Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beat. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D'Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare.
Reliquary (Relic)
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From Publishers Weekly
The netherworld of New York City?its subways, aqueducts, sewers and the homeless who inhabit them?proves as shuddery a setting for the authors' latest scientific monster mash as the American Museum of Natural History did for their bestselling Relic, to which this is the sequel. In the earlier novel, Mbwun, a ferocious creature that seemed part reptile, part human, rampaged through the museum killing people. The sequel, set 18 months after Mbwun was destroyed, opens with a police diver finding the headless bodies of two people apparently killed by underground cannibals. The corpses are sent to the museum's lab for analysis, which brings a number of returnees from Relic?burly homicide cop Vincent D'Agosta, anthropologist Margo Green, New York Post crime reporter Bill Smithback?to the case. They're soon joined by the novels' Sherlock Holmes figure, the irresistibly cool Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI. Forays by these principals into the kingdom of the Mole People (underground homeless), plus some forensic breakthroughs, point to a race of mini-Mbwun at work in an escalating series of savage killings that incite the city's upper crust to civil disobedience. The city's answer, to flood its nether vaults, turns out to threaten a global catastrophe that only Pendergast and company, aided by Navy SEALS, can avert. The story's "surprise" ending makes as much sense as ketchup on popcorn, and the entire novel has a desperate air about it as the authors stuff it with complications and, by pitting the homeless against the swells, try to create a kind of Decapitation of the Vanities. It's high on suspense and tremendous fun in parts, though, especially when exploring the city's nightmare underbelly. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate selections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
The curator of the Natural History Museum rejoins police and the FBI as they attempt to solve horrific murders. A frightening sequel to The Relic, it's a terrific read on its own.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Snow tested his regulator, checked both air valves, ran his hands along the slick neoprene of the suit. Read the first page
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The NYPD harbor patrol during a routine dive to recover a cache of heroin dumped into the Harlem River, snag the headless corpses of two individuals. Through extensive analysis it is determined that one of the bodies is that of a young, beautiful and wealthy Manhattan socialite, Pamela Wisher, who has been missing. The other skeletonized remains appear to be hideously deformed, with thickening and twisting of the lower extremities. The medical examiner immediately calls in Dr. Margo Green, a curator of the Museum of Natural History and Lt. D'Agosta of the NYPD to help in the identification. Before long they are joined by NY Post reporter William Smithback and the cerebral and mysterious Special FBI Agent Pendergast. The cast of heroes that solved the case of the Museum Beast in The Relic is now re-assembled.
Analysis of xray and medical records of the distorted and unidentified corpse soon leads to the discovery that they are the remains of Dr. Greg Kawakita, a brilliant research biologist and former colleague of Margo Green. They cannot however decipher the cause of the skeletal deformities. Simultaneously, it is revealed that there has been a rash of murders involving homeless people who have sought refuge in the deep subterranean levels of railroad and service tunnels beneath Manhattan. With the help of Sgt. Hayward, an expert in homeless underground communities and Pendergast, our heroes recruit the help of Mephisto, the leader of a large group of homeless who live beneath Central Park. From him they learn of the "Wrinklers", denizens of the Devil's Attic, the deepest of underground recesses and a group he feels is responsible for the decapitations of the homeless. There seem to be similarities between the Wrinklers and Mbwun, the half man half reptile Museum Beast who is fond of consuming the hypothalamus of the human brain.
Green and D'Agosta track down the previous whereabouts of Kawakita and find his fire ravaged high tech laboratory. He had been genetically synthesizing the Museum Beast lily, the preferred food of Mbwun. Kawakita had been consuming the lily extract and has transformed into a Mbwun, explaining his deformed skeleton. He had been supplying a group of drug consuming homeless with lily extract. Could he have created a tribe of Museum Beasts who were ravaging the city and perpetrating these sickening beheadings?
Preston and Child proceed to tell a white knuckled, suspenseful tale of the mystery of these heinous murders in their usual superb fashion. Reliquary did not create the bewitching spell of The Relic but was an excellent read nonetheless.
By Workinonit
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A natural sequel to Relic. Again you can picture in your mind, the characters and locations. At times you feel almost as if you are standing there with them. The flow of the book pulls you, wanting you to read more.
By M. R Turner
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I won't give anything away, because it is a damn good read and a worthy sequel. It's just one thing that does it. You'll know it when you get there.
Sorry I can't say more, but... that'd give it away.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, not great
I love the books of these 2 authors and I really liked this one, however it was not there best effort. Read more
Published on Jan 21 2004 by Daniel Vullo
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as STILL LIFE WITH CROWS
I became a Preston/Childs fan after reading STILL LIFE WITH CROWS. I'm still impressed with how simpatico these two guys are. Read more
Published on Jan 19 2004 by Dave Schwinghammer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crichton for Dummies
This is the second book my these authors I have read. Interesting plotline, and characters. Moves fast and keeps you interested. Read more
Published on Aug 29 2003 by Craig Alner
5.0 out of 5 stars
terrific thriller with memorable characters and settings
One imagines there are inherent difficulties in collaborative work, but Preston and Child are so successful that one hopes they've found some mutually satisfying solution, so that... Read more
Published on July 6 2003 by audrey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost as good as RELIC...
Wonderful novel! Just a little short of Relic. The whole mystery unwound a little too early. And something at the ceremony beneath the crystal chandelier gave away the otherwise... Read more
Published on May 14 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Made me sweat, Part II
I have read several works of Preston and Child in the following order: THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, MOUNT DRAGON, RELIC and RELIQUARY. Read more
Published on April 19 2003 by S. M Marson
3.0 out of 5 stars
Where be there monsters?
In the heart of men, as this book shows. Less a monster novel than a straight forward beat-the-clock suspense thriller with some rousing action scenes, readers expecting a return... Read more
Published on Jan 8 2003 by Chadwick H. Saxelid
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this now.
Buy this now. Some other reviewers were dissapointed with the ending, but I was not. (I would agree that Relic is better, but still this is solid reading). Read more
Published on July 15 2002 by scifiman5
2.0 out of 5 stars
VERY disappointed!
For those of you who read Relic and have not yet read Reliquary. It is a sequel of poor quality. I am a huge fan of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. Read more
Published on April 8 2002 by Holly
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy successor
It's hard to write a decent sequel to an excellent book, but RELIQUARY is everything we could expect from the team that gave us RELIC. Read more
Published on Dec 10 2001 by Ravencatt
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