Relicby Layla LawlorReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 7 You may remember the movie The Relic from a few years ago. Then again, you may not. Don't worry, you're probably better off that way. The Relic was a creature-feature that appeared and disappeared, sinking without a ripple beneath the notice of the summer 1997 movie-going audience — the sort of movie that makes me wonder why, with such a huge script for explosions and fake blood, they couldn't spend just a little bit more on a scriptwriter who could write.Luckily the book is much, much better. It's not award-winning by any means, but the plot is solid and the suspense scenes in the book (which is, after all, the point of a book of this sort) are very well written, exciting, and have enough twists and turns to keep you guessing about what's going to happen next. The initial setup is standard fare for the creepy-things-chasing-people-in-the-dark genre. Actually, the introductory sequence is so over-the-top that it's quite amusing — intentionally, I hope. Two archaeologists (Whittlesey and Crocker) penetrate deep into the Amazon rainforest in search of the origins behind a local Indian myth about a demonic force of evil that lives on the plateau in the midst of the rainforest. This would be Mistake No. 1. They proceed to find a strange artifact in a hut lined with human skulls and (as any reasonable person would do — at least one who's been hit in the head repeatedly as a child) decide to take it with them, despite the attempts of the locals to tell them not to do so. Mistake No. 2. Crocker goes for a short walk after telling Whittlesey that he needs to be alone (Mistake No. 3) and, naturally, never comes back. Whittlesey asks his faithful guide to carry back his crate of artifacts and wait for him in the nearest town, while he goes looking for Crocker ... alone. Yes, yes. We all know this chapter is going to end with such immortal words as "... and they were never seen again" or better yet, "... the last thing he heard was the sound of his own screams". Not quite in so many words, but this is more or less the case, followed by accounts of mysterious murders that seem to follow that crate around as it makes its slow way to (drum roll) the United States. Specifically, it ends up at the New York Museum of Natural History, where people start to inexplicably disappear ... or, worse, disappear and reappear in lots of pieces. You could probably skip the first few chapters without noticing any difference. At least, so it seems at first. As the plot starts to unfold, you'll begin to realize that there was more going on in the opening scene than met the eye. I kept finding myself flipping back to try to pick up on clues and see what I'd missed. As the book goes on, it gets better and better. It continues to fall rather flat in the character development department; most of the characters possess one or at the most two personality traits, coupled in most cases with an irritating habit or two (such as "fastidiously tidy" or "always smokes cigars") that is presumably supposed to make them seem more human, but actually just made me want to choke the life out of them. Fortunately the main character (an assistant curator at the museum, Margo Green) is well-rounded enough to be interesting and likeable — she's smart and brave, but human as well, and not too dumb about sticking her head around dark corners. (At least, she usually has a good reason for it.) As the bodies pile up and the police are no closer to finding an answer, the Museum moves towards the grand opening of its Superstition exhibit, the centerpiece of which is, of course, the artifact from the Amazon rainforest. Without giving away too much of the plot, I'll just say that this book has some very well-crafted twists; if you think you can guess where it's going by the first chapter, the third or the tenth, you are most likely incorrect. Definitely a must-read if you like the suspense and thriller genre. Written: May 18, 2002
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