The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast) by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast)
Book Review: Abysmal!
Summary: 1 Stars
I found this book poorly written, lacking in character development, and utterly unbelievable. It seems that the authors did a little bit of online research about Tibet, watched a season or two of Las Vegas, rented Titanic and The Lord of the Rings, then combined them all into a terrible novel. If you're looking for a mystery set in or pertaining to Tibet, read the books by Eliot Pattison and give this one a pass.Book Review: Agent Pendergast sinks into the Poseidon Adventure
Summary: 2 Stars
Agent Pendergast is an interesting creation, but what really makes him shine is his interaction with "normal" characters, such as Lt. Vincent D'Agosta and William Smithback. Unfortunately, he doesn't have that support in this novel, with the result that he becomes a one-dimensional, cartoonish character.
Much of the book is devoted to an absurd "ocean liner in distress" subplot. You really know you're in hack territory when an author introduces the biggest and best ocean liner ever built, and lavishes an infuriating amount of detail describing its luxurious fittings and high-powered passengers, only to set up a disaster at sea scenario.
And, unlike previous novels in which Pendergast exposes a seemingly supernatural threat as having a rational explanation, this book's supernatural threat is explained away by a load of absurd mind-over-matter Buddhist hocus-pocus reminiscent of David Carradine's "Kung Fu".
Devoted Preston/Child fans might swallow all this, however reluctantly, but I can't imagine that anyone who isn't a fan of this series could enjoy this book.
Book Review: Aloysius Pendergast Adventures...simply good fun
Summary: 4 Stars
If you enjoy 'Sherlock Holmes' type stories with a modern and simplified approach, one can't go wrong with the Pendergast adventures.
Pendergast's ward, Constance, has always brought me back to the series, as she continues to be a mystery. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, never had the chance to read the "final" confrontation between the two brothers: Aloysius and his evil brother, Diogenese, who, it is hinted, the evil brother found Constance and did terrible acts. The reason I mention this, is I could not buy this particular book, as, I surmised, it had been rejected by certain publishers. Despite not able to read this book in the series, The Wheel of Darkness appeared and has the familiar and necessary terror and melodrama (and information) to ensure a relaxing and ("fill in the blanks") read.
The Pendergast series is pure and utter escapism.
Pendergast is ultra intelligent, aristocratic, spiritual, and an unusual FBI agent, as he drives around the streets of NYC in a bright yellow Rolls Royce, always at least three steps in front of everyone else. He is wealthy beyond words, and has a family background that leads back to the deep South of New Orleans... he speaks several languages and has powers of persuasion and observation beyond the normal human being, to my mind, he is a "character", for Preston and Child, a work in progress...(Preston and Child have more to give us as readers and fans of this series.)
The Wheel of Darkness includes mystery, detective themes, the supernatural and pure 'suspension of disbellef', particularly on a cold and rainy afternoon.
In the deep recesses of a Tibetian Monastary, an object of extreme power has been stolen, and the monks ask Aloysius to find the thief and bring the object back to its rightful place, before it can possibly spread destruction through out the world.
Their search find them on the largest ocean liner in the world: the Britania. As the voyage across the northern Atlantic proceeds, it is soon discovered that a serial killer is on board spreading havoc amongst the rich, and retired...suddenly it goes from really bad to worse in an uncanny way.
The Pendergast adventures are pure escapism, like an old movie or a battered gum shoe novel ala, Raymond Chandler.
As the formula of this genre developes, like the old melodramas, the reader or viewer is on the edge of their seats, waiting for the mystery and true villian to be revealed.
One has to be in the mood for such a novel, and I havn't read one for at least a year and was one hundred percent ready for the kitsch and cliches.
Melodramatic and cliched, the Pendergast series is simply mind numbing good fun.
Book Review: An all nighter......
Summary: 5 Stars
That's what I call books which I cannot put down and this is one of those.
I will not be able to write a good review without touching on some parts of the book, so if you don't want to see any spoilers at all, you should stop reading now. For myself, I don't even read the covers as I don't want to know anything about the book.
Well, firstly, I'm glad the authors are done with the Diogenes trilogy. As I said in one of my previous reviews. When you've got an anti-protagonist in a series, you already know who the bad guy is, and that takes a lot of fun out of the book, you already know who, you just don't know when or how. I prefer not to know who, when or how.
Secondly, I'm glad that the authors have managed to think up something quite different this time, and that fame or fortune have not shrivelled their imagination as has that of most other best selling authors.
The something new is that all the action takes place on an ocean liner. This isn't a new theme (a la the Poseidon Adventure), but it's new for agent Pendergast and the authors do quite a good job of the ocean liner disaster theme with a few twists.
Pros: The book is well written and easy to read. I read it easily in two days as the book flowed smoothly. Those who like Agent Pendergast will like this book as it's all about him.
I thought the trapped on the ocean liner theme and the inner workings of an ocean liner research was well written and believable. That's a large part of what makes this book enjoyable. Who wants to read about an ocean liner disaster that doesn't feel disasterous or an ocean liner that doesn't feel like an ocean liner.
I'm only doubtful that the service crew was that poorly paid and treated by their employers, as that has not been my experience, nor do I believe that would make them good service staff.
Cons: I thought the central theme of the book (that Agent Pendergast fights) was somewhat simplistic. I won't mention it here as that will really spoil the book for you, but I also understand that there are only so many things in the universe that Pendergast can fight and that us jaded readers can believe. And, I'm glad that this one doesn't have anything to do with DaVinci and/or the Catholic Church. That has literally be flayed to death. My other big "con" is that though Pendergast is the main protagonist, we don't see a lot of him at work, those special things about him. I'd say most of action is centered on the crew of the ship.
All in all, a very good book from DP and LC, but not as good as some of their earlier ones, but still better than the drivel that many other writers put out.
Book Review: Another Pendergast triumph
Summary: 5 Stars
Most fans of the previous novels starring FBI agent Pendergast will enjoy this book as well. It follows a similar theme of some of the earler novels, such as Still Life With Crows, or Relic. What seems like a muder mystery aboard a Titanic-like ocean liner, becomes tinged with something of the supernatural, like the earlier Pendergast novels. I can't say this is the best of the Pendergast series, but it is still a worthwhile read for any fan of this series by Lincol and Child.