ndoenowu's review against another edition
5.0
favorite so far
Despite more animals dying this has been my favorite in the series by far! Glad I read Nora’s side book before this one, it actually made sense to me and felt more close to home because of now Bill and Nora met
Despite more animals dying this has been my favorite in the series by far! Glad I read Nora’s side book before this one, it actually made sense to me and felt more close to home because of now Bill and Nora met
dsheffield206's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
rwarner's review against another edition
4.0
The authors can absolutely weave a tale that draws you in. If you're a stickler for plausibility, you'll probably want to pass. If you enjoy interesting thrill stories that are written well, have new twists, and keep you guessing, you'll enjoy this.
organchordsandlightning's review against another edition
4.0
RIP Bill Smithback, totally thought you were going back at the end as one final twist. It felt almost surreal that they took out a character that was there from Book 1 - but honestly, the differences between Margo Green and Nora Kelly are so small that it felt like having the whole gang back together again anyway.
A pretty strong entry in the Pendergast series; I always prefer when we're back in New York. There were some Reliquary vibes with the protests, and I have to say that I liked what I thought was a throw-away gag (ooo, look at the so-called vegan eating lamb!) ended up being the crux of the issue.
Sometimes it's hard to say that there are things I dislike about specific books in the Pendergast series, because to a degree you get to a point while reading that I just end up taking the book in stride. There were two things that stuck out: poor Nora Kelly gets attacked in almost every chapter she's in (except the chapter where she gets kidnapped!), and it was so funny to me that after the last book - where, if we'll all recall, evil smoke monster comes out of an evil mandala and turns people evil - the takeaway point for this novel was 'don't be nuts. They're not ACTUAL zombies. Don't be silly'. Evil ghost monster? Fine. Zombies as we understand them? Too far.
A pretty strong entry in the Pendergast series; I always prefer when we're back in New York. There were some Reliquary vibes with the protests, and I have to say that I liked what I thought was a throw-away gag (ooo, look at the so-called vegan eating lamb!) ended up being the crux of the issue.
Sometimes it's hard to say that there are things I dislike about specific books in the Pendergast series, because to a degree you get to a point while reading that I just end up taking the book in stride. There were two things that stuck out: poor Nora Kelly gets attacked in almost every chapter she's in (except the chapter where she gets kidnapped!), and it was so funny to me that after the last book - where, if we'll all recall, evil smoke monster comes out of an evil mandala and turns people evil - the takeaway point for this novel was 'don't be nuts. They're not ACTUAL zombies. Don't be silly'. Evil ghost monster? Fine. Zombies as we understand them? Too far.
afisher121's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
rumpelteazer's review against another edition
4.0
After four books in the Pendergast series to focus mainly on main character Special Agent Pendergast it's nice go back to basics so to speak. Unlike the previous books in the series Cemetery Dance is very similar to Relic and Reliquary.
Something strange is wandering through New York, maybe it's paranormal maybe it's something else. Pendergast takes on the case with Vinnie D'Agosta. A lot of other, familiar characters are back too although some only for a very short time.
Although the set-up of the story is very similar to the first three books it's a refreshing read after the Diogenes trilogy and Wheel of Darkness. Interestingly, no reference is made to what happened at the end of Wheel of Darkness, which was supposed to have changed Pendergast forever. This change isn't noticable in Cemetery Dance.
This isn't, however, a book for people who haven't read any of the other Pendergast books. The characters aren't really introduced and I can imagine it would be very confusing for new readers.
Something strange is wandering through New York, maybe it's paranormal maybe it's something else. Pendergast takes on the case with Vinnie D'Agosta. A lot of other, familiar characters are back too although some only for a very short time.
Although the set-up of the story is very similar to the first three books it's a refreshing read after the Diogenes trilogy and Wheel of Darkness. Interestingly, no reference is made to what happened at the end of Wheel of Darkness, which was supposed to have changed Pendergast forever. This change isn't noticable in Cemetery Dance.
This isn't, however, a book for people who haven't read any of the other Pendergast books. The characters aren't really introduced and I can imagine it would be very confusing for new readers.
monte_cristo's review against another edition
4.0
Seriously, this Pendergast series books are getting better and better. This is the 9th book of the series and it makes for some seriously fun reading. As with all the books so far, this was easy reading, but the writing was always good. There’s lots of good adventure, mystery, mixed with a good dose of really cool characters.
Highly recommended (as of course with all the rest of the books of the series so far!).
Highly recommended (as of course with all the rest of the books of the series so far!).
weaselweader's review against another edition
3.0
More horror than suspense thriller!
William Smithback, investigative reporter from the New York Times, and Nora Kelly, an anthropologist from the New York Museum of Natural History are celebrating their first anniversary in their Manhattan apartment when Smithback is attacked, brutally stabbed and murdered. The open and shut evidence - multiple eyewitness accounts, including several neighbours, the apartment doorman and even Nora Kelly, a survivor of the attack, plus unequivocal video tape evidence from the apartment's security cameras - make the conviction of Colin Fearing, an out of work British actor, a slum dunk done deal as soon as he is captured by Laura Hayward, the homicide investigator in charge of the case. Unfortunately, FBI Special Agent Pendergast and his NYPD sidekick, Lt Vincent D'Agosta, working somewhat outside of the normal investigative procedures, soon discover that all is not quite as it seems. Fearing is dead and buried, having drowned in the Hudson River two weeks earlier.
In order to verify his death, Pendergast and D'Agosta immediately apply for an exhumation order for Fearing's body. Not only do they discover that Fearing's body is missing but it has been replaced by a bizarre fetish that seems to have its origins in Obeah, a shamanistic religion with similarities to Voodoo or Santeria frequently associated with both benign and, sometimes, much darker malign magic. With the NYPD's hopes for a quick conclusion having disappeared with the morning mist on the Hudson River, Pendergast's investigations lead down much darker avenues. The CEO of a software database firm who had sent threatening letters to Smithback as a result of a disturbing article that he wrote for the Times, comes under investigation. D'Agosta is shocked to discover that the CEO is also the owner of a priceless collection of West African art that has its origins in West African Obeah. Further investigations lead Hayward, D'Agosta and Pendergast to a secretive cult hidden in a deeply forested, almost forgotten corner of Manhattan that dates back to the origins of New England.
When one considers the chronology of these two authors and examines their most recent novels, Terminal Freeze and Blasphemy, readers will begin to imagine that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are moving away from the pure suspense thriller genre and are now much closer to the domain of pure horror and the paranormal. As D'Agosta and Pendergast fought their way through a veritable maze of zombies, animal sacrifices and cult high priests in Cemetery Dance, I raised my eyebrows on any number of occasions thinking that the story was definitely going over the top and the melodrama was perhaps beyond what I was willing to bear.
I'll give them credit. They closed the story and tied it all up with explanations that were at least possible in a real world that didn't bring back bodies from the dead to murder the living. Plausibility, on the other hand, is an entirely different question that Preston and Child didn't seem to consider it necessary to even pay lip service to. Four stars for the continuing ability to write in such an exciting way that I still feel compelled to finish the darn novel! Two stars for the lapse into unbearably overwritten melodrama! We'll average it out at three stars and add the proviso that another one like Cemetery Dance will probably put paid to my desire to read continuing titles in the Preston and Child canon. At least I can reminisce about the glory days of Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities.
A lukewarm recommendation (for the time being).
Paul Weiss
William Smithback, investigative reporter from the New York Times, and Nora Kelly, an anthropologist from the New York Museum of Natural History are celebrating their first anniversary in their Manhattan apartment when Smithback is attacked, brutally stabbed and murdered. The open and shut evidence - multiple eyewitness accounts, including several neighbours, the apartment doorman and even Nora Kelly, a survivor of the attack, plus unequivocal video tape evidence from the apartment's security cameras - make the conviction of Colin Fearing, an out of work British actor, a slum dunk done deal as soon as he is captured by Laura Hayward, the homicide investigator in charge of the case. Unfortunately, FBI Special Agent Pendergast and his NYPD sidekick, Lt Vincent D'Agosta, working somewhat outside of the normal investigative procedures, soon discover that all is not quite as it seems. Fearing is dead and buried, having drowned in the Hudson River two weeks earlier.
In order to verify his death, Pendergast and D'Agosta immediately apply for an exhumation order for Fearing's body. Not only do they discover that Fearing's body is missing but it has been replaced by a bizarre fetish that seems to have its origins in Obeah, a shamanistic religion with similarities to Voodoo or Santeria frequently associated with both benign and, sometimes, much darker malign magic. With the NYPD's hopes for a quick conclusion having disappeared with the morning mist on the Hudson River, Pendergast's investigations lead down much darker avenues. The CEO of a software database firm who had sent threatening letters to Smithback as a result of a disturbing article that he wrote for the Times, comes under investigation. D'Agosta is shocked to discover that the CEO is also the owner of a priceless collection of West African art that has its origins in West African Obeah. Further investigations lead Hayward, D'Agosta and Pendergast to a secretive cult hidden in a deeply forested, almost forgotten corner of Manhattan that dates back to the origins of New England.
When one considers the chronology of these two authors and examines their most recent novels, Terminal Freeze and Blasphemy, readers will begin to imagine that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are moving away from the pure suspense thriller genre and are now much closer to the domain of pure horror and the paranormal. As D'Agosta and Pendergast fought their way through a veritable maze of zombies, animal sacrifices and cult high priests in Cemetery Dance, I raised my eyebrows on any number of occasions thinking that the story was definitely going over the top and the melodrama was perhaps beyond what I was willing to bear.
I'll give them credit. They closed the story and tied it all up with explanations that were at least possible in a real world that didn't bring back bodies from the dead to murder the living. Plausibility, on the other hand, is an entirely different question that Preston and Child didn't seem to consider it necessary to even pay lip service to. Four stars for the continuing ability to write in such an exciting way that I still feel compelled to finish the darn novel! Two stars for the lapse into unbearably overwritten melodrama! We'll average it out at three stars and add the proviso that another one like Cemetery Dance will probably put paid to my desire to read continuing titles in the Preston and Child canon. At least I can reminisce about the glory days of Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities.
A lukewarm recommendation (for the time being).
Paul Weiss
hoosgracie's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable mystery featuring the usual supernatural aspects. Pendergast continues to be one of my favorite characters.