The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.50 You Save: $4.49 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Wheel of Darkness
Book Review: another douglas-child winner
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again the team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have put together a great book!Book Review: Felt like a classic movie done as a novel
Summary: 4 Stars
Wheel of Darkness is the latest collaboration between two exceptional authors, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - a duo that I've been following since their third novel, Mount Dragon.
The novel centers on Agent Pendergast, Preston and Child's main protagonist, who's been in almost all of the novels written by these two excellent authors.
Before I continue, this review will not contain any spoilers other than what you can garner from reading the back cover of the novel. I hate ruining things for people.
This novel is a murder mystery that, after reading, reminded me heavily of the old film noir detective novels and movies from the forties and fifties. You know what are considered to be the classics and arguably some of the best of these types of movies and literature.
Also, with the exception of the first portion of the book, the entire novel is set on the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship.
Pendergast and his ward travel to Tibet in order to help her deal with the events that took place in the book of the Dead.
During their time at the monastery, they learn of the theft of an ancient relic, one that was foretold to bring about the end of the world.
The monks, who know Pendergast, ask him to help track down the thief and recover the artifact before the events prophesied come true.
True to his word, he and Constance Greene set out hot on the trail of the thief and it eventually leads them to the maiden voyage of a luxury cruise ship.
Here they encounter far more than they could have imagined, of the least are a series of brutal murders that quickly put the passengers and crew of the ship in a state of panic.
This is by far the least of their worries.
The novel really felt like the old film noir movies from the forties and fifties. Half the time I was expecting an appearance by Spencer Tracy or Humphrey Bogart. But, there was plenty of modern technology to keep me, the reader, firmly planted in the modern era.
As per usual, Pendergast showed his intelligence and put his unique set of skills to good use at several instances during the novel. As usual I don't want to spoil things for the reader, but his interaction with some of the secondary characters was, to be honest, quite brilliant in the manner in which he dealt with them.
And then there was the personal crisis that Pendergast is forced to face.
If I had a complaint about the novel, it was with how it ended, and the artifact itself. Once again, I won't bother spoiling it for you. If you want to find out what I am talking about, read the book and you'll see what I'm referring to.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and it really felt like a classic murder mystery from a bygone era. Not one of their best collaborations, but definitely worth picking up to read.
3.5 out of 5.
Book Review: Comic Book Quality
Summary: 4 Stars
THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS is the 7th Pendergast novel following:
RELIC
RELIQUARY
STILL LIFE WITH CROWS
BRIMESTONE
DANCE OF DEATH
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD
Preston and Child have a rare quality in their writing skill - they can draw the reader away from his/her reading chair and transport him/her into the novel. Although parts of this novel reflect their writing craft, the authors fail in the totality of their effort. In the 6 other Pendergast novels, the authors transport the reader to other places for the entirety of the reading experience. WHEELS OF DARKNESS has its moments but not with the regularity of their other works.
I've spent a great deal of my time attempting to understand why WHEELS OF DARKNESS doesn't offer the same quality as their other work. I think I have the answer, in their other works; the authors are able to pull the reader into accepting a highly implausible (or impossible) storyline as being a scientific reality. WHEELS OF DARKNESS has more of a comic book quality. The authors cannot stretch the implausibility as being close to probable. At the end, they offer a feeble attempt to include a scientific dimension - but it is too late.
Two last points: First, the authors contend that these seven novels can stand alone. This is incorrect. They must be read in order and, frankly, I think the publisher should offer a warning label. For example, Pendergast in WHEELS OF DARKNESS will not make sense without first understanding his personality structure. The reader needs to know his past to comprehend his actions. STILL LIFE WITH CROWS offers the best illustration of Pendergast's personality development. Second, although WHEELS OF DARKNESS represents the weakest of the Pendergast novels, it is still better than most of storylines currently available.
Book Review: Holmes and the Tibet Affair
Summary: 4 Stars
I think that some of Preston and Child's fans are missing the whole point of the main character, Pendergast and the series framework.
The whole formula for these series is based on Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It's simply an updated version of a Holmes-like character functioning in a modern world. Perndergast's physical description and mannerisms are so close to Sherlock's that if they wrote like some slam-bam thriller writers, they would say he was a Basil Rathbone lookalike.
In place of Watson, they feature various cast members from Constance to the NYPD officer. And Constance is the typical demure Victorian era damsel in distress. So the emphasis, unlike their other novels like Relic, is on Pendergast's character and how he uses his "Thinking Machine" mind to solve the crimes. So yes, at times you do get visions of Murder She Wrote because this is first and foremost a mystery rather than a thriller. It's Pendergast's unique and eccentric personality that carries the story line, and the puzzle to be deduced. And like in Doyle's work the explanation comes at the end.
Setting this story on an ocean liner is classic; it's been done before by Agatha Christy and many others. Personally, I like the Ian Fleming like attention to details about the foods, the wines, the art etc.
There is absolutely nothing realistic about Pendergast at all, he's an over the top mystery detective pure and simple.
I admit that I like their action thrillers more, but they do both genres equally well. Their strongest point is their ability to carry off these cross-genre: horror, mystery, action/adventure thrillers.
Book Review: Frantic And Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
The Wheel of Darkness is the first Pendergast novel I've read. Thus, I approached the book with no preconceptions or comparisons to earlier novels in this series. So, how did The Wheel of Darkness resonate with this first-time reader? Surprisingly well.
There's little question that Preston and Child have created two wonderfully realized characters in Pendergast and Green. The idiosyncrasies that the authors have imbued on these characters make them both real and memorable. The strong personalities are needed, because Preston and Child almost lose control of the story while trying to conclude several plotlines. Still, the protagonists' strength ground the frantic conclusion, resulting in an entertaining end to the story.
With the combination of an action packed story line and vivid central characters, it's easy to see why The Wheel of Darkness would have strong appeal. Did The Wheel of Darkness' strengths compel me to rush out and buy the rest of the Pendergast novels. Well..no. But, I found enough positives that if I'm browsing the bookstore for an entertaining action/mystery story, I'll strongly consider purchasing another Pendergast story.