Reading the novels in a particular order, however, is rarely necessary. We have worked hard to make almost all of our books into stories that can be enjoyed without reading any of the others, with a few exceptions.
Here, then, is our own breakdown of our books.
The Pendergast Novels
Relic
was our first novel, and the first to feature Agent Pendergast, and as such has no antecedents.
Reliquary
is the sequel to
Relic
.
The Cabinet of Curiosities
is our next Pendergast novel, and it stands completely on its own.
Still Life with Crows
is next. It is also a self-contained story (although people curious about Constance Greene will find a little more information here, as well as in
The Cabinet of Curiosities
).
Brimstone
is next, and it is the first novel in what we informally call the Diogenes trilogy. Although it is also self-contained, it does pick up some threads begun in
The Cabinet of Curiosities
.
Dance of Death
is the middle novel of the Diogenes trilogy. While it can be read as a stand-alone book, readers may wish to read
Brimstone
before
Dance of Death
.
The Book of the Dead
is the culminating novel in the Diogenes trilogy. For greatest enjoyment, the reader should read at least
Dance of Death
first.
The Wheel of Darkness
, which you presently hold in your hands, is a stand-alone novel that continues to follow Pendergast and takes place after the events in
The Book of the Dead
.
The Non-Pendergast Novels
We have also written a number of self-contained tales of adventure that do not feature Special Agent Pendergast. They are, by date of publication, Mount Dragon, Riptide, Thunderhead, and The Ice Limit.
Thunderhead
introduces the archaeologist Nora Kelly, who appears in most of the later Pendergast novels.
The Ice Limit
introduces Eli Glinn, who appears in
Dance of Death
and
The Book of the Dead
.
In closing, we want to assure our readers that this note is not intended as some kind of onerous syllabus, but rather as an answer to the question In what order should I read your novels?We feel extraordinarily fortunate that there are people like you who enjoy reading our novels as much as we enjoy writing them.
With our best wishes,
Copyright © 2007 by Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Lincoln Child
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Warner Books
Hachette Book Group USA
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our Web site at
www.HachetteBookGroupUSA.com
.
First eBook Edition: August 2007
ISBN: 0-446-19906-0
1. Pendergast, Aloysius (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Government investigators—Fiction.
3. Americans—Himalaya Mountains—Fiction. 4. Archaeological thefts—Fiction. 5. Monks—
Fiction. 6.
Britannia
(Ship)—Fiction. 7. Ocean liners—Fiction. I. Child, Lincoln. II. Title.
Contents
Acknowledgments
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Epilogue A Word From The Authors
About this Title
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