5 comments about The Empty Chair (Lincoln Rhyme Novels).

1. Granted, I haven't read all of Mr. Deaver's work, but for some reason The Empty Chair is the one book that has stayed with me the most, and the only Deaver book which has brought me back for a subsequent reading. Great characters, fantastic plot not bogged down with too much science ... a superb balance of forensics and pure action ... and twists that stay with you.
   
   If every Deaver book could be this good, I'd be buying hardcover.



2. Empty Chair was a good read, not a great read, but a good read. I've read the majority of Deaver's novels and have found several to be great reads; this one unfortunately was not the best of his work.
   
   Great concept, but the twist was a little forced and I actually didn't read the last 10 pages or so because of this.
   
   Anyway, in comparison to the market, (seems really gripping thrillers are few and far between) I'd recommend it.



3. The Empty Chair is another great "who done it" by Jeffery Deaver. It is a fast read, every time you are ready to put it down and get something done the story twists in such a way that you just have to go on with it. This is a book to start in the early afternoon, not the early evening unless you can get away with staying up all night. As usual for Deaver the book is filled with good guys and bad guys and the reader has to figure out who's who, and nobody is as good or as bad at the end of the book as they were at the beginning. The author is not stingy with his clues, but there are surprises until the last page. The tale weaves the motives of the characters into a memorable story with all the twists one expects from a Deaver mystery.



4. In this novel, Rhyme and Sachs are in North Carolina, as Lincoln Rhyme is about to go through a medical procedure, to help with his condition. However, Rhymes is met at the hospital, by the local sheriff (a cousin of one of Rhymes' friends), who asks for his help in tracking down a local troubled teenager, who it seems has murdered one man and kidnapped two young women.
   
   I found this book an enjoyable read, from the start. As the cases progresses, you think it will be straight forward enough : examine evidence, catch kid, free women. But, then there is one twist followed by another, that throw you off track, and have you wondering who are the good characters, and who are the bad. It kept me very interested throughout.



5. great series of mysteries, showing that a handicapped person, can lead a full and productive life, regardless of their disability, and contribute to society. I would recommend this series of books to anyone, who enjoys a good mystery full of suspense. You will enjoy this as well as others by Jeffery Deaver, a great author.

5 comments about Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion.

1. This is a fine book. Educational, funny, clever and well-written.
   
   It will teach you plenty about rhetoric, while making you laugh. So it's doubly persuasive.
   
   Heinrichs' observations on American society are also well worth the read, as when, for example, he explains that Americans once loved banter, until, that is, classics and rhetoric fell out of favor in the 19th century.
   
   I will be re-reading this one.
   
   Thank you, Mr Heinrichs.
   
   Perhaps a sequel on the written word?



2. This book has some stellar advice, but it's hard to get through when the author brags, insults his reader, discusses his everyday manipulation of his own family for nothing more than getting his way on movies.
   If you can get past the author's personality flaws, I do have to admit that the book is a hidden gem in content.



3. I used to study logic and rhetoric for fun, but in the past couple of years I have kind of lost my touch. I saw this book and with the reference to arguing and Homer Simpson on the cover, I had to check it out.
   The books is fun, easy to read, and starts out right from the first chapter informing us about the use of rhetoric in our daily lives and then livens up the rest of the read with silly, but apt, analogies to rhetorical usages in pop culture.
   For someone that loves the study or someone just getting into it, this is a good book for all of us to read. We need more people out there to brighten our lives with knowledge of the ways that politicians and advertising companies go out of their way to screw us on a daily basis.



4. I really wanted to like this book. And I did find some recommending traits. This book may be okay for someone who sticks to low-stakes debates and never gets in a snarl with a skilled arguer. But if you're looking for a guide to the real meat of argumentation, keep looking, because this isn't your book.
   
   Author Jay Heinrichs does bring some recommending characteristics to this book. His plea for a return to a firm education in rhetoric reflects a stance I've found myself taking more than once recently. His claim that rhetoric could revitalize America's stagnant public sphere is persuasive. And if you limit yourself to the small-scale arguments of the kind he describes in this book (turning down the stereo, convincing your kid to wear long pants on a snowy day), the steps and strategies in this book will probably be useful to you.
   
   But some of the author's prescriptions are not supportable. He claims, for instance, that rhetoric is the realm of debaters, but that dialectic is the exclusive realm of philosophers, and that dialectic has no place in your argument. This is strange, since dialectic is the process of questions and answers upon which any good argument should be based. Aristotle's Rhetoric begins (in the W. Rhys Roberts translation) by stating that "Rhetoric is the counterpart of dialectic." Heinrichs' opinion is the opposite of what most argumentation teachers claim, since you cannot have a productive argument unless you are able to ask and answer good questions.
   
   Heinrichs also claims that productive arguments always take place in the future tense, which he calls Deliberative Rhetoric. Hermogenes and Aphthonius would not agree; these influential teachers dedicated much of their classic rhetoric primers to deliberation about how the past should be received and understood. And since I write this review at the start of a major political season, I wonder what we would think of a candidate who, in arguing about future choices, failed to ask, "Is this an option which has proven effective in the past?"
   
   Perhaps the most baffling for me is the division Heinrichs makes between the Right and the Advantageous. These terms are lifted directly out of Cicero, who appears to be the author's major influence. So I can't help but wonder why the author sets these two topics at odds, when Cicero dedicated the final third of his most famous treatise, "On Duties," to reconciling Right and Advantageous, and stressing that in a dutiful culture the two should coincide. Does Heinrichs truly believe ours is not a dutiful society, or one which can be made dutiful?
   
   All of this is compounded by the fact that the book is almost exclusively dedicated to oral argumentation. This is important, but think of the face-to-face arguments you've had recently. They tend to be very near-term and largely limited to topics close at hand. Most significant arguments in this post-Gutenberg age take place in writing. Even the Internet is mainly a written medium, and while YouTube may make it more oral in the future, I would estimate that about eighty-five percent of the Web is still made up of alphabetic writing. So why no chapters in this book on the unique demands of written argument?
   
   If your only interest as an arguer is in coming to amicable resolutions with close friends and family members, I actually recommend this book. It encompasses the tools which you will need in that forum. But when the author makes sweeping claims about how skillful rhetoric can restore the grandeur of American society, and then disregards how grand social arguments really take place, I have to wonder where his head's at. If you want to use skillful words to change your world, keep looking, this isn't your book.



5. The art of persuasion involves moving the audience
   in a positive direction prompted by the speaker.
   Few books deal with the subject in any major way.
   To do this, a motivational speaker must talk the language
   of the audience. Expectations must be met to some considerable
   extent. Above all, the speaker must come to know the audience.
   
   There are various logical techniques for targeting an audience.
   For example, aporia involves wondering openly about complex
   issues or choices. Phronesis involves convincing the audience
   that you can solve a problem through practical wisdom.
   
   A condition precedent to successful implementation is
   empathizing with the audience. Don't appear tricky and
   be in genuine doubt about unresolved issues or ones too
   difficult to solve in the short term. Occasionally,
   expert speakers tell a story to change the mood of the
   audience. Once you've identified a particular course of
   action, get the audience to recognize and support your
   decision or chosen option. A good speaker must navigate
   the audience through the persuasion underworld.
   
   A strength of this work is that the author describes
   the complexities inherent in motivational speaking.

5 comments about Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.).

1. This book is spellbjnding. the author takes the reader on a wild ride through the backwoods and city of early Washington. The author describes in detail what was going through boothes mind when he snuffed out the life of one of America's greatest presidents. It is a must read.



2. This book really is as good as it says it is. This book really provides an in depth overview of the murder and the chase. It offers the view through those searching and JWB. It really is amazing to realize how Booth hid for so long when he was the most wanted man in the country. This is a very in depth, well written and interesting book. Highly reccommended to anyone interested in American history.



3. Even though we all know the story and how it turns out, this book was hard to put down. Great read



4. Without a doubt, one of the best books I've read in a very long time. This non-fiction book reads like a suspense novel. I read it in a day and a half. So incredibly well researched and written, this account of Booth's 12-day escape after Lincoln's assassination is almost an hour-by-hour account of his every move. Utterly compelling...a must read!!!



5. Most everyone knows that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. But few know the broader plan, how history could have changed, how history indeed did change, the minute by minute saga of the planning of the crime and its twelve day aftermath - the Manhunt for Booth. This chronicle of those days is so harrowing, so page turning, you will give up sleep to finish it. Knowing the history we all know, I still read this story hoping the assassination attempt fails and if not, Booth would be caught before he left the Ford's Theatre. Alas, neither of those hopes were realized but that's how riveting and real this story is. I cannot recall reading a book as exciting or as informative. Take the James Swanson time machine back to 1865 and live there for twelve days. It is unforgettable.

5 comments about Riptide.

1. This was the first Preston/Child book I had ever read, and if this book doesn't hook you on their work, nothing else will! This book blends science, pirate lore, and history seamlessly as we follow the adventure of a man desperate to confront his past, and a greedy company bent on recovering an ancient treasure.
   
   Using their uncanny understanding of science and history, Preston/Child spin a fabulous tale that keeps the reader hooked until the very last page. This is a must read for anyone who loves scientific, historical thrillers or is just a fan of Preston/Child.
   
   Timothy Lassiter, author of Three Degrees of Separation and The Devil You Know.



2. I have read Preston and Child books since discovering them last year. All the books are great and thrilling. I was a little concerned because many of the ones I'd happened to read all involved monsters that emitted strange scents. I'd begun to wonder if the duo was stuck in a rut. Well, I didn't have to worry, because Riptide is a whole different ballgame, yet equally as thrilling. The reader is hooked into the storyline on the first page, because yes, of course we all want to know what happens to Malin's brother. And yet, we are not bored with the convoluted way the author takes us to that answer. Kudos to Preston and Child for producing yet another excellent thriller.



3. I've always been a fan of Preston and Child. This book is no exception. The best "water based" thrillers I've ever read. Charcter development is unsurpassed. Four months after reading this I still vividly remember the characters and thier lives. The creepy island is extremely interesting and the twist at the end is great. With that said, its not their best novel but probably top five.



4. After reading The Relic and Brimstone (both books by Preston and Child and with the fictionilized character Pendergast) I decided to read something different. Believe me, this is probably one of the best books I have ever read. A true adventure. You will not be able to put it down until you have finished reading.



5. It was a great premise. Good characters and an easy to read style that kept me turning the pages. However, I kept waiting for the book to really start. I was expecting something spectacular to come with the turn of the next page. As the amount of pages left began to dwindle it became apparent that it would never come. There was a twist to the story. One in which I saw coming well before it was revealed.

5 comments about Thunderhead.

1. This was my first Preston Childs book, but definitely not my last. I simply couldn't put it down until it was finished, and that doesn't happen much anymore, believe me.
   
   The descriptions of the Anasazi dwellings and speculations on their culture, along with the desert environment and it's perils, kept me hooked. The characterizations were less believable and formulaic - the pompous scientist, the "salt of the earth" cowboy, the arrogant journalist, the plucky heroine - but this was all forgivable, given the power of the narrative. You were could feel the dust of the desert and terrified making your way with them through that slot canyon. I was riveted as they approached the lost city of Quivera, and when it was finally revealed - it was spellbinding.
   
   From time to time the unlikely scenario of throwing together such a disparate crew, some of which were totally unprepared, on such an important archaeological expedition was irksome. Still, even that was acceptable, given the power of the storytelling What made me more uncomfortable however, was the gruesome deaths of all of the expedition's horses, along with Nora Kelly's indifference to the disappearance of her dog, later found mutilated. Throughout the book, this detail made me like her less.
   
   That said, I highly recommend the book for it's archaeological detail and the sheer power of the story telling. It's a thriller in the true sense of the word.



2. This is an easy read with adequate background information to give you some insight to the mysteries of the Anasazi. Personal conflicts mixed with modern day Indiana Jonesish thrills make for a compelling read. 4.5 stars out of 5.



3. I was searching for good, new (to me) authors, when I realized I had read all of James Rollins' books and was waiting for my "to be sent when published in paperback" copy of Rollins' The Judas Strain. I read the reviews on Amazon and decided Preston and Child offered potential to interest me. I was right in sampling one of their books. Thunderhead interested me because it was about archeology and the Southwest. I was not disappointed in the storyline or the protagonist. Some of the situations were a bit extreme and required acceptance of "literary leeway" for the authors, but the story moved fairly well and introduced interesting characters you could care about--or not.
   It's a good summer read, and I will certainly purchase more books by them--both as co-authors and individually.



4. and i'm really glad i finally got around to reading it!
   what a ride! i really enjoyed thunderhead!
   it's a smart, chilling, scary, and thoughtful story, with a dash of humor tossed it!
   highy recommended!
   
   happy reading!



5. If you love archaeology and the wild west do yourself a favor and read this book. Packed to the brim with suspense and excitement I'd say this book falls in the top 3 of best novels by P&C.

5 comments about The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3.

1. You know how you can always tell "Ensign Fodder" by the red shirt he's wearing? Not so in this one. I was actually wrong about the fate of one of the characters! That hasn't happened in a long while, and any book creative enough to stump me gets high praise indeed. And while the ending wasn't exactly the way I would want it, it was still a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who's read any of the other Child/Preston books and enjoyed them (this was my first exposure, and I don't think reading them out of order detracted much at all since each is a solid stand-alone story).



2. I have read all of the Pendergast novels and other various Preston/Child works and find myself always thinking of this one as my favorite. Although I like the "Diogenes Trilogy" (Brimstone, Dance of Death and Book of the Dead), this one seemed to really work my imagination better. It was more mentaly stimulating for lack of a better phrase.
   
   One of the reasons I liked this book so much is because although the idea of Enoch Leng's "work" is a little far fetched, it isn't quite as out there as the Relic/Reliquary monsters. Things are more believable and therefore seem more realistic.
   
   Without saying too much, I liked the way that they linked Pendergast to the story to add more substance to his family's "affliction." It also a better way for him to involve himself in a case than the way he takes special interest in odd cases like in "Still Life with Crows." This way, he has a personal interest in the case.
   
   Lastly, this book goes to show Pendergast more human and less superhero than in others. In this book he goes through some rough spots and it's good to see him not getting through things unscathed but have to work hard.
   
   Overall a great book and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys the Pendergast books or has enjoyed other Preston/Child works.



3. PLOT: In Manhattan a modern apartment tower is about to be build. When the excavators break into a basement, they uncover the remains of 36 people murdered and gruesomely mutilated over 130 years ago. FBI Special Agent Pendergast and museum archaeologist Nora Kelly start an investigation that reveals the doings of a mysterious doctor who once conducted medical experiments on living human beings. But just as Nora and Pendergast begin to unravel the clues to the century-old killings, a new spree of murder and surgical mutilation erupts in New York.
   
   I am a fan of the writer duo Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. So far their former 6 books were entertaining, thrilling and also a bit scary. (Well, except for "The Ice Limit" which was a bit boring.) Overall always a great mixture between mystery and science. As a result their books are way above the average.
   
   This book really starts well, the stetting is horrible and mysterious, the stage is set for the hunt after a cruel killer and the reader meets characters from previous Preston/Child books like the really cool FBI Agent Pentergast (The Relic, Reliquary) and Nora Kelly (Thunderhead).
   Unfortunately the longer I read the less I enjoyed the book.
   
   Pendergast knew too much too early and too easily plus he shared his knowledge with nobody. The other policemen were kept in the dark as well as the reader. Basically it might be a bit more thrilling for the reader not to know too much but in this case this was just too exaggerated and happened too often. After a while it seemed more than stupid to keep other law enforcement colleagues in the dark for so long. Therefore Pentergast's strange behavior started to annoy me.
   The story development towards the ending is strange as well. The idea of Pentergast's sort of personal bond to the ancient and recent killings is kind of stupid and neither believable nor necessary at all. Pendergast travelling back in time through a memory crossing technique to discover places and incidences that he did not know anything about in real life, plus interacting with people in this dream? This idea is so absurd it hurts. On top of that the final solution to the whole scenario is just too far-fetched for my taste.
   
   Having solutions based on science and mystery is ok but overall the story should be within certain boundaries. This time however Preston/Child went several steps too far and it was more than I could bear.
   
   Bottom line:
   The beginning plus book's initial story are ok and the writing style is good (as usual). Unfortunately the solution is really bad and therefore the book is disappointing in the end. I read all 6 of their previous novels before and I would rank "Cabinet of Curiosities" at the very bottom! (I especially recommend reading "The Relic" and "Riptide" because they kept me awake for long hours and chilled me to the bone.)
   I will wait a while before I read another Preston/Child book and hopefully their next book I plan to read (Still life with Crows) is better.



4. This was the first time I had read a Preston and Child book. I read a lot of reviews that highly praised this book. And I honestly expected it to be a lot better then what it was. To me personally, I found this book to be kind of "high schoolish," meaning it doesn't really fit my idea for an adult book? (Minus the language in certain areas of the book) But I can say that they did a good job building your suspense up, however they dropped it just as fast and moved on to another topic. So with that being said, I just found this book to be "OK" and I doubt I will read anymore books by Preston and Child.



5. This is my favorite Agent Pendegrast novel.
   The plot was very similar to an old NightStaker episode that feature a feidn who stalked Seattle in search of spinal fluid to gant him eternal life.
   I'm happy that Preston has made the cross-over to thrillers, but in truth the novels like Relic are horror novels with a heavy dose of mystery and splash of police procedural added to make them more board in their market demographics I guess.
   It's solid thrills all the way, even if a little over the top at times.
   
   The Fury and the Power (Fury and the Terror) If you want to read the novel that was the mother of all terror thrillers with spies and conspiracies check out John Farris's work.

5 comments about Un, Deux, Trois: First French Rhymes (Book & CD).

1. This is a quality production and I am enjoying learning the rhymes and teaching them to my 6 month old daughter. This is definitely a product for someone who already has a good understanding of French. It comes with a book with the French and there are translations and explanations (when appropriate) in the back. I did not give it 5 stars because I think it is a little difficult to use. The tracks are divided up into broad categories (By the River, In the Market) and there are several rhymes in each one which makes finding a particular rhyme more troublesome. It is difficult to listen to straight from beginning to end because the background music is repetitive. Also, there are many rhymes for older children, not just for babies so I am sorting through to find the ones that are appropriate for an infant. Overall, however, I am enjoying this product and would recommend it to a motivated francophile.



2. I received my item within less than a week from ordering, and in perfect condition. I appreciate this excellent customerservice.



3. This book is primarily about rhyming, not necessarily about French language. I am surprised to see people discussing it as a way of learning to "speak" French -- as in, saying something useful or meaningful. The book's cover makes that claim, too. Shoppers should be wary of expecting too much from this book as an instructional tool.
   
   This is an attractive, fun package. If you go through it you might pick up a smattering of French words, a few numbers and so on. But it is not organized with any kind of instructional strategy, and the contents are rather inconsistent.
   
   What it mostly does is to lead you through a lot rhymes with cute or interesting sounds. Sure, some pages contain poems in genuine French. But many of the rhymes include nonsense words (as the authors admit) which do not mean anything in any language (like "Bourre et bourre et ratatam").
   
   The book claims that many of these rhymes are used by French kids for picking sides in playground games, or the like. If so, that means that a lot of these pieces are the equivalent of "one potato, two potato" or "Eeny meeny miney moe" on an American playground. I can't imagine teaching the phrase "eeny meeny miney moe" to a French child as a first introduction to English.
   
   One of the rhymes, according to the guide in the back of the book, supposedly teaches the pronunciation of the "U" sound in French. The only "teaching" involved is the child listening to the CD. If you want the child to be able to speak those words, you may have to teach them how to form the French U sound. The book doesn't do it.
   
   Another poem playfully replaces "sept oies" with "c'est toi." Due to the use of liasons in spoken French, those phrases are homonyms. The whole rhyme builds up to that double-entendre, which is based on a uniquely French bit of phonics. So if the book were really trying to teach French, this would be a perfect opportunity to do so. But it doesn't even mention it, so non-French speakers will miss out on the pun entirely.
   
   In another case, the authors claim that a rhyme supposedly demonstrates different ways of using the "R" sound in French. It does nothing of the kind. Over and over, I felt like the authors were attempting to claim more educational value for the material than it really has, while failing to use teaching opportunities that *were* available.
   
   What value the material DOES have is that it is mostly fun, catchy little rhymes that kids will relate to, especially with the help of the cute illustrations in the book. I believe that the CD by itself would not be very successful at all, unlike some other products. And for parents who do not speak French, or have a French dictionary nearby, good luck. Some -- but not all -- of the material is translated into English in the back.
   
   The accents sound authentic, and the recordings introduce each rhyme with a slow rendition first, then move up to "normal" speed, and repeat it yet another time. I think this is a good approach. The recordings mix an adult voice and some kids -- some other reviews mistakenly say it's all kids.
   
   The child I'm using this with had already learned a few fundamentals in reading and speaking French, and that background definitely helped. So, as other reviewers have suggested, this book may ironically actually be more useful as something other than a "first" book, contrary to the suggestion of its title.
   
   So: Fun, yes, but your child will still need to learn a lot more "real" French somewhere else.



4. My daughter is still an infant so we haven't used the book yet. The c.d. is great. Fun to listen to while playing.



5. My grand-daughter really likes to listen to the CD and has begun to sing along. I think that's great. Book illustrations are fun, too.

5 comments about My Brother Sam Is Dead (Apple Signature).

1. It is a very interesting book. It talks about a boy named Tim who has trouble deciding if he was a tory or patriot.His brother goes to war as apatriot and leaves his family in danger by taking the brown bess from them. Tim hasn't experienced war yet, but he knows that his family are tories.His family makes there annual trip to verplanks point. He betrays his father to help Mr.Heron to deliever a letter. He meets cowboys who hate Tories. THey almost get killed. on the way back his father gets ambushed and gets set on a British prison ship and dies of chorela.War haa finally come to Redding ,Tim's home town. The British take the Rebel leaders and kill them.Later a execution is held at Redding. they were going to kill Sam.



2. It is a very interesting book. It talks about a boy named Tim who has trouble deciding if he was a tory or patriot.His brother goes to war as apatriot and leaves his family in danger by taking the brown bess from them. Tim hasn't experienced war yet, but he knows that his family are tories.His family makes there annual trip to verplanks point. He betrays his father to help Mr.Heron to deliever a letter. He meets cowboys who hate Tories. THey almost get killed. on the way back his father gets ambushed and gets set on a British prison ship and dies of chorela.War haa finally come to Redding ,Tim's home town. The British take the Rebel leaders and kill them.Later a execution is held at Redding. they were going to kill Sam.



3. This is a great read for teens. I recommend for those who have not yet fallen in love with reading. Would have given 5 stars, but author fails to deal with some essential issues of that time.



4. Maybe I don't read enough Revolutionary War fiction to have the best idea of its focus, but it seems to me that a good deal of it celebrates and romanticizes the war. And why not? It was freedom from oppression. It was the birth of nation. We know about Valley Forge and all of that suffering, but I think that too many people forget that the Revolutionary War was just that: a war. This story focuses on Tim, a young boy forced to grow up on the homefront. His elder brother Sam is an idealistic freedom fighter and his father is a loyal Tory--or maybe just someone who is anti-war. Tim is caught between them as the war rages on with all its ugliness.In the end, it's hard to tell whether this book is for or against the revolutionists who formed America. But that's not the point. The point is that it is the innocent who always suffer, no matter what the war's objective.



5. My son needed this for a school report. It is a very good book for middle school revolutionary war study. It came a day sooner than expected, I got 2 day shipping and it came in 1 business day. Extremely satisfied with condition, speed and product.

No comments about 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2008-2009 Edition (5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced Placement Examinations).

5 comments about Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2).

1. The authors have written another thriller. I had to read the next chapter but neglected my tasks to do so. The authors gave substantiating data on the underground of Manhattan. However the ending was not in the characters' former behavior. Although it was a true page turner it lacked a believable ending. This book was not as good as The Relic nor the Book of the Dead the I have read by the authors.



2. While I agree this book wasn't as good as Relic, it certainly was an admirable follow-up to it. Storylines left hanging in Relic were resolved albeit perhaps not in the most exciting of ways. What I read in this book enticed me to purchase The Mole People to find out more about the underground world brought out in the book.



3. While I really enjoyed RELIC, I didn't find myself feeling quite the same about Reliquary. I liked the way the book started out, I liked the premise of the book and thought it was interesting, and as always, I enjoyed Pendergast and D'Agosta. Unfortunately, I felt that there were way too many subplots. There were too many different people doing too many different things. It got distracting at times. If you liked Relic, you will probably like this book, but don't expect it to thrill you quite as much.



4. Reliquary, the sequel to Relic, is basically the same story introduced in Relic. We have the monster in the sub level(s), we have the incompetent chief of police making poor decisions, we have the "fool proof plan" that doesn't work and we have the reporter being lead around by a powerful woman who coerces him to tell the story she wants to hear. I did find the parts about the sub levels of Manhattan interesting and I think the ending of Reliquary is better than that of Relic. The authors would have been better served if they made Relic and Reliquary one book. It seems like once they had a hit with Relic they decided to do Reliquary as an afterthought.



5. Recently, I read an interview with Douglas Preston where he commented that RELIQUARY was probably the least successful of the "Agent Pendergast" books that he co-writes with Lincoln Child. After reading this book, I'm inclined to agree with him.
   
   RELIQUARY is the second Pendergast novel and a direct sequel to the first book RELIC. It pretty much re-introduces all the major characters of THE RELIC and many additional ones. And this is the major flaw with RELIQUARY: there are simply too many characters and plot threads in this book, which don't really tie together in a satisfaying manner.
   
   There's also a "been there, done that" quality to RELIQUARY that makes it a rather tiresome read. Preston and Child reuse many of the plot devices from THE RELIC, and there is little in this novel that is particularly original or inspired.
   
   And most importantly, Pendergast only plays a supporting role in RELIQUARY, and the novel suffers in every scene where he is absent. Characters like Margot, Smithback and D'Agosta are simply not interesting enough to carry scenes on their own, and all of the other supporting characters are either too bland or cartoonish. I think the smartest move that Preston and Child ever made was to elevate Pendergast as the central character in this series, starting with the next entry, CABINET OF THE CURIOUSITIES.
   
   That being said, I didn't hate RELIQUARY. It's a decent adventure story, and there's no denying that Preston and Child are very intelligent writers. Still, this is far from their best effort, and I wouldn't recommend this to anybody as their first Pendergast book.