The Wheel of Darkness

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

FBI Agent Pendergast has taken Constance on a whirlwind Grand Tour, hoping to give her closure and a sense of the world that she's missed. They head to Tibet, where Pendergast intensively trained in martial arts and spiritual studies. At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen. Pendergast agrees to take up the search.

The trail leads him and Constance to the maiden voyage of the Queen Victoria, the world's largest and most luxurious passenger liner - and to an Atlantic crossing fraught with terror.

Investigate more of Agent Pendergast's cases.

©2007 Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Lincoln Child (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Wheel of Darkness

I really enjoyed this book, love the ocean and agent Pendergast stories. This was one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to.

Wheel of darkness

Rene Auberjonois is an amazing performer! This was one of Pendergast’s more exciting and interesting adventures! It kept me completely enthralled from beginning to end! I can hardly wait for the next captivating story!

Exceptional!!! And more.

Every book in the Pentergast & Constance series is brilliant, thought-provoking, a terrible love triangle of the saddest kind, and full of excitement, thrill, danger and even love. This one, however, is extraordinary! From the authors' descriptions of the ship, people, crew, and much more, you really do begin to feel that you, too, are on that dangerous voyage. I was totally sucked in by this book, and I went quite willingly. I don't know how you do it. You must both be magicians!!!

I also wanted to express my sincere gratitude to both of you for keeping the intelligent reader engaged (yes, we're still out there; avoiding reality tv.). My 92 yr old mother's eyes were going, and since I'd been an Audible listener for many, many years, I convinced her to try it. She loves it!!!!!
She can "read" her "cozy" murder books again! It is due to people like you who have
made their books available in an audible format, that SO many more elderly, ill, disabled and lonely people a much more enjoyable existence. Thank you. Vanessa M Stenglein Milw,WI 53227

Hi how dearly I enjoy Pendergast and miss Rene🥹

The Wheel of Darkness is when Pendergast came into perfection. Oh how I wish Rene was here to narrate the prior installments of this great series of books. I was afraid there would be a distinct lack of finding someone who has the ability to flawlessly step in and take Rene’s place. Thank goodness for Jefferson Mays. I wish Louise Penny had taken the needed time to find a replacement for the late great Ralph Cosham. The original narrator for Chief Inspector Gomache. I no longer buy her books.

Good book, bad narrator.

Read it rather than listen to it. that's my advice. Way too many product numbers. I don't care what the model number is on a gun, a generator or any other product.

Complex storyline

Similar to their other books, but it's more of a supernatural horror mystery than some. I enjoyed the Tibetian and the ocean liner settings because I have little to no experience with either. On top of the settings, you get to renew acquaintances with Pendergast and his ward. The storylines were unusual and I worried that I might not like the outcome so for me the suspense was great! I enjoyed the reader a lot.

What a Rollercoaster!

The hero is just too good (as is the heroine), the baddies are particulrly bad and the story is just a little too bizarre. I also found the reader a bit hard to take at the start. But with all that negativism, (I clearly need to meditate and get back to my innerself) I have to admit that I listened right to the end and that once into it, I mostly enjoyed the trip into Tibet, the wild sea journey and the moral overtones about our decaying society.

The best yet!

This is the best in the series. You see the human side of agent Pendergast. He is not the wall of all knowing steel he has been in previous books. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. I wish Audible had a program where they would alert subscribers of new additions of their favorite authors. Preston and Child would be on the top of my list. Bravo to you both!

Hard to maintain the velocity...

I love the Pendergast books and I applaud them for their creativity in moving the series to different locals to keep it fresh, but this one didn't quite reach the level for me that others in the series have. It was entertaining, but felt like a side trip from everything we've gone through with Pendergast to date. There are a few important bits that move the story forward, but mostly it's a standalone story.

I know everyone doesn't agree, but after listening to Scott Brick's Pendergast, Rene Auberjonois was a disappointment. It appears I should get used to it, because he seems to be narrating the books now, but it's just not the same for me.

Least Favorite of the Series Thus Far

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Some of the characters just didn't fit for me. Preston and Child generally make very believable and intriguing characters although this was not the case for me with The Wheel of Darkness. It also felt that one recurring character, who I won't name to avoid spoiling anything from previous books, seemed to have some personality changes that just did not fit with the character established in previous books. Again, where consistency was the norm, The Wheel of Darkness felt quite abnormal for me.

Would you recommend The Wheel of Darkness to your friends? Why or why not?

I'd only recommend it for friends that are fans of this series. I'm not one who can listen to random books throughout a series but have to listen to them all in order. So personally I couldn't skip over it although I think some people might be able to.

Did Rene Auberjonois do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I actually thought a few of the characters sounds pretty close and having spent the last few books in the series listening to Scott Brick, there is a difference between the two narrators and I prefer Scott Brick. My bias likely sways my feelings on Rene Auberjonois but others that loved Brick's narrations with this series as I did may feel like this performance was not up to par.

Did The Wheel of Darkness inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to grab the next book in the series hoping it is better than this one.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy the Pendergast series, I'd say you are safe to give this one a go. Besides, out of the many books in the series, there are just some you are bound to not enjoy as much as others. For me, The Wheel of Darkness was one of those I did not like as much, but not enough to deter me away from continuing on with this series.