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: Pendergast Interlude
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed the book, but was also disappointed. I'm a fan of Special Agent Pendergast so I'm pretty happy to tune in just to watch his usual antics. (P.S. Thanks for the shirtless scene, guys. Yum!) But Pendergast and his ward, Constance, seem locked in a stasis for this book when it comes to character development or meaningful conflict. Though Pendergast is theoretically concerned with his ward's mental health, and his efforts in that direction set up the plot, the book drops the ball, and if Pendergast is feeling any fallout himself from his harrowing and excruciatingly personal battle with Diogenes, we don't see it effect the course of events in any meaningful way.
I get that the authors want each book to stand alone, but that's no excuse for zero character arc. Of course it's nice that Agent P. saves the world, but it's just a mental exercise if we can't connect to the characters. Also missing was any acknowledgment the consequences of the Special Agent's single-minded and conscienceless manipulation of others in pursuit of the greater good. While I'm making up a wish list, another thing that would be nice is if he could be thwarted once in a while by his obvious flaws.
SPOILER! A missed opportunity was a point in the book where Pendergast becomes EVIL (!!!) Given how super human the authors have made this character, this could have, and I would argue, should have, been extremely terrifying. Instead, we learn that his big plan, now that he is a being of pure evil, is to hole up in his mansion with a few thousand good books. Which, I find kind of charming actually (see my fangirl confessions above) but still... Also disappointing was that he apparently has no romantic notions whatsoever towards Constance since he displays no sexual interest in her even when freed of all moral and cultural inhibitions. (So sue me! I like a bit of romance, and some sexual menace doesn't go amiss either.) I was so sure that Constance had a crush on her guardian, and that she would be made to painfully confront it.
I'm thinking of this as an entertaining interlude, and hoping that the next book will hit the ground running.
Book Review: Return to Form
Summary: 5 Stars
Wheel of Darkness is the sixth book in the Agent Penderghast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. These books usually move fast...by fast I mean that they usually grip you by the throat around page 50 and never really let go. And while the action is fantastic, the books are built around this crazy character named Agent Penderghast -- the ingenuity of McGyver, the social pretentiousness of Higgens, and the kick-assery of an Indiana Jones.
After six books, they're also predictable. Especially the last two. There's usually a HUGE cast of characters (most of which will be slaughtered), an ancient evil (that can usually be explained at the end like Scooby Doo), and of course, Agent Penderghast.
While I had enjoyed the other books in the series (several of them ranking among my favorites), after the last two books, I was worried that perhaps they had become too predictable (and therefore losing their ability to amaze).
Wheel of Darkness put those fears at ease. It moves fast and never really lets go. Predictable? Yes, but it didn't matter. Like a `then there was one' horror movie, knowing that everyone is going to die doesn't really matter.
In this one, their chase takes them on the Britannia, the world's largest ocean liner on its maiden voyage. On board are the richest (and most pathetic) human beings on the planet, Penderghast, a murderer, and an ancient evil artifact.
Now, I know that by the end of the book, half the passengers will be dead (especially the rich ones), the murderer will get his comeuppance, the ocean liner will probably be at the bottom of the sea...and Agent Penderghast will be just fine.
But did it matter that I knew all this? Nope, not one bit. Hate to use the cliche, but this is a roller coaster book. Loved it. Finished it in two days. Now I have to wait a year for the next book in the series...
Ryan McFadden
Author of 'Women of the Apocalypse'
[...]
Women of the Apocalypse
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: Review from a newcomer to Preston-Child's books.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've seen this series of books for years but never felt compelled to buy one, I'm somewhat resistant to the "ongoing saga" type of novels. I found this one at a yard sale for a quarter, so I figured what the heck. I guess I got my money's worth. It was entertaining in a light brain-candy way.
Here are my problems with the book. The character of Pendergast seems way over the top - how can he know and excel at EVERYTHING? His name alone makes me roll my eyes, and is one reason I hadn't read any of this series. His ward Constance seems to exist solely to get into danger.
The story: It's a series of gigantic plot contrivances cobbled together and dropped onto the deck of the ocean liner. Why would someone steal something so powerful and precious, and then spend the better part of a week making his getaway on an ocean liner? It's no easier to sneak stolen objects onto a ship - they use the same security procedures as commercial aircraft. Well, except for the Britannia, of course, even though much time is spent describing the unbreachable anti-terrorist safeguards built into the ship. The safeguards are only there to be used as a contrivance to create the "runaway ship" scenario. Ridiculous - the huge and complex propulsion systems on an ocean liner cannot be sealed in a bombproof vault. They require extensive ongoing maintenance by the engine crew. As for the sealed bridge - if a man could scoot out on a rail to see the captain through the windows, could not those same windows have been broken to gain access?
Well, there are plenty more, but I will finish by saying that the book serves as light reading at best, and probably would be best enjoyed as an audiobook during a long drive, where you only have give half of your attention to the story.
Book Review: Pendergast Saves the Human Race
Summary: 5 Stars
Like all Preston and Child novels, The Wheel of Darkness takes the reader on an ever-escalating adventure, provides surprising twists, exhibits stellar writing skill, and elicits periodic trips to the dictionary. This book takes us on a wild ride on a new luxury liner through a North Atlantic storm as the passengers are beset with daily murders, runaway navigational technology, deranged captains, a dot.com mogul involved in mind-bending meditation, and a smoky demon-ghost. Yet the story is rooted at a remote Tibetan monastery, and serves another installment in the Pendergast series. The amazing FBI agent performs endless tasks of investigative brilliance, but needs last-minute help from a surprising source to save the liner from ruin.
The characters are vivid and memorable, the scenes (apparently) well researched, and some of the murders disgustingly gruesome. It is difficult to glean whether the authors have any viewpoint on the variety of Tibetan Buddhism they portray, or only borrow it to tell an adventure story. This is not the first book by these authors that strains credulity, but we know this was by design to create a fantasy as well as a good crime story with scientific accuracy.
Yes, it is escape literature at its best. I could divine no moral or message; no real higher purpose at all. But the book succeeds very well at what it is created to be - a fast-paced, exciting, intriguing, vivid, challenging, unique, and entertaining reading experience. Preston and Child books provide excellent examples to aspiring writers of how to tell a compelling story using a writing style that is seamless, invisible, and professional, allowing the action and suspense to command full attention.