Book Review - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's The Book of the Dead

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have stated that they write every one of their Agent Pendergast novels to stand alone, but their newest work, The Book of the Dead could be called the third book in a trilogy that started with Brimstone, continued through Dance of Death, and now ends.

I have read every one of Preston and Child's Pendergast novels, starting with their first collaboration, The Relic. The whole series has been a wild ride that I never want to stop. In each novel, Agent Pendergast and his diverse mixture of friends investigate the unexplained.

The Book of the Dead is no exception. The New York Museum is about to reopen an Egyptian exhibit that was closed in the 20's for fear of a curse. Meanwhile, Pendergast's evil brother, Diogenes is back and causing havoc (the tie-in that makes it part of a trilogy). When people begin dieing and going mad the pieces of a well developed evil plot all fall into place.

The Book of the Dead, like all of the Pendergast novels are genre bending. One moment they can be horror, the next mystery, and the next science fiction. All of the genres are written with expert hands. The science is well researched and the characters are very well developed. If you have never read a Preston and Child novel I would recommend that you start with The Relic, yet The Book of the Dead works well as a stand alone novel or Brimstone would also be a good place to start.

Wherever you decide to jump on, be prepared for an edge of your seat page turner.