Extraction

I've not been a reader of short stories in the past, but after recently purchasing a Kindle (PaperWhite) I've started to try a few stories from my favorite authors, and Preston and Child are pretty much at the top of the list. Their series of books featuring the character of Aloysius Pendergast has been superb, so I decided to give Extraction a try.As this story begins, Pendergast is with his "ward" Constance, and his old friend Monsieur Bertin (someone I don't recognize from any of the previous Pendergast novels, but maybe I've overlooked him before now). They are in the library of his mansion in New York City, waiting for dinner to be served. A comment from Constance regarding the need to prepare the pasta "al dente - to the tooth", reminds Pendergast of an experience from his childhood. It involves his brother, Diogenes, and Pendergast is initially reluctant to talk about it. But after some prompting he does tell the story, and we are taken back to the French Quarter of New Orleans and a tale involving the tooth fairy, of all things, with Pendergast at age nine and Diogenes having just turned six years of age.Rather than leaving a newly lost tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy, children in their neighborhood know that they must wait for the next full moon and then leave the tooth in a vessel on the porch of the neighbor - Old Dufour - who they referred to as the tooth fairy. But rather than receiving a coin in return, the motive was different - the children know that if they don't give Old Dufour the tooth, then "he would come to your house in the middle of the night, and... take it".Pendergast, much wiser and more assertive at nine years that Diogenes at six, thinks this is all ridiculous, and when Diogenes loses a tooth he stops him from leaving it with Old Dufour. Instead, he throws it away. Diogenes is frantic with fear, and soon disappears. And then they find out what the consequences are of failing to comply with the long-standing deal with their neighborhood devil, Old Dufour.Pendergast's father also makes a brief appearance in the story, and the details of Pendergast's childhood life are fascinating and provide a small window into the upbringing that led to the person we know from the main Preston & Child novels.This is a really good, self-contained story, one that is completely consistent with the style of the previous Pendergast novels, and it is very enjoyable. I don't agree with complaints that the story was too short. I found it to be a very satisfactory length, and although more is always better this was a very acceptable value for my 99 cents.(And by the way, the feature of the Kindle where you can highlight a word and immediately see the definition - that is great for stories such as this one! Now I can quickly learn what exactly "Bertin is certainly an edacious fellow" means, and I can add "obeah" to my vocabulary of terms for obscure voodoo practices! Priceless!).

This was a fun and interesting read. We don't often get a look back at Pendergast's past. This story was great because we actually got to see the agent as a child. His fears and attitudes were very reminiscient of the man he will grow to be but also the "tooth fairy" of this story was very unseen and frightening. I can't wait to read Two Graves to continue this adventure and have the questions left answered.

I own all Preston & Child books. I LOVED this short story.I think ebooks are a great invention, but I do wish ebooks were also available in print. Print is easier on people with certain ‘visual disabilities’. I have MS. Unfortunately my eyes are occasionally one of the more frustrating side effects for me, it’s usually only my left eye. It’s called Optic Neuritis, I get stabbing pain, blurred vision, dim vision, loss of color vision and the words ‘float around’ on the pages like a kaleidoscope. The Kaleidoscope effect (that’s what call it, I don’t remember the correct term) is worse than the blurry and miss colored issues. Some words, or partial sentences, twirling right, some twirling left, they twirl over top of each other. It intensifies my vertigo, and my migraines. The tablets and my iPhone are worse than print works when this happens. Sometimes I believe the tablet actually brings it on.My mom is 100% blind in one eye, NO colors, lights or shadows. Her actual eyeball may need to be removed, guess it’s not on common for an eyeball to start deteriorating when it doesn’t work. (I think It’s so weird sometimes how our bodies work) Her losses vision in her one eye happened just before she was considered a senior citizen. It’s been very hard for her to adjust to this change, so late in her lifetime. My mom just got a kindle Paper White (I believe that’s what she called it) she said she isn’t so sure it’s really any better. She reads a book with her glasses on and a super high powered magnifying glass. It’s most likely the glare from the screen onto the magnifying glass that is causing ebooks, electronic reading, to be so hard on her. They seem to be more likely to give her a headache, sometimes even migraines, than printed novels and stories do.

I've been a fan of Special Agent Pendergast for quite some time now and that is why I went for the 99 cent short story. I just needed a quick 'Pendergast' fix. Story was okay, not great; mainly because I know from prior readings what a head case his brother Diogenes was (covered in a previous arc). Preston & Childs are great authors though and the purpose of this little gem was to whet our appetites for the next long anticipated release of a S. A. Pendergast novel! Sorry for the 3 stars guys, but I know there is a 5 star release coming down the pike. Absolutely worth the buck though.

Aced it again enjoyed reading it , only rated it a 3 as it was a short story and I didn't want it to end☺

A typical Preston & Child book: alway a bit beyond reality but nevertheless a 100% page-turner. Highyl recommended. Could just be a bit longer by - let's say - 200 pages.

It was quite short but then it does say it's short!It is the story of Pendergast and his younger brother, growing up in New Orleans and focuses around the fabled Tooth Fairy..... But this is no ordinary tooth fairy, oh no!If you're a fan of the Pendergast series then, most likely, you'll enjoy this. If you're curious about the Pendergast series but haven't try them yet, start yourself off with Extraction.

A really nice short story. It doesn't add something really important to Pandergast's story or to his brother Diogenes' one, but it's very enjoyable and once again underlines all the deepens of Aloysius character and his psychological complexity. It reminded me some Lovercraft's works.

Se trata de un relato corto, que cuenta una historia de la infancia de Aloysius y Diogenes Pendergast, personajes habituales de las novelas de estos autores. Entretenido y macabro, como es habitual en ellos, pierde bastante si no se conocen los hechos de las novelas anteriores.Recomendado sólo para fans de las novelas de la saga Pendergast.