Review: City of Endless Night

City of Endless Night by Douglas Preston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so perhaps this book doesn't quite reach the heights of a few of the more recent Pendergast thrillers, but it's more on a level with The Obsidian Chamber - not exactly perfect, and a little slow at times. But at least it dispenses with some of Obsidian's more outlandish and silly plot elements in favor of a more straightforward mystery closer to the vein of White Fire. Not really as world-class as that book was, but it's a good exercise in keeping the reader on their toes the whole time. Maybe we could've done without the whole subplot involving the priest trying to fancy himself the second coming of Savonarola with his burning, because it was more of an unnecessary distraction than anything else. But the main mystery subplot is unpredictable and wild and nothing short of Preston and Child at their best, even if only for two thirds of the book instead of the whole thing. Here's hoping that the next Pendergast novel gets back up to White Fire or Crimson Shore levels of awesome, but for now, City of Endless Night is a more than serviceable return to the world of our favorite alien-looking hypocrite lecteur.

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