Reliquary, the sequel to Relic, is basically the same story introduced in Relic. We have the monster in the sub level(s), we have the incompetent chief of police making poor decisions, we have the "fool proof plan" that doesn't work and we have the reporter being lead around by a powerful woman who coerces him to tell the story she wants to hear. I did find the parts about the sub levels of Manhattan interesting and I think the ending of Reliquary is better than that of Relic. The authors would have been better served if they made Relic and Reliquary one book. It seems like once they had a hit with Relic they decided to do Reliquary as an afterthought.

Recently, I read an interview with Douglas Preston where he commented that RELIQUARY was probably the least successful of the "Agent Pendergast" books that he co-writes with Lincoln Child. After reading this book, I'm inclined to agree with him.

RELIQUARY is the second Pendergast novel and a direct sequel to the first book RELIC. It pretty much re-introduces all the major characters of THE RELIC and many additional ones. And this is the major flaw with RELIQUARY: there are simply too many characters and plot threads in this book, which don't really tie together in a satisfaying manner.

There's also a "been there, done that" quality to RELIQUARY that makes it a rather tiresome read. Preston and Child reuse many of the plot devices from THE RELIC, and there is little in this novel that is particularly original or inspired.

And most importantly, Pendergast only plays a supporting role in RELIQUARY, and the novel suffers in every scene where he is absent. Characters like Margot, Smithback and D'Agosta are simply not interesting enough to carry scenes on their own, and all of the other supporting characters are either too bland or cartoonish. I think the smartest move that Preston and Child ever made was to elevate Pendergast as the central character in this series, starting with the next entry, CABINET OF THE CURIOUSITIES.

That being said, I didn't hate RELIQUARY. It's a decent adventure story, and there's no denying that Preston and Child are very intelligent writers. Still, this is far from their best effort, and I wouldn't recommend this to anybody as their first Pendergast book.

While I really enjoyed RELIC, I didn't find myself feeling quite the same about Reliquary. I liked the way the book started out, I liked the premise of the book and thought it was interesting, and as always, I enjoyed Pendergast and D'Agosta. Unfortunately, I felt that there were way too many subplots. There were too many different people doing too many different things. It got distracting at times. If you liked Relic, you will probably like this book, but don't expect it to thrill you quite as much.

While I agree this book wasn't as good as Relic, it certainly was an admirable follow-up to it. Storylines left hanging in Relic were resolved albeit perhaps not in the most exciting of ways. What I read in this book enticed me to purchase The Mole People to find out more about the underground world brought out in the book.

The authors have written another thriller. I had to read the next chapter but neglected my tasks to do so. The authors gave substantiating data on the underground of Manhattan. However the ending was not in the characters' former behavior. Although it was a true page turner it lacked a believable ending. This book was not as good as The Relic nor the Book of the Dead the I have read by the authors.

Though not as good as the Relic, this was still very enjoyable and I've read it twice. It was nice to see the return of a lot of people from the first book - Smithback, Margo Green, D'Ambrosio, and of course Pendergast. Lt. Haywood was a good character as well and I'm glad to see that she appears in future books as well.

Even though it has the same characters from Relic the story and actions are very different. Even though it was different I would recomend this book because it is well written and keep my attention the whole way through.

It's been years since I read The Relic, but I remembered enjoying it so I picked up the sequel RELIQUARY. If I had to do a quick comparison The Relic (Alien) to Reliquary (Aliens).

As a whole Reliquary is the kind of sequel most writers should strive for. It follows up the original story nicely, delivers the characters we enjoyed reading about, and then deviates into a new enough setting that we don't feel like we're simply re-reading the same story over.

The only minor gripes I have with Reliquary is: 1) If you have never read The Relic you'll be lost as there's not enough of an introducing pace to this book. The writers expect you to know the characters and their history. 2) If you're only familiar with the movie version of The Relic (which is quite good) you need to still read the book as the two differ so strongly in areas that you'll be confused (i.e. some major characters die in the movie who have oddly different paths in the book).

All that aside, I enjoyed the settings (the sewers below New York), the characters, the monsters (the Wrinklers were creepy), and the action sets that this story delivered...I mean how can you go wrong with Navy SEALS shooting monsters in dark sewer tunnels! The book did its job and entertained me for a few days.

If you're unfamiliar with both books then my advice to any action, sci-fi, or horror fans is to go pick-up a copy of both The Relic and Reliquary and read them back-to-back. You'll have a good (no...monsterously good) time!

RELIQUARY is the sequel to Preston & Child's break-out bestselling novel, THE RELIC. It has been a year an a half since the killings at the Museum of Natural History caused by the Mbwun. While searching the Humboldt Kill for a missing body, scuba divers recover two headless skeletons. NYPD Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta leads the investigation and fears that the headless skeletons and a recent string of unusual murders of homeless people might be connected. Soon D'Agosta enlists the aid of Margo Green, Bill Smithback, and Special Agent Pendergast to assist his investigation and figure out if and how the recent killings are connected to the Museum Beast killings a year and a half earlier. The situation becomes dire when the murder of one of New York's elite is linked to the homeless killings. The "mole people" and city's elite join to bring about a solution. Unfortunately, the problem is much more mysterious and dangerous than anyone imagines with the fate of not only New York, but possibly the whole world in the balance.

As far as sequels go, RELIQUARY isn't too bad. I really enjoyed reading more about Special Agent Pendergast and I found the factual information about the real-life mole people that was tied into the story to be fascinating.

Like most sequels, RELIQUARY reunites all the major characters of the first story for another grand adventure, including a new-mutated version of the Mbwun monster; previous allies betray their friends; and the overall story is a watered-down version of the original. Even though I enjoyed reading about the characters from THE RELIC uniting to fight a similar foe, the story seems forced and lacks some of the spark and originality of THE RELIC. That's not to say RELIQUARY isn't a good story, because it is. However, it's just not as good as THE RELIC.

This book is an easy read and won't disappoint Pendergast fans. I still haven't read Relic but plan to eventually. There was a book written about underground New York City in the 70's that I always wanted to read but never found. This is a good subsitute as it takes place mostly in the tunnels and forgotten byways that honeycomb Manhattan. It is based on fact so is an interesting read on two levels; what it tells you about underground New York and the tale of the mutants that drive the story. One fault is the long drawn out ending. The book ends with a final seeming neverending trip down below. I just skimmed the climatic final scenes and got to the ending. It seemed too repetitious to me.

Sequels are seldom better than the original.....Read this and see that it's very possible. A great read, you will not put it down.

A year and a half after the museum beast came to New York, two bodies are found on a routine police dive for a package of heroin thrown off a bridge. No one suspects the museum beast is involved since it was killed and transported away, but Margo Green and Dr. Frock are once again asked to help if they can identify these strangely misshapen bodies.

While it is their work to find out the identity of the bodies, it is up to the police to find out where they came from and how they made it to where they were discovered. This portion of the story was the most interesting to me as it described (how accurately I cannot say) the vast network of tunnels beneath Manhattan and the communities of homeless people who live there.

While I really enjoyed this book, it is not one I can recommend broadly. I consider Reliquary to be a guilty-pleasure sci-fi thriller. It had wonderful suspense that would probably leave most readers on the edge of their seats, but there were enough murders and far-fetched scientific "discoveries" to limit the number of readers who would enjoy this book. And at times there was almost too much going on. I was content with the complexity of the story, but they lost me with one particular subplot which continued (seemingly) only to keep one of the recurring characters involved.

I don't think I am the only one who is skeptical of sequels. I think that can be evidenced by Reliquary being labeled as "sequel to the New York Times best seller Relic" and it not being a bestseller on its own. I thought Reliquary was just as good if not better than Relic. Don't be afraid to pick up this sequel.

This book is the sequel to the bestselling "Relic" by authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It reunites characters from that book including FBI Special Agent Pendergast (a recurring character in their novels), Margo Green, Lt. D'Agosta, Bill Smithback, and museum curator Dr. Frock.

Tautly written and edited, the book takes readers from the Museum of Natural History to the subterranean world beneath the glittering skyscrapers of New York. The secret of the Museum Beast, the villain of "Relic" drives the plot of the story and the ending is quite surprising.

While I found myself liking some of their later efforts (such as 'Brimstone" and "The Cabinet of Curiosities") I genuinely love the character of Pendergast, who is probably one of the great fictional detectives of all time.

Douglas Preston can't write a bad book. This is a series and I can't wait for the next one and am terrified that he will quit at any moment. They are intricate, thoughtful and will scare you silly. They are like nothing I've read before. He doesn't talk down to you, expects you to understand what he is talking about and you do. But then you feel this something looking over your shoulder, following you down the hall at night. I am a huge fan of his and am deeply grateful to have found him. When he wrote with his partner they just can't be beat.If you don't know his partner you havent been reading enough books. He is amazing.

Another great book in sequel to relic. These guys can capture your attention and not let go.Pendergast is a great character. i look forward to reading other titles from these authors.

"Reliquary" is the rarest of sequels, superior to "Relic" in every way. Character development is exceptional, and the setting beneath Manhattan is a fascinating undiscovered country full of terror and intrigue. Preston and Child even teach us something in this suspenseful novel about New York's Mole people, and our responsibility to help them. The book is a scary as it is suspenseful, and is a superb effort in every way. Highly recommended.

I've gotten hooked on the Preston/Child colaborations since reading "The Ice Limit".I saw the movie "The Relic" and wasn't too thrilled about reading the book. I knew I needed to read it before I could read "The Reliquary". Hollywood can really trash a good book while translating it to film. In this case-very rare-the sequel blew me away. I've ordered another book to learn more about the underground dwellers in N.Y. city-fascinating! I plan on reading all of their books.

Great book! Preston & Child have done it again. I loved Relic and Reliquary is just as thrilling.

OK, I'd seen the movie of Relic a couple of times and enjoyed and was tempted to start reading this series at this novel, but I went back and started at Relic, and I'm glad I did. Relic the novel is substantually different than Relic the movie. (Pendergast is excised from the movie, for example). I enjoyed this book more than the first one. It is much more over the top, bigger, broader and more threatening. Start with Relic, and then read this one.

This book is typical of the intensity and mystic writting of Douglas Preston. He has many twist and continues to engage the reader with his story of the unexplainable that he bring to the real world.

Great sequel book to "The Relic"! Good action and suspense! Should read The Relic first to get the full impact!

A great plot, lots of interesting places and characters, but my what a mess it creates. It pushes the limits of credibility pretty hard. But I had a lot of fun reading it. To read in time order, read after Relic, but before Mount Dragon.

I only read this because I liked the audio version of Relic. After finishing the whole thing (> 400 pages) I was a tad disappointed. There are a few good moments but I wasn't frightened much and how many times can best-selling authors use the phrase "After what seemed like an eternity,"? They also repeat figures of speech used in Relic to the point of making it almost a clone. Pros: the characters are good and likeable cons: ending is a let-down, sluggish in the middle, Pendergast is too knowledable (what DOESN'T the guy know? it caused me to lose the feeling of being immersed in a believable environment), etc. etc.

The twist in this book did catch me a little off guard but only because I wasn't trying to figure out the plot while reading. I tried to just enjoy it.

So, I think if I could go back in time, I'd skip this one.

Doug Preston & Lincoln Child are fantastic writers.
I own and have read all of their books.
Exceptional mystery and suspense with high tech information thrown in.
I recomend all of their books.

I only read this because I liked the audio version of Relic. After finishing the whole thing (> 400 pages) I was a tad disappointed. There are a few good moments but I wasn't frightened much and how many times can best-selling authors use the phrase "After what seemed like an eternity,"? They also repeat figures of speech used in Relic to the point of making it almost a clone. Pros: the characters are good and likeable cons: ending is a let-down, sluggish in the middle, Pendergast is too knowledable (what DOESN'T the guy know? it caused me to lose the feeling of being immersed in a believable environment), etc. etc.

The twist in this book did catch me a little off guard but only because I wasn't trying to figure out the plot while reading. I tried to just enjoy it.

So, I think if I could go back in time, I'd skip this one.

Doug Preston & Lincoln Child are fantastic writers.
I own and have read all of their books.
Exceptional mystery and suspense with high tech information thrown in.
I recomend all of their books.

Reliquary, like Relic before it, features Special Agent Pendergast and his associate with the NYPD Vincent D'Agosta. These are two of the best written characters it has been my pleasure to read. While Pendergast remains very much a mystery, you can't help but admire his intelligence and resourcefullness. This book takes place underneath the streets of New York City, among the homeless people known as 'the mole people.' While this book keeps your attention and is very interesting, it also helps to show that poor people are real and that they have feelings, too. Something far too many people seem to have forgotten.
It would help you to read Relic first, to get a better understanding of the situation, but you will be able to follow this one without reading the first one. To anyone who loves suspense, great character development and interesting plots with excellent twists, I highly recomend this book.

I enjoyed "Relic", but loved this sequel more as it was even scarier than its predecessor. This could be partly because I tend to be claustrophobic, and I cannot imagine anything much scarier than creeping around underground NYC in the near pitch black looking for homeless persons, ie. moles, being terrorized by genetically mutated human monsters. Agent Pendergast is my vote to carry the mantle of the modern Sherlock Holmes; his courage in searching for the secret dwelling of the creatures made me consider if I was capable of facing extreme terror for the welfare of many others.

I enjoyed the introduction of the petite but feisty Sergeant Hayward, expert on the "moles".

I seem a little overly exuberant, you might think, but I couldn't put this book down; it made me eager to return to work the next day as I was reading it on my lunch break. Preston and Child are great at providing just the right amount of detail to give you a clear picture of the scene, but not too much so that the action gets bogged down. It's the type of thrill that keeps you turning the pages, but doesn't give you nightmares. I wish they'd make a movie out of this book. I plan to read all of their novels.

In 1994, obscure author Douglas Preston and unknown horror enthusiast Lincoln Child burst onto the international literary scene with The Relic, a science-fiction story about a horrific creature wreaking havoc in the New York Museum of Natural History. The book was an instant best-seller and quickly was made into a popular horror movie. Two years later the authors released Mount Dragon, a medical thriller that was more scientifically plausible but less entertaining. A year after that, they published Reliquary, a sequel to their debut phenomenon.

Sadly, Reliquary isn't half the book that The Relic was. Though it is set back in New York and has most of the same characters as the previous novel, the followup lacks the spontaneity and creativity of the original.

Reliquary reintroduces readers to the stoic and dependable Sergeant D'Agosta, the museum curator Margo Green, and the intriguing and mysterious Special Agent Pendergast. The familiar and likeable characters are the best thing this novel has going for it.

When D'Agosta dredges up a badly misshapen human skeleton from the sludge of a noxious Hudson River runoff pool, he enlists the investigative services of Margo Green, hoping she can help shed some light on the strange discovery. Margo quickly realizes that this skeleton, together with other grotesque finds around the city, are linked to the events that took place in the museum some months before. Disturbed and frightened, she seeks the aid of her friend Bill Smithback, the New York Post crime reporter who also appeared in the previous book. When Agent Pendergast shows up, the gang makes short work of discovering the truth and then embarking on a search-and-destroy mission to ferret out the culprits threatening the city once again.

The Mbwun creature from The Relic makes a reappearance in Reliquary as well, but this time it's not an exotic Amazon import, it's a home-grown variety. Pendergast and company find a whole race of mini-Mbwuns living deep underground in the extensive New York tunnel system, where they've been systematically abducting and brutally murdering members of the city's underground homeless community.

The clear highlight of the book is the extensive exploration through the tunnel system deep underground. Combining fact, urban legend, and outright fantasy, the authors have constructed a fascinating subterranean world where no one can be trusted and nothing is what it seems. Combing through this dangerous territory, Pendergast manages to not only find the Mbwuns and put them out of commission forever but also save the city--and perhaps the world--from a sinister plot to create more even Mbwuns.

The book's main flaw is that it is the continuation of a story was satisfactorily finished. Though it's fun to see these characters again, the events of Relic had plenty of closure and dragging them into a new book serves only to diminish the first one. Fans of Preston and Child know that these same characters show up again in subsequent stories, leading me to believe that the world could easily have done without this book altogether.

Reliquary is reasonably well written, and parts of it are action-packed and enjoyable. But the book as a whole feels forced and almost desperate. Readers who enjoyed these authors' first book would be not ill-advised to skip this book altogether and move on to the next one in the series.

The best thing the authors could have done to pique my interest in this book was exactly what they did......... On the inside front flap of the dust cover they inscribe the following: REL-I-QUARY relic-wary (n): A shrine or coffer for displaying an object, bone, or body part from a saint or deity. PERFECT, otherwise who knew that reliquary actually had a significant meaning?

So, we dive in, literally! Events are set in motion when Snow, a NY Dive Team member working a detail headed by Lt. D'Agosta, dives the Humboldt Kill looking for a brick of cocaine but instead dredges up two decapitated bodies. The first body is identified as Pamela Wisher, a high profile debutante. Investigations take us under New York City. Pendergast and D'Agosta go undercover and underground to locate Mephisto and find out what they can about the "Wrinklers" and "The Devils Attic." We spend a lot of time under NYC, which was fascinating. And I especially loved the author's note explaining that much of the fiction about this community lies in truth.

I really liked the Sgt. Hayward character. She was a pistol and had integrity. I love it when Pendergast does something which he knows is callous and then says "It's an annoying habit, but very hard to break." That always makes me chuckle out loud. I liked the development of Margo's character.

I'm a dedicated reader not a writer; however once in a while I have an idea about a book that just might have worked. With this one at the end when they tie up loose ends on Smithback; rather then saying he received a book deal telling about this horrible adventure I would have revealed that the book we just finished reading was in fact Smithback's narrative.

Who would have thought that they could keep the story so seamless and exciting! All my guesses of who was behind the story were all wrong! Can you figure it out?

I picked up Reliquary some months after its lead-in, Relic, and having formerly read Riptide, another of the authors' joint collaborations. From Riptide, I had gotten a good idea of their modus operandi: Semi-scientific background, a perilous dungeon of a scene of action, a somewhat interesting cast derived but also evolved from their natural stereotypes, and also a thumping good story that was worth reading.

Relic steeped back into the B-movie man-versus-monster premise, but salvaged itself towards the end by purely being exciting, for all its predictablity and your generally being able to see from the start who was slanted for survival. Riptide was a story, and a good story, and thus a worthy read even if not being as exciting as Relic. Relic was, by comparison, a faceless member of the horror genre.

Reliquary is therefore an ascension. And fortunately for all, it tips heavily away from its roots towards Riptide's lead attraction, towards being a real story (although Riptide of course came later). The remnants of the cast from the original return, and with the obvious exception of the more interesting characters, they retain their clichéd personas, and whatever changes there have been are mostly annoying ones. But, for whatever reason, their return versions seem far less boring and static here, while some of the new arrivals fall far short of expectations.

And for much the same reason, the plot overall emits much less of the sense of "this is all just a prelude to the disaster on the back of the book" atmosphere of Relic. Ironically, while the first half of Relic was slow-moving and dull and picked up in excitement, while also achieving complete predictability, only from then on, Reliquary largely reverses the position. There is, of course, the same cast of scientists and cops, the zombie-esque enemy with no need for conscience or morals, the final key to the mystery which the characters realize only at the last moment. But Reliquary is genuinely interesting for the better part of its text. Some of its characters are less promising than the authors might think, and really should have gotten the axe between storylines to free up more time to spend with their betters. And one whole direction the storyline takes, while it does eventually find its unlikely purpose among all the rest, is extremely tedious. But what remains pushes the story along and makes it fun. That's why you should read Reliquary right there, because it is truly fun, and it manages to be adventurous and exciting and all those well-trodden buzzwords as well.

It's for this reason that it's unfortunate that the ending lapses into predictability, the same fault associated with Relic. Towards the end they do try to return to what another reviewer here describes excellently as the "taut narrative" of the first book, but by then the addition feels old and tired and unnecessary and, largely for having spent less pent-up and time for immersion, ends up being less exciting than the action passages of its predecessor. While, having said that, I can't commend Relic's ending, which had the sense of "we've read so far and it's been exciting, but now the final encounter will be a quick descent," and so it proved. With Reliquary, take the same sentence and transpose "exciting" for "exciting and enjoyable," but keep the rest as well. Having read so far and knowing what was going to happen, I skipped much of the trivial action right to the final moments, which also didn't live up to the promise of the rest of the book.

But if you're willing to forgive a let down towards the end, and some irritating passages and a few unfortunate cast additions within, Reliquary is undoubtedly a good read that gives hope that the future brings plots not only exciting and well-casted, but unpredictable while retaining a finale that does not undercut what you've come to expect. Reliquary comes close. Riptide also. Literature, they are not. But for fun weekend reading, they excel. I recommend them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Relic so I was anxious to read this one. It was not a bad book but I felt that the writers were simply anxious to put out another book to capitalize on the popularity of Relic. Reliquary brings back the same main characters along with the same characteristics of characters from the first book but with different names. I found myself having to refrain from rolling my eyes when Pendergast seemlessly infiltrated the 'mole' people and the concept of the 'mole' people in itself I had difficulty with (although there is a note in the book that these type of people really DO exist under the city of New York). I also wished that the authors had gone into Dr. Green's post traumatic stress and made her new physical fitness routine an instrument of success at the end of the book. But they brought up her new fitness and then dropped it just as quickly. The other part I disliked was the monlogue given by the bad guy at the end of the book. I really hate it when bad guys monologue. Other than having to suspend my disbelief a few times, it wasn't all bad.

I enjoy genre books and really liked "Relic." I read this hoping for more of the same.

I am extremely disappointed. For starters, it is very slow and plodding and dull. There are no scares. There are at best two creepy passages.

On another level, the writing is trite and hackneyed. The characters are all stereotypes that seem plucked from central casting. The dialogue is embarassing. The writers use slang from another era. Quite frankly, nobody talks the way these people talk. It is very distracting.

The way he writes about "Yuppies" and "Homeless" you would swear the book was written in the mid 80s.

And Mrs.Wisher. What an absurd character. She's supposed to be a wealthy society doyenne but seems more like a wealthy society doyenne as imagined by a 10 year old boy in 1950s Nebraska. And why does she live on Central Park South? Seriously, why? I can understand 5th or Park or even East End, but CPS? And someone needs to tell the authors that people don't have dining tables on their balconies in Manhattan apartments. Balconies are for standing. Terraces are for sitting. Literally every page of this novel is littered with some caricature/cliche of a person, place or thing. And what a bore...

First of all, this book is so much better than the first book from Preston/Child, called Relic. I gave Relic three stars, and felt that was being generous because I forced myself to get through it.

I ordered Relic and Reliquary together thinking I'd like these authors based off all of the positive reviews. Halfway through reading Relic, I had to order another book to read because I thought that because Relic was so slow and had exhausted my patience, I'd totally skip over Reliquary. When my newly ordered books didn't arrive as soon as I thought, I figured I'd just read Reliquary to await their arrival. What I found was that unlike Relic, which takes way to long to get rolling (no one hypothesizes who or what the antagonist is until 3/4 of the way through the book,) Reliquary starts off big and stays that way through the entire book.

Reliquary is easily a 4.5, and I gave it a five rating because it surpassed my expectations of Preston/Child after forcing myself through Relic, and even though it is considered a sequal to the first book, you don't need to bore yourself with Relic in order to fully enjoy this book. I recommend it highly.

I really enjoyed Relic (Although the movie really sucked). I found Reliquary to be a very good second phase in this series.

I halfway expected that in this book, the sequel to The Relic, they would discover that there was a second monster, and the sequel would be a replay of the first book. Not so. The plot is very different but flows well from the first book.

The description of the New York underground is both fascinating and chillingly creepy at the same time. The authors did their homework and much of their description is apparently based on fact. There is a reference to a real book published in the 1990s that documents life beneath New York City.

The shocking revelation near the end of the book wasn't entirely believable to me, but it's a minor quibble.

I rate it a 4.5, rounded up to 5 Stars.

Reliquary
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child


This is the sequel to the New York Times best seller Relic. And this too, made me think twice about the sounds that go bump in the night. And what it's really like in the uncharted tunnels underneath NYC.
Again Margo, Dr. Frock, Pendergast, D'Agosta, and Greg and a new cast in the characters, Hayward and captain Waxie, are caught up in an enthralling adventure through the tunnels in New York. That are uncharted and hold the mole people, who have brought to the attention of the cops that there are things living in the deeper sections of the tunnels that are unnatural. These things are killing the moles and eating their brains.
I would have to say that my favorite character in this book is Margo Green. I liked her because of her smarts and wit. She knew what to do and when to do it, and ultimately she's the one who saved the day.
I thought that this book was just as good as the first and the ending will just absolutely blow your mind. I thought that the plot of it was well written and very well planned out. And the motive was exceptional.

Anything by Childs & Preston is a good read. This one stands on it's own but to get a fuller understanding the reader should read "Relic" first as this is a sequel to that book. Made me very curious about the world under New York streets.

It will make you afraid to go into the subways of NY. Great Book!!!

Searching for a package of heroin, police divers swimming in the Humboldt Kill discover two headless corpses. Noting the distorted bone structure of one of the victims, investigating officer Lt. D'Agosta asks his friend Margo Green, an anthropologist working out of The New York Museum of Natural History, to examine the corpses. Both are uneasy, because the distorted set of remains reminds them of the Mbwun, a creature that ran amuck in the museum two years before, preying on humans for the hormone secreted in their pituitary glands.

When one of the victims is identified as Pamela Wisher, daughter of Manhattan socialite Anette Wisher, the press pounces on the story. During the course of his investigation, New York Post Reporter Bill Smithback discovers that a number of mole people (homeless who live in tunnels beneath the city) have also been murdered and beheaded. The tunnel dwellers blame the murders on a group of creatures they call the Wrinklers, who live in the deep tunnels known as the Devil's Attic. Seeking to prevent further mayhem, D'Agosta, Green, Smithback, and old cohort FBI agent Pendergrast join forces to solve the mystery, eventually descending into the tunnels to confront the Wrinklers.

A somewhat disappointing blend of hackneyed plot elements, Preston and Child's first novel, THE RELIC, read like a novelization of a bad B-movie. The most enjoyable thing about that novel was its surprise ending, which probably caught most readers totally off guard. RELIQUARY, however, is as satisfying as its predecessor was disappointing--the authors have concocted a gripping blend of horror, science fiction, and action/adventure that is hard to put down, either in the crticial or physical sense. Using RELIC's surprise ending as a springboard, the authors utilize plot elements gleaned from that book, taking them to their logical and entertaining conclusion. They also make good use of returning cast members, using them to chronicle the fallout from the events of RELIC. Margo has done a Linda Hamilton, reacting to her trauma by bulking up and buying a gun. Smithback is a best selling author, having used the events of two years ago to craft a non-fiction blockbuster. D' Agosta and Pendergrast have changed little--D'Agosta is still cynical, and Pendergrast remains the Sherlock Holmes analog he was in the prior novel. Still, these are colorful characters, and it feels good to catch up with them.

From its opening in the murky waters of the Hudson to its exciting conclusion deep beneath the streets of New York, RELIQUARY really delivers. Its use of the New York underground is innovative and intriguing, and the action never lets up; a tense, well constructed thriller, RELIQUARY foreshadows the excellent work this talented duo would produce in future novels.

Before you read Reliquary, you should read Relic first. It is definitely a page turner, I couldnt put it down. This is only the 2nd book I've read by Preston and I will definitely buy more.

After reading all the books in the series, I'm used to the ridiculous endings and contrived plot twists, but his one had all that plus some tedious action sequence that couldve been left out. The only things that redeemed this novel just a little were the descriptions of the underground tunnels and the Pendergast character.

Who they used for the "bad guy" in this one was absurd. It just wouldn't be possible for him to have kept what he was doing a secret, especially from those who'd worked with him in the past. This book was a real let-down. There are a few books in the series that are better but, unfortunately, for context it helps to have read this one first.

After reading all the books in the series, I'm used to the ridiculous endings and contrived plot twists, but his one had all that plus some tedious action sequence that couldve been left out. The only things that redeemed this novel were the descriptions of the underground tunnels and the Pendergast character.

Who they used for the "bad guy" in this one was absurd. It just wouldn't be possible for him to have kept what he was doing a secret, especially from those who'd worked with him in the past. This book was a real let-down. There are a few books in the series that are better but, unfortunately, for context it helps to have read this one first.

After reading all the books in the series, I'm used to the predictably ridiculous endings. This one, though, added that in addition to some boring action sequence that couldve been deleted. The only things that redeemed this novel were the descriptions of the underground tunnels and the Pendergast character.

Who they used for the "bad guy" in this one was absurd. I just dont think it would be possible for him to have kept what he was doing a secret, especially from those who had worked with him in the past. This book was a real let-down.

If Relic was the movie Alien set inside a museum, Relquary is C.H.U.D. meets Re-animator. You have cannibalistic mutant homeless people living below the streets of New York, a mad scientist, a nosy reporter, etc. The hero agent Pendergast is even more of a superhero. This is a second rate thriller too derivative of 1980's B-grade horror movies, with a superhero - Agent Pendergast - added.

Excellent storyline development; the details of NYC's underbelly gave me shivers. The climax however was too contrived and far fetched - why do thrillers always have to have a villain who is a known and liked individual? Except for Hardy boys and Nancy Drew books, I don't see a need for it.

Dan Brown's books also suffer from the same malady, they build up beautifully but end with a whimper, with a villain who is usually our main character's well wisher. I mean, gimme a break!! Adults don't need to be shocked by lame plot twists like this.

How will you know if you will like this book? Did you like Relic? If so, you will like Reliquary. If you didn't read Relic, I would start there, although it isn't necessary, there are a few references back to it and you get an introduction to the cast of characters that continue in this book.

This book is very similar in style, plotting, action, etc. I'd say I liked Relic better, but I love all P&C's books, so it's not to say I disliked this one, but found the "revelation" that always comes in their books to be less satisfying than Relic. The tension wasn't quite up to snuff either, I didn't get the clausterphobic, tense feel in the sewers like I did from the library and it seemed to be over just like that.

For those afraid of sequals, don't be afraid of "Reliquary." This book was a fun-filled adventure that linked itself well to its predecessor. At times, it read so much like a movie script, I could almost hear someone yelling "cut" in my living room. Despite the "we wrote this for the big screen" feel, the story retained its intelligence without sacrificing the action. Another great read from Preston and Child.

The authors, Preston and Child, have produced a very entertaining sequel to their original novel, Relic. The characters continue from the original novel and new characters are introduced that are both complex and human. Reliquary is as much fun as the original and contains numerous twists as it moves through the New York underground. I highly recommend this book for an entertaining read.