Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child pull out the stops in this superb sequel to Relic. Dick Hill's skillful narration effectively draws you into the un..Show More »relenting suspense and excitement of this white-knuckle edge-of-your-seat thrill ride. His voice characterizations and pacing mirror the anxiety and emotions of the characters. You feel as if you're standing beside them. Five stars - no argument. It's highly suggested that you read Relic first. (Relic was Preston and Child's debut collaboration.)
Reliquary also marks the second appearance of Agent Pendergast (Relic), a character most readers have elevated to the status of a modern Sherlock Holmes with a touch of James Bond thrown in. Subsequent novels by the authors have reprised Agent Pendergast character six times. If you haven't read the novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, you're in for a treat! But one important suggestion: UNABRIDGED ONLY! Read them all.

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The problem is most likely I've listened to all the subsequent Pendergast installments, then went back and listened to this one. If they'd been liste..Show More »ned to in order, it would probably have been much better.

It was nice to hear from some old friends and discover how Pendergast met Nora. I was disappointed that Constance wasn't included in this book more. I had assumed that this book explained more of how they met and they discovered each other. But, it wasn't there. Is there another missing installment??

Anyway, I was "grossed-out" at some of the situations, but I still couldn't stop listening. It was really gruesome. Even more so than others of this series. I suppose I can take death.. but suffering bothers me.

I was worried about the narrator. This being the 3rd in this series, but Mr. Marosz did a fantastic job. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to his books again.

Yes, I'd recommend it to all die-hard P&C fans, but understand, it is disturbing!

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Once again all the cops are red neck idiots and they need Aleysius Xingu Leng Pendergast to set them straight. When push comes to shove the cops becom..Show More »e sniveling little cry babies. (I sure hope Preston or Child get that parking ticket straightened out.)

If you are a die hard Pendergast or P/C fan, then you will not like this review so do yourself a favor, mark not helpful and move on.

This starts out slow like most P/C novels. At chapter 17 it gets real good and stays that way to chapter 38. Then like most P/C novels there is a four hour chase scene, to come to a conclusion that everyone, but an idiot from a small town in Kansas has figured out. That's if you go with the cliche way in which Kansas small town people are treated in this book. All the characters are miserable, not a happy person in the town.

From the way the small Kansas town is described, I do not believe Preston and Child have ever been in Kansas. The timeline is somewhere after 2002, yet everybody is driving AMC gremlins and Hornets. AMC went out of business in 1987. If you go to Kansas, as I do once a week, you will find they drive mostly Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, especially in farming communities as this is suppose to be. The town is surrounded by cornfields and they want this company to come in and plant evil genetically modified corn to provide more jobs. The main employer is a Turkey processing plant. Hello P&C, Turkey Processing Plants are built next to Turkey Farms, not cornfields. If you have a Turkey Processing Plant then you will also have a large Mexican American Community or Illegal Aliens. You might have a diner in town, which serves meat and potatoes as describe, but you will also have at least one Mexican Restaurant. It's sign will be hand painted in Green and Red. A girl who lives in a trailer park will not have a neighbor with built in lawn sprinklers. The church will not be Lutheran it will be Catholic.

Pendergast does his going back in time thing again. It is explained as a thing called Chongg Ran, which is taught in Tibet. Essentially if you do lots of research and study this Chongg Ran, you will be able to go into a trance and go back to any time and you will see what should have happened. According to Preston and Child, Chongg Ran has never been published it is a secret teaching and is only taught orally to other monks and Preston and Child. In other words they made it up. May be in the next book Pendergast will do some Remote Viewing.

I did give this three stars and it does have some great parts, it is just to bad it is surrounded by Cliches, Long Chase scenes and boring miniscule descriptions about law enforcement. No one cares about the politics they keep putting into these books.

About the narrator. I have made plain before how I feel about Scott Brick. It is hard to explain his style. You know how you have listened to some narrators who are monotone and every line is read the same boring way. Brick is exactly the opposite. Every sentence is read as it is the most exciting thing in the world. In one part he reads about Pendergast picking up a phone and putting it back in the cradle. It is read like The Eagle Has Landed!!!!. Sixteen hours of everything is stupendously exciting is draining. Having said that SB was probably the best person to read this, as he really captures the whole everyone is a miserable character aspect.

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Another great read. Not the best one I've read of the series, but definitely worth the purchase. The latter books are better than the first ones I thi..Show More »nk. I had a hard time getting through Relic and don't think I even finished it, but I went ahead and bought the rest of the series and they got better and better. I listened to them out of order so I think I'll let some time pass and go back and listen to them in the proper order. If you liked the other ones, you'll like this one. And even if this isn't your genre - it is still a very interesting story and good read.

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I've been listening to all of the Pendergast series, at least those that Audible have, in order. I must say that this was my favorite so far!

..Show More »>Preston and Child are maturing as writers and this book is outstanding! I could not stop listening! There is a very apparent similarity to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. There is our main hero, with many of the same characteristics of Holmes: intelligence, being misunderstood (due to his lack of communication), loyalty, his own brand of justice, sacrifice, kind of larger than life.. And we have Watson (though, our side-kick here is more competent).. Now, we're introduced to the story's arch-villian: "the most dangerous man in the world." More characters parallel.. but, are so much more human and vivid! We can identify with the characters and their failings. The story and plot are terrific, but the characters and their interactions, and the thrill-ride of action makes this story stand out as one of the best!

I've really enjoyed Mr. Brick as the narrator in these stories. He is even able to distinguish between 2 men with similar accents without being confusing. Perhaps, he's not as proficient with the English lady's voice, but it doesn't distract from the story.

All in all, this is an excellent thrill ride from end to end and I would highly recommend it to any wanting a great detective-pursuing-the-bad-guy type of book!

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Although a bit predictable and formulaic, it's still an enjoyable 'read'. I might suggest, however, you read Dance of Death before reading this one. I..Show More »t gives you a good base for the characters.

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If you are an incarnated Preston/Child fan, you are most likely asking yourself: “Is it of the same quality as the Brimstone trilogy?”

T..Show More »he short answer to this question is: Absolutely!

It is yet another unputdownable page-turner from the dynamic Preston/Child duo – that seems to continue to write mega-hits together. In my opinion, they are much better together than when they write solo.

If you listen to this book while commuting to work, please be advised that you will find yourself sitting in the parking lot to hear “just one more chapter” after you have arrived.

This is how a thriller should be.

Your second question might be: “What were they thinking, when they decided NOT to use Scott Brick as the narrator?” In that case, I have more good news: Rene Auberjonois does a tremendous job.

I hope you will enjoy this audio book as much as I did.


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I pick up anything from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm a fan, have read all their books, and am waiting for their next novel.

..Show More »That said, I couldn't help but feel Messrs. Preston and Child were struggling to pull all the loose strings together on this one toward the end. I guess it still worked. But, I couldn't say it's "up there" with their other works.

Would I still have purchased it, knowing what I know? Yeah. But, then again, I'm a fan.

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Preston and Child never miss a beat. In fact, with each outing they seem to improve, don't they? "Fever Dream" tells us another exciting story in th..Show More »e Agent Pendergast series. With each episode, Preston and Child always find some primal human phobia to tap into. Frequently, they take us underground, into dark tunnels; but this time they bring us into a Louisiana swamp, teeming with alligators, bugs, and snakes. Even more than the scare factor, Preston and Child triumph with intelligent, well-researched, scientifically plausible plots. Like Sherlock Holmes, Pendergast seems to know everything needed to solve the most arcane riddles; and, like James Bond, he can wield the weapons needed to punish the bad guys. In this case, he unearths the deadly secret that had gotten his beloved wife murdered twelve years before. Then he issues the bad guys their belated just deserts. Rene Auberjonois does a good job of reading "Fever Dream," giving each character a unique voice. I don't know exactly how to classify the Preston/Child thrillers -- they contain elements of horror, techno, sci-fi, adventure, and mystery -- but any fan of any of those genres will love "Fever Dream." (By the way -- explaining the title would give away the plot; so you will just have to listen to the audiobook in order to get it.)

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This is the eleventh Pendergast novel, the second of the 'Helen Pendergast' arc. Aloysius X. L. Pendergast is an albino F.B.I. special agent who is an..Show More » independently wealthy cross between Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and The Devil. His lineage is as dark and checkered as the mysteries he deftly runs to ground. He solves cases. Never mind that his methods are often incorrigible. His tenaciousness makes him a priceless ally and a disastrous enemy. His exploits have moved me from the edge of my seat to exclaiming uncontrollably in front of strangers to my embarrassment. Pendergast is doubtlessly the most exciting character in modern fiction. This volume and the arc in particular are not only among the best examples of Pendergast and Preston & Childs's work but an example of the best of the modern genre.



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I love Preston & Child and have read everything they've written as a writing team, especially the Pendergast books. I so looked forward to this one! H..Show More »owever, it seems to me that Pendergast is nearly on his last leg as a character. The story was OK but not nearly as engaging as the earlier books. Rene Auberjonois did a fine job as narrator.

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