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181st out of 1,069 books
—
1,564 voters
Sandstorm (Sigma Force #1)
by
James Rollins (Goodreads Author)
An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed exi...more
Mass Market Paperback, 608 pages
Published
May 1st 2005
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published June 29th 2004)
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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 and rooted in obscure script...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 and rooted in obscure script...more
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This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while until I decided to pick it up last weekend. What a ride it was! I read it in just a bit over 24 hours! It's not always the most realistic story, but then again that's not the purpose of this book. The purpose is to take you along an action-packed, thrilling adventure in the search for a lost Arabian city. And this book really does that.
For those who enjoy Matthew Reilly and Clive Cussler: give this one a go as well. You won't be disapp...more
For those who enjoy Matthew Reilly and Clive Cussler: give this one a go as well. You won't be disapp...more
7 likes · like · see review
Aug 02, 2007
Mike
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
action movie fans
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 in cheek.
But even with it...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 in cheek.
But even with it...more
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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 their guide, Dr....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 their guide, Dr....more
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...more
I don't usually read thrillers. OK, I did read "The Da Vinci Code" along with 12 million other people. And I enjoyed reading it, just because I wanted to know what happened next. In retrospect, it's pretty silly. Anyway, I read an interview of James Rollins in a recent writing magazine ("The Writer") and was intrigued by the protagonists in a series he writes. The Sigma Force is a team of special operatives who are also scientists. Rollins calls them "scientists with guns." Anyway, I downloaded...more
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A mysterious explosion at a London museum is the catalyst for a race to find the long lost city of Ubar, historical home of the Queen of Sheba, as well as answers to what happened to Lady Kara Kensington's father.
An interesting cast of characters help drive this exciting action/adventure story to greater heights. Lady Kara Kensington, haunted by her father's death, survives with pills and singleminded focus. Her lifelong friend, Safia al-Maaz is equally haunted by an explosion that she feels re...more
An interesting cast of characters help drive this exciting action/adventure story to greater heights. Lady Kara Kensington, haunted by her father's death, survives with pills and singleminded focus. Her lifelong friend, Safia al-Maaz is equally haunted by an explosion that she feels re...more
And here beginneth the Sigma Force series...but nowadays you wouldn't know that, especially given that Sigma only has a supporting role in this book, which is more about a pair of American adventurer brothers, a British beauty and her Arabian best friend who go to the Middle East in search of the lost city of Ubar. They have to get there before the Guild does. Otherwise...bad things happen. End of the world. Apocalyptic planet-breaking explosion.
Still, even though Sigma and the Guild are importa...more
Still, even though Sigma and the Guild are importa...more
роллинс – весьма привлекательный писатель, стилистика произведений не изобилует литературными заворотами, но зато – как я написал в одном из предыдущих постов о его «бездне», свобода фантазии позволяет ему сочетать немыслимые элементы в одной комбинации; одно маленькое допущение, становящееся ключевой пресуппозицией, позволяет произведению наращивать фантастичность, не теряя при этом подобия реальности.
в «песчаном дьяволе» действие вращается вокруг загадки убара, города, исчезнувшего в аравийско...more
в «песчаном дьяволе» действие вращается вокруг загадки убара, города, исчезнувшего в аравийско...more
Sandstorm is the first book in the ongoing "Sigma Force" series. The story is a bit of a cross between Indiana Jones and a special forces thriller with some physics mixed in.
The plot included quick-hitting action scenes in the US, London, and Oman. Painter Crowe emerges as the hero, and he seems preoccupied with his love life as he considers each of the main female characters in the book. The romance angle was fortunately a minor part of the overall plot, with the majority focused on the archeo...more
The plot included quick-hitting action scenes in the US, London, and Oman. Painter Crowe emerges as the hero, and he seems preoccupied with his love life as he considers each of the main female characters in the book. The romance angle was fortunately a minor part of the overall plot, with the majority focused on the archeo...more
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Not nearly as good as I expected...,
I read & loved Map of Bones, Rollins most recent release, so I picked up this book thinking it would be just as good. I moved backwards to this predecessor because I had not heard of Rollins before. Mistake!
I cannot start a book & not finish it & I don't like to read more than one book at a time; personal quirks I live with. Usually I read a book a week, because I usually find good reads based on reviews, research & sales. There was nothing to...more
I read & loved Map of Bones, Rollins most recent release, so I picked up this book thinking it would be just as good. I moved backwards to this predecessor because I had not heard of Rollins before. Mistake!
I cannot start a book & not finish it & I don't like to read more than one book at a time; personal quirks I live with. Usually I read a book a week, because I usually find good reads based on reviews, research & sales. There was nothing to...more
Simply put, I love this guy's work. Less "bromantic" than Clive Cussler and more accessible than Micheal Crichton, both of whom I do enjoy, his tales are just fun, adventurous, and often educational. I wanted to read the Sigma Force books in order, so it took me a while until I could track down the first in the series - and I wasn't disappointed.
With any literature of this type, you have to be able to muster up a certain suspension of belief. Sigma Force, in itself, is a wild concept - scientist...more
With any literature of this type, you have to be able to muster up a certain suspension of belief. Sigma Force, in itself, is a wild concept - scientist...more
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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 the chapters...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 the chapters...more
This is a time when I wish we could give half stars. I would give this book 3.5 stars. I have read Rollins before and enjoyed it, so I knew what I was getting myself into. However, this one was just not my favorite. I liked it. I didn’t “really” like it or love it, but I did like it. This book is basically the equivalent of the popcorn action flick. I also like but don’t love those.
There was plenty of mystery and intrigue. A suspension of disbelief is necessary and I have no trouble with that. T...more
There was plenty of mystery and intrigue. A suspension of disbelief is necessary and I have no trouble with that. T...more
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.
Anti-matter? Bucky...more
Anti-matter? Bucky...more
I didn't start off the Sigma Force series in order. I started reading "The Doomsday Key" first, before I knew it was apart of a whole series. I have went back and read all the others on the series, including Sandstorm. If i had started with this book, i probably would not have continued reading the series, which would have been a shame since Sigma Force is one of my favorite series of all time.
I found the writing in Sandstorm to be loose, when compared to the other books in the series and I fou...more
I found the writing in Sandstorm to be loose, when compared to the other books in the series and I fou...more
Sandstorm is an action packed must read story by one of my favorite authors, James Rollins. This book is the debute novel for his Sigma Force series, and it starts with a bang!
[Snip] "A freak explosion in the British museum in London ignites a perilous race for an earth-shaking power source buried deep beneath the sands of history."
Sandstorm cleverly incorporates interesting facts from science, history and anthropology,while taking you on fast paced adventure across multiple geographic location...more
[Snip] "A freak explosion in the British museum in London ignites a perilous race for an earth-shaking power source buried deep beneath the sands of history."
Sandstorm cleverly incorporates interesting facts from science, history and anthropology,while taking you on fast paced adventure across multiple geographic location...more
I don't know if I ended up with an abridged recording of Sandstorm (mine was five discs), but I found this Sigma series prequel far more rushed and abbreviated than the other Rollins books, which I normally love. It felt like so much of the story had been sliced away by editors that only the skeleton had been left, tottering and ready to collapse at any moment. In particular, I found the characters so hastily drawn that their actions (and the plot movement in general) often struck me as nonsensi...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Fast read. He does a good job with stringing story together to propel you down the plot-road. I'm a science fact and science fiction nut and I feel Rollins does a good job extrapolating from known science into meta-science. Boy did he throw a lot into this one, too. Guys like Crichton picked essentially one near-science theme and wrapped his book around it. Rollins includes several, which I liked but some might find overdone or "trying too hard." I saw it as a curious mind who went where his im...more
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 (what fun woul...more
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 were a bit superf...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 were a bit superf...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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In his books, James Rollins serves plots that are mixtures of action, adventure, myth, legends and science. It not always means that there are "fantasy" books, all "unbelievable" events have always more or less possible explanations in terms of science.
"Sandstorm" is the first book, where the SIGMA Force is introduced - a special USA government group that hires people not only skillful as soldiers but also gifted and talented when it comes to science. But, I must admit, that SIGMA's agents do n...more
"Sandstorm" is the first book, where the SIGMA Force is introduced - a special USA government group that hires people not only skillful as soldiers but also gifted and talented when it comes to science. But, I must admit, that SIGMA's agents do n...more
The book had a good concept but the writing style was not for me. the going back and forth between charters was slow and at times confusing. each mini section cut to a different persons actions and perspective, following a time line. And it was rather dry, using a lot of word in form I would use them in or larger word you may not know that did not seem to fit.
it was not very suppenceful and fir not leave me wanting more. it was clearly set up to be series. The only fool part was mix historic ev...more
it was not very suppenceful and fir not leave me wanting more. it was clearly set up to be series. The only fool part was mix historic ev...more
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 majority of...more
It really is a good book by a talented author. This one takes place in Oman for the majority of...more
I got this because I felt the need for a book in this category -- the sort of Dan Brown genre book. The series is well rated on Amazon so I thought I should start at the top of the series.
It was ... OK. A lot of the stuff in the book is damn near magic, which is then "explained" at the end with some very vague handwaving. The climax was one damn over-the-top event after another. I think the author was thinking too much about a movie option at the time.
The characters were mostly appealing, if som...more
It was ... OK. A lot of the stuff in the book is damn near magic, which is then "explained" at the end with some very vague handwaving. The climax was one damn over-the-top event after another. I think the author was thinking too much about a movie option at the time.
The characters were mostly appealing, if som...more
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 that's first r...more
This is a high stakes doomsday plot that's first r...more
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James Rollins is the New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the "top crowd pleasers" (New York Times) and one of the "hottest summer reads" (People Magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets--and h
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