Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Reliquary

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Reliquary

Monika says:

RELIQUARY is the long awaited inevitable sequel of RELIC. Almost two years ago a previously unknown being was hunted down at the Museum of Natural History in New York after if wreaked havoc among the visitors and employees of the museum. Back then the carcass was confiscated and everything was kept under wraps. Now the killings seem to have started again. Oddly mutilated bodies are found in the subway tunnels of New York.

RELIQUARY suffers from the same sequel syndrom that already seized Michael Crichton's THE LOST WORLD. It seems to be very difficult to keep up the quality of the original in a sequel. Compared with RELIC the sequel takes a considerably long time to get to the point. Whereas in part one the reader is drawn in by strange events right from the beginning part two starts like any banal mystery.

Two dead bodies are pulled out of the Hudson River, nothing special in New York City. Only after a few chapters it is revealed that the bodies show odd bone anomalies. Those who remember the epilogue of RELIC and expect another encounter with biologist Gregory Kawakita will be disappointed - at least for the moment. However, the FBI calls in Margo Green, meanwhile doctor of anthropology, to help with the investigation.

Whether you prefer mystery or science fiction with more or less unrealistic elements is a matter of taste. Who liked the science fiction elements in RELIC will be disappointed by RELIQUARY, because the mystery elements prevail. The scene is once more unusual, but not as appealing as the big Museum of Natural History. The ending may be a surprise, but left me with the impression that the authors were simply unable to come up with something original. Too bad. A lot of potential has gone to waste.

Not a complete failure, but there was more to the story. Sequel haters should avoid this book. But if you (like me) always want to know how a story you liked may continue you can spend some pleasant hours with this book - if you don't expect too much.

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Reliquary
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., New York (1997)