Map of Bones

Like most of the books in this genre, this one is formulaic. We have out secret team of highly trained x-seals and intelligence operatives. They are all a little emotionally damaged but actually really sensitive inside. They can’t trust others but, of course, one look between the main male and main female characters and there is crazy chemistry. The difference here is we also have several priests who know a lot about gnostic traditions and the sort of rebel faction that supports this tradition.

Weaknesses here are several. First of all, if this group is so smart and put together by powers that be, why are there so few of them with so few firearms? They get outsmarted and outgunned left and right, over and over, and then always barely escape. This gets predictable and boring.

Second, many spots have very very long passages of historical information that sometimes is not really necessary. In some spots this goes on for three or four pages. Just jump ahead.

Also, I wish I had a dime for every time the author said “muttered” or “grumbled” when a character kind of talks under his breath. There must be dozens of examples of this, and I can not imagine any reader for whom this does not stick out a little bit.

But if you want a quick adventure with some supernatural religious stuff combined with some science and history, this might be a fun read for you. This is my first one in the series but I may try another.

Same issues as in the first book, too many personal issues, too many cliffhangers, and what’s with the female nemesis deal? In both books the main character is dogged by a deadly female agent. Poorly edited or proofread. The main character has studied Hindi philosophy? Hindi is a language spoken largely in North Centralish India. Aside from Hindus, it is spoken by many Muslims, Christians, Jains and others. Hindu refers to a philosophy and religion which is practiced by many who do not speak Hindi, like the folks in Tamil Nadu, W. Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka, to name a few. Not a satisfying experience, I shall try no more of them.

Unlike a lot of people, I don’t mind dropping into the middle of a series. I had read one of the later books in the Sigma Force series so, when I saw this one for sale, I picked it up. Rollins really delivers in this novel with arcane mysteries, the latest tech and scientific theories as well as plenty of action. My only small issue with the book was Rollin’s tendency to go off on philosophical digressions in the dialogue while action is happening around the characters. Action first, please, there is time to explain later!! Other than this slightly irritating tendency, I love these books and will definitely pick up others.

I work in a library and when they closed because of the pandemic I asked my boss if I could just grab a few books and she said “yes”. I just went down the mystery isle and crab 10 books all different authors. This book by James Rollins was one of them. I have never read him before I am now on the 4th book of his Sigma series. These books have great adventure, characters , mystery and education, as these book are about history at the end of the book Rollins tell you what is fiction and what is base on truth .If you want superior writing James Rollins is way a past 10 stars.

The Sigma Force series has a stupid name. And I suppose the whole thing is a bit on the cheesy side. But it’s fun. Kind of Indiana Jones, kind of Da Vinci Code — It’s like a series of Clive Cussler novels if Cussler had the ability to write readable dialogue.

The fun is in full force here, at least for the first 2/3 of the book. There’s suspense, there’s science, there’s something resembling history (sorry James, but Elaine Pagels is not what anyone would call a reliable source). For hundreds of pages the story moves forward at a breakneck pace.

And then it hits a brick wall. Just when it feels like the story should be racing into the third act, it sprains an ankle and limps into another puzzle scene, followed by a string of betrayals, leading up to a couple of major reveals that absolutely anyone over the age of 2 could see coming. Yes, the book starts with a bang and ends with a thud.

Still, it’s readable, and the first 2/3 mostly makes up for the rest. So I do recommend it, but just barely. Rollins is probably the best modern author for this kind of thriller, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s worth it.

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