July 16, 2007
In the exciting eighth supernatural thriller from bestsellers Preston and Child (after 2006’s The Book of the Dead
), FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast and his ward, Constance Greene, seek peace of mind at a remote Tibetan monastery, only to fall into yet another perilous, potentially earthshaking assignment. The monastery’s abbot asks them to recover a stolen relic, the cryptic Agozyen, which could, in the wrong hands, wipe out humanity. The pair follow the trail to a luxury cruise ship, where a series of brutal murders suggests the relic’s evil spirit might already have been invoked. Fans of earlier books focused on a thinly disguised American Museum of Natural History may find less at stake among the new cast of secondary characters, but the fate of Constance, who claims to have aborted the child of Pendergast’s villainous younger brother, remains a potent subplot. While not as frightening as others in the series, this entry still shows why the authors stand head and shoulders above their rivals in this subgenre.
Starred review from September 15, 2007
Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast of the FBI, one of modern thrillerdoms most engaging and complex heroes, returns once again to protect the world from the forces of evil. An important object, the Agozyen, is stolen from a monastery in Tibet. The monks know who stole it. On the other hand, although the relic has been in the monastery for a thousand years, no one there knows what it is or what it looks like. They do know, however, that the Agozyen has a chilling purpose: to cleanse the planet of its human inhabitants. As usual, the authors have crafted an intricate and suspenseful story and peopled it with well-drawn characters who come in various shades of good and evil. A few more layers of Pendergasts enigmatic character are peeled away (but revealing plenty more layers left to go), and his relationship with his ward, the resourceful Constance Green, is explored from a few new angles. Separately, Preston and Child write workmanlike novels. Together, they create magic, and this is another excellent thriller. Special Agent Pendergrast isnt nearly as widely known as he ought to be: spread the word, hes too good to miss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)
August 27, 2007
Hachette once again smartly enlists the services of Auberjonois (who won an Audie Award for reading Preston and Child's Dance of Death) to read the latest high-flown supernatural thriller from the bestselling team. His rendition of even the most outlandish adventures of FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast and his ward, Constance Greene, provides exactly the calm, cool atmosphere that makes the occasionally hard-to-swallow story into a tasty snack. On a retreat from their action-packed lives at a Tibetan monastery, Aloysius and Constance are asked by the abbot to save the world. Upon boarding a luxury liner on its maiden voyage, they discover an ancient relic that promises bloody death. Auberjonois brings the three lead characters to life-the crusty Pendergast, the troubled Greene and the Yoda-like head monk. As for the bad guys-natural and supernatural-Auberjonois provides just enough menace to make them really frightening and never goes over the top or makes them cartoonish. This might not be the best of Child and Preston's popular efforts, but under Auberjonois's expert guidance, it should keep listeners very diverted. Simultaneous release with the Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, July 16).