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The Wheel of Darkness is the eighth book in the Agent Pendergast series. It was published by Grand Central Publishing (then Warner Books) and released on August 28, 2007, debuting at its peak of #2 on the New York Times Best Seller list. It is the twelfth collaborative full-length Preston-Child novel, and the last to be published under the Warner Books banner.

Plot Summary[]

A luxury ocean liner on its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic, awash in wealth and decadence...An ancient Tibetan box, its contents unknown, sealed with a terrifying warning...An FBI agent destined to confront what he fears most—himself...

-Publisher's synopsis

This novel picks up shortly following the events depicted in The Book of the Dead.

Agent Pendergast and his ward, Constance Greene, are studying in Tibet with Buddhist monks; they are recuperating from the events depicted in the novel The Book of the Dead. An artifact is stolen from the monastery, and the monks ask if Pendergast can retrieve it. Pendergast pursues the thief and artifact through China, Rome, and London. He finds that the original thief was killed and the artifact stolen by someone else. He and Constance track the killer to a new luxury ocean liner, the Britannia which is headed to New York City.

Aboard the ship, Pendergast quickly eliminates all but a few possible suspects. He coerces the ships' guards to help him in exchange for helping them stop cheaters at the casino on the ship. The killer is murdering random people on the ship and everyone is panicking. There is also a mysterious shadow thing being sighted and causing inevitable panic. The captain refuses to go to the nearest port, which creates more problems.

Fearing the loss of a life over the loss of profit, the crew mutinies and puts a female commander in charge. Pendergast locates the artifact's thief. However, he actually looks at it and undergoes a mental change. It brings out his "evil side"; where he doesn't care about anyone but himself and he thinks that humans are pathetic and should be cleansed. Meanwhile, the new captain has tricked the crew out of the bridge and locked it down. She aims for 'Carrion Rock', a land mass that will easily sink the ship. It is later revealed she herself had looked at the artifact and had decided to kill everyone on board as revenge for not being promoted to what she believes is her rightful position.

The crew plead for mercy from the old captain; he has the codes needed to unlock the ship. He leaves them to their fate. The shadow thing is revealed to be a Tulpa or thought form, established by the mental energy from the passenger that possesses the stolen artifact. It attacks Pendergast as ordered, intended to drain from him all who he is and most of his body mass. Pendergast retreats into the carefully structured order of his own mind. Deep inside, he converses with a simulacrum of his deceased brother, Diogenes. He encourages the agent to fight back. Pendergast does so, sending the being on a course against those who had viewed the artifact. In the course of this, it burns away the evil influence it has on him. It attacks the ship's captain killing her; she manages to open the bridge door before she dies. The crew steers away from Carrion Rock saving the ship's survivors; previous maneuvers had left about 150 due to damage. It is then revealed that this was an elaborate plan of the monks to find the reincarnation of the 'leader' of the temple. They reveal a prophecy that the guardian of the 'leader' will bring the artifact back to them after it has been stolen. The 'leader' turns out to be Constance's child (from when Diogenes seduced her) which she did not abort even though she had planned to

Returning Characters[]

New Characters[]

  • Monk Tsering
  • Jordan Ambrose (Stealer of the Agozyn)
  • Commodore Cutter (Britannia's Captain)
  • Roger Mayles (Britannia Director)
  • Carol Mason (Britannia's Staff Captain)
  • Patrick Kemper (Britannia's Chief Security Officer)
  • Gordan LeSeur (Britannia's First Officer)
  • Gavin Bruce (Aberdeen Bank Director & Ex-Navy)
  • Emily Dahlberg (Client of Gavin Bruce)
  • Niles Welch (Aberdeen Bank Representative)
  • Quentin Sharp (Aberdeen Bank Representative)
  • Marya Kazulin (Pendergast and Constance's Ship Maid)
  • Scott Blackburn (Internet Mogul)

Locations[]

  • Tibet - Gsalrig Chongg Monastary
  • Venice, Italy
  • London, Englad
  • St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada

Timeline[]

  • When Constance and Pendergast arrive at the Tibetan Monestary, it is presumably End of winter/Spring, they stay for two months When Pendergast is set out on his mission
  • It is Summer when they return to the Tibetan Monastery

Notes[]

  • 5 People looked upon Agozyn - Pendergast, Blackburn, Mason, Ambrose and Juanita, all died aside from Pendergast
  • Pendergast sees Diogenes while under the spell of the Agozyn and fighting with the Tulpa, it is much like a Memory Crossing he has later where he will see him again
  • A yoyng girl says that Michael Buble is playing on the cruise
  • there is an actor named Brad Wiley, on the cruise to show his new horror movie "The Vivisector"
  • This is the first Audiobook narrated by Rene Auberjonois, Scott Brick narrated before him and narrated Cemetery Dance after this. After Cemetety Dance though, Auberjonois took over as Audiobook narrator

Character Deaths[]

  • Body Count: 150+

150 people were said to have died in the destruction of the Britannia ship, as well as 1000 injured.

  • 1 Person was killed by Scott Blackburn
  • 4 People were Killed murdered by Carol Mason, and she is responsible for all accidental deaths on board of the ship and injuries
  • 3 people were killed by The Agozyn /Tulpa - One Commited suicide, the others were killed by the Tulpa Monster

Notable Deaths:[]

Jordan Ambrose, Gavin Bruce, Roger Mayles, Carol Mason, Scott Blackburn, Niles Welch, Gavin Bruce, Lie and Crowley

Antagonists[]

  • Scott Blackburn (Dead)
  • Carol Mason (Dead)
  • Agozyn/Tulpa
  • Pendergast (after seeing the Agozyn)
  • Commodore Cutter

Errors[]

  • Not once do the characters check the security camera footage to see who is doing the killings, they use them several times, to see on the bridge, and to see in the casino.
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