supernatural

In spring 2009, my mom and I went on a roadtrip to Arizona. On our way there we listened to the audiobook of Tyrannosaur Canyon and on our way back we listened to the audiobook of Blasphemy both by Douglas Preston and both appropriately set in the southwest. Both stories were excellent so as soon as we were back home, I looked for more Preston books at the library.

There I came across an extensive series coauthored by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child about an FBI Special Agent Pendergast and his unusual investigations. There are currently 10 novels featuring Pendergast and at least 7 more supporting novels that feature other characters from the series but in which Pendergast does not make an appearance himself (Tyrannosaur Canyon and Blasphemy are among those supporting novels).

Each page turner mystery contains perfect proportions of science and supernatural, history and urban legend, and elegance and gore. Navajo skinwalkers (a variation of werewolf in my opinion), abandoned private rail stations deep under New York City, Egyptian curses, buried pirate treasure, and life prolonging secret elixirs are just a few of the fantastical elements that have me hooked on the series.

The Pendergast series starts with Relic, Pendergast becomes the main character in my favorite of the series so far: The Cabinet of Curiosities, and the latest in the series and my current read is Fever Dream.

So my question is, why doesn’t this excellent series have the same obsessive popularity of Dan Brown, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Harry Potter, or Twilight? I think the answer is that Hollywood long ago blew the movie. Relic was butchered as a b-rate horror film in 1997. The movie version titled The Relic killed off a character that would’ve been essential to make the sequel Reliquary and Pendergast’s character was mushed together with New York police detective D’Agosta who are both distinct and essential separate characters in the rest of the series.

Whatever you do don’t watch the movie The Relic, but do start reading the Pendergast books.

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