A Month of Literary Gratitude, Day 7 - The Pendergast Stories, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Monday, November 7, 2016

The Pendergast Series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, are thrillers written around an FBI Agent named Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast. 


There are currently sixteen books in this series, and I've read them all. Pendergast is a complex character, and the first in the series, Relic, is the best thriller I've ever read, bar none.* The thing that makes these stories so compelling is not only the interesting history of Pendergast, but the history of his family and friends, as well. These are all complex people, with their own stories to tell. 

A number of books ago, Preston and Child ended up pushing Pendergast into Gary Stu territory, which annoyed me. But they did a course correction, showing a bit more of his vulnerabilities, and the stories are better for it.

Again, these are not profound, or educational, or moving. They're good thrillers, with a touch of the supernatural, and I'm always anxious to start the next one. I've gotten hours and hours of entertainment out of them.

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*The movie was abominable. Don't waste your time.

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