The authors do not disappoint. Seemingly, innocent people are dying in a horrific way. And then, the bad guys are enveloped in this crazy satanic carnage. Why? Add to the mix, there is a slightly dark side to Pendergast as well. This is what makes, for me, the book work so well. Just a suggestion, read (listen) to this book before reading (listening) Dance of Death. It is the sequel. And then, The Book of the Dead. This is a series that puts the ride of Star Wars to shame. Enjoy!

I missed something!

I enjoyed the book very much. Pieces don't flow quite right at times but that is normal for an abridged version. The BIG PROBLEM is the end. The last minute of the ending is not clear. To put it simply, it appears the ending is dependent on a character that has been almost completely edited out of the rest of the audiobook. I had to do a search online to figure it out.

another winner

This is one of the few audiobooks I have listened to that actually made me want to read the book. Excellent plot, characters, fast moving, well narrated. One of the very few I've given five stars.

Great story twists and turns a plenty

Would you listen to Brimstone again? Why?

Yes, deffinately the intracicies of this tale take more than one listen to get down

What does Rene Auberjonois bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Love the characterization and life she brings to the main character

Pendergast Returns.

This was a long awaited return of Agent Pendergast, the quintessential, mysterious, detective who has all the right facts and skills at just the right time. What makes these novels so fun is that in the beginning the crime seems to have a supernatural explanation. Slowly through the novel Pendergast reveals the crime to be from natural world.

Perhaps I was cursed with a flash of insight, I figured out the supernatural aspect of the story right away and it diminished the fun I had reading it. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the character of Pendergast and the return of Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Hayward. You do learn some more about Pendergast (which is always fun), but there are some loose ends left when your done, not the least of which is at the ending. It really seemed as if the book was laying the foundations for future adventures as opposed to being a nice self-contained novel like in his previous adventures.

Since I cannot give a 3.5, I'll give it a 4 on the theory that you'll enjoy it a lot if you don't figure it out early.

To short....

My first and hopefully last abridged book..
The story is good, I like Prendergast, but in this speed it's really hard to keep up..
'Fall out' for just a couple of seconds and you find yourself wondering 'what's happens,' where are we now
Its a pity this book don come as a unabridged version, it's really good, and the narrator is doing
a grate job.

Very good fun with one minor glitch

Very good fun with one minor glitch.
I kept myself guessing what's behind everything and in the middle of the story a new mega bad character is introduced out of the nowhere and I feld cheated. Untill now I am no further than this but I had lots of fun anyway.

I'm a fan.

I really like this series. I would recommend reading them in order. For the most part the series all ties together. I dig it.