Co-author Douglas Preston’s employment at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) from 1978 to 1985 provides an insider’s perspective that gives Relic a measure of gritty authenticity. Working as a writer and editor for the museum, Preston gained intimate knowledge of its internal culture, sprawling architecture, and institutional politics, which he later documented in his nonfiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic (1986). This firsthand experience shapes the novel’s richly detailed setting, allowing the authors to move the story beyond the public galleries and into the hidden world of laboratories, specimen vaults, and staff corridors.

The narrative also captures a range of professional rivalries and bureaucratic tensions, critiquing (and occasionally lampooning) the strife that is common among the denizens of large academic institutions. This issue is exemplified by the conflict between the traditionalist Dr. Frock and the marketing-savvy Dr. Cuthbert, who quarrel over the sensationalism of the blockbuster Superstition exhibition. Preston’s familiarity with the museum’s physical layout is also evident in the novel’s descriptions of behind-the-scenes areas like the vast storage collections and the secure area. The depiction of “Broadway”—the museum’s main basement corridor, which is said to be the “longest single hallway in New York City” (32)—further grounds the fictional events in a tangible, real-world space. This foundation lends the novel’s more fantastical elements an air of authenticity.

Specifically, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City exhibits a unique geography that becomes integral to the novel’s plot and atmosphere of suspense. The real museum consists of a massive complex of over 25 interconnected buildings that span four city blocks. Within the world of the novel, this labyrinthine quality creates a claustrophobic environment where danger can lurk around any corner. The authors deliberately leverage the museum’s vast, non-public spaces to create a plausible hiding place for the creature. As the journalist Smithback explains, beneath the museum lies a “warren of abandoned tunnels” and a “huge, multileveled” subbasement, much of which is unmapped and unlit (41). This architectural reality provides a perfect lair for a monster and a sinister maze for the humans who must hunt it. Furthermore, the sheer scale of the museum’s holdings reinforces the theme of hidden secrets. The narrative notes that most of the collection is stored away, with some vaults remaining unopened for decades. This detail fosters a sense that ancient and unknown things lie forgotten within the museum’s walls, making the emergence of a primordial beast feel like an organic extension of the setting itself.