Bloodless (Agent Pendergast Series, 20)

I've been reading the Pendergast books for many years and some are excellent and a few average. Unlike other people reviewing this book, I can accept that there was a creature and time travel as part of this story. After all, the series began with Relic and has probably veered away from that to appeal to wider audiences. However, SPOILER ALERT, it's the scenes where Pendergast travels to the lair of the creatures that are just plain crazy. It's like a deus ex machina where the authors had no idea how to really end this because they'd created a foe too powerful. And the time paradox it would have created wasn't resolved as if the creature was killed before it travelled to our world, how could there have been all that destruction or any deaths to begin with? Apart from that, it's a good story and goes back a bit to the series roots. But the ending doesn't fill me with a lot of hope for book 21 if it focuses on more time travel.

I am a fan of Pendergast novels. This one did not disappoint.

It is extremely difficult to write an understandable review without disclosing information which would ruin reading this on your own. If you have enjoyed prior novels in this series where paranormal elements were in large measure the focus you may love this tale. If however you have found that the paranormal elements detract from what would otherwise be a great tale then you will hate this one at about 75% into the book. The D.B. Cooper hijacking is given a novel if unbelievable resolution. That part is remarkably clever. The being who is the murderer is where I thought the paranormal worked to diminish the plot. It just went a few too many steps into the ridiculous. As always ancillary characters are well developed and interesting. For the most part the story line develops smoothly and at a rate which keeps your attention without getting bogged down in superfluous details. This time there is a cliffhanger as regards Constance, Pendergast's ward. I am sure the a subsequent entry in the series will continue to develop what happens to her as she attempts to rewrite history. I also had the Audible version and was able to listen as well. The narrator does a good job in giving characters unique voices, even though a few are less than pleasing to the ear. The reporters and the Senator have a bombastic voice which is as unlikable as their character. It actually serves.to make you dislike those characters even more. Without question if you have been a fan of the series you will enjoy this entry. If how ever you have not read earlier entries, you may be at a bit of a loss as so much of the books by this point depend on your familiarity with the ongoing narrative history. Overall the uniqueness of the story makes this a book I would definitely recommend. The authors are highly skilled word smiths who manage to keep your interest even when you question their decision to make the culprit a bit too far fetched.

As usual Preston and Child deliver the thrills. Filled with the supporting characters with their own sublots adds to the main case. Very engaging reading and I finished this quick read in 2 days. One problem with my copy of the book( a misprint) when I got to page 278 instead of going to page 279 it went back to page it jumped to 247 to 278. Then it picked up at 279. Anyone else get a copy like that?

In this book Agent Pendergast, his "ward" Constance and his relatively new sidekick Agent Coldmoon get diverted from their latest cast to Savannah Georgia. They do so to solve a small series of vampiric murders. It's perfectly suited for Pendergast. Overall the book is fun. But it deviates a bit from the way they're normally written. Pendergast books typically stretch the limit of scientific reality for a good story. Past plots included monsters that were just scientific mutations, artwork designed to cause malevolent psychological reactions in viewers, and evil geniuses that were borderline too genius to believe. All things that mimicked but weren't actually magic; mostly plausible science fiction. This one goes off the rails to near implausibility using theoretical science for a plot device It also has a conclusion that is as over the top as the end of the first Ghostbusters movie and kind of fun if you like mayhem. I'll just say that Savannah Georgia doesn't come out of it unscathed. It also meanders a bit. Some of the side characters get more spotlight and background than they need. Coldmoon bitches about getting sidetracked to Savannah a little too much. Being paired with Pendergast almost cost him his life two books ago. But Pendergast isn't a bad person to work with. He's secretive and eccentric but he's not one of those abusive super geniuses like, say Dr. House MD or some iterations of Sherlock Holmes. The book also resolves Constance's story arc in an interesting if implausible way. I won't spoil too much but I will state she doesn't die but she does leverage a device that really shouldn't have been available to leverage to make her own way. And it's possible she may have a spin off series of her own. Which would be awesome, actually. Constance and Pendergast compliment each other in the stories but at the same time kind of detract from the stories themselves. At the same time, minus a few trademark moves, Pendergast is a little more Pendergast in this book than he has been in a while. Overall I found the book enjoyable.