Relic

Pendergast, Book 1

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Relic, a Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child thriller that introduces FBI Special Agent Pendergast

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?

Prolong the suspense: listen to the sequel, Reliquary.

©1994 by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. (P)1995 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"With its close-up view of museum life and politics, plausible scientific background, sharply drawn characters and a plot line that's blissfully free of gratuitous romance, this well-crafted novel offers first-rate thrills and chills." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Wildly cool....Thrill hounds couldn't ask for a creepier environment....a thriller staged in the world's scariest building, with no room for the squeamish." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Found my new favorite authors

Would you consider the audio edition of Relic to be better than the print version?

After reading Cabinet of Curiosities and loving the writing style of Preston and Child I had to start from the beginning and was not disappointed. I loved the first Pendergast book and cannot wait to continue with the rest of the series. Being a huge James Patterson fan, it has been refreshing to really enjoy a completely different writing style that has kept my attention. Looking forward to the rest!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I enjoy Smithback's character because he is completely obnoxious, but you grow to love him because beneath it, he is is a decent guy, but the subtle comedic relief of the book.

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

I loved how he portrayed each character's voice and took great detail to account for the sounds that the voices would make in various rooms (such as a deep basement, or over a walkie talkie)....the attention to detail makes the narration one of the best I've heard.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I really enjoy reading the bits of history and facts that are sprinkled in the plot of the story.

Mindless Fun

When I originally found the Pendergast series, I found them out of order. I read Brimstone and Wheel of Darkness and absolutely loved them. Sure, I didn't know who the characters showing up were, but they were fun and the story was suspenseful/creepy. I always avoided Relic and Reliquary, because I viewed them as the red-headed-step-children of the series. A creature eating people in a museum. Ooooooooooo so spooky *sarcasm*. But they were on sale and I thought why not.

So here it is, the book was a lot of fun. Is the science outlandish? Absolutely! Is everyone incompetent except for our main lead characters? Well of course! Is it dumb fun? You're damn right it is!

The story may seem slow the first 2/3 of the book, but that is because that last third is non-stop action and bloody fun. Don't worry. The first 2/3 are bearable thanks to fun scene stealing characters like D'Agosta and Pendergast. They are a fantastic duo and their relationship in a later book in the series is why I decided to read this series from the beginning.

Don't expect a masterpiece of fiction. Enjoy it for what it is. A fun campy B horror movie with wild characters.

Riveting.

One of the best books ever. Just the right mix of suspense, horror and otherwordlyness that we are used to with these authors. Nattator is no Scott Brick but he's pretty good.

Tedious

For me it had potential, but too many “technical” details. Too slow. Low energy narrators.

Fun Story, Terrible Performance

Having read a bit from the authors I knew what I was getting into. Fun story with good pacing. Bogs a little on the technical breakdowns, especially when compared to a Crichton book. Ending is a bit of a stretch, but that's why it's in the fiction section. Overall I really liked the book, but the narration was so bad and out of sync with the action that I found myself starting to get annoyed. I mean how can someone read so slowly with such big pauses during the main climax of the story with action going on all around the characters. Oh well, still worth the listen

I was not sure what I was getting myself into

Having seen the horrible movie, as it turns out, not taken much from the book one was pleasantly surprised. The narration was brilliant. The story was fast moving with ample twists and turns to keep one interested. The humor was plentiful without taking over the story. We have some fun characters some are cliché but still fun.

One thing which kept it from being 5 all the way across was the horrible side effects. One finds these distracting form the story. One's imagination is better suited for this than having overdone electronic effects plastered over the story.

This is a worthwhile book and I am looking forward to more from the Pendergast series.

Great narration, unexpected story!

Taking place in the mid-90’s, a new “Superstition” exhibition is days away from opening at the New York Museum of Natural History when visitors are being murdered in the dark hallways. Agent Pendergast of the FBI comes to NYC from New Orleans to help Lieutenant D’Agosta (NYPD) to find out what is killing people. They get assistance from museum staff, Margo Green, Dr. Frock, and journalist William Smithback.

Off the bat, I loved the narration. They did some sound effects for when people were talking over the phone, intercom or down long corridors; I felt that it added an extra dimension to the story. I didn’t think that the plot was easy to predict, but in retrospect I think certain parts should have been more obvious to me. In the beginning I found Margo to be a bit boring and I wish there was more of Pendergast. I found all of the characters a little bit difficult to suss out in the beginning but sorted it out over time. Agent Coffee became very trying; I know his character was intended to annoy me but I think the combination of the voice the narrator gave him along with his character made him too over the top.

I really enjoyed this book, I think that if you enjoy sci-fi you will enjoy this book; it’s not too fantastical, at least not for the most part. I will be continuing on in this series, I look forward to enjoying more of Agent Pendergast.

Ready for a visit to the Museum of Natural History

I love the Pendergast mysteries. This is my second trip through the whole series. Pendergast is such a weird yet utterly likable, dare I say, believable, protagonist. The set of characters and situations that will appear in later books are nicely set up here.

I was not a fan of the style of performance.

I felt that the accents were over the top and it took away from my ability to stay with the story. Also the dramatization of phone and walkie-talkie type conditions turned me off.

Tippy

I travel by car long distances,
"The Relic" passed the 5 hr drives with ease