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New Pendergast, "The Wheel of Darkness" by Preston & Child

post #1 of 20
8/28/07 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
"The Wheel of Darkness" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is out today. It's a new book continuing the adventures of their eccentric FBI agent Pendergast. New Pendergast books are always cause for celebration for me (my mom reads them too) so I'll be picking up a copy today.

Their stuff has been discussed on here before so I figured I'd start a thread for the new book.

The Wheel of Darkeness
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post #2 of 20
8/28/07 at 12:44pm
I remember reading Relic back in late middle school or early high school, and really liking Pendergast. A Southern character who wasn't a redneck caricature was refreshing. What other books has the character been in? I've only read a few of the Preston and Child books, and I haven't seen the man since Relic.
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post #3 of 20
8/28/07 at 12:50pm
Man, I don't know. The resolution to that last run involving Diogenes was such a disappointment. I used to buy Child & Preston religiously, but I need to hear many positive reviews before I try this.
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post #4 of 20
8/28/07 at 12:56pm
...
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post #5 of 20
8/28/07 at 3:21pm
I just finished all of Pendergast through "Still Life With Crows" and enjoyed them. At what point does the series go off the rails?
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post #6 of 20
8/28/07 at 3:23pm
Give us more 'Riptide', 'Thunderhead' or 'Ice Limit'!!!

Anything to get away from the museum and Pendergast.
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post #7 of 20
8/28/07 at 3:35pm
I finished the one about the brother who steals so he can see color (??), and Pendergast is arrested at the end.

I wasn't planning on reading any more. What was once popcorn fun is now imbecilic nonsense. Have they improved? I think there are two Pendergast books I haven't read.
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post #8 of 20
8/28/07 at 3:53pm
,,,
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post #9 of 20
8/28/07 at 4:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slater
The whole Diogenes trilogy is a waste of time that ends in a pathetic little whimper. And with each new book, Pendergast becomes less of a brilliant detective and more like Dr. Strange. Blah.
I am removing these from my Amazon list and will likely never read the conclusion.

I have no regrets, which should tell me something.
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post #10 of 20
8/28/07 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, the Diogenes books were just sort of ho-hum. I still dig the little universe they have and the characers that populate it so I'm willing to give this one a go. The Diogenes bit is over and done with and this is a stand alone book so I'm hoping it will be pretty decent. We shall see. They take it out of the museum at least.

I picked up a copy but I'll probably hand it off to dear ol' mum first and give it a whirl when she's done. I started a thread for a book I'm not going to have any further insight on for a bit other than "Pendergast, yay!"
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post #11 of 20
8/30/07 at 2:03pm
Thread Starter 
I started reading this since my mom was in the middle of something else, and I'm about 45 pages in. So far, it's actually pretty good. Pendergast and Constance... Some Tibetan monks... And a possible world ending/altering artifact gone missing from said monks' monastary. It has my interest so far. Pendergast tries to track a thief and an artifact and I'm up to where the trail seems to be pointing to a cruise ship. Along the way something unexpected already happened, so that's nice too.

Interest doesn't seem too high for this one, but there's my update so far. I'd recommend it to anyone who is curious. It seems worthwhile so far.
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post #12 of 20
8/30/07 at 4:38pm
Yeah, I have little excitment for this one. It just sits on my Amazon Wish List.

The Diogenes trilogy left me with the same bad taste as the second season of Twin Peaks. Actually, Windom Earle reminds me of Diogenes.

I'd welcome another stand-alone book by this duo, something along the lines of Thunderhead.
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post #13 of 20
8/30/07 at 5:55pm
Thread Starter 
Technically this one is a stand-alone book, it just happens to feature Pendergast. When these guys get together they always seem to write within the same universe. The characters all end up intertwined eventually. I think just about EVERYONE ended up appearing in the three Diogenes books. Even Thunderhead had Smithback bleed into it and then Nora Kelly went on to appear in The Cabinet of Curiosities with Pendergast (and Smithback etc etc.).
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post #14 of 20
8/30/07 at 6:12pm
I'd rather gouge my eyes out than read another Pendergast-based novel. I bought Brimstone from the discount section at B&N and I can guarantee you that is the last time I read that dreck. I love the genre, but I hate...HATE....HATE! what I call the "infinitely intelligent, immortal, amazing, unbreakable and utterly ridiculous protagonist" novels. Same reason I dislike Jack Reacher.
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post #15 of 20
8/30/07 at 7:50pm
Pendergast is getting scarily close to Hannibal Lector in terms of back-story...and if that wasn't bad enough he's now Preston/Child's 'Dirk Pitt'.

Fucking pity.
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post #16 of 20
8/30/07 at 7:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
...and if that wasn't bad enough he's now Preston/Child's 'Dirk Pitt'.
Whoa, whoa...let's not drag His Dirkness into this.
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post #17 of 20
8/30/07 at 10:25pm
Read the book yesterday & today at my local library.

Better than the last, but not up with the early Pendergast novels.

Spoilers below...

The book has a decent start, but I found it went downhill quickly. In this book and the last there are repeated references to Pendergast having this tremendous potential for evil, a la Will Graham in Manhunter, but it is never really followed up on. Neither is the slightly twisted nature of Pendergast's relationship with Constance. I forgot she was knocked up by his brother in the last book, though. That must suck.

My main beef with the book, aside from the continuing examples of absurd idiocy of people in power, is the vague nature of this world-ending threat in the novel. The psychosis-causing gas used by Diogenes was lame enough.

And to top it all off, Constance's unborn child turns out to be the next Dalai Lama. Or something.

Pack it in for a few years, Pendergast. P&C, get back to me when you do that sequel to The Ice Limit.
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post #18 of 20
9/9/07 at 1:39am
Liked the novel enough and it was entertaining but I too would like to see some other novels from P/C. Wouldn't mind a sequel to Ice Limit or something that would follow the exploits of Eli Glin and his team of problem solvers.
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post #19 of 20
9/9/07 at 3:04am
For those who liked "The Ice Limit", I found this webilogue on the author's site...

http://www.prestonchild.com/books/icelimit/art37,137
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post #20 of 20
10/25/07 at 6:26pm
Finally picked this up from the library. It's fun junk food, and much better than the Diogenes trilogy, but still hampered by all the wonky Eastern mysticism and supernatural deus ex machinas.

Still, it's probably the most entertaining Pendergast novel after the original Relic.
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