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The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3
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You Are Here: Books About Antiques > Blue Books > Item 361 of 480
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$7.99 |
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$7.99
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Available from Amazon
Price Last Updated : 7-30-2008
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Features
Mass Market Paperback: 656 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing June 1, 2003
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446611239
ISBN-13: 978-0446611237
Product Dimensions:
6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
In seven bestselling novels (from Relic to The Ice Limit), Preston and Child have delivered a body of science-based thrillers that for high excitement and robust scientific imaginings rival those of Michael Crichton. Their eighth outing is another richly entertaining tale, about the hunt for a seemingly immortal serial killer at work in New York City. Preston and Child revive characters and settings from earlier novels, often a red flag that authorial imagination is tiring; but in this case, all comes together with zing. There's FBI Special Agent Pendergast (from Relic), pale, refined and possessed of a Holmes-like brain; dogged New York Times reporter William Smithback Jr. and his fiery erstwhile girlfriend, Nora Kelly of the New York (read American, where Preston used to work) Museum of Natural History (both characters from Thunderhead with the museum the setting for Relic). The action begins when groundbreaking for an apartment tower in downtown Manhattan reveals a charnel house of murder victims from the late 19th century. Enter Pendergast, who for unexplained reasons taps Kelly to study the remains before the site is stripped by the building's developer, a Donald Trump-type who, with the mayor's backing, will accept no construction delays. As Kelly calls on Smithback for investigative help, the city is struck by killings that duplicate the earlier murders, with the victims' spinal cords ripped away and clues pointing to a 19th-century scientist who sought the secret of immortality. Featuring fabulous locales, colorful characters, pointed riffs on city and museum politics, cool forensic and paleontological speculation and several gripping set pieces including an extended white-knuckle climax, this a great beach novel, at times gruesome, always fun: Preston-Child at the top of their game.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-FBI Special Agent Pendergast needs the talents of Nora Kelly, an archaeologist, and William Smithback, Jr., a researcher and reporter, to track down a serial killer whom he is sure has been stalking his prey since the late-19th century. When a real-estate developer demolishes a building and finds victims of a murderer who killed by tearing out their spinal columns, the three team up to pursue the evil behind the acts. Along the way, they nearly lose their lives as they relentlessly track the killer who, indeed, is still alive at the beginning of the 21st century. Pendergast stands out as a unique character, mysterious in his own right, with almost superhuman strength and endurance, and encyclopedic knowledge, and the human emotions and abilities of his two assistants intensifies interest in them. The authors again weave facts from New York City history with a thriller plot to produce an adventure filled with fast-moving events, gruesome scenes, and enough scary moments to keep the pages turning quickly. Fans of Preston and Child's Relic (Tor, 1996) or Reliquary (Forge, 1997) will enjoy this title as well.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
"The Cabinet Of Curiosities" is the first book I've read by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and now I look forward to reading more of their work. I understand that many of this book's characters are from their earlier novels, but this character revival does not disturb the narrative's flow at all. All necessary background is explained well, and gives depth to the relationships and plotline. My one complaint about this novel is that it is at least 100 pages too long. The authors build suspense to a fever pitch, the tension peaks, begins to fall-off, and their point is still not made, nor are the various mysteries solved. There are also two endings. One is not very satisfying, and the other, much better conclusion, is found in the epilogue. The lack of tightness in the narrative, makes the novel weaker than it would have been with better editing. That said, this is a real thriller, and scary/chilling to boot - the way Stephen King's early novels are scary. During the excavation for the construction of a sixty-five story residential tower in lower Manhattan, a charnel house of murder victims is discovered. The 36 victims were destitute youths, residing along the crime-ridden waterfront of 1870s New York City. They were buried beneath what was then known as Shottum's Cabinet. Cabinets of curiosities housed strange & diverse collections of artifacts, and were the precursors to the natural history museum. FBI Special Agent Pendergast enters the story to investigate this most heinous of American serial murders. He calls upon Dr. Nora Kelly, archeologist, conservator and researcher at New York's Museum of Natural History, for assistance in his investigation. Dr. Kelly, in turn involves her fiance, New York Times investigative reporter William Smithback. Together they discover the eerie background of the murders. Just after Smithback's indiscreet article appears on his newspaper's front page, new murder victims begin to appear. The modus operendi is the same. The major difference is that the original victims were killed in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The new victims were murdered at the beginning of the twenty-first, seemingly by the same killer. Is this a copycat crime, or something much more disturbing? I was on the edge of my seat throughout this novel - just couldn't put it down. The historical detail is a wonderful addition. I would have rated the book five stars, except for the annoying flaws mentioned above. Still, I highly recommend "The Cabinet of Curiosities" as a very unusual mystery, and a spine-chilling read!
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The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
List Price: $7.99
Available from Amazon
Price: $7.99
on 7-30-2008
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