A little disappointed by the lack of originality

books:


	• Relic Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Tor Books, 2007 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 280 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Surprisingly great

Even though I'm a huge Preston and Child fan I was hesitant to pick this book up only because I'd seen the movie and thought it to be rather cheesy. The novel is slightly different and offers much more detail and suspense. I was pleasently surprised. Not their best effort but overall a very good read.

not the best book i've ever read

i read this based on the great reviews it received on this website- well, i was disappointed- first of all, it was quite far fetched- but if it had been better written then i wouldn't have doubted it (like the harry potter series- those books are so well written, that you completely believe everything stated is true)-
as well, it may sound strange but knowing what the creature was and what it looked like (the picture on the cover) totally ruined it for me- there was nothing to find out- we all know who was committing these grisly murders/what was hiding in that museum-
1/3 into the book, the detective and female lead started to bore me and i just couldn't get into it- ended up skimming the rest of the way through-

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The book is always better than the movie

How Hollywood producers could mess up what is essentially an action-packed thrill ride of a novel and turn it into a mediocre horror film with Penelope Ann Miller is beyond me. One of the authors used to work at the Museum of Natural History in New York, and the readers are treated to an insider's view of the museum and what goes on during and after business hours. This book still stands as one of their absolute best novels (although Cabinet of Curiosites and Still Life with Crows come close).

A monster is loose in the Museum of Natural History and scientists and police are trying to figure out how to stop it before a huge exhibition opens. The book introduces my favorite fictional detective, Special Agent Pendergast (who reappears in many of their later novels). He is a decorated agent with a genius-level IQ and Sherlock Holmes would probably fare badly when pitted against him.

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A Fun Summer Read

If you a looking for something to read at the beach this summer, pick up this book. The premise of the story is a discovery is made in the Amazon and everyone in contact with the discovery has been subsequently killed. The curse seems to have followed the crates to the Museum of Natural History in NYC and the bloodshed has begun.

I like the characters in this book. D'Agosta, Margo Green and Pendergast are well developed and carry the story nicely.

I borrowed this book from the library and it must be the original hard cover. The tag line reads this book is a combination of Alien and Jurrasic Park. While not as good as either of those tales, Relic is an enjoyable read.

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A little disappointed by the lack of originality

This was my third Agent Pendergast novel. After reading Wheel of Darkness (an uneven effort) I was encouraged to try another of the Preston / Childs collaborations. I read Still Life with Crows and found it to be a highly entertaining page turner so I thought I would start at the beginning.

The Relic opens strongly but soon begins to feel a little too familiar. It's basically just a re-tread of Jaws, Alien, Jurassic Park et al. A group of people are trapped in a large enclosed area, in this case a museum and its sub basement (rather than a space ship, an island, or the Atlantic Ocean) with a creature that is killing and eating them (or parts of them) one at a time. The pressure to hold the Museum opening, despite the killings, reminded me of the political pressure Brody experiences to keep the beaches open, against his better judgement, on Memorial Day weekend in Jaws.

I know the ending was supposed to be exciting (and it is reasonably entertaining) but it all felt too familiar and my interest began to wane just when the novel should have had me riveted. Pendergast plays a much smaller role in this novel than he did in the other novels. It doesn't seem like Pendergast had fully come into his own yet in The Relic. He is a much more captivating character in Still Life with Crows. The other characters in this novel are lifeless and two-dimensional. Again, this is very much in contrast with Still Life with Crows, where the supporting cast of characters were very engaging.

All in all, a disappointing effort. This isn't a bad novel, it just lacks originality. I'm not dissuaded though and plan to carry on with the series (although I may take a break before reading the next entry).

3 ½ stars

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

The book that started the New York Times bestselling collaboration of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum's dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human...

But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders.

Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who-or what-is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

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