What do you think?
Rate this book
Sigma Force #7.5
Tracker
From New York Times bestselling author James Rollins comes a stirring story of a soldier and his military war dog who are drawn into a dark mystery tracing back to World War II and a lost treasure tied to the bones of the dead.
Off the blustery streets in the medieval heart of Budapest, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog, Kane, rescue a mysterious woman fleeing three armed men. The secret she holds will unlock a terrible treasure, one steeped in blood and treachery, tied to a crime going back to the fall of Nazi Germany and a heritage of suffering and pain that reaches out from the past to wreak havoc today. In a final showdown in the depths of a lost cemetery, truths will be unearthed, treasures exposed, and the fate of all will rest upon the shoulders of one man and a dog whose courage is beyond measure.
Included within this thrilling story is a sneak peek at the opening chapters of Bloodline, in which the further exploits of Tucker and Kane will be revealed.
Off the blustery streets in the medieval heart of Budapest, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog, Kane, rescue a mysterious woman fleeing three armed men. The secret she holds will unlock a terrible treasure, one steeped in blood and treachery, tied to a crime going back to the fall of Nazi Germany and a heritage of suffering and pain that reaches out from the past to wreak havoc today. In a final showdown in the depths of a lost cemetery, truths will be unearthed, treasures exposed, and the fate of all will rest upon the shoulders of one man and a dog whose courage is beyond measure.
Included within this thrilling story is a sneak peek at the opening chapters of Bloodline, in which the further exploits of Tucker and Kane will be revealed.
67 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2012
543 people are currently reading
4996 people want to read
About the author
James Rollins
118 books14.2k followersJames Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. His writing has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold more than 20 million books. The New York Times says, “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together.” NPR calls his work, “Adventurous and enormously engrossing.” Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets matched with stunning suspense. As a veterinarian, he had a practice in Sacramento for over a decade and still volunteers at local shelters. Nowadays, Rollins shares his home up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with two furry companions, Echo and Charlie. He also enjoys scuba diving, spelunking, kayaking, and hiking. Of course, he loves to travel and experience new places around the world, which often inspire his next globe-trotting adventure.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 359 reviews
June 27, 2025
The Sigma Force series written by James Rollins provides world adventure, history and science lessons, engaging combat, and clever ruses. Tracker, the 7.5th installment in the series, is an in-between short story that focuses on a new character who will appear in the next book. This tale is supposed to give us some background on the character as well as keep us entertained between major releases. Tucker runs into a woman who doesn't know she's being followed. He and his dog, Kane, rescue the woman only to find out there's a more going on with her father and a race to find Nazi treasures. How will this fit in with the next book? I'm curious... and I do like the camaraderie of the two main characters (dog and man) in this tale. Wow, this dog knows some tricks too! All the great scenes are here, but I miss Gray Pierce and Painter Crowe... and Seichan! I'm sure they'll be in the next main release I've got in my queue for next month.
April 7, 2016
A good short story, the only drawback? Too short! When it comes to adventure stories, short stories isn't the best thing in my opinion. You never really have time to get into the story before it is over. Often these kinds of stories are a prequel to the next book and I don’t understand why they instead just not put the prequel in the book instead as a chapter. This is just an appetizer, and I want the whole cake!
December 24, 2020
A short story introducing Tucker and Kane before they appear in Bloodline. Tucker and Kane are a former military K-9 unit from Afghanistan. Now they travel the world helping those they come across who need it. I love the interaction between Tucker and his dog Kane.
June 25, 2016
One more fascinating adventure with Tucker and Kane <3
Read
August 19, 2017For many years I've followed and read James Rollins' wonderful, adventurous novels. I pegged him right from the start comparable to the author Clive Cussler. I'm thrilled that this short story introduces a canine hero. Clive Cussler usually included one breed of dog in several of his books: the dachshund. Tucker and his devoted war trained dog, Kane, are real heroes in this short story after they both leave the military service. Saving a woman from being captured while she seeks her missing father, leads the three characters into an underground cavern where treasures have been hidden for decades. Shades of Indiana Jones having a new partner (Kane) jumped into my brain. I like this new team; I want to read more like this from one of my most favorite authors (ex-veterinarian), James Rollins. And, James, have lots of adventures with your new dog. Hope he inspires you to write more such great stories such as "Tracker."
January 18, 2024
La trama è bellissima e ben strutturata… ma è assolutamente sprecata per un libricino di appena una sessantina di pagine: praticamente, questo romanzo (?) serve solo ed esclusivamente a presentare Tucker Wayne, il nuovo personaggio creato da James Rollins, ed il suo cane Kane. Comunque, io ve lo consiglio perché la trama, anche se breve, è spettacolare… e Kane è davvero adorabile!
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]
[https://lastanzadiantonio.blogspot.co...]
August 7, 2020
Tracker was a fast-paced, enjoyable short story introducing new characters Tucker and Kane to the Sigma Force series.
After leaving the military, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane are wandering the world trying to find a new purpose in life. While sitting at a cafe in Budapest, Tucker sees a woman fleeing from three armed men and knows he must help her. But Aliza holds the key to finding a long lost treasure that the men would kill to obtain and her only hope rests with one man and his dog.
This story is very short, less than 100 pages, but the author manages to pack a lot into its pages. When we first meet Tucker, he's enjoying a nice afternoon before he spots Aliza and immediately identifies her as someone running from a threat. Once the pair link up, the story moves very quickly from there with Aliza detailing how she came to Hungary to find her father after he went missing while trying to locate a treasure that disappeared during the Nazi invasion. The plot's resolution was well done with just the right amount of action to keep things interesting. I enjoyed the way Tucker handled the situation and I thought the ending was fitting with what little we learned about his character.
Tucker and Kane's relationship is fantastic and I loved the obvious trust the two shared. Kane is highly trained in tracking as well as a number of other things which were definitely helpful in their quest to help Aliza. There are short snippets from Kane's point of view and I liked the way these were done. The scenes never felt cheesy and the dog's thoughts followed a realistic line for a military trained dog.
Overall I really enjoyed Tracker and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the characters in the next full-length Sigma Force novel, Bloodline.
After leaving the military, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane are wandering the world trying to find a new purpose in life. While sitting at a cafe in Budapest, Tucker sees a woman fleeing from three armed men and knows he must help her. But Aliza holds the key to finding a long lost treasure that the men would kill to obtain and her only hope rests with one man and his dog.
This story is very short, less than 100 pages, but the author manages to pack a lot into its pages. When we first meet Tucker, he's enjoying a nice afternoon before he spots Aliza and immediately identifies her as someone running from a threat. Once the pair link up, the story moves very quickly from there with Aliza detailing how she came to Hungary to find her father after he went missing while trying to locate a treasure that disappeared during the Nazi invasion. The plot's resolution was well done with just the right amount of action to keep things interesting. I enjoyed the way Tucker handled the situation and I thought the ending was fitting with what little we learned about his character.
Tucker and Kane's relationship is fantastic and I loved the obvious trust the two shared. Kane is highly trained in tracking as well as a number of other things which were definitely helpful in their quest to help Aliza. There are short snippets from Kane's point of view and I liked the way these were done. The scenes never felt cheesy and the dog's thoughts followed a realistic line for a military trained dog.
Overall I really enjoyed Tracker and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the characters in the next full-length Sigma Force novel, Bloodline.
June 1, 2016
A short story where Tucker Wayne and his superior ranking army dog decide to help a young woman fleeing from thugs, while trying to find her kidnapped father. Her father is trying to find Nazi gold stolen from the Jews in Budapest. Too short for me.
April 3, 2022
Magical readathon Orillium: Conduit – Staff: book from a series
Globalni ciljevi: nastavak serijala
Eh ovo je bilo apsolutno prekratko. Tu se moglo još štošta napisati, napraviti pravi roman. Al očigledno nas Rollins u obliku kratkih priča upoznaje s novim likovima. Tucker Wayne mi se čini kao da bi mogao biti zanimljiv lik, a sa psom sam oduševljena! Jedino, kad je u priči neka životinja, uvijek me strah da će joj se nešto dogoditi. Baš se radujem idućem nastavku Sigma Forcea, sad sam se opet baš nabrijala na njihove priče.
Globalni ciljevi: nastavak serijala
Eh ovo je bilo apsolutno prekratko. Tu se moglo još štošta napisati, napraviti pravi roman. Al očigledno nas Rollins u obliku kratkih priča upoznaje s novim likovima. Tucker Wayne mi se čini kao da bi mogao biti zanimljiv lik, a sa psom sam oduševljena! Jedino, kad je u priči neka životinja, uvijek me strah da će joj se nešto dogoditi. Baš se radujem idućem nastavku Sigma Forcea, sad sam se opet baš nabrijala na njihove priče.
June 12, 2012
I am a James Rollins fan, I really am, a lot. If you rate this on a par with how much it costs, sure it was worth $.99. But being a writer myself, I don't believe that is how a story should be considered. Therefore, when the story ended at 50% of the way, and the other 50% was a preview for the next novel, well I felt a little misled. Also, nothing happens in this story. If this was character development to prepare for the upcoming novel, it fell short, in my opinion. I think this would have made a great first chapter instead of a novella. But that's just my opinion. I still can't wait for the next full length story.
July 16, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this riveting story, set in Budapest, starring the intrepid team of ex-soldier Tucker and his incredibly smart and devoted war dog, Kane, who together rescue a woman who is being pursued by three thugs. I'm looking forward to reading James Rollins' Sigma Force novels, especially those recent ones featuring Tucker and Kane.
September 16, 2024
Molto, troppo corto, per una valutazione appropriata.
Posso solo dire che la trama è intrigante e che contiene tutti gli ingredienti giusti che, volendo, avrebbero potuto trovare uno sviluppo maggiore in un testo più lungo, anche perché l’inizio è molto avvincente. Peccato per l’epilogo che sembra tirato via.
Adorabile Kane, un cane super addestrato che accompagna il protagonista, Tucker Wayne, in questa breve avventura.
Nota: questa edizione comprende l’anteprima del romanzo La corona del diavolo. L’ho letta: si tratta di un paio di capitoli, un “antefatto” seguito da un “presente”, che danno l’idea della trama avventurosa del romanzo. Potrebbe essere interessante.
📖 Tema del mese (set/24): un metallo nel titolo
🅰️ Avventura
✍️ JR
Posso solo dire che la trama è intrigante e che contiene tutti gli ingredienti giusti che, volendo, avrebbero potuto trovare uno sviluppo maggiore in un testo più lungo, anche perché l’inizio è molto avvincente. Peccato per l’epilogo che sembra tirato via.
Adorabile Kane, un cane super addestrato che accompagna il protagonista, Tucker Wayne, in questa breve avventura.
Nota: questa edizione comprende l’anteprima del romanzo La corona del diavolo. L’ho letta: si tratta di un paio di capitoli, un “antefatto” seguito da un “presente”, che danno l’idea della trama avventurosa del romanzo. Potrebbe essere interessante.
📖 Tema del mese (set/24): un metallo nel titolo
🅰️ Avventura
✍️ JR
June 6, 2017
Tracker by James Rollins is a Sigma Force novel that I gave four stars. It is a fast book to read with suspense-filled moments.
Tucker worked with his hunting dog Kane. When he was wearing camera gear, he saw through the shepherd's eyes. "The dog was as much an extension of his senses as he was a partner."
"The army had trained him to maintain such diligence, to watch for the unusual amid the ordinary. When he'd been a captain with the army rangers, he and his partner had served as the unit's trackers through two tours in Afghanistan-for search-and-rescue operations, for extraction, for hunting down targets of acquistion."
I received a complimentary copy in an Amazon promotion. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Tracker-Short-...
Tucker worked with his hunting dog Kane. When he was wearing camera gear, he saw through the shepherd's eyes. "The dog was as much an extension of his senses as he was a partner."
"The army had trained him to maintain such diligence, to watch for the unusual amid the ordinary. When he'd been a captain with the army rangers, he and his partner had served as the unit's trackers through two tours in Afghanistan-for search-and-rescue operations, for extraction, for hunting down targets of acquistion."
I received a complimentary copy in an Amazon promotion. That did not change my opinion for this review.
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Tracker-Short-...
April 4, 2014
One of those rare books that a dog is one of the main characters! I've only read two authors in my life that have been able to deliver a story that perfectly describes a day in a doggy's life. James Rollins and Stephen King! Both giants in their own genres! This story is a compacted thriller! If you're looking for something to pass about an hour.. this will satisfy that itch! The characters come to life easily as you read along with this little thriller! A soldier and his military dog come to the aid of a woman who clearly needs assistance in helping her save her father's life. Once again.. Rollins DELIVERS!!
February 10, 2016
As much as I love the Sigma team, I hope that JR is going to someday give Tucker and Kain their own full length book. This is a prequel if you will to Bloodline where we get introduced to Tucker and his furry sidekick Kain. They are in Budapest when they happen to catch sight of a young, attractive blond who is being followed by some bad guys. T and K decides that she could use their brand of help. Love these two and look forward to reading about them again.
August 14, 2020
A bit disappointing compared to the other stuff he's written because of historical errors, or at least faux pas. Rollins conflates Nazi looting of personal (private/Jewish) wealth with Nazi looting of national - (government) wealth. The lack of distinction is either lazy or ignorant. Lets hope for Lazy. Compounding the error, this is the first story I can recall reading of his that leaves out Historical Notes after the tale to clarify or expand on the places involved.
Read
September 9, 2017Enjoyed this book. A good intro to a Bloodline character
October 21, 2018
2.5 stars
September 19, 2025
The story that introduced Tucker and Kane, a Sigma Force adjacent pair who have appeared in a couple of the books in the series
March 29, 2017
Racconto molto avvincente e ristretto nel suo sviluppo. Dopo un'inizio molto descrittivo e ricco di suspense, il racconto di Rollins scorre fin troppo rapidamente giungendo ad una conclusione fin troppo repentina e forse eccessivamente banale per gli amanti del genere. Ad ogni modo, è una storia da leggersi in poche ore, una storia che avrebbe potuto avere sviluppi migliori in termini di narrazione data la buona qualità della parte iniziale. Sembra quasi che Rollins abbia avuto fretta nello scrivere, perdendosi in un'epilogo che non rispecchia il suo livello. Il mio voto è pari a 3 stelle per due motivi: scorrevolezza e durata. Si legge tutto di un fiato. Romanzo valido per coloro i quali desiderino trascorrere qualche ora di relax magari durante un viaggio.
December 24, 2017
یک داستان کوتاه بود برای معرفی تاکر و سگش، کین که قراره توی قسمت بعدی نیروی سیگما وارد داستان بشند.
چیز خاصی نداشت.
چیز خاصی نداشت.
November 9, 2020
Short Story. Pretty good introduction of Tucker and Kane.
March 5, 2023
A fairly generic story, but a good intro to new characters!
November 19, 2023
Streaming audio book(3 hrs.).
December 14, 2017
A great short story with Tucker and Kane. Ex military with his K9 on an international adventure.
July 16, 2022
Prima inleiding op Tucker en Zijn hond Kane.
June 6, 2012
Tucker Wayne was minding his own business at one of the outdoor tables in the small Hungarian restaurant, sitting outside despite the cold because of his partner Kane, a Belgian Malinois Shepherd, when he noticed the blond woman walking in his direction, fearfully glancing tremulously over her shoulder. Despite that, she didn't spot the three thugs following her.
Tucker decides to get involved and gets up when the trio go past.
The blond enters a church and the three followers take up stations around the doors. Tucker leaves Kane, used to taking verbal and hand commands, not to mention the camera and radio units built into the vest he wears, hidden by the ratty looking dog sweater, and goes inside.
There he introduces himself to Aliza Barton, who'd come to Hungary at her father's request, only to find him missing and then her room torn apart. He was a Jewish scholar who specialized in finding lost treasures the Nazis had confiscated from Jews and returning them to the right families. He was currently looking for a load of gold, valued at 92 million in today's dollars, missing since it had supposedly been sunk in the river. He'd asked her to get friends to use satellite imaging to check for hidden caves in the area. She had that information on a flash drive.
When he breaks her out of the church, knocking one of the trio unconscious, a search reveals just how much trouble they might be in. The man has ID identifying him as part of Hungary's NSZ, their version of the FBI. A group that, even in post-Communist days, were known to make people disappear.
Kane remains his secret weapon as he helps the girl escape, get captured as they hunt for her father and the gold(known ballooned to 200 million when it's found.
A nicely paced thriller that's an introduction to characters n Rollins' forthcoming novel.
Tucker decides to get involved and gets up when the trio go past.
The blond enters a church and the three followers take up stations around the doors. Tucker leaves Kane, used to taking verbal and hand commands, not to mention the camera and radio units built into the vest he wears, hidden by the ratty looking dog sweater, and goes inside.
There he introduces himself to Aliza Barton, who'd come to Hungary at her father's request, only to find him missing and then her room torn apart. He was a Jewish scholar who specialized in finding lost treasures the Nazis had confiscated from Jews and returning them to the right families. He was currently looking for a load of gold, valued at 92 million in today's dollars, missing since it had supposedly been sunk in the river. He'd asked her to get friends to use satellite imaging to check for hidden caves in the area. She had that information on a flash drive.
When he breaks her out of the church, knocking one of the trio unconscious, a search reveals just how much trouble they might be in. The man has ID identifying him as part of Hungary's NSZ, their version of the FBI. A group that, even in post-Communist days, were known to make people disappear.
Kane remains his secret weapon as he helps the girl escape, get captured as they hunt for her father and the gold(known ballooned to 200 million when it's found.
A nicely paced thriller that's an introduction to characters n Rollins' forthcoming novel.
August 28, 2022
I think this might have been my first time with this author. I'm not actually sure- I might need to check. What I do know is that I broke my very important rule of not jumping into a series in the middle of said series. Audible had a huge sale a while ago and had many, many short stories and novellas on sale for like $1.00 each. Before I knew it, I had about 30 books (well, more like novellas and short stories) in my cart. And....unfortunately, I realized that a couple of the stories were novellas inside of an existing series. This was one of those.
I will be honest and say that even though this story was part of an existing series, that I was able to fall in and follow along with the story. I do have a soft spot for dog stories, so that's probably why it ended up in my cart - but the story itself made me curious to discover a little bit more information about the main characters in this story. Tucker and Kane are awesome and I would love to find out more about them.
I guess in the scheme of things....sales really do work.....
I will be honest and say that even though this story was part of an existing series, that I was able to fall in and follow along with the story. I do have a soft spot for dog stories, so that's probably why it ended up in my cart - but the story itself made me curious to discover a little bit more information about the main characters in this story. Tucker and Kane are awesome and I would love to find out more about them.
I guess in the scheme of things....sales really do work.....
October 7, 2012
I have never read James Rollins before but you can bet your ass I'm going to read him again. This was fantastic! A short introduction to what's hopefully a new series (67 pages), this novella features the team of Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog Kane. OMG I loved Kane! He is as much a part of the story as Tucker is, and has his own point-of-view in the story, which was awesome. The story, even though it was short, was full of suspense and I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next. If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, I'd highly recommend this. 5 stars
August 21, 2012
I quite probably gave this book two stars because it was just so short and I don't remember the last time I read a short story. Quite simply, I didn't know what to expect. My kindle said I was 54% done when it ended. Then I got a sneak peak at "bloodline", Rollins newest novel. So simply because it was sooo stinking short and quick, I gave this two stars. So used to way more character development, detail, and smooth transitions, this was a dissapointment in comparison. But had I had a clue how to judge a novella, I guess I'd give it a 3 or 4. Geez, I don't know.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 359 reviews