The Death Relic

By: Chris Kuzneski

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The New World, 1545: Vanquished by the Spanish Empire, little remained of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. From the ashes of their cities, a unified legend emerged: Their conquerors possessed a mysterious object, an artifact so powerful - so deadly - that it came to be known as "the Death Relic". Yucatan Peninsula, present day: When Maria Pelati's research team disappears in Mexico, she calls Jonathon Payne and David Jones, who embark on a perilous mission to find the missing archaeologists. They soon realize that Maria's research may hold the key to solving one of the darkest mysteries of the New World. But their quest to learn the truth about the Death Relic may end up costing them their lives.

©2013 Chris Kuzneski, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Payne & Jones + Dick Hill Exceeded my expectations

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

Dick Hill performs them all just great. I really enjoy his multitude of voices, both male and female, his different accents, the whole picture. He is a superb narrator and I search for books he narrates even if I don't know the author.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I hated putting it down when I went to bed but did finish it the second day. So yes, I just needed more hours in the day!

Any additional comments?

I enjoy listening to this series. Kuzneski always mixes some real historical events (documented), some folklore, something biblical though not necessarily religious and some geographical pertaining to the area. Sometimes I find myself taking a break to look something up to find out if it is fact or fiction. Surprisingly many are factual. The story is woven through all of the above to create a nail biting mystery thriller. Everytime you think you know what is going on, you soon find out you don't. No one is quite who they seen to be. It's nice that there are characters returning from previous books giving continuity however this can be listened to as a stand alone. Very good and highly recommended.

Not worth your time or credits

This review is simple. If you've read one of Kusneski's novels, you've read them all. Interchange the titles and mix up the pages and it won't matter. It's essentially the same novel printed in different colored ink. The plots are identical; the same 4 characters all saying the same things and there's no emotional investment in either of the main characters. They never change; they are never in any danger; they never get seriously hurt and you are never fearful of anything happening to them. They are both Marvel Universe cartoon characters who leave you not really caring about either of them. All the action is this particular offering takes place in the first couple chapters. After that, it's Kusneski's usual dose of historical trivia, presented ad nauseam, throughout the book. 14 hours long and any first year editorial student could condense it down to 7 hours and the listener wouldn't not miss a beat of the story. It goes from 2 chapters of action to 65 chapters of history textbook. The man can't go 3 paragraphs without stuffing our noses into his need to explain the history of everything from the rocks on the beach to the leaves on the trees. I fast forwarded through 80% of the book and didn't miss a single item in the plot line. A complete waste of time.

I love Payne and Jones... But Maria....

What made the experience of listening to The Death Relic the most enjoyable?

I just love the characters, with whom I feel connected. I want to know so much more about them, I want to read more about them... I just love them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love Petr Ulster!!! The man is just a lovable weirdo! I always imagine Richard Griffiths playing him!

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

consistency and life

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

of course, I just wish that Maria was completely different!

Any additional comments?

I can't be the only one who wanted Maria to not speak the entire book... At first I was so excited to see an old character come back but then she started talking. I wanted to strangle her.

Payne and Jones taking it easy this time

I've listened to all (but one) of Kuzneski's Payne and Jones books and have enjoyed them a whole heck of a lot. But Death Relic was just so boring. I really didn't care about the relationship between Jones and "what's her name." There were a few good banter scenes between Jones and Payne, but for the most part it seemed like they just glided through the story. I've always been a big fan of this pair (and it doesn't hurt that David Jones is also the name of my son) - but this story just didn't engage me. I'm not giving up on Kuzneski or Jones and Payne - plus I really like Dick Hill's narration. Going to give their next one a try. There were three chapters of the next book tucked in at the end of this recording and I was thoroughly engaged by them.