Deep Fathom

by James Rollins
454 pgs

I've been a pretty big fan of James Rollins' Sigma Force series for many years. Each book in the series (which come out every year like clockwork) is a fun, fast-paced, check-your-sense-of-realism-at-page-one thriller that offers hours of entertainment. But before he launched the series, he wrote a handful of stand-alone books--Deep Fathom is one of those.

The book begins on the day of the first solar eclipse of the new millennium. Ex-Navy SEAL, Jack Kirkland and his salvage ship "Deep Fathom" are somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, searching for an old sunken Japanese ship, which was purported to have been carrying millions of dollars' worth of gold bricks when it sank. Jack and his team are  hoping to find the ship and claim the salvage. He's able to locate the ship with the use of a small submersible, but just when he reaches the gold, an underwater earthquake triggers a large volcanic eruption and Jack has to flee to the surface before his sub can be destroyed.

The earthquake, which turns out to be only one of many deadly disasters which occurred at the same time around the Pacific, occurred right at the time of the solar eclipse, and the Deep Fathom is soon sent to search the site of an airplane crash nearby, another casualty during the eclipse. When Jack gets his ship to the site, he learns that the plane that went down was Air Force One, which crashed with the President on board.

Deep Fathom is a decent book. Rollins keeps things moving along at a pretty quick pace, and he keeps it pretty interesting throughout. But having read the many books he's written since, it's clear he was still honing his writing skills. The characters are pretty one-dimensional and the dialogue (which I think to this day he needs some more practice on) leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, I started reading his books with the later ones. I think if this was the first of his books I read, I might not have been interested enough to continue reading his others.

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Crucible

by James Rollins
461 pgs  (Sigma series #14)

In Crucible, James Rollins's latest Sigma Force novel, Gray and Monk return to Monk's house late on Christmas Eve to find the house in disarray, Kat, Monk's wife, comatose from a blow to the head, and Monk's two daughters along with Gray's pregnant companion Seichan missing. With the help of Painter Crowe and their resources at DARPA, they quickly learn that the those responsible are also tied to the deaths of five women in Portugal the same night, women who were the leaders of a network of scientists funding groundbreaking advancements in AI (artificial intelligence) technology.

The Sigma team must simultaneously search for their team's loved ones, make heart-wrenching decisions as the extent of Kat's injury becomes clearer, and stop a group determined to use AI to send the world back to where it was hundreds of years ago.

Crucible is a fun and action-packed read. Rollins delivers what I've come to hope for and expect with his books. I turn off my sense of realism and just go along for the ride. There are definitely a few over-the-top elements to the story, but Rollins has become pretty adept at describing those and incorporating them int his stories in such a way that they almost seem plausible.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Demon Crown

by James Rollins
441 pgs  (Sigma series #13)

Buried beneath the National Mall in Washington D.C. is a cache of bones preserved in amber. They were hidden there by a group of scientists, led by Alexander Graham Bell, in an attempt to protect the world from a threat that could potentially destroy most of the life on the planet. But this is a James Rollins book, so nothing stays buried forever.

Sigma Force commander Grayson Pierce and Seichan have been trying to stay off the grid and enjoy some quality time together in Hawaii when a swarm of massive wasps, with stings that can quickly incapacitate grown men appears off the coast. Pierce and Seichan barely escape with their lives, but many on the beach do not.

Painter Crowe marshals the entire Sigma Force team as they try to discover the origins of this new species of wasp and the identity of the group that unleashed them on the world. They also must find a way to destroy the species before it’s able to spread throughout the world and take countless lives.

Once again Rollins does what he does best. He incorporates cutting-edge technology, with action-packed sequences and tells an unbelievable story firmly rooted in reality. Buckle up, enjoy the ride, and consider bringing along an EpiPen.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

War Hawk

by James Rollins & Grant Blackwood
368 pgs  (Tucker Wayne series #2)

War Hawk is the second time James Rollins and Grant Blackwood have collaborated on their series featuring former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his K-9 partner Kane. As the book begins, the two are traveling through Montana, relaxing and getting used to being stateside again when trouble keeps managing to find them. The first time they find themselves having to disarm a group of thugs intent on harassing the Middle Eastern owner and operator of a gas station.

Tucker and Kane make short work of the group, but later that night more serious trouble finds them when a woman from Tucker’s past tracks them down needing help. Jane Sabatello, a former Army Ranger Intelligence Analyst who now works for the Defense Intelligence Agency tells Tucker how she believes someone is trying to kill her. Jane tells Tucker that a friend and former team member she worked with had disappeared recently, and how while investigating her disappearance she discovered that several people who had worked on the same project had either gone missing as well, or had died accidentally in recent months. Tucker is the last person she trusts and she knows he has resources and skills that could not only protect her, but that could help her uncover why members of her team are being eliminated.

What the two discover is a plot that involves some of the most powerful people in the U.S. government and which began in World War II and involved the genius mathematician Alan Turing.

War Hawk features all of the aspects you’d expect to have in a James Rollins book. It’s a thriller densely composed of action-packed sequences and state-of-the-art military technology. But for me the best aspect of the book is Kane. Kane is a fascinating character, regardless of the fact that he’s a dog. I can’t say I was a big fan of the occasional section of the book told from Kane’s perspective (Dean Koontz did the same thing a couple of times, and it’s one of the reasons I no longer read his books). But Rollins more than makes up for those sections by shining a light on army dogs and just how remarkable dogs like Kane truly are. The authors clearly have a deep appreciation for these dogs that serve our country and it’d be impossible for someone not to feel the same way after reading either book in this series.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Seventh Plague

by James Rollins
425 pgs  (Sigma series #12)

In his latest Sigma Force book, James Rollins unleashes a biblical plague in the modern world. It begins  when Professor Harold McCabe, who has spent his entire career trying to find archaeological evidence of the plagues mentioned in Exodus, stumbles out of the Sudanese desert and dies before he can tell his story. It appears that someone had begun the mummification process on Professor McCabe before he died, and when those who performed his autopsy soon become ill, Painter Crowe and his team at Sigma Force are called in to discover the cause of the illness and to try to prevent it from spreading.

It wouldn’t be a James Rollins book though, if things were as simple as trying to prevent a few people from dying of a new disease. He doesn’t write a book that doesn’t bring the world’s population perilously close to annihilation. The pathogen which is discovered is airborne and highly-contagious, and as Crowe, Gray, Monk, and the rest of the team soon realize, this might not be the first time it was unleashed on the world. They trace its origin back to a vial of red water collected from the Nile River thousands of years ago…right around the time the Bible says the river was turned to blood.

I’m starting to consider Rollins’ books one of my guilty pleasures. I know they’re over-the-top with their plots and usually require a suspension of belief, but they’re always interesting and fun. They combine historical fiction with outlandish cutting-edge technology and then mix in some addictive action sequences. They’re summer reads which consistently deliver, and this one is no exception.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Bone Labyrinth

by James Rollins
471 pgs  (Sigma series #11)

Having read the previous 10 books in James Rollins' Sigma series, I know what I'm getting when I pick one of them up. The backstory is going to have something to do with a long-forgotten ancient myth or curse; one that has surfaced again and threatens to destroy the planet in modern times. The elite group of highly-intelligent, highly-skilled, and superbly-equipped government operatives known as Sigma Force will be called upon to save the day. The action will be over the top, the sex scene will make my eyes roll (and not in a good way), and I will finish the book with a smile on my face and ready for the next one to come out.

In The Bone Labyrinth Rollins starts with the premise that tens of thousands of years ago, some Neanderthals mated with homo sapiens and produced a highly-intelligent offspring--the ancestors of modern man. He then takes us to Rome, in 1969, and reveals the existence of a map that could reveal the location of Adam and Eve's bones. Then it's on to current day and a research facility in Atlanta, where Maria Crandall, a geneticist, is doing remarkable work with a hybrid gorilla named Baako. Baako is extremely intelligent and can speak fluent sign language.

The action begins when Maria and Baako are kidnapped by Chinese forces and taken back to a research facility in Beijing. The Chinese--in true Chinese fashion--are close to creating a race of superhumans, but need to unlock the mysteries behind why human intelligence increased so dramatically all those thousands of years ago.

Part of me feels like I should be embarrassed to admit to reading books like these. But I'm not. I'm owning my guilty pleasure. I like this series. There's nothing wrong with checking your brain at the door and suspending disbelief occasionally while you read a story that's just fun and exiting. The Bone Labyrinth is a worthy addition to the series. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to picking up The Seventh Plague next month.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The 6th Extinction

by James Rollins
427 pgs  (Sigma series #10)

Ten books into the series and Rollins' Sigma books haven't slowed down, or even taken a breath. The 6th Extinction begins at Yosemite National Park with an underground research base going up in flames. Jenna Beck, a Park Ranger, and her dog Nikko arrive on the scene just in time to see a black helicopter taking off from the scene and a fog emanating from the charred ruins--a fog that kills every living thing it touches. When Jenna and Nikko flee the scene to escape the fog, they're attacked by armed men from the same helicopter and barely escape.

Painter Crowe and his team at Sigma Forces soon become aware of the incident at Yosemite and quickly discover the nature of the fog now spreading throughout the area and it's potentially global consequences. It's up to Painter, Pierce, and the rest of the Sigma Force crew to stop it and those behind it before the earth experiences its sixth extinction.

Rollins does one thing very well, he moves his plot along rapidly. Not much time is spent on character development. But that's not really a priority when most of the characters have been around now for 10 books. He's more concerned with pulling you in to the story and making you want to read late into the night to see what happens next. He knows what he's doing and he's consistent in his delivery. The whole series is a lot of fun, even if sometimes it gets a little too over the top with the action, science, and repeated near-death escapes by the members of Sigma.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Kill Switch

by James Rollins & Grant Blackwood
388 pgs  (Tucker Wayne series #1)

Sigma has a couple new weapons in its arsenal: Tucker Wayne, a former army ranger and his military-trained dog Kane. In The Kill Switch the two are called upon to help extract a Russian scientist who holds in his brain a secret that has the potential to end world hunger or to destroy the world altogether, depending on how it's used. It's up to Tucker and Kane to ensure that those who would use it for the latter, never gain access to him.

The Kill Switch is pretty similar to Rollins' other books. There's a secret that's been hidden from the world for centuries that comes to light and threatens to destroy the earth or a significant percentage of is occupants. There are twists and turns to spare, and Sigma saves the day at the end. I'm not disparaging Rollins' pattern for success. I've enjoyed all of his books and am sure I'll enjoy many more to come. I know what I'm going to get when I start one of his books, and that's exactly the way I prefer it with him.

What I'm not crazy about is this disappointing trend many authors have joined of starting to co-authoring their stories. Tom Clancy did it, Clive Cussler does it, and don't get me started on James Patterson. I don't have any issues with authors who team up and truly write a book together--like Preston and Child. What I can't stand is when an author has the idea for the book, but turns the writing of the book over to a lesser-know author--who writes it, and then gets his or her name on the cover, but in a significantly smaller font than their more widely known "co-author." I really hope that that's not the practice Rollins has taken up here with Grant Blackwood and in Blood Canticle books written with Rebecca Cantrell. If it is, then I'll have misspoken earlier when I said I'd be reading many more of his books in the future.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Eye of God

by James Rollins
432 pgs  (Sigma series #9)

The Eye of God is the latest in James Rollins' highly-imaginative Sigma Force series. The usual cast of characters is back, and once again the fate of the world lies in the balance . . . this time the end is in four days.

The book begins around 450 A.D. at the deathbed of Attila the Hun. Then it jumps forward to modern times with a Roman priest who has come to possess an ancient artifact along with a book--bound in human skin, which together reveal that the end of the world will begin in less than 100 hours. Meanwhile a satellite crashes in Mongolia, but not before transmitting an image showing the cities of Boston and New York, along with Washington D.C. laying in ruins. Rollins' books always contain an element of suspended disbelief, and here it is in this book--the image was taken in the very near future. With the prophecy and the satellite image lining up, Painter Crowe and the team at Sigma have very little time to put the pieces of the puzzle together and save the world.

One thing that can definitely be said about Rollins and his books--they're consistent. His books invariably involve some ancient mystery or artifact. One that once brought out of obscurity promises to reshape or destroy life on earth as we know it. The Sigma team will always utilize cutting-edge technology at their disposal to intervene without a moment to spare, just before the planets align or the countdown reaches "00 00 00."

But included with that consistency is a story that's always exciting and is sure to suck you in. My brain knows that what I'm reading is not just implausible, but impossible when I'm reading Rollins' books. But I really don't care at the time. They're fun, and they're exactly what I want to find when I read them and what I'm hoping for when there's a new one coming out.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Bloodline

by James Rollins
(Sigma series #8)

In Bloodline Rollins finally unveils the forces behind the Guild, the mysterious agency that Sigma has been up against ever since Rollins began his series.

Off the Horn of Africa Somali pirates hijack a yacht and take a pregnant woman hostage. But it's not merely a random act of piracy taking place. The pirates are being used by the Guild in order to acquire the the unborn child, the grandson of the President of the United States. The child represents the culmination of hundreds of years of research and experimentation that the Guild has undergone in order to achieve something ancient artifacts have promised was possible: immortality.

All of the the usual cast of characters are back for this one, along with a couple of very notable additions, former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his military war dog Kane. These two are welcome additions to the series and I'm looking forward to more books featuring them going forward. The insight that Rollins provided into the training and the capabilities of military war dogs was fascinating and was one of my favorite aspects of the book. The story is exactly what you can expect from Rollins. It's quick moving and highly entertaining. As always, there's always an element of the far-fetched. But that's part of the appeal of the books to me. Rollins writes each of his Sigma books so that they could be enjoyed even if you've never read any of the others. But I'd really recommend starting at the beginning of the series in order understand the backstory behind each of the characters and to get the most enjoyment from each of the books.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Devil Colony

by James Rollins
(Sigma series #7)

I look forward to reading all of James Rollins's books once he announces them. But when I read on his blog that his latest was going to reveal a secret about the founding of our country, a secret tied to the Book of Mormon, the anticipation level went up a few notches for me. As an LDS person, and one who has read the Book of Mormon numerous times, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of what Rollins might try to do.

The adventure begins in the Uintah Mountains of Eastern Utah, where two Native American teenagers are searching for a cave, a cave they've been warned against entering by the elders of their tribe. What they find in that cave sets off an explosion, but it's a unique explosion, one that gets the attention of Painter Crowe and the others working for Sigma - a covert division of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and one that sets off a chain reaction that could end life on earth as we know it.

Now, let me give my opinion about the ties to the Book of Mormon and the beliefs of the LDS church that are described in the book. The belief of members of the LDS Church is that the Book of Mormon is a record of the ancestors of the Native Americans who were themselves descendants of one of the lost ten tribes of Israel and who left Jerusalem approximately 600 B.C.. In The Devil Colony, part of the historical aspect of the book centers around a tribe of "pale skinned" Indians who came from the East, who kept records on golden plates in a writing that has its roots in the Hebrew language, and who possessed some sort of magical power that scared the other tribes and ultimately led to their being killed off.

In the book, Rollins explains that there are two different sets of beliefs within the LDS church. One is the belief that all those currently referred to as Native Americans are descendants of those Israelites whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon. He tells how DNA testing of these tribes has thus far shown that that isn't the case, instead tying their lineage to Asia. But he also describes the more current set of beliefs among many, including myself, and that is that the people and events contained in the Book of Mormon, represent only a small and possibly isolated portion of the Americas.

To his credit, Rollins obviously did his research on the what the Book of Mormon is and how it came about. He did mess up in one paragraph when he referred to Joseph Smith as John Smith a couple of times, but I forgive him for that since he got it right everywhere else.

Bottom line is it was a lot of fun to read. His stories are always fast-paced rides that I devour quickly, but this one was even more enjoyable because of the Mormon angle and because a lot of it takes place here in Utah, on the campus of BYU, and other places I know well.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Excavation

by James Rollins

Excavation is one of the first three books written by James Rollins. His first three: Subterranean, Excavation, & Deep Fathom were originally published in paperback only and since I don't usually buy paperback books, I had never read them. Now that they're being printed in hard cover, I've gotten around to them.

His books are always fast-paced adventure stories which usually venture into the land of the implausible and preposterous. But I like that every once in awhile. Excavation is no exception. It involves the excavation of an ancient Incan temple high in the Andes mountains of Peru. A mummified member of the Spanish Inquisition is uncovered at the site and is discovered to contain a mysterious gold-like substance in his skull.

The temple itself contains the potential for incalcuable weath and power but also a warning that was left behind by the Spanish monk that it what it contains is best left undisturbed.

Rollins is the author who wrote the novelization of the fourth and hopefully last Indiana Jones movie. Excavation is a good indication of why he was chosen. It's a fun read, but suspend your sense of reason before reading.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆