The Obsidian Chamber

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

A Tragic Disappearance
After a harrowing otherworldly confrontation on the shores of Exmouth, Massachusetts, Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast is missing, presumed dead.

A Shocking Return
Sick with grief, Pendergast's ward, Constance, retreats to her chambers beneath the family mansion at 891 Riverside Drive - only to be taken captive by a shadowy figure from the past.

An International Manhunt
Proctor, Pendergast's longtime bodyguard, springs to action, chasing Constance's kidnapper through cities, across oceans, and into wastelands unknown.

But in a World of Black and White, Nothing Is as It Seems
And by the time Proctor discovers the truth, a terrifying engine has stirred - and it may already be too late....

©2016 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (P)2016 Hachette Audio

Looking for a plot

I have read most of the books by Preston and Child and all of the Pendergast novels--a few more than once. Aloysius is unique and somewhat weird, as is his brother Diogenes and that is part of what makes most of these books fun. That is, until this story that renders the brothers uninteresting. I actually forgot I had this book loaded on my phone because there is nothing compelling about this story and I found it a chore to finish listening. AXLP started losing his mystique after we were introduced to his wife Helen, who was duller than mud. Each novel since then has lost a bit of sparkle and now, he is given little to do in Obsidian Chamber and his decision to allow his nutso brother to walk makes me cringe at the thought of another boring soap opera story with these once-fascinating people. Diogenes is almost a different character and is completely unbelievable. Constance, her long dresses, and pretentious vocabulary have grown tiresome. The engaging Proctor started with a bang, then becomes part of a howler of an ending. He arrives back at Riverside Drive looking emaciated, filthy and bloody. Did he find a heretofore undiscovered land bridge and walk from Africa to New York? No. We are to believe he actually got onto a plane or maybe a boat covered in his and lions' blood and did not eat, drink, or rest the long journey across the ocean just so he could collapse on the floor after a tedious buildup before the nervous Mrs.Trask finally opens the dang door.

Rene Auberjonois is great, as usual, but even he cannot save this one. This is worse than Beyond the Ice Limit. yikes

Aggravatingly Disappointing

An alternate summary for this novel might be: very smart people making strings of bafflingly stupid decisions and mistakes for completely unconvincing reasons.

It's heartbreaking because I really, really wanted to like this book and I simply couldn't. The beginning was interesting and attention-gripping, but everything went downhill from there.

There was no mystery to be solved in this book which felt very strange. I mean, I suppose Pendergast had a mystery for part of it, but we, the reader, did not since we knew what was happening and why for the majority of the book and were simply waiting for him to figure it out. I think I could have overlooked the lack of mystery if what took it's place was more compelling, but it wasn't, and frankly didn't make much sense either.

SPOILERS - The rest of this review contains spoilers. Please do not read further if you have not read the story yet and want to avoid spoilers.

I had a hard time buying any of the main cast's motivations for why they did the things they did in this story. There was not at all enough reason given for Diogenes' complete reversal of character and it was unrealistic in the extreme. "I fell in a volcano so I'm suddenly magically a better person?" What is this, Darth Vader in reverse? Also, for someone as supposedly as smart as he is - he interacted with Flavia under the identity he intended to later assume permanently? When he always intended to eventually ditch her? WHY?! Wouldn't he have used another disposable alias? So many people doing so many stupid things.

Like Constance. Just trusting everything he told her. I mean, yes, I know she had her own thing going on, but if he actually HAD had bad intentions, she would have been a goner. I mean, he tells her her health is going to fail and she just believes him? He gives her some unknown substance and she's like yeah - hook me up? Why is she SO sure she can read him, given what happened the first time? At least I actually did understand (and guess) her initial motivation. It was not pleasant, but it did seem in keeping with her character. She's always had a very distinct dark side.

I would have had more respect for what she did at first, except that by the end she completely stopped making sense and both she and Pendergast seemed to take the same mind-altering stupid pills that made them somehow forget all the truly horrible things Diogenes has done, and is fully capable of doing again. I get that family is complicated, but if you want to show pity on the man put him in a mental institution so he can get help, for goodness sake! Don't release him into the wild and hope his better nature just somehow wins out after he's had all his hopes and dreams stepped on and has, like, nothing to live for? That seems bound to go SO well, don't you think?

While I'm ranting - blaming what Diogenes became on Pendergast because he was responsible for getting his brother stuck in a box with scary pictures when they were children is ludicrous. Up until now, I always understood Pendergast's feeling of guilt, because yes, an older sibling would feel that way, and sure, it was a mistake with horrible, tragic consequences. These are the kind of things we feel guilty about whether it's justified or not, but to actually spell it out like it IS entirely his fault (and not that he just feels that way) is to completely ignore Diogenes' free will and total ability to make his own choices (not to mention the rest of their obviously questionable upbringing). You cannot void the man of all responsibility for the many horrible things he's done because "something bad" happened to him. It actually makes me very upset how the whole end of the book was handled. If it was a physical book I probably would have thrown it against the wall in frustration.

Of course, I'm only so upset because I love these characters and this world so much that it physically pains me to witness such a miserable, confusing train wreck.

I have been an avid fan of this series for many years and I suppose any series this long will have a few disappointments in it. They are definitely far outnumbered by the brilliant, masterful successes, so, I shall try to convince myself that this book was all a bad dream that never happened and wait for the next one.

Pass this one up!

What was most disappointing about Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child ’s story?

I am a BIG fan of Preston and Child - couldn't wait for the next book - UNTIL NOW! The Obsidian Chamber has no story, it just goes on and on about nothing. Gone are the snippets of history, the Pendergast charm, the devious Diogenes.
I couldn't finish it!
Just awful - c'mon guys!

Fearful there is no where to go for the series.

I have always enjoyed the Pendergast series. However, I have grown tired of the cliffhanger endings. I find that I frequently have to go back to the previous book in an effort to understand why all this "stuff" is happening to Pendergast or Constance and now Proctor. The cloudy convoluted plots and the referenced past deeds are tiring.
Just give Pendergast cases to show his brilliance and close the door (for Pendergast it is doors) on the past. Leave Constance and her son (and undoubtedly the child she will now be carrying) with the monks!!!

The only good thing about this book was Proctor

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have followed this series for years and always look forward to the next installment, until now. This was an absolute turd of a novel. The only part (as a long time fan) that I enjoyed was that Proctor finally got to play a major role in the story. Listening to this story was akin to watching a horror movie where the bad guy, who's been shot 8 times, fallen from a building and blown up somehow still manages to outrun a healthy teenager going at full speed through the woods!! You know that would never rally happen and its so unrealistic that it becomes laughable... that's exactly what happened here.

**spoiler alert** Diogenes, a serial killer and nemesis of Pendergast for most of his life somehow grows a concise and is in LOVE (I kid you not) and wants to repent.... In the end he is actually LET GO by the FBI as "favor" to Pendergast.

I hope one day to find out that this was ghost written by an intern and that we all got "punked" because this was so far removed from the previous novels.

Would you ever listen to anything by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child again?

Yes but not the Pendergast series... seriously this was one of the best and has taken a terrible turn for the worse.

What three words best describe Rene Auberjonois’s performance?

I've always enjoyed him but I couldn't get past the fact that his narration of the coroner sounded exactly like a Jar-Jar Binks impression

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment... This series used to be a well researched and thought out gem and has slowly turned into emotions overrun hot mess. It also makes no sense. No FBI agent would do such things ... it's almost like they were reaching and couldn't find a better solution to let the bad guy go so the series could continue. As we all know too much of a good thing, is no longer a good thing.

What happened to Pendergast?

I have read or listened to every Pendergast book published. This is by far the biggest disappointment. It read more like a gothic novel then the older murder mystery Pendergast books. And the love story between Constance and Aloysius just skeeves me out! It also felt like the authors deliberately used $5 words to elevate the book above common language, not because it was crucial to the story or the characters. Also, is it absolutely necessary to go in to detail about their meals? I want the old Pendergast back where he's chasing down beasts in a museum or zombies from an ancient cult! Plus, no D'Agosta?? Very disappointed...

Very disappointing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Who knows?

Would you ever listen to anything by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child again?

I keep hoping they will get back to the intriguing mysteries that they wrote in their first 10 books. After that, when the novels got into Pendergast's "family problems" they seem to have gone down hill and don't have the humor and excitement that they once had. Pendergast is actually becoming a bit tiresome and the twists and turns and multiple story lines are pretty tedious. I am a big fan of Preston and Child's but have been less than entertained by them lately.

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

He is always great and can do any kind of voice and accent very well.

What character would you cut from The Obsidian Chamber?

Diogenes should have remained dead. Constance is getting somewhat boring and seems a real twit in this one.

Any additional comments?

I so enjoyed the earlier Pendergast books when the Special Agent was solving mysteries of a bizarre nature. The ones where he teamed up with D'Agosta, Margo Green, and the great comic relief of Smithback, Wren and Mime, etc were fun and interesting and I couldn't put them down until the end. Now, they just seem to go around and around in circles and the whole Pendergast family drama is tiresome and boring. I'm not sure I even want to finish this. I'm 3/4 of the way through and thinking I might just return it and not finish it. It just doesn't seem that it even keeps my interest. I would love to have Preston and Child get back to the format that they used in the earlier books where the sharpness of Pendergast and his great dry humor ("it's a bad habit, but I simply cannot help myself" ) were fun and refreshing. He no longer has the aura of mysticism and invincibility he had in the beginning, at least for me. He now just seems like a endless victim who keeps falling into traps. The only refreshing part in this book is that Proctor, the mysterious butler, gets to play a major part. Unfortunately, at least as far as I've listened, he just sort of gets lost. These guys are great writers, obviously, judging by their popularity and their massive following. Maybe they are reaching too hard these days?

What happened!!

Feels like someone else wrote this book...
I couldn't even finish it. I'm sad.... where did Pendergrast go, where did Diogenes go ?
Weak and sappy

Seriously disappointed!!!

I dislike the "Series of Unfortunate events" feeling this series has taken lately. I feel the action and suspense is watered down at the end with heart wrenching, unrealistic sadness. Would it kill them to end on a high note just once!?? Not to mention how they just walked away from all the mayhem committed by the brother. I'm beginning to think the authors are determined to torment this genius and never give him some kind of just general happy ending. I think this might be the first book in this series I never listen to again. I'm so disappointed!

Disappointed - a weak showing

I am a very loyal fan of this series. The authors missed an excellent opportunity to take into a fresh direction. I thought Pendergast and Constance made an excellent team in the last novel. In this novel they are apart. Did Pendergast learn nothing on the boat? Did he learn nothing in the pursuit? Apparently not, so very unlike him. Too many things jelly-side down.

I really don't know what to feel. I am said that the strongest part of the novel was narration. This is a rare miss. Read because you have to.

brilliant

If you could sum up The Obsidian Chamber in three words, what would they be?

Always great storyline

Have you listened to any of Rene Auberjonois’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Only listened to the Prendergast books read by this narrator and this one is as good as the others

Any additional comments?

I've listened to all the Prendergast and really enjoyed the quirkiness of the characters, however I'm disappointed that the two previous books in the series are not yet in audible and feel I've missed out on the story.

High standards

High standards as usual from this writing duo. Didn't think I was going to engage with the story at first, but I should've known better. Not been disappointed yet. Where can we go from here??

Best one yet

loved it from start to finish. I have listened to the whole series which helped.