"An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum - a devastating blast that sets off alarms in clandestine organizati...
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Aug 19, 2011
Hugh The Great Curmudgeon
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The first Sigma Force Novel.
A freak explosion in the Meuseum of Natural History in London sets off a chain reaction of events. A race to find out what caused the explosion and find the source begins, with deadly consequences for the civilized world. Painter Crow, hardened CIA operative takes a job at DARPA in the newly organized "Sigma Force." Their first mission takes them into the scalding Saudi desert in search of the unknown. The answers may be older than Christ a More...
A freak explosion in the Meuseum of Natural History in London sets off a chain reaction of events. A race to find out what caused the explosion and find the source begins, with deadly consequences for the civilized world. Painter Crow, hardened CIA operative takes a job at DARPA in the newly organized "Sigma Force." Their first mission takes them into the scalding Saudi desert in search of the unknown. The answers may be older than Christ a More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Mike
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This is the first of James Rollins's "Sigma Force" novels. This is different than most of the books that are in my book list, quite different in some cases.
It's basically an action movie in book form, but it's a good one, like Indiana Jones style. And Rollins seems to know that it's that kind of adventure. One of the characters is referred to as "Indiana Jones" occasionally. It's the kind of humor I like in books, the wink to the audience that everything is kind tounge More...
It's basically an action movie in book form, but it's a good one, like Indiana Jones style. And Rollins seems to know that it's that kind of adventure. One of the characters is referred to as "Indiana Jones" occasionally. It's the kind of humor I like in books, the wink to the audience that everything is kind tounge More...
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Jul 27, 2011
Benjamin
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Jul 19, 2008
Maurean
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I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced, action-packed thriller/adventure novel that is the first in his series of the SIGMA Force and Painter Crowe.
This one begins with an explosion of an antiquities collection of a London museum. Lady Kara Kensington's family paid to found the gallery that is now in ruins. In search of answers, she and her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's curator, embark on a quest to Ubar, a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But these two women and thei More...
This one begins with an explosion of an antiquities collection of a London museum. Lady Kara Kensington's family paid to found the gallery that is now in ruins. In search of answers, she and her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's curator, embark on a quest to Ubar, a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. But these two women and thei More...
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Jan 15, 2012
Utopia
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I have read it in the German translation.
I found it was in general a thrilling and fluently written novel. The story flows without sticking, and the characters are acting like living persons. Also the scientific elements seem to be realistically worked out (so the autor has made his research on the topic of antimatter and geological details), even if I thought from time to time some scenes would be more science-fiction. The structure is logical and from my impression, the length of More...
I found it was in general a thrilling and fluently written novel. The story flows without sticking, and the characters are acting like living persons. Also the scientific elements seem to be realistically worked out (so the autor has made his research on the topic of antimatter and geological details), even if I thought from time to time some scenes would be more science-fiction. The structure is logical and from my impression, the length of More...
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Jul 15, 2010
Bill
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Sandstorm started out in London with a literal bang and ended with a storm of supposedly epic proportions in an ancient desert city. But by the time it did, I didn't care anymore. All I saw was a swirly world of sand, glass, and static electricity populated by cardboard characters. The good ones would probably survive and the bad ones wouldn't and so what. What happened in between was pedestrian and predictable thriller fare with too many guns and action and not enough thrill.
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Mar 31, 2011
Meg
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Aug 05, 2011
I feel that this is the best Sigma Force novel out of the 5 so far, a great adventure book in the style of Indiana Jones or The Mummy. The pacing is even, and has a fine balance of weapon technology and science, with a good dose of mysticism thrown in. Interesting that I have sort of read the series backwards (4,5,2,3,1). It's good that Rollins focuses on different characters (Crowe, Pierce, Monk) for better characterisation of each character. Once again I am struck by how much elaboration is gi
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Jan 16, 2009
Jean
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This was a lot of fun to read, complete with a real "Indiana Jones" (of a sort. :) It's a moderately funny, self-effacing joke by the author) There was A LOT of action here, actually to the point that I was quite ready for some resolution and calm. On the other hand, there never was a slow spot. Character relationships aren't Rollins' forte; the romance angles that pepper the story seem forced. I expect the author of a book like this to take some liberties with science and history
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Apr 09, 2011
Karen
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I thought I would've liked this book a lot more considering i really enjoyed Amazonia by James Rollins. I think the two reason's it didn't draw me in like the other book was the setting (not crazy about desert settings, so it becomes more a personal preference), and the characterization.
Loved the main lead character Safia. Her vulnerability and strength shined throughout the book. I could care less about Painter Crowe who takes up half the book. I felt that some of his thoughts we More...
Loved the main lead character Safia. Her vulnerability and strength shined throughout the book. I could care less about Painter Crowe who takes up half the book. I felt that some of his thoughts we More...
Oct 20, 2009
Joe
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Sep 29, 2011
Jacquelyn
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Another great one by James Rollins. I was told this one is the first in the Sigma Force series, and I found it just as entertaining as Devil Colony (the first James Rollins book I read). I did notice a recurring theme though, and asked Chris if all of his books deal with stopping some antimatter catastrophe from occurring or falling into the wrong hands. She said that I just have to keep reading them.
It really is a good book by a talented author. This one takes place in Oman for the majorit More...
It really is a good book by a talented author. This one takes place in Oman for the majorit More...
May 06, 2011
Renee
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This is our first introduction to Painter Crowe and the series by James Rollins. I like this author a lot. His background as a veterinarian has led him to be a thorough researcher and lends credibility to his worldbuilding and plots. His characters are more three-dimentional than one might expect in this genre. The good guys have bad points and serious issues and the bad guys all have valid reasons (at least to them) for doing what they're doing.
This is a high stakes doomsday plot th More...
This is a high stakes doomsday plot th More...
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Jan 26, 2012
Joe
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The Goodreads description for a 2 star rating sums my experience of sandstorm up perfectly; it was okay. I listened to Deep Fathom by Rollins and really enjoyed it. Sandstorm is within the same genre; one team out to discover an ancient secret, the other team out to stop them, ruthless special forces characters egoing it out, a kidnapping, old adversaries meeting up again... there are a lot of similarities between the two. However, I never really got to care. I was just going through the motions
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Jul 18, 2010
This is the second book I've read by this author, and I am very impressed with his attention to detail and ability to draw you into his stories. After what seems to be a freak accidental lightning strike in the British museum, a group of people must investigate further. Some are scientists, some are archeologists, and one is a wealthy young woman whose family found an amazing relic and established the exhibit at the museum. Her dear friend is one of the scientists. When word of the incident reac
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Oct 03, 2011
Wendy
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There was one spot near the beginning that slowed for me but as all of James Rollins books, it delivers. I so enjoy his Sigma Force books. I always learn something new from his books. Pay attention to the books he references at the end for further reading. Some are fabulous. Like "The Road to Ubar" The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands
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Feb 08, 2012
Steve
rated it:
A superb read. I was genuinely breathless at times! As a veteran reader I'd have to say that I can be a bit blinkered about the genres I read. James Rollins has broken through all barriers though, I'm very happy to say. I've read "Sandstorm" two and a bit times (retreading) and I became a hunter as a consequence: hunting for more Sigma Force books lol.
One complaint only: the ebook suffers from formatting faults! Punctuation is either missing or wrong and some text (mostly dialogue!) More...
One complaint only: the ebook suffers from formatting faults! Punctuation is either missing or wrong and some text (mostly dialogue!) More...
Jun 03, 2010
Patricia
rated it:
Neste livro de James Rollins acompanhamos Painter Crowe como operacional da SIGMA, em vez do habitual Pierce.
A história começa com uma explosão no Museu Britânico, que está envolta de um mistério. Assim, Safia al-Maaz, Kara Kensington e Omaha Dunn partem numa expedição para Oman, juntamente com Crowe e a sua parceira Coral, para tentarem encontrar a cidade perdida de Ubar.
Este livro tem uma acção um ritmo frenético, quase de nos deixar sem fôlego, em que o autor misturou esta acção c More...
A história começa com uma explosão no Museu Britânico, que está envolta de um mistério. Assim, Safia al-Maaz, Kara Kensington e Omaha Dunn partem numa expedição para Oman, juntamente com Crowe e a sua parceira Coral, para tentarem encontrar a cidade perdida de Ubar.
Este livro tem uma acção um ritmo frenético, quase de nos deixar sem fôlego, em que o autor misturou esta acção c More...
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Feb 18, 2010
Ross
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I'm so glad I found James Rollins. He writing style move quickly to fever pitch early in the book and it continues to the end with exciting scientific twists and turns. I first read Alter of Eden, then discovered the group, "Undeniable and Undiscovered Thrillers" which was discussing Rollins. I selected Sandstorm as my next read before the group selected it as the group read. Rollins doesn't disappoint. I especially find the historical and scientific perspectives of both of the novels
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Nov 10, 2011
Joe
rated it:
It's been a while since I have read one of James Rollins, so I started back up in his Sigma Force series. I think this is his 1st one in the series. It was a wild adventure. I like the main character, Painter Crowe, but I did get kind of frustrated that he kept letting the "evil" villian get away again and again. I know she has to live until the end, where she got what she deserved but there were a few..Oops moments..where he could have taken her down. None the less, a WILD RIDE, the o
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May 26, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
This one certainly has plenty of action, and kept me turning the pages, when I wasn't laughing because the events were so far-fetched as to be unintentionally hilarious, or groaning over the mangling of the English language. One of the main characters is named Omaha (in tribute or imitation of Indiana Jones), which I kept wanting to read as Obama (not helped by the setting in Oman so that "Omani" is a frequent adjective, or another character named Barak). At the beginning it looks like
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Aug 16, 2009
Tina
rated it:
This was my second Rollins novel; after Amazonia I had to read another of his works just to be sure it wasn't a fluke. This book was action-packed and had a little bit of everything -- history, culture, romance, political intrigue, military operations, and a treasure hunt. What's not to love? The length allowed for good character development and good plot twists. Rollins doesn't withhold much information from the reader, just enough to keep it suspenseful and exciting. I also got the feeling it
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Jun 06, 2011
Robert
rated it:
Sort of like Indiana Jones and James Bond hopped up on crank, that is what Rollins delivers with the first in the Sigma series. Somewhere along the way I had messed up and read the second one before I read this one, note that this has happened before and I am chalking it up to early onset of senior dementia. Sigma is like a special forces research type of team for DARPA, which is the Defense Departments research branch. Sandstorm will be sure to delight those who like a good fictional escape wit
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Nov 20, 2011
Mark
rated it:
I rate this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars. Since partial stars aren't allowed I rounded down for several reasons. The first is Rollins employs inconsistent character development. A no spoiler example would be VERY interesting characters are highly developed for 250 pages or so, then they become extras for the rest of the novel. (I've purposefully chosen "extras" over "supporting".) Conversely, characters that were extras become main characters during the second half of the st
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Jul 03, 2010
bookczuk
rated it:
Kind of a disappointment, to be honest. I was not expecting literary greatness, but maybe some campy fun. The storyline was muddled, the descriptions not particularly descriptive and all in all, I probably would have stopped listening had I another book at hand to pop in the car player.
Will pass it on in the next book box. Oh -- the best moment in the whole experience was listening to my stepdaughter read the blurb on the back of the box in breathless wonder. As a thriller, it's More...
Will pass it on in the next book box. Oh -- the best moment in the whole experience was listening to my stepdaughter read the blurb on the back of the box in breathless wonder. As a thriller, it's More...
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Jan 31, 2009
Robin
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I absolutely loved this book! Sandstorm was quite the adventure and while it's completely different than what I am usually attracted to in a book it was fantastic and I can't wait to get my hands on more from Rollins in the future! The fast paced chapters are snippets of the story from each of the character's POVs so while it was nearly 600 pages, it was an easy read that kept my attention and didnt get sluggish. While some of the concepts may be a little far-fetched for some, I can easily get l
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Dec 21, 2010
Charleen
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This isn't my favorite Rollins novel, but still a good adventure. It serves as an introduction to Sigma Force and the Guild, though not as connected to the other books in the series (Rollins's website actually refers to it as a "prequel"). Personally I thought the story could use a little more urgency; in the midst of all the revelations and the race to find the ancient city, I sometimes forgot what the prize was they were fighting over. But, as with all of Rollins's thrillers, it's a
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Feb 09, 2012
Carisa
rated it: 
To be fair I only read about 20% of this book before I gave up. I was very intrigued by the beginning of the story but then I just couldn't get into it anymore than that for some reason. The story starts out with a strange light boring into an artifact at a museum and causing it to blow up. That part was interesting and was mystifying enough to keep me reading to see if it went anywhere but for the next few chapters, the action just never rose up to the level I normally expect from Rollins. Ther
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Jul 27, 2011
theBigDeel
rated it:
I rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Since partial stars aren't allowed I rounded down for several reasons. The first is Rollins employs inconsistent character development. A no spoiler example would be VERY interesting characters are highly developed for 250 pages or so, then they become extras for the rest of the novel. (I've purposefully chosen "extras" over "supporting".) Conversely, characters that were extras become main characters during the second half of the st
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