The series doesn’t have an official title, it’s usually referred to by the main character’s name- Pendergast. The authors are Preston and Child. This particular book is in a separate series in the same ‘verse; the main characters are an archaeologist and a rookie FBI agent, both of whom were established in the main series.

If you like techno-thriller/mystery adventures, the books are very entertaining, especially early on. The writing is generally pretty engrossing, the pacing is brisk, and the primary protagonist, Pendergast, is a terrific enigma of a character. Over the course of a couple dozen novels you go from knowing virtually nothing about him to knowing quite a bit about him, but still feeling like you know almost nothing about him.

Despite my dissatisfaction with this book, I encourage anyone who is interested in the genre to give the series a try. Start with ‘Relic’ and ‘Reliquary’ and go from there.