It’s been suggested (by me) that I am the James Beard of Pendergast reviewers, and I’m inclined to agree with me. Does that mean there should, similarly, be an award named after me? Yes. Yes it does. I propose “The Sean Gibson Terrible Food Metaphors for Books About Serial (Cereal) Killers Award.”

It all began with a somewhat dubious comparison of Relic to a hot dog and snowballed from there.

In keeping with tradition, once I finished The Book of the Dead, I climbed to the top of a tall mountain, closed my eyes, and meditated for seven straight days and seven straight nights to find the right comparison for this review. After climbing down from the mountain and cleansing myself of the detritus that had accumulated from having not moved to visit the bathroom for a week, I reached my conclusion: a WendyÂ’s Frosty.

For those of you who donÂ’t know WendyÂ’s, itÂ’s a fast food burger chain (akin to McDonaldÂ’s or Burger King) whose signature dessert item is a frozen chocolate-vanilla ice cream- treat called a Frosty. ItÂ’s tasty, especially on a hot summer day. But, itÂ’s not so much its deliciousness that makes it an apt comparison for The Book of the Dead. Rather, it is the FrostyÂ’s distinctively singular taste.

You might assume that a simple concoction of chocolate and vanilla soft-serve ice cream would, while yummy, not be particularly memorable, and that you could approximate the taste of a Frosty in any number of ways, including by ordering a basic chocolate/vanilla twist cone from any roadside ice cream shop. If you did, however, you would be performing the proverbially damning act of making an ass out of u and me, because Frosties taste nothing else. ItÂ’s a combination of their consistency, texture, maltiness, balance of chocolate and vanilla, and the slight hint of waxy plastic they pick up from the cups in which theyÂ’re served. In a blindfold taste test, I could pick out a Frosty every single time. ItÂ’s truly the most unique generic item I can think of.

And that, my friends, is where weÂ’re at with the Pendergast series. On its face, itÂ’s a series that features a modern-day Holmes knockoff in Pendergast, a Watsonian sidekick in the form of Vincent DÂ’Agosta, and even a twisted Mycroft simulacrum in the form of Diogenes, with all the trappings of modern-day serial killer thrillers, ranging from advanced forensic techniques to absurd plot twists to stock supporting characters, particularly in the form of law enforcement officers and bureaucratic officials. And, yet, Lincoln and Child have created something utterly distinctive.

It may be, at least in part, the fact that they are just better than the majority of their peers when it comes to their technical skills—they are, to be sure, craftsmen of the highest order when it comes to plot, pacing, and overall story construction. They are also solid writers, and I say that not as a tepid endorsement of them relative to others working in the same genre; they truly are good. But, it goes beyond that as well. Perhaps it’s the chillingly creative origin of Pendergast and Diogenes, the interjection of horror elements across the series, the expert use of setting, or the blurry line between fantasy and reality; whatever the case, a Frosty, the combination of all aspects of the series—elements that, taken individually, are neither remarkable nor especially original—transform it into something utterly distinctive and irresistible. Nowhere is that more evident than in The Book of the Dead.

If you ripped the cover off of this book and replaced the characters’ names with generic alternatives, you’d still know you we rereading a Preston and Child Pendergast book. This book features aspects of all of its predecessors—characters, locations, plotlines, tone, atmosphere…it draws on so much of what has come before, yet combines it all in a way that makes this book the perfect encapsulation of the series as a whole (thus far, at any rate). Sure, it’s got flaws—willing suspension of disbelief is perhaps more essential here than ever—but it’s entertaining as hell and, were it not for the last 50 pages or so, I’d call this 4.5 stars.

What happened over the last 50 pages? Well, imagine Wendy’s decided to offer 50 different Frosty flavors, ranging from mochi to lychee. It would be over the top and off-brand and completely unnecessary. That’s the last part of this book—I won’t include spoilers here, but let’s just say a heretofore meek character basically becomes a combination of Dwayne Johnson and Robocop and things just get utterly absurd. So, that gets us back to 4 stars.

This feels the conclusion to the first major arc of the series, and IÂ’m looking forward to seeing what Messrs. Preston and Child have in store for our heroes going forward. In the meantime, IÂ’d better start increasing the variety of my food intake so that IÂ’m prepared to retain that awesome new writing award that we just decided to create in my illustrious honor.

Bon appetit. 125 s Ginger845 446

This was so good! I couldnÂ’t put it down. Another epic thriller by the tag team of Preston/Child!

Okay, so hereÂ’s the thing. I canÂ’t say too much on the plot of this book because itÂ’s the third one in the Diogenes series. You would need to go to book #5 (Brimstone) to start the book trio between the Pendergast brothers.

Aloysius is an FBI agent and reminds me of Sherlock. Extremely intelligent, calm and resourceful. Minus the whole cocaine habit. Ha!
Diogenes is his brilliant, psychotic brother and he makes me think of Moriarty. And he HATES Aloysius.
Yeah you're right, they have some weird parents and relatives to give them those names!!

Now, they arenÂ’t exactly Sherlock and Moriarty in the books but it will give you an idea of the type of epic battle of wits between the two. They are both intelligent, brilliant and 5 steps ahead of us stupid people.

Back to the 7th book in the series and the 3rd book in the Diogenes series. Trust me, it might sound confusing but itÂ’s not. Just start at Relic (1st book in the series) and read the books in consecutive order. I guess I am laying all the groundwork in this review so you do not start with this book. This is not a stand alone!

This book involves Egyptian curses, the prison system and love that turns into revenge and hate!
(Really, that's all that I can say about the plot without ruining book #5 (Brimstone) and #6 (Dance of Death)).

If you want action, suspense along with some creepy factors in a series, go read this series. IÂ’ve enjoyed and loved every book so far! Each book has a great plot, excellent technical and science details along with memorable characters.

I’ve had such a fun time reading these books and damn do they get addicting!2018 buddy-read thriller82 s La Petite Américaine208 1,499

I normally never buy NY Times bestsellers, as it's usually the morons of America that cause the shittiest books ever written to end up on this list. The Book of the Dead was an exception I made. This time American readers got it RIGHT! I just finished this book and I'm still reeling.

This book is the way a thriller/myster should be written. It's full of complex, well-developed characters, it has an evil genius (part Hannibal Lecter, part Sideshow Bob) conspiring to ruin lives, a cooped-up mysterious girl living in a NYC mansion, seduction, explosions, hypnosis, prison escapes, murders, light shows, ancietnt Egyptian curses, a final showdown on a FRICKIN VOLCANO in Italy, AND A BOMBSHELL ENDING! Christ, this book RULES! -- and it's all written in such a fast-paced way that you NEVER get bored. Extra bonuses?

1) You can NEVER predict anything. Any half-wit could have predicted the ending of The Da Vinci Code, and elements of other great thrillers Red Dragon and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo also have predictable parts. Not this one. The writers are too smart for you, and they stay 10 steps ahead at all times.

2) The two main characters KICK ASS. The evil genius isn't just bad, he's a meniachal nut-case that you almost have to admire for his psychotic brilliance. His brother, the equally brilliant FBI agent, gets his ass kicked just enough to make him believable, but not a wussy. ROCK ON.

3) I didn't even know until half way through the book that it's the most recent in a series. They give away nothing about the other books, so I can go back to number one and start reading without knowing what happened. WOOHOO!

4) Most importantly, this book isn't just a story. When a book is just a story, I get driven nuts. Good authors, these ones, include other shit in their books because they're SMART and they know how to keep a reader interested. This book will have you googling shit, looking for places on maps, trying to find out more information about historical figures, downloading classical musicians you'd never ever heard of, and checking up on Oscar Wilde quotes, etc. THIS, to me, is what makes a novel great: elements of intelligence, and not just a stupid story. Think I'm wrong? Uhhh, two words for you: Ken Follet. Here are some more: A.S. Byatt. William Styron. Margaret Atwood. I can keep this up all day.

Anyway, AWESOME READ, am SO going to read this entire series. ROCK AND ROLL!! guilty-pleasures kicked_ass50 s Matthew1,221 9,555

I am marking this 5 stars, but it is more 4.5 stars.

I hate to take any stars from Preston and Child, but, while the book was great, I did not care for the climax very much. The story was an action packed resolution to the Diogenes trilogy in the same vein as the other Pendergast novels that I have come to know and love. I think where the book (and the climax) lost me as it almost felt rushed to resolve both the book and the trilogy.

I am currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo and I saw shades of that in this book. Many elements of the Pendergast prison break seemed almost direct homage to the Dumas classic I think the part mentioned in the spoiler along with some of the various other story lines within were my favorite parts. This might be the first case for P&C where the little stories that are part of the whole were better (for me) than the overall story.

But, even with my minor complaints, this series continues to be awesome, I still highly recommend it, and I cannot wait for the next one!
2017 action-thriller audio ...more44 s Paul Weiss1,333 371

A slam bang finale to a thrilling trilogy!

THE BOOK OF THE DEAD is everything a thriller fan could hope for - a page-turning, unputdownable, thrilling, decadently readable, thoroughly entertaining, slam bang finale to a colourful, imaginative trilogy!

The basic plot premise is simplicity itself! FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast's younger brother Diogenes has announced his plan to execute a mysteriously undefined perfect crime. As a result of intense psychological examination, Pendergast has determined that this crime is to be Diogenes' revenge for a childhood sin perpetrated against his younger brother, the nature of which has been completely suppressed in Pendergast's unconscious memories! The dastardly crime must be prevented at all costs despite Pendergast not knowing even the tiniest detail of Diogenes' actual intentions! The story gallops at breakneck speed from crisis to crisis as the life or death clash between Pendergast and his psychopathic megalomaniacal brother escalates to a thrilling climax but we are privileged to watch it being played out with masterful attention to character building, dialogue, detail, pacing and clever ratcheting or release of tension!

As we have come to expect from their previous work, Preston and Child have once again packed their tale with a dazzling myriad of mini-plots that have afforded them a number of stages from which they could also deliver a series of wildly entertaining and informative lectures - the politics and history of Egyptian archeology; the religious beliefs and burial practices of the ancient Egyptians; the nature of security in a modern maximum security prison built for incorrigible offenders; the logistical details of mounting a world class exhibit in a modern museum; the potential for neurological damage caused by intense light and high volume sound bombardment; the trivia of diamond classification, colour, cut and value; and, arcane details of forensic evidence examination such as the study of knots or cloth; to name only a few examples.

Readers who have observed Pendergast's growing resemblance to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes in the novels which preceded THE BOOK OF THE DEAD will shiver with a frisson of delight at the tumultuous Reichenbach Falls style climax which takes place on the very flanks of Mount Stromboli in Sicily. When Pendergast announced his intentions to retire to a period of solitude and contemplation at a Tibetan monastery, I quietly sent up a short prayer to the writing gods with the fervent hope that Lincoln and Child bring Pendergast back for a 21st century version of THE FINAL PROBLEM! Quiet retirement or beekeeping would not suit Pendergast any better than it did Holmes.

And, by the way, be very, very sure that you read this novel right to the very last sentence ... and what a last sentence it is!

Oh yeah ... did I say that I enjoyed the novel?

Paul Weisssuspense-thriller41 s4 comments Emma2,597 1,000

Usually I really enjoy these novels so I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as much. I didn't think the Event that caused so much hatred between the two brothers was that impressive in terms of the lengths Diogenes went to to destroy his brother. This was definitely the poorest of the Diogenes trilogy.
The next in series is also not popular with fans of the series as it is in a different setting and without the supporting cast so I may give that one a miss.
A tepid contribution to the series. I really hope it picks up again.36 s JamesAuthor 20 books4,027

I've always been a fan of action adventure books where multiple, alternating storylines converge at critical points. If the background tosses in historical fiction, religious secrets, and save-the-world themes, I'm hooked. The Pendergast series written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is no exception, and truthfully, since it's mostly set in New York City, I'm even more enamored with the entire collection. In their 7th book, the third in the Diogenes arc, The Book of the Dead, we have the revival of a Egyptian tomb that when last opened a century ago led to a curse being summoned, plus we have the shocking aftermath of the last book - the imprisonment of our hero, Aloysius Pendergast. What intensity!

Loved it, I have all the previous ones. Every time I pick up the next book, I think... 'oh, 600 pages, that's gonna take a few days.' But I am mesmerized by the attention to detail, fabrication of strange and shocking connections between storylines, and the beauty of the minds of these two authors. Truly, they take simple ideas and toss in a grenade that makes the plot unique and unbelievable, in a good way. Pendergast is hands down the most brilliant man in the world, and I want to be him when I grow up. Wait, I am grown up. Okay, I just want to be him now.

The writing is fantastic. It's not meant to be literary fiction. It's meant to push the envelope on reality, educate readers on history and science, provide laughter and shock value, and it does all these things with ease and shine... perhaps not during the writing process, as it must take them intense collaboration to get everything just perfect. Which they almost always do. I adored this arc, and Diogenes is a horrible yet admirable character - a car wreck you can't take your eyes off of. All in all, this was a fantastic installment. A remarkable 5 stars in many aspects. But... I was disappointed in the ending... not because it wasn't intelligent and powerful... but because it wasn't right for the story.

The climax occurs at the museum, where it should... but without revealing any spoilers, the battle between the brothers did not meet my expectations based on their history. Also, it quickly rushes away from NYC to a hidden island somewhere, and we are so caught up in the Egyptian themes that when we get to this island and try to understand the history and connection, readers are a bit lost. Then it ends with a conclusion to the story, albeit a strange one. Won't spoil more, and I know there's a future piece of this arc from seeing the titles of the books left in the series (another 12) which I will definitely be reading! Yet it left me a bit frustrated, so only 4 stars.1-fiction 3-multi-book-series36 s Shainlock780

The last of the hair-raising Diogenes trilogy within the Pendergast series. I loved this trilogy. It wasnÂ’t easy on the mind and hearts of those attached to the characters in these books. This last one was really a nail-biter and gave me goosebumps. Prepare for several travesties where you are constantly asking yourself what is really going on and wondering if the characters can recover.
Resilience can be found in the strangest of places. If you push a person too far, you just might find out what they are made of. 1001-i-d--to-read 2018 archaeology ...more20 s Terry395 89

Great conclusion to the Diogenes Trilogy within the Pendergast series! Nothing a bombshell ending to make you immediately want to pick up the next book.2018-book-challenge horror thriller24 s Karl Marberger271 61

Another good volume. Lots of action and good dialogue. Great to see the whole ensemble of recurring characters interact.

IÂ’m a little suspicious as to whether or not Diogenes is actually dead.18 s TS Chan755 909

I thoroughly enjoyed these last three instalments, which form the Pendergast-Diogenes trilogy. I do, however, find myself having to suspend my disbelief at times, and wished that the resolution at the end panned out differently. Highly readable, thrilling, and pretty darn hard to put down - I'm sure the rate I've been binge-reading and finishing these books was a sign of how addictive and enjoyable they are. 19 s Gary K Bibliophile272 71

So my first update I put in for this one was
“Big opening night at the New York Museum of Natural History - with a cursed exhibit - everyone will be there - what could go wrong???”

as it had kind of a “The Relic” vibe going for it at that point. Some time later… 48 chapters in actually, here is Laura Hayward’s account
“And now she stood, surveying the crowd, asking herself, What could possibly go wrong?”

Well - obviously I nailed it - haha. Ok Ok - if youÂ’ve read any of Preston & ChildÂ’s stories itÂ’s not too much of a surprise that if something can go wrong - it will. They are pretty good at that particular style of mayhem
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