Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
FBI Special Agent Pendergast is taking a break from work to take Constance on a whirlwind Grand Tour, hoping to give her closure and a sense of the world that she's missed. They head to Tibet, where Pendergast intensively trained in martial arts and spiritual studies. At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen. As a favor, Pendergast agrees to track and recover the relic. A twisting trail of bloodshed leads Pendergast and Constance to the maiden voyage of the Britannia, the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner---and to an Atlantic crossing fraught with terror.

Rating : - Comic Book Quality
THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS is the 7th Pendergast novel following:

RELIC
RELIQUARY
STILL LIFE WITH CROWS
BRIMESTONE
DANCE OF DEATH
THE BOOK OF THE DEAD

Preston and Child have a rare quality in their writing skill - they can draw the reader away from his/her reading chair and transport him/her into the novel. Although parts of this novel reflect their writing craft, the authors fail in the totality of their effort. In the 6 other Pendergast novels, the authors transport the reader to other places for the entirety of the reading experience. WHEELS OF DARKNESS has its moments but not with the regularity of their other works.

I've spent a great deal of my time attempting to understand why WHEELS OF DARKNESS doesn't offer the same quality as their other work. I think I have the answer, in their other works; the authors are able to pull the reader into accepting a highly implausible (or impossible) storyline as being a scientific reality. WHEELS OF DARKNESS has more of a comic book quality. The authors cannot stretch the implausibility as being close to probable. At the end, they offer a feeble attempt to include a scientific dimension - but it is too late.

Two last points: First, the authors contend that these seven novels can stand alone. This is incorrect. They must be read in order and, frankly, I think the publisher should offer a warning label. For example, Pendergast in WHEELS OF DARKNESS will not make sense without first understanding his personality structure. The reader needs to know his past to comprehend his actions. STILL LIFE WITH CROWS offers the best illustration of Pendergast's personality development. Second, although WHEELS OF DARKNESS represents the weakest of the Pendergast novels, it is still better than most of storylines currently available.