Bonus Content
Douglas Preston Interview
Wyman Ford is featured in Impact, as he was in your last solo book Blasphemy -do you think you’ll continue writing about him, or might your focus turn back to the Broadbents, or to entirely new characters?
DP: I’m working on another Wyman Ford idea. I rather like him. I conceived him as a short, walk-on part in Tyrannosaur Canyon, someone who would be in just a few scenes and that’s it. But he hijacked the story, so to speak, and ended up being one of the key players. And now he won’t go away. He will be involved in another unusual investigation..
On the other hand, I have no doubt the Broadbents will also star in a future novel So keep tuned.
A scary substance called “strange matter” plays a key role in your plot. Is it real, or did you make it up?
DP: It’s real. The physicist Frank Wilczek, who won a Nobel Prize in 2004 for his research into quarks, has worked extensively on the theoretical properties of strange matter (also called quark matter). Some years ago in an article in Scientific American he warned that there might be a slight probability of a powerful particle accelerator creating a strangelet or bit of strange matter that might get stuck in the earth and eventually destroy it.
Your novel starts out jumping between widely-scattered characters who seem as if they could have no connection. Then all the pieces snap neatly together. Do you usually write starting from an outline, or did the connections emerge as you went along?
DP: I work from a general outline. Usually I know where I’m starting, and I know where I’d like to end up, but the journey itself is shrouded in mystery. Writing should be an adventure, not a painting by numbers, and so I avoid starting out with a too-detailed outline.
In the case of IMPACT, I knew from the beginning that the two plotlines would converge in some way. The specifics only came to me as I wrote the book.
There was a lively debate going on our club's website between club members who felt that Blasphemy was offensive to Christians and those who considered it more on the satirical side. Do you think that Impact will get that same kind of response?
DP: Not at all. IMPACT doesn’t delve into questions of religion. There is nothing, I hope, offensive in the book to anyone. It is just a story about two girls who go meteorite hunting after they witness a fall, hoping to sell it on eBay… and find something beyond imagining.
To those who thought Blasphemy was offensive to Christians: I might just point out that the hero of that novel, Wyman Ford, is a devout Catholic who spent several years in a Benedictine monastery. The so-called ‘Christians’ in Blasphemy are anything but. Yes, the novel is satirical but it also contains a serious message. The real blasphemy (as I express in the novel) are those who claim with certainty to know the mind of God and who proceed to inform the rest of us exactly what He thinks.
First Chapter
1
Can you believe it, Bill? I still can't. They told me almost twelve hours ago and I still can't believe it."
"Believe it, sweet thing." William Smithback, Jr., unfolded his lanky limbs, stretched out on the living room couch, then draped one arm over his wife's shoulders. "Any more of that port?"
Nora filled his glass. He held it up to the light, admiring its garnet color. Cost him a hundred bucks–and well worth it. He sipped, exhaled. "You're a rising star at the museum. Just wait. In five years, they'll make you dean of science."
"Don't be silly."
"Nora, this is the third straight year of budget cuts–and here they've given your expedition a green light. That new boss of yours is no fool." Smithback nuzzled Nora's hair. After all this time, he still never failed to find its smell–a touch of cinnamon, a hint of juniper– arousing.
"Just think: next summer, we'll be back in Utah on a dig. That is, if you can get the time off."
"I've got four weeks coming to me. They'll miss me desperately at the Times, but they'll just have to make do." He took another sip, swirled the liquid around in his mouth. "Nora Kelly: expedition number three. You couldn't have asked for a better anniversary present."
Nora glanced at him sardonically. "I thought tonight's dinner was my anniversary present."
"That's right. It was."
"And it was perfect. Thanks."
Smithback winked back. He'd treated Nora to his favorite restaurant, Café des Artistes on West 67th. It was the perfect place for a romantic meal. The soft, seductive lighting; the cozy banquettes; the titillating artwork of Howard Chandler Christy–and then, on top of everything else, the sublime food.
Smithback realized Nora was looking at him. There was a promise, in those eyes and that sly smile, of another anniversary present to come. He kissed her cheek, pulled her closer.
She sighed. "They gave me every dime I asked for."
Smithback mumbled his response. He was content to snuggle with his wife and perform a mental postmortem on the meal he'd just consumed. He'd sharpened his appetite with a brace of dirty martinis, followed by a charcuterie plate. And for a main course he could never resist the steak béarnaise, rare, accompanied by pommes frites and a savory dollop of creamed spinach–and, of course, he'd had a hearty helping of Nora's loin of venison . . .
". . . And you know what that means? I'll be able to complete my analysis of the spread of the Kachina Cult through the Southwest."
"That's fantastic." Dessert had been chocolate fondue for two, accompanied by a plate of delightfully malodorous French cheeses. Smithback let his free hand settle lightly over his stomach.
Nora fell silent and they lay there a moment, satisfied to enjoy each other's company. Smithback stole a glance at his wife. A feeling of contentment settled over him like a blanket. He wasn't a religious man, not exactly; and yet he felt blessed to be here, in a classy apartment in the world's greatest city, holding down the job he'd always dreamed of. And in Nora, he'd found no less than the perfect companion. They'd been through a lot in the years since they'd first met, but the trouble, and the danger, had only served to bring them closer. She was not only beautiful, svelte, gainfully and eagerly employed, immune to nagging, empathetic, intelligent–she'd also proven to be the ideal soul mate. Looking at her, he smiled despite himself. Nora was, quite simply, too good to be true.
From the book CEMETERY DANCE, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Copyright © by Lincoln Child and Splendide Mendax, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Grand Central Publishing, New York, NY. All rights reserved.
Cemetery Dance
Zombies in Manhattan? Impossible. But there’s no denying the evidence captured by a security camera after the brutal murder of William Smithback. There, caught on tape, is the killer fleeing the victim’s Upper West Side apartment, bloody knife still in hand, his face clear as day. It’s an open-and-shut case, except for one thing—the man had committed suicide nearly two weeks before the attacks.
So begins Cemetery Dance, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s eagerly awaited new thriller starring the ever-enigmatic FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast (last seen in The Wheel of Darkness). A close friend of the murder victim, Pendergast is determined to find the killer, so even as Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, he and Vincent D’Agosta team up in their own private—and decidedly unorthodox—quest for the truth. Little does he know that this case could be the most dangerous he’s ever worked. Leading him into Manhattan’s dark underground, it will bring him face-to-face with a secretive Zombie cult that can part the curtain between the living and the dead…a cult that will show him that there are fates that are worse—far worse—than death.
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA ( May 12, 2009 )
Item #: 85-3689
ISBN: 9780446580298
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 1.07 inches
Product Weight: 16.0 ounces
Couldn't put it down...
June 26, 2010
Loved this book so much, I'm buying more from this duo. The book was very fast paced and kept me turning pages well into the night. Worth the read.
Reviewer: A. M
I enjoyed this book
November 08, 2009
I enjoyed reading this book.It's a book that once you start you can't put it down.But I have to say I've enjoyed all of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child books. I can't wait to read the next book.
Reviewer: Deb M
Not overly impressed
October 31, 2009
The book seemed a bit drawn out toward the end. I really didn't enjoy the storyline very much. The story was simply too involved and unrealistic to me. I gave it an "average" rating. It didn't impress me as much as the reviews I read on the book.
Reviewer: Willam A
Fast Read
October 27, 2009
I couldn't read this fast enough, probably because I was looking for Smithback to return in one of those strange, unexpected, and bizarre ways they are so good at writing. So that's what I'll be looking for in their next. C'mon, after all he went through in Cabinet of Curiosities this is just too unfair, and he is also the best charactar next to Pendergast himself.
Reviewer: Annie H
Great Read
October 05, 2009
I really enjoy the Pendergast novels.The story was entertaining and exciting,I hope Preston & Child continue to write more.
Reviewer: Pete
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