Relic

Pendergast, Book 1

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Relic, a Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child thriller that introduces FBI Special Agent Pendergast

Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human....

But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders.

Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who - or what - is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

Prolong the suspense: listen to the sequel, Reliquary.

©1994 by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. (P)1995 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"With its close-up view of museum life and politics, plausible scientific background, sharply drawn characters and a plot line that's blissfully free of gratuitous romance, this well-crafted novel offers first-rate thrills and chills." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Wildly cool....Thrill hounds couldn't ask for a creepier environment....a thriller staged in the world's scariest building, with no room for the squeamish." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Fantastic!!!!

Loved this book. Narrator was fabulous. The sound effects were a real treat. Well performed
Roller coaster seat of the pants story. Highly recommend this book for anyone liking monster stories

10 of 10

better than the movie. the performance was very well done. I love the little additions like crackling radio static. much more immersive.

Good Introduction to Pendergast and Other Players

A fine work in its own right, with only hints of the wonders to come in the Pendergast series.

A Gripping Tale

This story has had me in it's grasps from start to finish. I only knew this tale growing up form a movie sadly. A movie I actually despise for what it did to this tale. This story is just so intriguing and all the personalities, quirks, and happenings of each character felt so vital. I wanted to know more and I was gripping at each piece of the story as it was read. The characters are so developed and the telling from start to finish never left me feeling like anything was getting over used or old. I literally fell in love with every character even the much to hate Agent Coffee.

Splendid production!

I'm a big fan of the Pendergast books and this is a great book all on it's own, but the reading of this title was amazing!
I'm not used to the level of theatrics used here being applied to an audiobook, if I'm honest, so it was quite drawing and refreshing to experience.
These authors always come together to write great storylines and deep characters; this book is no exception to that!

great production

Different from the movie as you might expect but overall not too different. Story is fun and excitable but where this book really shines is how it takes it to the next level in it's production. The narrator (or production team) add audio effects all the time throughout the story that really increases your immersion into the story. I'm thinking of expanding into some of the other book titles by the same narrator just because it was so well done.

Good listen, great reader

Very glad I found this series, will looking forward to listening to more. The reader is definitely one of the best I have listened to.

A solid first offering of Pendergast

As a Pendergast fan, I felt that Relic was mediocre when I first listened to it. I would have enjoyed it much more had I realized that the second Pendergast novel, Reliquary, was Part 2. Without revealing too much, Relic stretches the limits of believability a bit without the background that is provided in Reliquary.

Relic has several twists and turns, and many of the conclusions I had drawn turned out to be false (in this book anyway), which kept me on my toes. Pendergast readers will recognize several of the characters in the book, though they are lacking the depth of character that is found in later Pendergast novels.

The narration seemed a bit dated with an almost smarmy or pretentious tone at times. And while I felt that the character voices were exaggerated to the point of being caricatures, they were undoubtedly very distinct, which made it easy to recognize the character who was speaking.

My suggestion to anyone who is thinking about giving this book a listen is to bite the bullet and purchase Reliquary as well. It greatly elevated my opinion of Relic.

David Colacci is the voice of Pendergast !

What did you love best about Relic?

I loved everything about this book and having listened to at least 2 others now makes me so appreciate David's voice so much more !

What was one of the most memorable moments of Relic?

I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you !

Have you listened to any of David Colacci’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

this was the first and he has now defined the brand of pendergast for me

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

loved it and i was shocked that i did , and now i'm a rabid pendergast fan

Any additional comments?

listen to the sample , and consider if you want another narrator in the later versions, i am having a big problem getting thru other later versions not read by this narrator !

Fun, entertaining even if dated

While the tech aspects that made this intriguing in the 90s are now so basic they don’t add any real value or suspense, Relic is still an engaging story. Though it suffers a bit from a slightly unfulfilling climax, Colacci’s performance and the pacing of the story make this a fun listen. Good on its own, but required if you’re interested in the early arc of the Pendergast series. Not strong enough to be 4-star, but not bad enough to really be 3-star.