sbookreader's review against another edition

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1.0

Maybe it’s just because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading a physical copy but just I could not involve myself enough to gain some interest in the storyline...

bookrunner's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

the_tomster16's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rwarner's review against another edition

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3.0

Good read--a thriller that incorporates suspense and plotline twists and good vs evil. Not entirely believable, as many thrillers are, but if you're into the thriller genre you'll enjoy it.

organchordsandlightning's review against another edition

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4.0

Less D'Agosta/Pendergast detective work in this one, 7/10.

Mostly kidding! This novel was a good conclusion to the Diogenes trilogy. I felt like there was no way else for it to end than Reichenbach Falls style pushing the dude off of a cliff, and - after what happened to Constance - it felt only fitting that she was the one to do it, especially because Pendergast's moral code would've prevented her from doing so.

The 'if you watch this you immediately turn homicidal and evil' plot point is absolutely nuts and I loved every second of that. It's always a good time when we're back in the New York Museum of Natural History.

Some of the character motivations were a little confusing in this one - I really felt like Constance should not have been swayed by Diogenes so easily, because it's not like she's been kept hidden from all the awful things he's done in the previous two novels. I also feel like, since such a large portion of the book was dedicated to Prison Break Season: Pendergast, it went immediately from 'out of prison --> museum rescue ---> time to kill my brother' at a breakneck pace.

books_for_months's review against another edition

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mysterious

5.0

rumpelteazer's review against another edition

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3.0

The third and last book of the Diogenes Trilogy, or is it?

I can understand why some people didn't like the book, especially those that haven't read the other books in the trilogy (or at least the second one). The books starts slow and it assumes you know what happens previously. The many secondary characters aren't properly introduced introduced in this novel and what has happened in the two previous books is quickly refered to when needed.

The first part deals with Pendergast breaking out of prison. Although slow, I liked this because it was different than other prison break stories since the group uses brains instead of force to get things done. When the story picks up a bit of pace it's still a lot slower than the other books in the series. The Egyptian storyline is interesting and, in the end, interweaved with the main storyline.

From all the books in the series up to now I found this one to have the most unbelievable storyline, considering what has happened before that says something! It isn't as much as what happens, no deformed monsters, but the amount of things that happen during a short time span.

The only two characters who go through some development are agent Pendergast and his ward Constance Greene. The first has to delve into his past to understand what fuels his brother's anger and the latter is forced to move out of the past she has been living in and start to live in the present and think about her future.

What annoyed me is that in the two previous part we have been shown glimpses into the lives of several of the most mysterious secondary characters of the whole series, for instance Pendergast driver/butler Proctor, but these glimpses aren't build upon and developed. Why show us these glimpses if nothing is done with it?

Despite it's sloweness and amount of happenings I still like the book, but the ending was a big disappointment. Everything that has happened in the last two books hinted at a big, climactic ending. An epic battle between Pendergast and his brother Diogenes. Unfortunately this isn't so Diogenes fights with Constance at the top of a volcano, whilst Pendergast tries desperately to reach them and when he finally arrives Diogenes has fallen into the volcano, presumably, to his death. But since both Pendergast and the reader do not witness and Constance is biased towards Diogenes since he made her pregnant I have a sneaky suspicion that Diogenes could make his return in the future.

Of all the Pendergast books, both in the trilogy and the whole series, this is certainly the weakest. For me it wasn't as much the story itself but the ending which I found disappointing.

melanie55's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

monte_cristo's review against another edition

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5.0

This is probably the best of the Pendergast books that I have read up to now! Everything that I mentioned in my reviews of the previous books of the series is applicable here as well. The story is gripping, the book is fun to read and flows so easily. What's not to like! Of course, you need to suspend belief in some places, as it is a bit OTT, but still, I think it's worth the 5/5 stars!
Now, onto the next book of the series..this is seriously addictive.

trisha76's review against another edition

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4.0

FBI-agent Pendergast is een van de meest ontwapenende personages in de misdaadliteratuur. Maar hij heeft een gedreven, dodelijke vijand, die hem al zijn hele leven achtervolgt: zijn levensgevaarlijke, maar geniale broer Diogenes.
Diogenes stuurt het New Yorkse Museum of Natural History haar gestolen juwelencollectie terug... tot stof vermalen.
Om de pr-nachtmerrie te bezweren, besluit het museum de Tombe van Senef te heropenen, een populair artefact tot zijn verzegeling in de jaren dertig van de twintigste eeuw.
De catastrofale gala-opening legt de grondslag voor een even onvermijdelijke als epische eindstrijd tussen de gebroeders Pendergast...
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Eindelijk meer duidelijkheid. Nu komt eindelijk een stuk geschiedenis naar boven dat altijd in de voorgaande boeken onder het oppervlak dreef.
Veel kan ik niet vertellen op dit moment omdat mijn reviews niet erg uitgebreid waren.
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* Douglas Preston geboren in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1956. Preston studeerde af, na verschillende afwijzingen van de Stanford Universiteit.Na zijn opleiding ging hij als editor werken bij het Amerikaanse museum voor Natural History in New York. Hij groeide door als auteur en werd uiteindelijk publicatiemanager. Tevens was hij leraar Non-Fictie aan Princeton. Tijdens zijn werk bij het museum kwam zijn boek "Dinosaurs in the attic" uit. Een non-fictie die door een jonge opkomende editor werd behandeld. Preston gaf deze jonge editor een nachtelijke tour door het museum en het idee van The Relic werd geboren. De jonge editor was Lincoln Child.
In 1986 verhuist Preston naar Santa Fe, waar hij zich volledig richt op het schrijven. In de jaren 90 ontstaat er een hernieuwende samenwerking tussen Preston en Lincoln Child. Samen beginnen ze fictie te schrijven en ze starten met hun eerste idee. The Relic is geboren. Hierna volgden meerdere boeken van hun gezamenlijke hand.In 2000 besluit Preston met zijn gezin naar Italië te verhuizen. Maar komt uiteindelijk weer terug naar de Verenigde Staten.
Naast zijn samenwerking met Child en zijn verschillende solo boeken, schrijft Preston ook voor diverse tijdschriften en is hij lid van verschillende gildes. Daarnaast is hij Doctor of Letters aan Pomona College.
Meer informatie kan je vinden op:
http://www.prestonchild.com/bios/preston/Douglas-Preston;art63,97
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12577.Douglas_Preston

* Lincoln Child werd geboren in Westport, Connecticut. Al op vrij jonge leeftijd was hij in schrijven geïnteresseerd en schreef dan ook al korte verhalen. Child studeert af aan de Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota in Engels. In 1979 gaat hij naar New York om als uitgever te werken. Hij wordt editor assistent bij de St. Martin's Press. In de jaren die volgen klimt Child op in de hierarchische ladder en wordt uiteindelijk in 1984 editor. Tijdens de periode bij St. Martin's Press heeft Child vele genres onder ogen gehad. Daarnaast schreef hij ook verschillende verhalen.
In 1987 maakte hij een overstap naar Metlife. Daar deed hij technische programmering en systeem analyses.
Naast het schrijven van zijn eigen verhalen, ontstond er een samenwerkingsverband tussen Child en Preston waaruit een over de hele wereldberoemde karakter is ontstaand uit een nog spectaculairder serie: De Pendergast-serie.
Meer informatie over Child is te vinden op de onderstaande sites:
http://www.prestonchild.com/authors/child/Author-Bios-Lincoln-Child;art62,96
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11091.Lincoln_Child
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Boekinformatie:
Uitgeverij: Luitingh-Sijthoff
Originele titel: The book of dead
ISBN: 90.245.5790.9
431 pagina's; Paperback