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    Reliquary
    Reliquary
    Reliquary
    Audiobook13 hours

    Reliquary

    Written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Reliquary is the smash hit second book in the Pendergast series, from New York Times bestselling authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

    Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beat. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare... in Reliquary, from bestselling coauthors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 11, 2008
    ISBN9781423356370
    Reliquary
    Author

    Douglas Preston

    Douglas Preston, a regular contributor to the New Yorker, has worked for the American Museum of Natural History and taught English at Princeton University. With his frequent collaborator, Lincoln Child, he has written many bestselling thrillers including Relic, which became a major motion picture, The Book of the Dead and Cemetery Dance. He is also the author of the bestselling The Codex, Tyrannosaur Canyon and Blasphemy.

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    Reviews for Reliquary

    4/5

    1,195 ratings48 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Loved it. I felt that Dick Hill made this novel even better. 5 stars ... On to the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      Good book but didn’t get to finish it. It ended prematurely! Pissed!
    • 4/5
      This story while not quite as good as the first in the series was still very enjoyable and well narrated.
    • 5/5
      Like if their books this one is another delightful journey with Agent Pendergast
    • 4/5
      Great wrap up, I love Pendergast. What a great character. I'm excited to see how he develops.
    • 5/5
      sLOW START, BUT PICKS UP AND IS really GOOD !!!
    • 3/5
      That was as entertaining as it was frustrating and sad. There are several misogynistic and elitist white characters that are hard to take.

      Our heroes return from Book One but fail to develop as characters, and in some cases devolve.

      The action mostly takes place in the sewers so I had to turn the audiobooks off while I ate. Unpleasant.

      The plot could have used more action and hundred less pages. It ended with a great deal of possibility, enough for me to pick up Book Three but not tomorrow.
    • 5/5
      Excellent follow up! Thank you for doing this. Maybe there should be another soon? :)
    • 4/5
      This book continues the story line a few months after where the first book in the Pendergast series ended. Margo, Pendergast, D'Agosta and a few other characters are all back. A few new characters have joined the story, and all contribute well to the plot. Sure, some characters are rather predictable, but isn't that were predictability comes from? They are predictable because that is generally the stereotype that you would find in characters such as these. Anyway, I thought the cast was rather well done.

      I have two gripes with the book though. I was a tad disappointed with how the character of Bill Smithback developed. Yes, he was a bit of a "baddy" in Relic, but he was likeable. Not so much here. His character seemed to improve towards the end of the book though. My second gripe is the rather implausible reveal towards the end of the book where the protagonists meet up with the antagonist. This was simply too much too for me, but hey, it is fantasy, and anything goes, right?

      These grips aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was spooky, tense, frightening and yet entertaining too. Some people may criticise that there are too many protagonists in the story, but I love the way how each character contributed to the story. While you can't compare this book to some of Tom Clancy's or Stephen King's books in terms of character development, and how all these characters contribute to the overall story, it was done well enough to make it a really enjoyable read.

      So, was it a worthy sequel to Relic? Yes, setting my second gripe aside, it was definitely an enjoyable sequel. I have already started on Book 3 - The Cabinet of Curiosities in the series, so that should indicate how I feel about the series.

      I listened to the audio book and the narration, although not as good as in Relic, was still excellent.
    • 4/5
      I like this book, but as I found with Relic the plotting is off. Everything takes place in the last few chapters. So 3/4 of the book is information and then the last 1/4 everything happens. It is uneven. I still liked.
    • 4/5
      I liked this one better than the first in the Pendergast series (Relic) and was very happy it continued the story where that one left off.
    • 4/5
      The second Pendergast novel. This one is a sequel to the first and will definitely make more sense if you read Relic first. I enjoy the characters and getting to know them better, but the blood and gore is sometimes a bit much. The story is worth reading those sections quickly, however.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in the Special Agent Pendergast series and begins 18 months after the main events in the novel 'Relic'. I'll note that the epilogue in the first book which took place 6 months after the main events turns out to be quite a clue and material to this story. Although there are some new characters, several of the surviving main characters from the prior book are here again. The fact that I already knew some of the people here made this book easy to dive into, and overall I consider this a better book than the first and despite what I say next I enjoyed reading this story. Parts of this are a hard to put the book down page turner, especially the latter part of the book where the action is almost non-stop.Like I said about the prior book, much of this one could also be an X-Files episode of monster of the week, although maybe a two-parter would be needed. I learned more about New York City as well. There is something slightly tiresome about these two books. The bosses of various things in these two books generally fall into the bureaucratic idjit class wanting things swept under the rug, don't rattle the cage, look for someone else to blame, get it solved yesterday, etc etc. Only our peeps on the front line have the smarts to take care of things. In the first book the Mayor of New York City takes a small but important place in the events and proves himself to be a smart leader. In this book, 18 months later, the good mayor is out of office.There are many surprises here and the ending of this really took me by surprise. It almost jumped the shark. Well, they are the storytellers, and I'm just the reader. I need to catch my breath now.
    • 3/5
      Too much of a good thing is just too much.

      This book is a direct sequel to the “Relic”. It ups the science, the danger, the beast and everything else that was in the relic to the point that it lost the tension and became a hot mess. If you have read any of my reviews, I also have issue what I call the “Murphy’s Law” syndrome in books. This is where everything goes wrong for the good guys except for one small thing to defeat the bad guys. The book was full of this and even continued with the Murphy’s Law stuff after the bad guy was defeated. It was almost comical.

      I did like having all the characters back and I love the hints of continued relationships after the first book and before this one. I loved Margo and D’Agosta’s relationship. It seemed a natural development from the first book to this friendship built upon their mutual experiences. Hayward was a great new character and I enjoyed her additions to the book immensely.

      The book lost my interest about 2/3 of the way through because foreshadowing was very obvious so it took a lot for me to continue the book all the way through. I also got very tired of any one above D’Agosta’s rank being portrayed as an incompetent politician versus a seasoned cop who promoted.

      I hope the next book in the series gets back to the basics of what made the Relic great. This book was okay but just wasn’t what I was wanting.
    • 3/5
      This was a decent follow up to Relic. I enjoyed the writing style and the characters, but at times, the story felt interminable. I think a hundred pages could have been culled without losing anything. Also, there was a moment that was supposed to be a shocking reveal, but I’m almost positive the fact was revealed at the end of Relic. I know it’s been awhile since I read Relic, so perhaps I only figured it out myself and remembered, but I don’t think so. Anyway, this was good, but I’d hoped for a little more edge-of-my-seat tension. Hopefully the next one will be a bit better.
    • 4/5
      Another great read in the Pendergast series. While some of these books aren't always a 5-star read, they're still incredibly enjoyable and I always find myself looking to grab the next one of the series at Barnes & Noble when it gets released each year. Hats off to Pendergast and all of his investigations.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as Relic, but makes me interested in reading more Pendergast novels...
    • 4/5
      This second Pendergast outing is even better than the first. Fans of the classic THE X-FILES or the current FRINGE will find a lot to love in this one, as well as its predecessor, RELIC.
    • 3/5
      I think the first thing I said about [book:Reliquary] was "Well, crap, this one's got the echo–y sound effects too." I complained about that in my review of [book:Relic] – they're quite annoying and unnecessary. And I've never heard anything like them in any other audiobook. Happily.The same strange not-quite–sexism continues. The female member of the main cast of characters, now Dr. Margot Green, is still always called Margot, while the female cop is "Hayward". Although the society lady is referred to as Mrs. Wisher. It's all just odd; there's no consistency. I was glad to see the cast of characters return. I liked them – which was the main reason I continued on to listen to this second book, and while I'll probably one day pick the series up again. I do like Agent Pendergast, and whatever else I have to say about the narrator and the production of the narration I do like the delivery of Agent Pendergast and his accent. (The SEAL team leader sounds like Jack Nicholson, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) I appreciated that, while this was a continuation of the story begun in the previous book, the setting and circumstances are completely different. Instead of one enclosed (albeit labyrinthine) space like a museum, this takes place around – and under, especially under – the city of Manhattan. And it explores the waterways as divers begin by discovering mysterious corpses and then later SEAL divers get in on the action. I learned the difference between wet suits and dry suits, and how intensely terrifying diving in bad (or no) visibility can be. It was not only different from the previous book, but from pretty much anything I've read before – so that was good. And while the experts are diving, some of the characters we know from the first book are taking their investigation underground, infiltrating the bizarre community of the homeless and disenfranchised that shelters in all the places most would never dare to go. Of course, being me, I kept thinking about the tv show Beauty and the Beast from the 80's, which was my introduction to the idea of a whole world of tunnels below the City of New York. They're not nearly as nice in this book. I liked the storytelling better this go 'round, for the most part. Except … Exploring the depths of the tunnels, the party comes upon a sort of a shrine, and on it is an object that is so significant that I immediately knew what was about to happen, so I won't mention it here. In a way the next half hour or so were just … boring as the characters caught up to where I'd leaped. ( – And then Margot has the gall to say "just so you can walk?" Really, honey? "Just"? Let me give your spinal cord a good hard tweak and see how content you are in a wheelchair.)Once again this wasn't wall-to-wall good stuff – but there was more good stuff in this one than in the first one. I've picked up a few books in this series over the years, so I hope the ratio of good to not keeps going up.Quotable quote: "I have also found that the louder a person speaks, the less they have to say." Amen.
    • 4/5
      Like it's predecessor, Relic, the setting of this novel played a major role. I found myself as intrigued with the underground tunnels of NYC as much as I did the plot (so much so that I requested the book Mole People from my library system). I was excited to have the gang back together of Pendergast, D'Agosta, Smithback, Dr. Frock and Margo Green. I completely approve of the changes that Margo Green went through since the last book. Of, Dr. Frock's? Not so much. So many other great characters in this one that I hope to see again in the future books as well. The plot was just as terrifying as the last with lots of thrilling action. Lastly, let me just say how much I love the vocabulary of these books. Always learning something. And the word Scriblerian is one I'm going to have to figure out how to use somewhere.Already downloading the next in the series. I may be late to the party but this is such a great find.
    • 4/5
      This would make a great movie, couldn't put it down.
    • 3/5
      The sequel to Relic.
      The dangerous substance that caused the killer man-dinosaur in the Natural History Museum has been synthesized and has spead as a drug through underground NYC. The homeless are being killed at a frightening rate, and rumors of freakish mutants in the lowest levels are spreading, but it takes a debutante's death to catch the attention of the media and the police department.
      Will Our Heroes figure out the dastardly plot and succeed in the drastic measures they must take to save the Earth's ecosystem? (What do you think?)
    • 5/5
      Preston and Child are the Rogers and Hammerstein of literature, their writing combines to create a symphony of words. The main characters D'Agosta and Pendergast are just as compatible, and come together to present an interesting and engrossing story. I look forward to each and every time I sit to enjoy the pairing of these men! They never disappoint!
    • 2/5
      Yes, the book still reads at a blistering pace and you're still going to get some enjoyment out of it, if you're coming to the book for Pendergast completeness... but I can't really say that you're going to find anything as organically enjoyable as that first book. The most fascinating thing to come out of the text is the tantalizing (and only lightly fictionalized) look into the world that exists beneath Manhattan's streets and subway lines, populated only barely and yet by more homeless than anyone really grasps. Perhaps there are still places to be explored - and where there may be monsters. Scarier to think that those places are under my feet, but exciting nonetheless. In the meantime, I look forward to picking up with Pendergast outside of the shadow of Mbwun...

      More to come at RB:
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Months after the Monster of the Museum has been killed, two headless skeletons are found, one is deformed in the same manner as the monster. Shortly it comes to light that more people have been murdered and by what seems to be groups of deformed attackers. Museum staff and a member of the FBI, who worked on the previous case, work on this one. Finally they discover the truth of the original monster and what has spawned this group of new ones.Review: This one will make me think twice before riding in the subway. A nice, tight story, there are only a few unanswered questions at the end of this eerie tale.
    • 5/5
      I will capture brief thoughts regarding my 5-star rating, even though life is full at the moment. As a thriller, the plot and characters captured my imagination. As a novel, it included historical and literary references (e.g., 7th Infantry Division in the Iron Triangle) that sparked my curiosity. Lastly, I wish to remark that this novel also used 'tousled' in the text. Enjoy!
    • 3/5
      Alas, Reliquary did not live up to the first book, Relic, but for different reasons than most reviewers have mentioned.

      The book is good. I liked it. But there was a constant amount of pop-ups in the book. My enjoyment of the book suffered because of this, as I was constantly wondering how the hell someone was able to reach a certain location in a certain amount of time. We have the same five characters from Relic; Margo, D'Agosta, Pendergast, Smithback and Dr. Frock, and that's all well and good, but through insane coincidence, all their paths cross. I won't spoil the book for you, but when Smithback pops up toward the end, I almost threw the book. Here we have a warren of tunnels under New York City that's supposed to go on for thousands of miles in all directions, overlapping on one another, snaking through the underground to endless depths, but somehow, people keep bumping into each other. Grrrr... why? Oh well, that's just my POV.

      On a positive note, Chapter 53 of this novel is one of the most tense I've ever read in a thriller. I applaud the authors for making my mouth go dry and my palms sweaty. Bravo!

      One last thing. This is purely subjective, but at the beginning of the book, a character uses "Christ's sake," and all was right with the world, as in the last book, everyone and their mother spoke the phrase as "Chrissakes." Then, as I progressed further into the book, people inexplicably started saying "Chrissakes" again. Make up your mind, or at least don't have everyone in the book pronounce the word the same weird way. It wouldn't have stood out, either in this book or the first one, if it wasn't for the fact that I'd never heard, nor had I ever seen that phrase spoken that way. Minor nitpick I know, but it still took me out of the moment. See also the lack F-words in this novel. I could almost feel the pressure from the publishing company to tone down the language from the previous book. New Yorkers that call each other "mother" and "mothers" instead of the full MF just comes off as fake and forced.

      On to Cabinet of Curiosities, book three in the Pendergast series.

      E.
    • 3/5
      This second book in the series was a drastic improvement from the first novel for me. Te characters were less stereotypical and seemed to take on lives of their own. If you weren't. Big fan of the first one, I'd say give this one a chance.
    • 5/5
      This is the second book in the Pendergast series and it takes awhile for Pendergast to get involved but this allows the author to set up of the storyline for the listener/reader. This story starts out with the discovery of two skeletal remains found when the NYPD dive team searches for a bundle of heroin in a sewer runoff. The ghastly discovery ends up with DR Green and her former advisor DR Frock's Forensic Lab at the museum. Margo is still having haunting memories and dreams from the Museum Beast episode 18 months before this book starts.We are introduced to several characters to name a few- Mephisto-the mole people king, Capt. Waxie-Lazy PD Officer, SGT Hayward-A gunho female NYPD officer. Each character is used to perfection to help the story continue along a twisting and turning dramatic conclusion.If you enjoy mystery-thriller serials this book will be right up your alley. I loved it.
    • 3/5
      A little Michael Crichton-esque. I really liked the information on the sewers/tunnels underneath NYC.