The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast)
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
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Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln ChildEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-28
ISBN: 0446580287
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Product features:
- Pendergast
- Douglas Preston
- Lincoln Child
- Constance
- Britannia
Book Reviews of The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast)
Book Review: This isn't a bad book, but it's not up to the quality I'm used to from these guys.
Summary: 3 Stars
"Wheel of Darkness" is the 9th collaborative effort by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child that features FBI Special Agent Pendergast, an incredibly wealthy Special Agent who possesses a supreme IQ and the habit of investigating unusual cases, frequently dealing with the "supernatural." It is designed as a standalone novel, and should be fairly easy to follow for those new to the characters, however if you want to read the books in order, you should follow the order below. At the least it will help somewhat to have read the "Pendergast Trilogy" (the last three books) to understand Pendergast and Constance a bit more.
The Relic (Pendergast, Book 1)
Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2)
The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3
Still Life with Crows (Pendergast, Book 4)
Brimstone (Pendergast, Book 5)
Dance of Death
The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, Book 7)
"Wheel of Darkness" takes place very shortly after the events from The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, Book 7). Pendergast has taken Constance to a monastery for additional training. He learns that an object has been stolen that will cause the destruction of the world, then proceeds to track it down on a cruise ship. "Wheel of Darkness" was just slightly above mediocre in my opinion. It wasn't a bad novel, but it certainly wasn't on par with any of the previous Pendergast novels. I would say only 1/3 of the book actually focused on Pendergast, and the rest involved member's of the ship's crew. The book reminded me a lot of the movie "Speed 2: Cruise Control," and I think it could have actually been re-written without Pendergast entirely and still maintained much of the plot. Pendergast's ward, Constance, is involved just as much as Pendergast, but her character goes nowhere, and with the exception of the first few pages and the last paragraph, her character experiences zero development.
One of the big problems I had is that Pendergast is a bit uncharacteristic in this novel, and we see a weakness to him that doesn't really match up with previous novels. There's only one part of the book, when Pendergast is trying to thwart some card counters in a casino, where we see the character we've come to know, confident and exuding perfection and intelligence. We have maybe 5 or 6 real chapters on Pendergast, a couple on Constance, and the rest of the narrative deals with the ship's crew trying to stop a problem on the ship. I did find this somewhat interesting, but not nearly as interesting as some of the previous thrillers by Lincoln and Child, and especially not after the incredibly exploits and action that appeared in the previous three novels.
Ultimately, "Wheel of Darkness" is a lot like I would expect from one of those books written by ghost writers after the main author has died, yet they continue to use his name (ala Robert Ludlum). It is a fairly short read and is interesting, but the novel doesn't contain a lot of the intelligent writing that usually separate Preston/Child books from the typical thriller novels you see in airport bookstores. I found the main source of conflict in the book to be a little far-reaching and not as interesting as previous villains. The scientific explanation for it at the end of the book was even more far-fetched and I didn't really buy it. I would encourage first time Preston/Child readers to skip this book and start with an earlier novel. Pendergast fans probably won't be very disappointed with "Wheel of Darkness," but don't expect to be blown away.
Summary of The Wheel of Darkness (Special Agent Pendergast)
FBI Special Agent Pendergast is taking a break from work to take Constance on a whirlwind Grand Tour, hoping to give her closure and a sense of the world that she's missed. They head to Tibet, where Pendergast intensively trained in martial arts and spiritual studies. At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen. As a favor, Pendergast agrees to track and recover the relic. A twisting trail of bloodshed leads Pendergast and Constance to the maiden voyage of the Britannia, the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner---and to an Atlantic crossing fraught with terror.Literature & Fiction Books
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