Rating: 
Summary: Made me sweat
Review: I have read several works of Preston and Child. I have read their works in the following order: THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, MOUNT DRAGON, and RELIC. Currently, I am reading the follow-up to RELIC - a novel entitled, RELIQUARY. I made one big mistake by reading Preston and Child's THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES prior to reading RELIC. Some of the characters in THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES can be found in the RELIC. If I explain the reasoning for my mistake, I will ruin the intrigue of the central plot of THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. Thus, I will offer no explanation, but rather just ask you to trust me: read RELIC and RELIQUARY prior to reading THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. RELIC ends with, "there is a knock on the door." This leads into the next novel RELIQUARY.I cannot express my delight of reading Preston and Child. There is an intensity of their writing that induces me to forget that I am reading a book. When I am involved in reading their novels, my mind travels with the characters in the novel. I find myself sweating and sitting on the edge of my chair. Their writing is quite astonishing. In addition, they bring in technology and the anthropological/biological sciences in a remarkable manner. That last time I took a biology course was in the 70's. Although I didn't believe this while I was in college, I certainly had a great biology professor. I had to employ my basic of knowledge of biology to comprehend the storyline. My biology course not a waste of time. I will continue to read Preston and Child, but will make sure I'll read them in order of their publication dates. I give you the same recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Proper
Review: The mousy museam girl; the genius lethal albino FBI agent; the brilliant crippled professor; the ambitious young research fellow; the slovenly-but-smart NY cop. And the monster in the basement, of course. I got the sequel, too. :)
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent & Creepy!
Review: Awesome story! I couldn't put it down right up until the very end! It's terrifying in its plausability. The authors make you believe! I was very scared when I was reading it, but I was compeled to finish it. If you're a Crighton fan, as I am, this is like taking Crighton to the next level. The movie doesn't do the story justice- the reader's imagination is much better. A great book for any sci-fi fan. Definitely pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: One of seven masterpieces by Preston and child
Review: This is the two author's first novel together; they have written seven total with a eighth due out next year. The imagination, thoughts, and ideas that went into this novel is mindboggling. I have several favorite authors I read, but I have to say Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child are hands down the best. If you've see the movie and haven't read the book you will be kicking yourself for wasting time with that waste of film, the movie does the book no justice. For example I read the book first and found out there was a movie, I think I watched maybe 10 minutes and turned it off it was disgusting. The sequel Reliquary might even be better it's hard to say. Both books were brilliantly written. Once I read the Relic, I had to find the other books the authors had written together. In my opinion Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child are top of the class. But hey don't take my word for it read for your self and you too will be hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Freakin' Wicked!
Review: Didja see the movie? Didja like it? Yeah...it was okay. I sure hope that doesn't stop anyone from making or going to any future films made from the books of this fantastic writing team! Didn't see the movie? No big deal. This is definitely a case of "the book is better". Far better! Someone or someTHING is going around slaughtering people in New York, and it all seems to center around one particular museum. Yeah, yeah, there's the obligatory big-thing that gets ruined in the form of a new gallery theme that goes horribly awry when the murderer decides to drop by, but Child and Preston have the magical ability to take plausible circumstances and turn them horrifically askew without the word "cliche" popping up in your mind at all. These guys can write! They can be technical without getting textbook about it like Crichton's works. They can explore characters without diverging from the main storyline which, with their books, always moves along like some tribal wardrum, beating slowly but rhythmically somewhere in the distance--just enough to set your nerves on edge--then gradually getting louder and picking up the pace until the wonderfully satisfying frenzied climax is reached...and you're hooked on their books like I am. It began for me with The Relic. Original idea mixed with childlike enthusiasm and great research adds up to awesome book. Not a classic--just a heck of a great read!
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to their later works
Review: It's difficult for me to criticize Preston and Child too much, because I've enjoyed every book they've written, until this one. Because it was an early work, Relic has several problems. Foremost, the writing is mediocre. When characters make statements, and they are described as "He exploded", or "She exclaimed", among many other wrenching phrases, then you know that the writer is trying too hard. Just say "said". Characters: At the first of the book, they are very hard to tell apart. There are no tags, other than the fact that Cuthbert is Scottish (with almost no inflection in his voice), and Dr. Frock is in a wheelchair. Pendergast is fairly well written, and likable, as is Margo. Smithback is mostly annoying. Other than these, the personalities run together. Coffee is a complete stereotype, and then he simply disappears near the end. I suppose it's because he shows up in Reliquary later. The language is horrible, and I really wanted the creature to kill Arbogast just to shut him up. Preston and Child also seem to be enamored with the idea of pools of blood covering the floor, and guts strewn everywhere. Fine for horror fans, I suppose, but a little much for others. I'm certain that if I had read Relic first, then I wouldn't have picked up their later works which, in my opinion, are much better. The best is Riptide, followed by The Ice Limit and Thunderhead. In all of these books, the writing style has matured, the science is more accurate, the language isn't nearly as foul, and the gore is minimized. Hopefully the trend will continue.
Rating:
Summary: The First book is still the best for Preston Child
Review: I recently decided to pick up the first book written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and give it a go. I am a huge fan of these two, and for some odd reason, I never picked up The Relic. No I am mad at myself for not picking it up earlier. Having read Reliquary and all of their other books, I had the basic story line of The Relic down before I opened the cover, so I was not expecting much. Well, I was wrong, this book is filled with incredible action, and details that keeps it moving at such a fast pace. One mistake leads to another, and things just keep moving. I enjoyed meeting Agent Pengergrast for the first time, and I though the other characters were developed very well. All in all, this is the first Preston Child book, and it is still the best, Cabinet of Curiosities comes in a close second! This book is highly recommended! Also, if you have seen the movie, pick up the book, there are so many differences that it is almost a whole new story!
Rating:
Summary: First-rate thriller from first-rate writers...
Review: I'm not easily impressed and you definitely won't see a spate of positive gushing reviews that aren't warranted, but Preston and Child definitely impress me and they've won me over as a reader for sure. This book has such a wide range of appealing elements: spooky underground tunnels, mysterious life from mysterious science, interesting and well-developed characters, and a beautifully executed pace. If you're a thriller fan who hasn't yet discovered Preston & Child, this is a great book with which to start.
Rating:
Summary: great reading
Review: Every book I have read by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child has pleased me! They have a wonderful style of writing that gets your attention from the start! If you like books that don't drag on at the beg., taking forever to get to the action this would be a good chocie!
Rating:
Summary: Fast Paced
Review: I liked the fast pace of this novel. This is a lot of fascinating information presented about the history of the New York Museum of Natural History. A strange crate brought to the museum seems to have unleashed a mysterious monster. Some of the story is predictable as there are a lot of people that take a long time to convince that there is something wrong. Also, the first confrontation with the creature and the military turns out to be a total disaster for the soldiers. Some parts make your heart skip a beat. Not for the weak-stomached reader!
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