Book Review: Bloodline - James Rollins

Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu—the staff of Jesus Christ—a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for the covert rescue mission into the African jungle—for the woman is no rich tourist; she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, the daughter of the U.S. president.

Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal, one who has been manipulating events throughout history . . . and now challenges the current presidency.

For this sensitive mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning. . . .

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a centuries-old conspiracy to manipulate our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby, one who holds the key to a mystery and whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:

Could you live forever?

Would you live forever?

I read James Rollins books because they are usually Historical mysteries, twined with modern science, and crazy action set pieces. These are his call signs and were seemingly his bread and butter. This is especially true of his Sigma Force series, which I enjoy quite a bit. The core of these volumes is almost ALWAYS the historical mystery, be it Alexander the Great’s tomb, The Nazi experiment called Die Glocke (The Bell), Angkor Wat, Greek Ruins in Northern India or even Celtic tombs in Britain. To me that’s what always makes the adventures of the Sigma Team so fascinating, that above and beyond the modern day science that ties into the past, there is always some nugget of truth to ancient legends or myths and when found and interwoven with the present it made for compelling stories. This is the reason we all like Indiana Jones so much, or guiltily watch ANCIENT ALIENS. As a species we are endlessly entertained by the unexplained in our own history. Link that into a fictional narrative and you will usually have a winner. It’s why fluff like THE DAVINCI CODE did such bananas sales.

Most the Sigma books follow this pattern. And while it is always present, Rollins usually finds a way to change things up to avoid the law of diminishing returns. Be it adding characters, or changing the status quo for returning characters he was quite adept that this. It’s actually a rather fine balance to ride between science and history, and Rollins should be applauded for normally riding it.

Sadly, in his latest Sigma outing BLOODLINE he doesn’t ride it much at all. The book is almost entirely a science / tech / action thriller. The history, when present, is minimal at best. There is mention of the Knights Templar in the prologue, but then nothing for hundreds of pages. There is a relic at play here, but even its screen time is limited and constantly overshadowed by the forward thinking science and tech. It’s as if he decided that the tech and science narrative was more important on its own than couching it within the historical wrapping. Kind of a dismissal of the historical mystery as “besides the point”. At least that’s how it felt to me. Which annoyed me, I’m not going to lie. Seeing as how intricate the previous books have been about tying everything together, BLOODLINE doesn’t even attempt it. So what we are left with is a decidedly well-written, science-tech-action thriller and that’s it.

Add to this the fact that over the last few books the shadowy and evil organization known as the Guild has become more and more of a thorn in Sigma’s side, what we end up with here are a few revelations about the Guild’s beginnings and its current saturation of the higher echelons of human power. While that is interesting, I’m also left kind of wondering if BLOODLINE exists only to be a vehicle for those revelations. Kind of a Guild Mole hunt.

This is not to say that BLOODLINE is a poor book, it’s not by any means. Rollins skill is paramount and he still writes a pace-churning, hour vanishing book that will compel you to finish it. The characters are all here, though some in diminished roles. At points it feels like Too Many Cooks though. There are a lot of characters in this one and sometimes it felt like the need to include them is indulgence at best…but that meant I got to see Monk, and even Jack from the Deep Fathom so I can’t complain. The addition of new cast members Captain Tucker Wayne and his wardog Kane was probably the most shining part of the book for me. They bring more to this book than anyone else and absolutely are the best latest additions to the team. Interesting, and with a depth of character I wasn’t expecting both Tucker and his companion Kane (who actually gets POV sections) snap, crackle and pop off the page. The Gray and Seichan burgeoning love story is getting a bit old now. It’s still good, but we know where it’s headed and it needed to get there a book ago. They will either be totally together, or they will not and she will go the way of Rachel Verona. Either way, let’s just get there. If I have to read one more scene where Gray and Seichan NEARLY…only to have it interrupted by Kowlaski or someone again I’m going to freak out.

Does the historical stuff show up again? Yes. Does it pertain heavily to the story? Nope. In fact the bits about mad science and crazy tech are sort of treated the way that those parts are usually treated. Now, I’m aware that there are only so many old tombs or mysteries that the public knows about…but what about some compelling places and myths that still pepper the planet. Like Mohenjo Daro in India, or how about the mysterious Baalbek in Lebanon itself built upon the ruins of Alexander’s ancient Heliopolis, or how about the underwater pyramids of Yonaguni Jima off the southern coast of Japan, or the Valley of Death in Yakutia, Siberia. There is an absolute plethora of history to plumb in fiction, and to tie into modern day and science the way all his other books have done.

So in conclusion, for one of my favourite author’s to have delivered what can only be construed as a typical science thriller was quite disappointing to me. I was truly expecting something more like the previous Sigma books, but the history was seriously lacking here and that put me right off. Like I said, a very well-written and entertaining book, it’s not like the previous Sigma books much and could actually be a non-sigma thriller starring Sigma operatives.

Two things before I go.

1. For those people who can’t stand silly plot points in books, one in this book that stood straight out at me and said “Howdy, I am implausible” was when a collection of buildings on an island in Dubai was purchased by the bad guys so that if you looked at it on a B&W map (this was illustrated in the book for me) and highlighted the buildings they owned in colour, you’d see a nearly perfect equal armed cross. Wow. Really? So a powerful, evil sect of people (who have stayed hidden for centuries) are going to purchase a bunch of buildings in a row that will form a cross when highlighted together (basically a bright, blinking arrow and sign saying “Bad Guys Here!”)…for what purpose? So their co-conspirators can find the place easier? There is no real purpose for this notion in the book aside from “Look, it forms a cross, how cool!” and it is a HUGE chink in the armor of the narrative as it’s just super silly, and something no smart collective of bad guys would ever do.

2. This is a personal thing that rankled me that other may not have noticed. The back cover synopsis states “Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth…” Being a fan of studying the Crusades and especially the Knights Templar this was so immediately incongruous that I actually had to do a double take and wonder if it was a typographic error. The first Crusade was not begun until 1096, and the Knights Templar would not be formally created by Hughes De Payens and Co. until around 1129-30. There is a notion that perhaps De Payens used a prior existing society that was in France at the time as his basis…but either way no one, French or otherwise would have gone into the Holy Land with or without a force of people and gotten ten feet into any ancient fortress without the existing Islamic peoples finding out and capturing them. Hell, that’s WHY the Crusades were what they were. It took thousands upon thousands of Knights to invade and get anywhere NEAR the relics and ancient ruins they sought. So no, no one went into Galilee in 1025 (which at the time would have been the domain of the Arab Caliphate) and not especially any of the Knights Templar who would not be formed until over a hundred years later. I hope against hope that the 1025 date is a mere typographic error (but a visit to the author’s official site proves that the synopsis exists there as well), but it’s probably not. That makes it kind of a BIG oversight. To posit that the Knights Templar existed a hundred years before they actually did bothered me. Part of the work involved in writing a fiction book that concerns history is to attempt to stay as true (at least to dates) to the reality as possible. I understand that no one knows what the Templar’s had over the Church and what they found in the Holy Land that made them rich and powerful, but the DATES in which they existed are not really meant to be played with if I am to believe the rest of the info presented as “true” or “factual”. Like I said, this might just be me who was bothered by it, but when the facts are so readily available for those events and peoples then I expect more…certainly on the back cover synopsis.

So like I said, a decent thriller, but really low on the totem pole of the Sigma books for me and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really disappointed with it. Will you enjoy it? If you like his books for the thriller, action, science and tech stuff only, then yes you will probably enjoy it immensely. Like I said, it's not a bad book at all, just not the book I expected, and the onus for that result is probably entirely on me. There's lots to love for Rollins' Fans, and personally if I were to give you a reason to read this book, it is the new characters of Tucker Wayne and Kane easily, they are brilliant from their introduction onwards. So, a bit of a middling to negative review here, but please don't let me sway you, give it a go yourself as you might enjoy it a lot (as other reviewers seem to be doing).

Book Review: The Devil Colony by James Rollins

Thrillmaster James Rollins’ latest Sigma Force book THE DEVIL COLONY (2 years in the making) is a strange animal. On the one hand it has all the trappings of a Sigma story. Great action, terrific suspense, and insight into some brand new mysteries! On the other hand, it’s longer (480 pages-ish trade sofcover) with a broader scope and more characters that make our Sigma faves further apart from each other and concerns some mysteries that just aren’t as interesting (to me personally) as previous installments.

Let me ‘splain better.

The book is written with the Rollins-style of breakneck pacing, wonderfully fleshed out characters, intriguing plot twists and all the action packed Hollywood-esque sequences you can handle. The short fiction piece that he released on eBook a few weeks ago THE SKELETON KEY does indeed (as professed) blend right into this narrative (at least where Seichan is directly concerned). The mysteries herein, like the founding of America, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, The Masons, Native American peoples, the Book of Mormon, and nanotechnology are all decent plot notions and fit really well into the Sigma style story. This is the classic Rollins Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style and I usually LOVE that to no end. In a number of chapters I just found myself voraciously reading because of pace, not story… if that makes any sense.

There are a larger number of side characters and plots here and I think that’s one thing that threw me a bit. Usually we have a narrative strand where our Sigma Operatives (Gray, Painter, Monk, Kat, Kowalski ect.) are in one or two disparate places and the two teams usually jive information to solve whatever is happening in the main plot. Here we have them spread a little thinner, and while Gray meets up with Monk on a few occasions for some good times and ANY scene with Painter trying to keep Kowalski from blowing everything up is great, the characters are still further apart from one another. With Kat being preggers, it makes perfect sense for her to be the go-to person hanging out at HQ in D.C., but I can’t help missing her in out in the field. I think that with the non-Sigma sideplots things are blown a little too wide and thus things don’t feel quite as tight, and for me the tension suffered for it.

The only other thing I’ll mention is that the whole founding of America thing is being overdone right now (by various authors) and I don’t think it has as many legs to stand on to be as interesting as stuff like the Seven Ancient Wonders, Angkor Wat and Hindu deities, or even Ancient Greek refugees in India. There is something decidedly global about Sigma usually, and bringing it home to the USA actually just makes it feel a little less exciting (except for the time in Iceland, my fave part of the book actually). That said, PLEASE know that if there is one author who does the “founding of America” story RIGHT…it’s Rollins. If I had to pick from all the authors doing it, I’d pick him no question. The issue being that I’ve read a few books (thriller books) about this topic already is all, so I’ve personally been saturated by it. It makes me wish I’d gotten to read THE DEVIL COLONY first, as I think it might have had a better impact had it been the first of those I’d read instead of the 4th. Still, that’s by no means any reason not to pick it up as most of you folk may be down with that as the mystery bit, and you can ignore my inane ramblings.

Don’t get the wrong idea here though, I still really enjoyed this book and it was totally worth the wait. Everything that works, really works well. All the characters are here how you love them, including my fave Kowalski (Kat was my fave till she decided to have a family instead of action-y bits…booo! Haha!) An especially compelling aspect is Gray having to deal with his father advancing Alzheimer’s and his mother’s inability to cope with it on her own. Since the Pierce family has been involved with us for a while, it’s good to see Rollins paying attention to Gray’s deteriorating father and the subsequent affect it has on him. Having Seichan present during that sequence is a nice touch as we continue to bring her into the Sigma fold. I have more and more respect for her and her back-story with every bit more I get about her past. I’m also one of those people who thought Monk should have bit the big one back when we all thought he did, but I can’t complain about him now as his gruff comments and great sense of humor are always welcome, not to mention he really is a character you can’t not love. He is however, no Kowalski. Kowalski is gold incarnate, a scenery-chewing machine whenever he’s in the frame. Having him here playing off Painter’s serious personality is like a great Laurel & Hardy bit. The side characters (previously unknown) like Hank and Kai, and the Japanese scientists ect. are good, but as far as side characters go I think it’s the Military leader (Ryan?) in the Utah mountains and Sigma geologist Chin who steal the sideshow. There is a sequence in the Utah Mountains that has everything I expect from a Rollins thriller action sequence and I loved every last drop of it.

The Guild (Worldwide secret organization), Sigma’s enemy, are fleshed out a little more but still not fully. There are a few huge reveals in the book about them, but no full unveiling yet. I am not going to lie I was expecting a full reveal in this book as they’ve been dangled for a while, but I’m not utterly disappointed by the lack of one simply because still not knowing DOES add a certain tension to the proceedings.

One thing I’d like to note is that the best part of how Rollins writes these books is that he never reveals too much too early. He never depends his final 100 pages on action alone. Instead he keeps the mystery revelations popping off alongside the breathtaking action finale until the very last page, and in a number of cases the very last LINE of the book is a revelation. That’s key to why I buy this man’s books the day they come out. He is literally unmatched in the genre.

Though I had a few issues with THE DEVIL COLONY, overall it was a very enjoyable read, and one that will give you more of that Sigma adventure you’ve gotten used to. If you like the Sigma books at all, then this one will please you to no end, and I’ve actually heard people say it’s their fave of the series so far as well. My two faves are still MAP OF BONES and THE JUDAS STRAIN, because both of those are like the very pinnacle of action-adventure-historical-scientific-thriller for me, and would be welcome in my ten desert island books easily!

I feel pretty safe in saying that Rollins has another winner on his hands here, and he should be very pleased with it. I only have one favour to ask him, please let it not be another 2 years till the next Sigma Op, as there is some cliff-hangery stuff going on at the end of this one and I need to know what happens!

Book Review: The Skeleton Key (A Short Story Exclusive) by James Rollins

Seichan is ripped out of the Sigma series for an adventure all her own—but can she survive? The beautiful and elusive assassin wakes in a hotel in Paris with a deadly electronic collar fastened to her throat. Joined by a boy who is similarly threatened, she must rescue the son of a hated enemy, who has fallen under the sway of the nefarious leader of an apocalyptic cult. To survive, she must venture into the dark world beneath the City of Lights, into the infamous catacombs of Paris. Caught between two enemies, she must fight for her life…while time ticks down toward a fiery apocalypse. But in the dark, surrounded by the moldering bones of the dead, even success does not equal survival. In the end, the only true hope for the world lies in a stunning act of betrayal.

For me, reading James Rollins novels (especially the Sigma ones) is like sitting down in an easy chair and having someone administer an adrenaline shot directly into my chest. The pace always rockets, the history and technology comes fast and furious, and the characters literally leap from the page into your head.

 Seichan (Is she bad/Is she good-girl) is no exception from that. In fact, she's quite thrilling all on her own!

Rollins latest Sigma book THE DEVIL COLONY is set to drop later this month, and I of course (as I am every summer that his new books come out) am literally salivating to read the next adventure starring Grayson Pierce and the rest of the Sigma crew. Ever since I randomly picked up MAP OF BONES on a whim a number of years ago at the bookstore I have been a huge Rollins fan.

Tying directly into the next book, Rollins has just released a short story starring the aforementioned bad girl/good girl Seichan called THE SKELETON KEY in eBook form exclusively. At the bargain basement price of $0.99, how could I resist downloading it for my Kindle.

I’d say it took me about an hour or so to read it and what a thrilling little story. It’s really nice to see Seichan (a character we don’t know an awful lot about) a little more fleshed out and in the driver’s seat of this particular tale. What I especially like about her is that she has less hesitation about pulling the trigger than some other folk might have. It’s shoot first, ask questions later. I don’t want to make her sound cold though, it’s more that she’s quick and clever. In the situations she gets put into in this story she has to think on her feet, one false move and she’d probably be quite dead. This is a rocket-paced read and one that has a couple of neat little twists and a few unexpected actions. The action itself is set in the Paris Underground and is well executed and totally believable. As with all Rollins work there are aspects of history and technology that pepper the narrative and make things even more interesting. Funnily enough there was just recently an article about the "off-limits" areas of the Paris Underground in an issue of National Geographic which I read, so that helped me to visualize.

All in all a very enjoyable little tale with some cool info, great pacing and dialogue.

Make no mistake though; this is most certainly the opening salvo of the new Sigma book. Seichan’s base reasons for even going to Paris in the first place are what set the entire adventure off and those lead right into THE DEVIL COLONY. So you can actually consider this like a secret pre-prologue prologue and it works really well on that level as well as on its own standalone story level. Rollins has done what a good author does when they write a short story within an established world and written a bit of in-between book information that fits snugly between the last book and the next book.

I really enjoyed this look into Seichan’s head, the racing through underground Paris and (to be quite honest)...the Peugot 508 and its excellent real life Bond-like feature.

Now, I am a total purist. Meaning that even though the short story came with an excerpt from THE DEVIL COLONY I need to resist it. I never read excerpts at the end of mass market paperbacks of the next book in the series, as I’d rather read the entire volume fresh. The issue here is that it’s like trying to resist a particular favourite snack or dessert. I have a fair amount of willpower, but I’m not made of stone either. I have held off so far, but between now and June 21^st I hope I don’t cave.

If you have read the Sigma series up to this point and are looking for a taster to get you going for the new book, look no further than THE SKELETON KEY as it is a thrilling, fast paced and action packed read.

Upcoming: Sigma Book #7 The Devil Colony by James Rollins covert art & synopsis

 Could the founding of America be based on a fundamental lie, one coded in secrets that stretch back to before the birth of Christ, to a mystery buried in the prehistoric past? The truth lies hidden within the ruins of a cursed lost colony of the Americas. A place known only as: THE DEVIL COLONY. During a sweat lodge ceremony in an Indian cave in the Rocky Mountains, a horrible massacre ensues. Bodies are found blistered and burned and purposefully positioned to form two shapes: a five-pointed star and a sickle-shaped moon. One man recognizes the warning behind the gruesome murders: Painter Crowe, director of Sigma. He has seen these two symbols before and knows the deaths were a personal threat - one of the dead is his beloved cousin. From the frozen volcanic peaks of Iceland to the blistering deserts of the American Southwest, from the tombs of dead presidents to the gold vaults of Fort Knox, Painter Crowe joins forces with Commander Grayson Pierce and an unlikely ally - a woman who may have had a hand in the murders - to penetrate the shadowy heart of a dark cabal that has been manipulating American history since the founding of the thirteen colonies. But can he discover the truth - one that could topple governments - before it destroys all he holds dear? Including the woman he loves.


This is probably a bit old news, since this book was meant to come out in August, but I thought I'd post now considering the release date change.

It turns out that James Rollins publisher decided because of their tight release schedule (and I would also expect because they like to release his books in summer as thriller's seem to do very well with vacationing readers) to delay release till summer 2011.

I was pretty bloody excited about this one. I have been a flag-carrying Rollins fanboy for a number of years now. His Sigma series is probably my favourite thriller series and the last couple of books have upped the ante on the tension, thrills and fun. I had many a sleepless night reading those last few.

Basically, Rollins does what Dan Brown does but in all the areas where Brown fails, Rollins succeeds across the board. He makes smart, thrilling adventures that always concern more than one aspect of history and science and he weaves them together in a fashion that makes them nearly impossible to put down.

At any rate, the seventh Sigma book THE DEVIL COLONY is, like I said, due to drop in summer next year and I for one am really excited to get back to our stalwart Sigma operatives.