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Sigma Force #9
The Eye of God
In The Eye of God, a Sigma Force novel, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins delivers an apocalyptic vision of a future predicted by the distant past.
In the wilds of Mongolia, a research satellite has crashed, triggering an explosive search for its valuable cargo: a code-black physics project connected to the study of dark energy—and a shocking image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin.
At the Vatican, a package arrives containing two strange artifacts: a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a tome bound in human skin. DNA evidence reveals that both came from the same body: the long dead Mongol king Genghis Khan.
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force set out to discover a truth tied to the fall of the Roman Empire, to a mystery going back to the birth of Christianity, and to a weapon hidden for centuries that holds the fate of humanity.
In the wilds of Mongolia, a research satellite has crashed, triggering an explosive search for its valuable cargo: a code-black physics project connected to the study of dark energy—and a shocking image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin.
At the Vatican, a package arrives containing two strange artifacts: a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a tome bound in human skin. DNA evidence reveals that both came from the same body: the long dead Mongol king Genghis Khan.
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force set out to discover a truth tied to the fall of the Roman Empire, to a mystery going back to the birth of Christianity, and to a weapon hidden for centuries that holds the fate of humanity.
358 pages, ebook
First published June 25, 2013
About the author
James Rollins
164 books12.7k 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 his two golden retrievers, Echo and Duncan. 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,266 reviews
April 6, 2019
Damn you James Rollins! Damn you!! Why did you have to make the ending so frekking heartbreaking and painful?! I was just looking for a quick timepass entertainment, I was NOT ready for this emotionally draining, heavy-hearted finishing in the end! I like to think of myself as the manliest male there can be, but even I couldn't help feeling the wetness in the corner of my eyes, or the twisting in my gut, witnessing two of my favorite characters, with whom I had known and grown to feel like real life flesh-&-blood friends to me for the last 8 books of Sigma Force... die. GOD.
Okay, overwhelming emotions in check, its time to review the positives and negatives (but mostly positives) of this latest Sigma Force adventure. But first, let me get this declaration out of the way, James Rollins is hands down one of my most favorite action-adventure writers. I was waiting for this book in bated breath since last year after the spectacular (let me emphasis it once more: SPECTACULAR!) finishing of Bloodline, and as my expectations grew sky-high, some where in the back of my mind I begin to doubt that surely Rollins can't possibly reach my insanely high expectations, he's bound to stumble at least once, right? Well, it turns out even as a self-proclaimed fanatic of Rollins' works, I was thinking less of his imaginative ability, with using countless threads of histories & science and exotic locations and impossible situations, Rollins had written one helluva thrilling adventure!
The main plot and the stake is itself one of a kind: A blazing comet is hurtling beside the earth, and in its wake it's pulling a vast amount of mysterious Dark Energy, which somehow is creating a tunnel in the Time-Space around Earth, and a shitload of asteroids will come crashing through that tunnel to destroy the planet in four days, unless Sigma Force can do something about it. Yeah, I know. But wait, that's not all, not even close: to prevent it from happening, Gray & Co. have to find an ancient relic, that is connected in someway with that blazing comet, for that they have to find the lost tomb of Genghis Khan, which is also related with the tomb of Attila the Hun, and the mysteries surrounding St. Thomas and in his days whether or not he reached to the far China. Combine them with Mongolian clan-leaders, Chinese triads and the gang wars, a destructive trip to North Korea, and what you have is a ridiculously complicated but equally breathtakingly thrilling piece of Action-Adventure. I cannot but once again commend Rollins in his talent to create not only a massively complex storyline, but to seamlessly tie each and every thread to turn that into a plausible and realistic story.
Unlike many other contemporary A/A authors, Rollins always astonishes me with his unusually strong, three-dimensional characterizations of his characters, to the point that they start to feel like real-life persons to us. The usual suspects are all there, except Painter Crowe, Kat (who were in the background) and Lisa (who is completely out of the picture this time). Instead, we have a very welcome return of Vigor & Rachel Verona, with a couple of fresh new faces in Dancun Wren and Jada Shaw, both of whom are wonderfully characterized and brought to the table some unique substances of their own (Magnetic Fingertips are so freaking cool!). Thanks to Rollins, with the expertly shifting of POVs, we were perfectly accustomed and familiarized with such large number of characters (But still no POV for Kowalski, WHY?)
The most interesting point of a new Sigma Force novel, to me, is always the latest topic of cutting-edge science, which is at a glance feels like science-fiction, but in its heart will always have far more "Science" than "Fiction". For this story, we have the mysterious Dark Energy that is said to be covering the 2/3rd of the whole universe, and the Quantum-Effects and Quantum-Entanglements that is related to it. Not only the topic itself is superbly cool and interesting, but Rollins actually tried to answered the mysteries of life and death using this Quantum Effect and what lays beyond the curtain of Death. And let me just say, whether it can be true or not, its one of the more fantastically optimistic views to the realm of death I've ever heard, and makes me believe that may be death is not truly the end, but the beginning of a much larger adventure!
Every James Rollins Adventure is distinctive for its exotic locations, and this one is no different. I thought after all this time and travels, surely he'd come up short in incredibly stunning locations? Not by a long mile, it seems. We have the treacherous Mongolian snow-covered mountains, a devastatingly detailed look at the city of Pyongyang in the mysterious North Korea, an intimate insight of the people, politics and architecture of the capital city of Ulan Bator of Mongolia, the magnificent frozen ice tunnels and islands on the Lake Baikal, and best of all, an all too real but astonishingly awesome dried sea of salt and sand named Aral Sea, which felt like came right out of a fantasy novel!
Now, the ONE thing in this book that I'm not a fan of is the Antagonists of the story. For much of the last Sigma Force novels, The Guild was their archenemy and always made things difficult for them with their chaos, Machiavellian plans of world domination and superbly evil deadly agents. With the fall of Guild in BLOODLINE, I was hoping for a new rising threat in the horizon, that Rollins can hopefully build in the coming novels. As it turns out, not so much. Just your average Gang-lords and Clan-leaders, and for some reason, although they have absolutely no connection with the main plot, North Koreans (and let me just say, they are one of the LAMEST villains I've ever read!). In my opinion, even if Rollins would went with the intelligence services of the relevant countries (such as China or Mongolia) as the villains, it would be much more interesting. Rollins should've done better to fill the very big shoes of Guild.
Its time to again discuss about the ending, and I think I expressed clearly enough how heartbreaking that was. But off course it was also achingly emotional and deep, with just the right amount of humanity and spirituality in it to feel the novel much more than just your run-off-the-mill action adventure. The story does what any and every great piece of literary work should do, it makes you think. About yourselves, about life, about your place in this impossibly vast universe, and most importantly, what its meant to be alive. And with that amazingly beautiful very last chapter of the book, it makes you believe that maybe death is not the end, maybe the journey continues in some form, somewhere.
As Vigor once told so eloquently:
"There are thousand paths into the future, forks after forks in the road ahead. Who knows, if one road closes, maybe another opens in another universe... and your soul, your consciousness, leaps over to continue the journey ever forward, always finding the right path".
Thank you, Mr. Rollins.
Okay, overwhelming emotions in check, its time to review the positives and negatives (but mostly positives) of this latest Sigma Force adventure. But first, let me get this declaration out of the way, James Rollins is hands down one of my most favorite action-adventure writers. I was waiting for this book in bated breath since last year after the spectacular (let me emphasis it once more: SPECTACULAR!) finishing of Bloodline, and as my expectations grew sky-high, some where in the back of my mind I begin to doubt that surely Rollins can't possibly reach my insanely high expectations, he's bound to stumble at least once, right? Well, it turns out even as a self-proclaimed fanatic of Rollins' works, I was thinking less of his imaginative ability, with using countless threads of histories & science and exotic locations and impossible situations, Rollins had written one helluva thrilling adventure!
The main plot and the stake is itself one of a kind: A blazing comet is hurtling beside the earth, and in its wake it's pulling a vast amount of mysterious Dark Energy, which somehow is creating a tunnel in the Time-Space around Earth, and a shitload of asteroids will come crashing through that tunnel to destroy the planet in four days, unless Sigma Force can do something about it. Yeah, I know. But wait, that's not all, not even close: to prevent it from happening, Gray & Co. have to find an ancient relic, that is connected in someway with that blazing comet, for that they have to find the lost tomb of Genghis Khan, which is also related with the tomb of Attila the Hun, and the mysteries surrounding St. Thomas and in his days whether or not he reached to the far China. Combine them with Mongolian clan-leaders, Chinese triads and the gang wars, a destructive trip to North Korea, and what you have is a ridiculously complicated but equally breathtakingly thrilling piece of Action-Adventure. I cannot but once again commend Rollins in his talent to create not only a massively complex storyline, but to seamlessly tie each and every thread to turn that into a plausible and realistic story.
Unlike many other contemporary A/A authors, Rollins always astonishes me with his unusually strong, three-dimensional characterizations of his characters, to the point that they start to feel like real-life persons to us. The usual suspects are all there, except Painter Crowe, Kat (who were in the background) and Lisa (who is completely out of the picture this time). Instead, we have a very welcome return of Vigor & Rachel Verona, with a couple of fresh new faces in Dancun Wren and Jada Shaw, both of whom are wonderfully characterized and brought to the table some unique substances of their own (Magnetic Fingertips are so freaking cool!). Thanks to Rollins, with the expertly shifting of POVs, we were perfectly accustomed and familiarized with such large number of characters (But still no POV for Kowalski, WHY?)
The most interesting point of a new Sigma Force novel, to me, is always the latest topic of cutting-edge science, which is at a glance feels like science-fiction, but in its heart will always have far more "Science" than "Fiction". For this story, we have the mysterious Dark Energy that is said to be covering the 2/3rd of the whole universe, and the Quantum-Effects and Quantum-Entanglements that is related to it. Not only the topic itself is superbly cool and interesting, but Rollins actually tried to answered the mysteries of life and death using this Quantum Effect and what lays beyond the curtain of Death. And let me just say, whether it can be true or not, its one of the more fantastically optimistic views to the realm of death I've ever heard, and makes me believe that may be death is not truly the end, but the beginning of a much larger adventure!
Every James Rollins Adventure is distinctive for its exotic locations, and this one is no different. I thought after all this time and travels, surely he'd come up short in incredibly stunning locations? Not by a long mile, it seems. We have the treacherous Mongolian snow-covered mountains, a devastatingly detailed look at the city of Pyongyang in the mysterious North Korea, an intimate insight of the people, politics and architecture of the capital city of Ulan Bator of Mongolia, the magnificent frozen ice tunnels and islands on the Lake Baikal, and best of all, an all too real but astonishingly awesome dried sea of salt and sand named Aral Sea, which felt like came right out of a fantasy novel!
Now, the ONE thing in this book that I'm not a fan of is the Antagonists of the story. For much of the last Sigma Force novels, The Guild was their archenemy and always made things difficult for them with their chaos, Machiavellian plans of world domination and superbly evil deadly agents. With the fall of Guild in BLOODLINE, I was hoping for a new rising threat in the horizon, that Rollins can hopefully build in the coming novels. As it turns out, not so much. Just your average Gang-lords and Clan-leaders, and for some reason, although they have absolutely no connection with the main plot, North Koreans (and let me just say, they are one of the LAMEST villains I've ever read!). In my opinion, even if Rollins would went with the intelligence services of the relevant countries (such as China or Mongolia) as the villains, it would be much more interesting. Rollins should've done better to fill the very big shoes of Guild.
Its time to again discuss about the ending, and I think I expressed clearly enough how heartbreaking that was. But off course it was also achingly emotional and deep, with just the right amount of humanity and spirituality in it to feel the novel much more than just your run-off-the-mill action adventure. The story does what any and every great piece of literary work should do, it makes you think. About yourselves, about life, about your place in this impossibly vast universe, and most importantly, what its meant to be alive. And with that amazingly beautiful very last chapter of the book, it makes you believe that maybe death is not the end, maybe the journey continues in some form, somewhere.
As Vigor once told so eloquently:
"There are thousand paths into the future, forks after forks in the road ahead. Who knows, if one road closes, maybe another opens in another universe... and your soul, your consciousness, leaps over to continue the journey ever forward, always finding the right path".
Thank you, Mr. Rollins.
December 3, 2022
The Eye of God is the 9th book in the Sigma Force thriller series written by James Rollins. I've read the earlier books in the series and am focused on catching up to the 2022 release this summer. In this installment, the gang of US secret operatives are looking for Seichan's mother in the Far East when a space satellite of some sort crashes into Mongolia. Images show the future destruction of Earth, which means Sigma must find the solution. Taking us all across the globe again, this adventure story kept my interest, though sometimes it gets too detailed and I have to skim paragraphs. When it borders science-fiction, I detach and lose interest. But it never strays too far, so I always come back. Onward to the next one.
January 31, 2016
James Rollins is one of my favorite authors. When it comes to adventure books he is truly a marvelous writer and he writes books that you hardly can put down until you have finished it. This book is not an exception. All of my favorite characters are back; Crowe, Pierce, Monk, Kowalski, and of course, my absolute favorite Seichan. The world is in danger and they have to save it and doing it they cross the world looking for Genghis Khan's tomb. The pace is fast and the story intriguing, and the ending, well you have to read it yourself...I don’t want to spoil it for you...
June 29, 2013
AMAZING! The Eye of God by James Rollins is EVERYTHING. Having read all the previous Sigma Force novels as well as all the other Rollins individual adventures I have been highly anticipating this novel. It is by far the best!in the series! Rollins once again takes you on a non-stop full throttle adventure across the globe in a race against time to save the world. Using excellent locations, multiple plot lines, and history, science, technology, and adventure to create a story that is top notch. Having read the previous Sigma novels I have become very attached with the characters that make up the series. Rollins does a wonderful job of continuing to develop these characters and relationships. There are also several plot twist that left me gasping aloud, and stunned by there outcomes. I was on the edge of my seat this entire novel, and commend Mr. Rollins for taking this novel to the next level! I am very excited as well to also have the opportunity to finally meet Mr. Rollins as he will be in Indianapolis on The Eye of God book tour! It will be an honor to meet someone who has increased my thirst for reading and made it a thrill at every page turn! TWO THUMBS UP! Looking forward as always to the next Sigma adventure.
July 28, 2013
The author's note at the end of the book almost made me rate this a star higher. However, I suffered far too much boredom before I got to that point for that to happen. It's ashame really. I absolutely loved "Amazonia" by the same Author and in that book I bought every high-flying idea presented. Perhaps it's the fact that I haven't read any other "Sigma Force" novel. I didn't know the characters from previous encounters and that was a huge handicap. I didn't care much about either the good guys or the villains.
In this book there is a comet heading toward Earth. It appears to be pushing a Field of Dark Energy in front of it, and a small satellite called IOG ("Eye of God") is sent up to gather data. The satellite gets lost and crashes into Mongolia. It must be retrieved before any other nation can get its hands on it. That was the interesting part.
At the same time in Hong Kong, Seichan is looking for her long-lost mother. Things do not exactly og to plan and she gets kidnapped by North Koreans and must be saved. Yadda yadda yadda. Possibly interesting if you know her from before. To me it was all extravagantly unbelievable and uninteresting.
Then there was a rather interesting plot of a lost priest and some relics he had found, pointing toward Genghis Khan's lost tomb and some further relic which might save the world from the repercussions of the comet. Not that the comet itself is set to hit Earth, but it's creating chinks in Space time for asteroids to fall into and hit the earth. Or something like that. My attention kept wandering.
So yes, in a sentence: it's a race to save the world from imminent destruction. A familiar theme to say the least. Rather inventingly presented and certainly well-researched, but it did not manage to hold my interest.
In this book there is a comet heading toward Earth. It appears to be pushing a Field of Dark Energy in front of it, and a small satellite called IOG ("Eye of God") is sent up to gather data. The satellite gets lost and crashes into Mongolia. It must be retrieved before any other nation can get its hands on it. That was the interesting part.
At the same time in Hong Kong, Seichan is looking for her long-lost mother. Things do not exactly og to plan and she gets kidnapped by North Koreans and must be saved. Yadda yadda yadda. Possibly interesting if you know her from before. To me it was all extravagantly unbelievable and uninteresting.
Then there was a rather interesting plot of a lost priest and some relics he had found, pointing toward Genghis Khan's lost tomb and some further relic which might save the world from the repercussions of the comet. Not that the comet itself is set to hit Earth, but it's creating chinks in Space time for asteroids to fall into and hit the earth. Or something like that. My attention kept wandering.
So yes, in a sentence: it's a race to save the world from imminent destruction. A familiar theme to say the least. Rather inventingly presented and certainly well-researched, but it did not manage to hold my interest.
July 10, 2013
There are several similarities between James Rollins' THE EYE OF GOD and Dan Brown's INFERNO -- most noticeably, both novels are a race against time to save humanity and both are steeped in ancient history with abundant mysteries and exotic locales.
I'd suggest however that THE EYE OF GOD succeeds far more than INFERNO for the following reasons: one, the pacing is relentless -- where Brown bogs down with laborious descriptions of artwork, Rollins paints vivid images with sparse prose that allows the story to maintain a full head of steam; two, INFERNO's plot fell apart for me when it became clear that the "bad guy" taunting and leaving clues for the "good guys" was the only way for Brown to move his story forward, which was just dumb, and then he tried to blur the lines between who is really good and bad at the end, and that was even dumber -- Rollins however rips a pretty scary story straight from the headlines, using the threat of NEOs (near earth objects), a comet streaking closer and closer to earth, and high-tech science dealing with dark energy to weave together a scenario that threatens an Armageddon type collision and the end of civilization as we know it; and finally, both these authors are obviously incredibly smart and gifted and do meticulous research, but Dan Brown's writing style always makes me feel like I'm talking to someone who wants me to know how smart he is, whereas (at least in this book) Rollins doesn't let all the research get in the way of the story -- instead it feeds the story and pulls you right along.
A couple of minor criticisms: because the threat is from an inanimate object that has no inherently evil intentions, it seemed to me that the author felt he needed a B Story with a real bad guy. So he gives us a North Korean who is up to no good, who gets in the way and tries to kill our heroes ... only he's not doing this because he wants the earth to end, it's just really bad timing for our good guys that with minutes left to save the world this wacko shows up again (and the wacko has no idea what it is the good guys are trying to do, but he's determined to stop them anyway...) and now the good guys have to deal with him AND save the world. To me it was silly. The end of the world due to science was already compelling, the North Korean bad guy weakened the story for me.
The second criticism, well ... it's not a big thing, but ask anyone who has traveled internationally to read this book and I think they'd agree that saving the planet in four days when you've got to jet-set all over the world to do it just isn't happening. I get it, this is fiction. We bend the rules. But when the good guys can launch an invasion of Pyongyang and get out in time to travel to Mongolia and they've barely used any of the precious four days they've been given to save the world ... well, it just bugged me, so I mention it here.
Overall? It's a fast, fun read, and interspersed with the action there's a number of thought-provoking quotes and some great words of wisdom as well.
I'd suggest however that THE EYE OF GOD succeeds far more than INFERNO for the following reasons: one, the pacing is relentless -- where Brown bogs down with laborious descriptions of artwork, Rollins paints vivid images with sparse prose that allows the story to maintain a full head of steam; two, INFERNO's plot fell apart for me when it became clear that the "bad guy" taunting and leaving clues for the "good guys" was the only way for Brown to move his story forward, which was just dumb, and then he tried to blur the lines between who is really good and bad at the end, and that was even dumber -- Rollins however rips a pretty scary story straight from the headlines, using the threat of NEOs (near earth objects), a comet streaking closer and closer to earth, and high-tech science dealing with dark energy to weave together a scenario that threatens an Armageddon type collision and the end of civilization as we know it; and finally, both these authors are obviously incredibly smart and gifted and do meticulous research, but Dan Brown's writing style always makes me feel like I'm talking to someone who wants me to know how smart he is, whereas (at least in this book) Rollins doesn't let all the research get in the way of the story -- instead it feeds the story and pulls you right along.
A couple of minor criticisms: because the threat is from an inanimate object that has no inherently evil intentions, it seemed to me that the author felt he needed a B Story with a real bad guy. So he gives us a North Korean who is up to no good, who gets in the way and tries to kill our heroes ... only he's not doing this because he wants the earth to end, it's just really bad timing for our good guys that with minutes left to save the world this wacko shows up again (and the wacko has no idea what it is the good guys are trying to do, but he's determined to stop them anyway...) and now the good guys have to deal with him AND save the world. To me it was silly. The end of the world due to science was already compelling, the North Korean bad guy weakened the story for me.
The second criticism, well ... it's not a big thing, but ask anyone who has traveled internationally to read this book and I think they'd agree that saving the planet in four days when you've got to jet-set all over the world to do it just isn't happening. I get it, this is fiction. We bend the rules. But when the good guys can launch an invasion of Pyongyang and get out in time to travel to Mongolia and they've barely used any of the precious four days they've been given to save the world ... well, it just bugged me, so I mention it here.
Overall? It's a fast, fun read, and interspersed with the action there's a number of thought-provoking quotes and some great words of wisdom as well.
July 30, 2015
James Rollins successfully combines, science, religion, history, and mythology once more. He is the master of the sci-fi archeological thriller. (AKA - the titillating technical tomb tome) The Sigma Force is tasked with saving the world from the destructive effects of dark energy emitted from a passing comet. The key to their mission is linked to the wanderings of St. Thomas and the conquests of Genghis Khan. As with past Sigma novels, Rollins incorporates far-flung and less common locations into his plot. Additionally, he allowed this tale to develop along two story lines that eventually come together in the exciting climax. Without being accused of spoiling the story, I will say that Rollins handles the death of some main (not major) characters with aplomb. The story gripped me from the beginning and kept me from my allotted eight hours of sleep for a few nights. On a more detailed scale, I provide this novel with a 4.75.
August 29, 2013
(See expanded review at: https://mgbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...)
The Eye of God is James Rollins’ most recent Sigma Force novel, and it delivers an exciting science thriller story based on theories about dark energy and the history of Genghis Khan. Unfortunately, this was not one of the stronger books of the series. While I would give it a solid three stars as I quite enjoyed reading it, the novel suffers from some plot and character issues that made it a little less entertaining than previous Sigma Force editions. However, I definitely recommend it to fans of the series and of science thrillers. It is a fun, summer read, and who can say no to more Sigma Force?
Synopsis (The rest of the review contains spoilers!)
The book begins with the explosion of a satellite being used to study a comet pulsating with dark energy. As the satellite plummets towards Earth, it transmits an image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in flames back to the scientists working on the project. Painter Crowe is in the audience, and is ordered to retrieve the remnants of the satellite from Mongolia so that the technology will not fall into enemy hands, and to see if it reveals any further information about this terrifying photo.
Painter sends Monk and two new characters, Dr. Jada Shaw and Duncan Wren, on this mission. Shaw is an astrophysicist who fulfils the confused, scared, but plucky civilian role. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on dark energy, and predicts that the image sent by the falling satellite was likely showing a possible future that could occur in next four days. Duncan Wren is a new Sigma agent who has magnets embedded in his fingertips that allow him to feel electromagnetic fields (a trait that proves to be extremely useful later in the book when it is discovered that matter influenced by dark energy gives off unique electromagnetic pulses). It will be interesting to see if these characters return in future Sigma novels, or if they are tied too heavily into the plot needs of this book (and if they come back while Tracker and Kane are AWOL, I will be so sad! I didn’t find Shaw and Wren to be nearly as interesting or compelling, mostly due to the fact that their characters seemed too scripted for this exact plot).
However, before this Sigma team takes off to retrieve the satellite, Vigor and Rachel from the Vatican contact the secret organisation to announce that they have information concerning an ancient relic that foretells the destruction of the planet in the next four days. Monk, Shaw, and Wren meet up with these two in the Aral Sea, meeting a colleague of Vigor’s who has been researching these relics and their connections to Genghis Khan and the end of the world for the past decade. Once they have discover another relic leading them towards the tomb of this great conqueror, they are betrayed by the Clan of the Blue Wolf, a group of nationalistic Mongolian men who will stop at nothing in their attempt to gain power and glory for their country and themselves.
In the meantime, Gray and Seichan are in Macau trying to track down her mother after the revelations about her family in Bloodline. However, they are betrayed by their source, and Seichan is captured by one of the major mob bosses of the area. Gray tracks down Seichan’s mother, and together they have to travel to North Korea to save the kidnapped assassin.
In the final part of the book, both teams arrive in Mongolia in an attempt to find the missing relic that is the key to saving the world. Monk, Shaw, and Wren track down the pieces of the broken satellite at the bottom of a lake in the mountains, and retrieve one of the internal components that has become infused with dark energy. They are attacked by the Clan of Blue Wolves, but manage to defeat this group in order to hurry and meet Gray and his team at the final location pointed to by Genghis Khan’s ancient relic map. However, before she escaped, the North Koreans planted a tracking device on Seichan, and they surprise both teams in the remote village where the final tomb is located. The Sigma agents and their allies struggle to survive this encounter, and to get the satellite piece to the tomb in order to neutralise the dark energy that is drawing a deadly asteroid to Earth in the exciting climax of this book.
The Bad and the Ugly – What Could Have Gone Better
1. Seichan – Seichan has featured heavily as a character in the past several Sigma Force novels. She is a fearsome, sexy, cold, and calculating Eurasian lady who is also incredibly boring. Seichan has become the definition of the trope of the assassin with a heart of gold who must learn to overcome her difficult life in order to love and cherish other human beings again. Rollins has done little to differentiate her from the many other characters like this that have popped up in thrillers before. While Bloodline was supposed to inject fresh ideas in her plotlines, the search for her mother and subsequent escape from North Korea did little to expand upon her character. By the end of the book, she does decide to take a leap of faith and begin a relationship with Gray, but her reunion with her mother is largely emotionless, and her attempts at dealing with this fact are fairly weak as well.
2. North Korea – At the start of the novel, the powers that be stress that the crashed satellite must be picked up as soon as possible because of the danger of China or Russia finding and exploiting this new and top secret military technology. However, despite this danger, the two countries are really not mentioned again. Instead, one of the big baddies in The Eye of God is represented by North Korea. While in Macau searching for her mother, Seichan is captured by a mob boss and sold to North Korea. Once there, she escapes with the help of Gray, and North Korea pursues her all the way to Mongolia where they create quite a lot of conflict and devastation at the climax of the book. However, Rollins never really gives his readers a reason as to why North Korea would want Seichan so badly, nor why they would risk an assault on an American group on foreign soil just to get her back (other than to imply that North Korea is filled with mostly crazy megalomaniac types that can’t stand to lose). The appearance of this enemy in Mongolia is jarring, and feels like an unnecessary attempt to make the end of the book more exciting. Utilising Russia or China as the central villain would have made more sense as they probably would have reason to want both Seichan (since she seems to have made an enemy of a good number of states) and the military technology.
3. The Theme of Death – Part of The Eye of God’s thematic concepts centered on life and death. In this book, readers discover that Vigor, a reoccurring character throughout the series, has terminal cancer. By the end of the book, both he and Rachel have died (Vigor because he sacrifices himself to save the world, and Rachel because she was murdered by the North Koreans). Vigor’s trials, in particular, were supposed to be the catalyst for characters (particularly Seichan) to think about death and the importance of living when one has the chance. However, the Sigma Force novels are no strangers to the death of characters, even major ones (even if some of them do come back. I’m looking at you, Monk!). In fact, a character had died only a few chapters before. While I did enjoy the idea of quantum consciousness and how Rollins’ utilised this concept right at the end of the novel, I didn’t feel as if either Vigor’s or Rachel’s deaths were particularly devastating, inspiring, or even useful for future plots. This book would have been stronger had it focused more on relationships and personal connections as it hinted at with Seichan and her mother, as well as with Rachel and her uncle.
The Eye of God is James Rollins’ most recent Sigma Force novel, and it delivers an exciting science thriller story based on theories about dark energy and the history of Genghis Khan. Unfortunately, this was not one of the stronger books of the series. While I would give it a solid three stars as I quite enjoyed reading it, the novel suffers from some plot and character issues that made it a little less entertaining than previous Sigma Force editions. However, I definitely recommend it to fans of the series and of science thrillers. It is a fun, summer read, and who can say no to more Sigma Force?
Synopsis (The rest of the review contains spoilers!)
The book begins with the explosion of a satellite being used to study a comet pulsating with dark energy. As the satellite plummets towards Earth, it transmits an image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in flames back to the scientists working on the project. Painter Crowe is in the audience, and is ordered to retrieve the remnants of the satellite from Mongolia so that the technology will not fall into enemy hands, and to see if it reveals any further information about this terrifying photo.
Painter sends Monk and two new characters, Dr. Jada Shaw and Duncan Wren, on this mission. Shaw is an astrophysicist who fulfils the confused, scared, but plucky civilian role. She is one of the world’s foremost experts on dark energy, and predicts that the image sent by the falling satellite was likely showing a possible future that could occur in next four days. Duncan Wren is a new Sigma agent who has magnets embedded in his fingertips that allow him to feel electromagnetic fields (a trait that proves to be extremely useful later in the book when it is discovered that matter influenced by dark energy gives off unique electromagnetic pulses). It will be interesting to see if these characters return in future Sigma novels, or if they are tied too heavily into the plot needs of this book (and if they come back while Tracker and Kane are AWOL, I will be so sad! I didn’t find Shaw and Wren to be nearly as interesting or compelling, mostly due to the fact that their characters seemed too scripted for this exact plot).
However, before this Sigma team takes off to retrieve the satellite, Vigor and Rachel from the Vatican contact the secret organisation to announce that they have information concerning an ancient relic that foretells the destruction of the planet in the next four days. Monk, Shaw, and Wren meet up with these two in the Aral Sea, meeting a colleague of Vigor’s who has been researching these relics and their connections to Genghis Khan and the end of the world for the past decade. Once they have discover another relic leading them towards the tomb of this great conqueror, they are betrayed by the Clan of the Blue Wolf, a group of nationalistic Mongolian men who will stop at nothing in their attempt to gain power and glory for their country and themselves.
In the meantime, Gray and Seichan are in Macau trying to track down her mother after the revelations about her family in Bloodline. However, they are betrayed by their source, and Seichan is captured by one of the major mob bosses of the area. Gray tracks down Seichan’s mother, and together they have to travel to North Korea to save the kidnapped assassin.
In the final part of the book, both teams arrive in Mongolia in an attempt to find the missing relic that is the key to saving the world. Monk, Shaw, and Wren track down the pieces of the broken satellite at the bottom of a lake in the mountains, and retrieve one of the internal components that has become infused with dark energy. They are attacked by the Clan of Blue Wolves, but manage to defeat this group in order to hurry and meet Gray and his team at the final location pointed to by Genghis Khan’s ancient relic map. However, before she escaped, the North Koreans planted a tracking device on Seichan, and they surprise both teams in the remote village where the final tomb is located. The Sigma agents and their allies struggle to survive this encounter, and to get the satellite piece to the tomb in order to neutralise the dark energy that is drawing a deadly asteroid to Earth in the exciting climax of this book.
The Bad and the Ugly – What Could Have Gone Better
1. Seichan – Seichan has featured heavily as a character in the past several Sigma Force novels. She is a fearsome, sexy, cold, and calculating Eurasian lady who is also incredibly boring. Seichan has become the definition of the trope of the assassin with a heart of gold who must learn to overcome her difficult life in order to love and cherish other human beings again. Rollins has done little to differentiate her from the many other characters like this that have popped up in thrillers before. While Bloodline was supposed to inject fresh ideas in her plotlines, the search for her mother and subsequent escape from North Korea did little to expand upon her character. By the end of the book, she does decide to take a leap of faith and begin a relationship with Gray, but her reunion with her mother is largely emotionless, and her attempts at dealing with this fact are fairly weak as well.
2. North Korea – At the start of the novel, the powers that be stress that the crashed satellite must be picked up as soon as possible because of the danger of China or Russia finding and exploiting this new and top secret military technology. However, despite this danger, the two countries are really not mentioned again. Instead, one of the big baddies in The Eye of God is represented by North Korea. While in Macau searching for her mother, Seichan is captured by a mob boss and sold to North Korea. Once there, she escapes with the help of Gray, and North Korea pursues her all the way to Mongolia where they create quite a lot of conflict and devastation at the climax of the book. However, Rollins never really gives his readers a reason as to why North Korea would want Seichan so badly, nor why they would risk an assault on an American group on foreign soil just to get her back (other than to imply that North Korea is filled with mostly crazy megalomaniac types that can’t stand to lose). The appearance of this enemy in Mongolia is jarring, and feels like an unnecessary attempt to make the end of the book more exciting. Utilising Russia or China as the central villain would have made more sense as they probably would have reason to want both Seichan (since she seems to have made an enemy of a good number of states) and the military technology.
3. The Theme of Death – Part of The Eye of God’s thematic concepts centered on life and death. In this book, readers discover that Vigor, a reoccurring character throughout the series, has terminal cancer. By the end of the book, both he and Rachel have died (Vigor because he sacrifices himself to save the world, and Rachel because she was murdered by the North Koreans). Vigor’s trials, in particular, were supposed to be the catalyst for characters (particularly Seichan) to think about death and the importance of living when one has the chance. However, the Sigma Force novels are no strangers to the death of characters, even major ones (even if some of them do come back. I’m looking at you, Monk!). In fact, a character had died only a few chapters before. While I did enjoy the idea of quantum consciousness and how Rollins’ utilised this concept right at the end of the novel, I didn’t feel as if either Vigor’s or Rachel’s deaths were particularly devastating, inspiring, or even useful for future plots. This book would have been stronger had it focused more on relationships and personal connections as it hinted at with Seichan and her mother, as well as with Rachel and her uncle.
August 22, 2013
Oh my Lord. I bought this book solely because it had a rating of 4.1 on Goodreads. I'd never heard of the author or the series. Are you friggin' kidding me? I made it to page 140. And I'm stopping there. Why? Here's why: think of batman, spiderman, superman and ironman. Take all their powers, abilities, charm and "try" to roll them up into one character. Then make them super gorgeous, super smart, give them 30 years of life experience but claim they're 23 years old. That sums up just about EVERY character in this book. Then have every single possible thing happen to all of them all at once. I 'get' that the author wants to keep the action going at a frenetic pace, but this is so ridiculous it isn't even enjoyable. Doesn't there have to be a shred of believability for it to be enjoyable?! Is it because the dude is a Goodread's author that this book has such a high rating??? Insane. Over the course of the last 20 years, I can count on one hand the number of books that I started reading but failed to finish. This one of them.
RIDICULOUS!
RIDICULOUS!
October 15, 2020
সিগমা ফোর্স সিরিজের ৯ম বই দ্য আই অফ গড। সবমিলিয়ে অনেক ভালো লেগেছে বইটি। যদিও পছন্দের দুইজন চরিত্রকে হারিয়ে মন খারাপ হয়ে গিয়েছিল। অনুবাদ যথেষ্ট ভাল ছিল কিন্ত চরিত্রগুলোর নামের বানান নিয়ে বিরক্ত লেগেছে অনেক। যাইহোক, সবমিলিয়ে অনেক ভালো ছিল বইটি।
দ্য আই অফ গড (সিগমা ফোর্স -৯)
"ধ্বংস হয়ে মঙ্গোলিয়ার মাটিতে পড়ার ঠিক আগ মুহূর্তে আই অফ গড নামক স্যাটেলাইটের তোলা ছবিতে দেখা যায় আমেরিকার তিনটি শহর : নিউ ইয়র্ক, বোস্টন, ওয়াশিংটন ডি.সি. আগুনে ধোঁয়ায় ধিকিধিকি জ্বলছে। অথচ শহর তিনটির পরিস্থিতি স্বাভাবিক। তাহলে এই ইমেজটি আসল কোথা থেকে...
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অন্যদিকে ১০ বছর আগে আচমকা নিখোঁজ হয়ে যাওয়া ফাদার জসিপ আবার ফিরে এসেছেন দৃশ্যপটে। ভিগোর ভেরোনাকে মানুষের চামড়া দিয়ে বাঁধাই করা বই এবং তের শতাব্দীর অজ্ঞাত একজনের মাথার খুলি পাঠিয়েছেন তিনি। ডিএনএ টেস্টিং-এর পর জানা যায়, খুলির মালিক স্বয়ং চেঙ্গিস খান। খুলিটিতে লেখা: চার দিনের মধ্যে ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে এই দুনিয়া।
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কমান্ডার গ্রে পিয়ের্সের এবারকার মিশন... ঠেকাতে হবে দুনিয়ার কেয়ামত। হাতে সময় ৯০ ঘন্টা। মিশন ব্যর্থ হলে বিপর্যয়ের মুখে পড়বে পৃথিবী এবং ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে মানবসভ্যতা।"
দ্য আই অফ গড (সিগমা ফোর্স -৯)
"ধ্বংস হয়ে মঙ্গোলিয়ার মাটিতে পড়ার ঠিক আগ মুহূর্তে আই অফ গড নামক স্যাটেলাইটের তোলা ছবিতে দেখা যায় আমেরিকার তিনটি শহর : নিউ ইয়র্ক, বোস্টন, ওয়াশিংটন ডি.সি. আগুনে ধোঁয়ায় ধিকিধিকি জ্বলছে। অথচ শহর তিনটির পরিস্থিতি স্বাভাবিক। তাহলে এই ইমেজটি আসল কোথা থেকে...
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অন্যদিকে ১০ বছর আগে আচমকা নিখোঁজ হয়ে যাওয়া ফাদার জসিপ আবার ফিরে এসেছেন দৃশ্যপটে। ভিগোর ভেরোনাকে মানুষের চামড়া দিয়ে বাঁধাই করা বই এবং তের শতাব্দীর অজ্ঞাত একজনের মাথার খুলি পাঠিয়েছেন তিনি। ডিএনএ টেস্টিং-এর পর জানা যায়, খুলির মালিক স্বয়ং চেঙ্গিস খান। খুলিটিতে লেখা: চার দিনের মধ্যে ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে এই দুনিয়া।
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কমান্ডার গ্রে পিয়ের্সের এবারকার মিশন... ঠেকাতে হবে দুনিয়ার কেয়ামত। হাতে সময় ৯০ ঘন্টা। মিশন ব্যর্থ হলে বিপর্যয়ের মুখে পড়বে পৃথিবী এবং ধ্বংস হয়ে যাবে মানবসভ্যতা।"
May 29, 2022
★★★½
Like the previous Sigma Force books, The Eye of god is an action packed read, and a good page turner.
Like the previous Sigma Force books, The Eye of god is an action packed read, and a good page turner.
July 3, 2013
I have to admit up front that I've been a fan of James Rollins ever since I read Amazonia many years ago. I have a group of authors that I look forward to picking up their most recent books, even though they are extremely overpriced compared to the indie authors available on Amazon, and James Rollins is one of those. This isn't his best book, but that being said, it's still better than so many authors I've read in recent years. My sign as to how good a book is, is how fast I'm reading it, a good book, like this one is ripped through at a fever pace, a bad book… well that just seems to take forever, I mostly still trudge through it, but I'm not happy about it. I've never read a Rollins book that's been bad, and I think that is mostly due to his incredible sense of pacing. Rollins keeps his chapters short and he hits you hooks right at the end of them that make you keep flipping the pages so you can find out what happens. I go out of my way not to give away too many details of any book because I like to leave the surprises for the reader to enjoy as they discover them. So I won't go into too many details as I say that the only real problem that I had with this books was the fact that too many details and facts were thrown in and in places it bogged down the story a little bit. But only a little bit. Rollins was still able to maintain a constant sense of danger as he guided the reader through some very impossible and wild situations. This book is part of the Sigma series, so many of the characters are very familiar to anyone who's read the rest of the books in the series, but Rollins still finds new ways of throwing in a few surprises. So I would highly suggest this book to other.
June 28, 2021
শুরুটা হয় ৪৫২খৃষ্টাব্দে আটিলা দ্য হানের হত্যার মাধ্যমে। এই হাঙ্গেরিয়ান দস্যু এসেছিলেন রোম ধ্বংস করতে। কিন্তু তৎকালীন পোপ তাকে এমন কিছু একটা দেয় যারফলে সে রোম ধ্বংস না করে ফিরে যায়। পরবর্তীতে বাসর রাতে নিজ স্ত্রীর দেওয়া বিষেই সে মারা যায়। তবে সেসময় থেকেই গায়েব হয়ে যায় পোপের দেওয়া সেই বস্তুটি, যা ছিলো পৃথিবীকে ধ্বংসের হাত থেকে বাচানোর রক্ষাকবজ।
বর্তমান সময়ের ঘটনা। মার্কিন স্যাটালাইট আইওজি ২কে পাঠানো হয়েছে কমেট আইকন নামক এক ধূমকেতু থেকে ডার্ক এনার্জি সংগ্রহ করতে। এনার্জি সংগ্রহের সময় আইওজি, যাকে বিজ্ঞানীরা নাম দিয়েছেন আই অব গড, বিধ্বস্ত হয়ে মঙ্গোলিয়ায় পতিত হয়। তবে পতনের পূর্বে সে কিছু চিত্র পাঠায় যাতে দেখা যায় পৃথিবীর বহু যায়গা ধ্বংস হয়ে যাচ্ছে। যদিও তেমন কিছুই ঘটছেনা। কিন্তু তরুণী বিজ্ঞানী জ্যাডা শ ব্যাপারটার একটা ব্যাখা দাড় করান। কোয়ান্টাম মেকানিক্সের ফলে আই অব গড ভবিষ্যতের চিত্র পাঠিয়ে দিয়েছে। আর তার গবেষনায় বের হয় সেই ধ্বংসযজ্ঞ শুরু হবে মাত্র চারদিন পর।
অপরদিকে ইতালিতে মনসিনিয়র ভেরোনার নিকট পাঠানো হয়েছে একটি রহস্যময় মাথার খুলি ও মানুষের চামড়া দিয়ে বানানো একটি বই। এগুলো পাঠিয়েছেন তার বন্ধু ফাদার জশিপ যিনি মৃত বলেই পৃথিবীবাসী জানে। মাথার খুলিটি যেনোতেনো কারো নয়। এটি চেঙ্গিস খানের খুলি যিনি অর্ধেক পৃথিবীর রাজা ছিলেন। মাথার খুলি ও বইতে লেখা আছে পৃথিবী ধংসের দিন যা তখন থেকে মাত্র চারদিন ব্যবধান। তবে আশার কথা, তা থেকে বাচার উপায়ও আছে। ব্যাপারটা নিয়ে তদন্তের জন্য সিগমা টিমকে সাথে নিয়ে হাঙ্গেরী পাড়ি জমান তারা।
ওদিকে গ্রে, কাওয়াস্কি ও সেইশান দেখা করতে গিয়েছে উত্তর কোরিয়ান বিজ্ঞানী ড. হুয়ান পাকের সাথে যিনি জানেন সেইশানের মা কোথায় আছে। কিন্তু তাদের জন্য ড. পাক আগে থেকেই ম্যাকাউয়ের দস্যু জু লঙ দেলগাডোর মাধ্যমে একটা ফাঁদ পেতে রেখেছিলেন। কারন গুয়ান ইনকে শায়েস্তা করার জন্য তার মেয়ে সেইশানকে তার দরকার। ফাঁদে পড়ে বন্দী হয় সেইশান। তাকে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয় উত্তর কোরিয়া। সেখানে গুয়ান ইনের আর্মি নিয়ে একটি অ্যামবুশের মাধ্যমে তাকে উদ্ধার করে গ্রে। আর তখনই সিগমা থেকে নির্দেশ আসে তাকে মঙ্গোলিয়া যেতে হবে।
ড. শ এর মতে পৃথিবীতে এমনকিছু একটা আছে যার এনার্জি আকৃষ্ট করছে কমেট আইকনকে। এই আকর্ষন রুখতে পারলেই পৃথিবীকে এই দফা বাচানো যাবে। ফাদার জশিপের সাথে গবেষনায় বের হয় এই আকর্ষনীয় বস্তুটি হচ্ছে সেইন্ট থমাসের সোনার ক্রুশ যার নির্মাণের উপাদান ছিলো উল্কাপিন্ড। ইতিহাসের সূত্র ধরে তাদের এগোতে হয় চেঙ্গিস খানের সমাধির দিকে যা রয়েছে লুকানো। আর সেখানেই রয়েছে রহস্যের চাবিকাঠি। কিন্তু চেঙ্গিস খান ছাড়াও আরো একটা সমাধি তাদের বাকি রয়ে গেছে। আর তা হচ্ছে আটিলা দ্য হানের সমাধি। কি সংযোগ দুই প্রতাপশালী সম্রাটের? আর এখানে সেইন্ট থমাসের ক্রুশেরই ভূমিকাটাই বা কি? যখন এসব রহস্য সমাধানে সিগমা টিম ব্যস্ত তখনই উটকো দুটো ঝামেলা এলো। একজন তথাকথিত চেঙ্গিস খানের বংশধর, নীলাভ নেকড়ের মহাপ্রভু, অন্যরা আধুনিক দস্যু যাদের দরকার প্রতিশোধ। পৃথিবী থাকুক কি ধ্বংস হোক, তাতে তাদের কোন পরোয়া নেই।
।
বর্তমান সময়ের ঘটনা। মার্কিন স্যাটালাইট আইওজি ২কে পাঠানো হয়েছে কমেট আইকন নামক এক ধূমকেতু থেকে ডার্ক এনার্জি সংগ্রহ করতে। এনার্জি সংগ্রহের সময় আইওজি, যাকে বিজ্ঞানীরা নাম দিয়েছেন আই অব গড, বিধ্বস্ত হয়ে মঙ্গোলিয়ায় পতিত হয়। তবে পতনের পূর্বে সে কিছু চিত্র পাঠায় যাতে দেখা যায় পৃথিবীর বহু যায়গা ধ্বংস হয়ে যাচ্ছে। যদিও তেমন কিছুই ঘটছেনা। কিন্তু তরুণী বিজ্ঞানী জ্যাডা শ ব্যাপারটার একটা ব্যাখা দাড় করান। কোয়ান্টাম মেকানিক্সের ফলে আই অব গড ভবিষ্যতের চিত্র পাঠিয়ে দিয়েছে। আর তার গবেষনায় বের হয় সেই ধ্বংসযজ্ঞ শুরু হবে মাত্র চারদিন পর।
অপরদিকে ইতালিতে মনসিনিয়র ভেরোনার নিকট পাঠানো হয়েছে একটি রহস্যময় মাথার খুলি ও মানুষের চামড়া দিয়ে বানানো একটি বই। এগুলো পাঠিয়েছেন তার বন্ধু ফাদার জশিপ যিনি মৃত বলেই পৃথিবীবাসী জানে। মাথার খুলিটি যেনোতেনো কারো নয়। এটি চেঙ্গিস খানের খুলি যিনি অর্ধেক পৃথিবীর রাজা ছিলেন। মাথার খুলি ও বইতে লেখা আছে পৃথিবী ধংসের দিন যা তখন থেকে মাত্র চারদিন ব্যবধান। তবে আশার কথা, তা থেকে বাচার উপায়ও আছে। ব্যাপারটা নিয়ে তদন্তের জন্য সিগমা টিমকে সাথে নিয়ে হাঙ্গেরী পাড়ি জমান তারা।
ওদিকে গ্রে, কাওয়াস্কি ও সেইশান দেখা করতে গিয়েছে উত্তর কোরিয়ান বিজ্ঞানী ড. হুয়ান পাকের সাথে যিনি জানেন সেইশানের মা কোথায় আছে। কিন্তু তাদের জন্য ড. পাক আগে থেকেই ম্যাকাউয়ের দস্যু জু লঙ দেলগাডোর মাধ্যমে একটা ফাঁদ পেতে রেখেছিলেন। কারন গুয়ান ইনকে শায়েস্তা করার জন্য তার মেয়ে সেইশানকে তার দরকার। ফাঁদে পড়ে বন্দী হয় সেইশান। তাকে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয় উত্তর কোরিয়া। সেখানে গুয়ান ইনের আর্মি নিয়ে একটি অ্যামবুশের মাধ্যমে তাকে উদ্ধার করে গ্রে। আর তখনই সিগমা থেকে নির্দেশ আসে তাকে মঙ্গোলিয়া যেতে হবে।
ড. শ এর মতে পৃথিবীতে এমনকিছু একটা আছে যার এনার্জি আকৃষ্ট করছে কমেট আইকনকে। এই আকর্ষন রুখতে পারলেই পৃথিবীকে এই দফা বাচানো যাবে। ফাদার জশিপের সাথে গবেষনায় বের হয় এই আকর্ষনীয় বস্তুটি হচ্ছে সেইন্ট থমাসের সোনার ক্রুশ যার নির্মাণের উপাদান ছিলো উল্কাপিন্ড। ইতিহাসের সূত্র ধরে তাদের এগোতে হয় চেঙ্গিস খানের সমাধির দিকে যা রয়েছে লুকানো। আর সেখানেই রয়েছে রহস্যের চাবিকাঠি। কিন্তু চেঙ্গিস খান ছাড়াও আরো একটা সমাধি তাদের বাকি রয়ে গেছে। আর তা হচ্ছে আটিলা দ্য হানের সমাধি। কি সংযোগ দুই প্রতাপশালী সম্রাটের? আর এখানে সেইন্ট থমাসের ক্রুশেরই ভূমিকাটাই বা কি? যখন এসব রহস্য সমাধানে সিগমা টিম ব্যস্ত তখনই উটকো দুটো ঝামেলা এলো। একজন তথাকথিত চেঙ্গিস খানের বংশধর, নীলাভ নেকড়ের মহাপ্রভু, অন্যরা আধুনিক দস্যু যাদের দরকার প্রতিশোধ। পৃথিবী থাকুক কি ধ্বংস হোক, তাতে তাদের কোন পরোয়া নেই।
।
June 29, 2022
Globalni ciljevi: nastavak serijala
Ne mogu ništa više napisati za knjigu iz Sigma Force serijala, a da se ne ponavljam. Kao i uvijek zabavno, zanimljivo, prepuno akcije, pucačine, jurnjave, eksplozija, napetosti. Događaji se izmjenjuju velikom brzinom. Ovaj put ni ne znam točno ponoviti znanstveni dio radnje. Uglavnom, ide ovako nekako: u Mongoliju se srušio satelit. On u svojoj žiroskopskoj sferi sadrži tamnu energiju (navodno ona zaista postoji, bar tako navodi Rollins na kraju knjige dok objašnjava što su činjenice, a što fikcija), koju je pokupio od kometa koji prolazi pored Zemlje. Isti taj komet je prolazio pored Zemlje u doba Džingis Kana i uzrokovao je pad asteroida kojem je isto prenio tu tamnu energiju. Od dijela tog asteroida izrađen je križ. Gray i ekipa moraju doći do sfere iz satelita i do tog križa te ih spojiti da bi poništili djelovanje te tamne energije koja privlači komet (ili možda asteroid???, tu nikako nisam pokopčala koji od njih dva) Zemlji. Ako ne uspiju, za 4 dana doći će do uništenja svijeta. Uh, jedva napisah. A vama koji budete čitali, ovo će sigurno zvučati kao bla, bla, bla. Tako su i meni ti znanstveni dijelovi knjige zvučali. Kvantna fizika, prostor-vrijeme, paralelni svjetovi... Moram priznati Rollinsu, stvarno si uvijek da truda i spoji meni nespojivo. Naravno, nije samo kraj svijeta bio problem. Zakomplicirao je ekipi život s još dvije skupine neprijatelja koje su ih naganjale oko svijeta. Eto, da bude još malo napetije. Ovaj put su mi ti neprijatelji bili malo meeh i nekako nebitni u cjelokupnoj bombastičnoj priči. Priča mi ovaj put posebno vuče na Indianu Jonesa. Otkrivaju jedan artefakt u Kazahstanu, pa drugi u Mongoliji, i onda treći u Rusiji. A sve uz istraživanje i otkrivanje tragova.
Likovi... uvijek meni draga ekipa iz Sigme, Gray i Seichan ❤️❤️❤️, Monk i Kat, Painter. I Kowalski. Ovaj put upoznajemo dva nova lika – Jadu i Duncana – koji su mi bili simpa i nadam se da će se pojaviti i u idućim nastavcima.
Ali imam jednu zamjerku. Zapravo, uvijek imam tu istu zamjerku. Kowalski je urnebesan. Obožavam ga. I baš mi je žao što ga Gray uvijek nekako ignorira ili otepe. On je kao zabavan lik s mišićima i najvećim oružjem, koji sluša naredbe i uvijek obavi posao. I to je to. Rollins, daj čovjeku nalo prostora da se razvije.
Priča odlična, likove baš obožavam. S knjigom sam provela par dana uživanja. Jedva čekam uzeti nastavak, ali probat ću se suzdržati jer nastavaka nema beskonačno. Što ću raditi kad ih sve pročitam.
Ne mogu ništa više napisati za knjigu iz Sigma Force serijala, a da se ne ponavljam. Kao i uvijek zabavno, zanimljivo, prepuno akcije, pucačine, jurnjave, eksplozija, napetosti. Događaji se izmjenjuju velikom brzinom. Ovaj put ni ne znam točno ponoviti znanstveni dio radnje. Uglavnom, ide ovako nekako: u Mongoliju se srušio satelit. On u svojoj žiroskopskoj sferi sadrži tamnu energiju (navodno ona zaista postoji, bar tako navodi Rollins na kraju knjige dok objašnjava što su činjenice, a što fikcija), koju je pokupio od kometa koji prolazi pored Zemlje. Isti taj komet je prolazio pored Zemlje u doba Džingis Kana i uzrokovao je pad asteroida kojem je isto prenio tu tamnu energiju. Od dijela tog asteroida izrađen je križ. Gray i ekipa moraju doći do sfere iz satelita i do tog križa te ih spojiti da bi poništili djelovanje te tamne energije koja privlači komet (ili možda asteroid???, tu nikako nisam pokopčala koji od njih dva) Zemlji. Ako ne uspiju, za 4 dana doći će do uništenja svijeta. Uh, jedva napisah. A vama koji budete čitali, ovo će sigurno zvučati kao bla, bla, bla. Tako su i meni ti znanstveni dijelovi knjige zvučali. Kvantna fizika, prostor-vrijeme, paralelni svjetovi... Moram priznati Rollinsu, stvarno si uvijek da truda i spoji meni nespojivo. Naravno, nije samo kraj svijeta bio problem. Zakomplicirao je ekipi život s još dvije skupine neprijatelja koje su ih naganjale oko svijeta. Eto, da bude još malo napetije. Ovaj put su mi ti neprijatelji bili malo meeh i nekako nebitni u cjelokupnoj bombastičnoj priči. Priča mi ovaj put posebno vuče na Indianu Jonesa. Otkrivaju jedan artefakt u Kazahstanu, pa drugi u Mongoliji, i onda treći u Rusiji. A sve uz istraživanje i otkrivanje tragova.
Likovi... uvijek meni draga ekipa iz Sigme, Gray i Seichan ❤️❤️❤️, Monk i Kat, Painter. I Kowalski. Ovaj put upoznajemo dva nova lika – Jadu i Duncana – koji su mi bili simpa i nadam se da će se pojaviti i u idućim nastavcima.
Ali imam jednu zamjerku. Zapravo, uvijek imam tu istu zamjerku. Kowalski je urnebesan. Obožavam ga. I baš mi je žao što ga Gray uvijek nekako ignorira ili otepe. On je kao zabavan lik s mišićima i najvećim oružjem, koji sluša naredbe i uvijek obavi posao. I to je to. Rollins, daj čovjeku nalo prostora da se razvije.
Priča odlična, likove baš obožavam. S knjigom sam provela par dana uživanja. Jedva čekam uzeti nastavak, ali probat ću se suzdržati jer nastavaka nema beskonačno. Što ću raditi kad ih sve pročitam.
July 2, 2013
Phew, I've been worrying for months who is he gonna kill but at the end, man, he pulled it off beautifully. It all went good with the story and it wasn't as hard to forgive him as i was expecting it to be. Good man, James Rollins has always been a good writer, then he found Sigma and started getting better with every book and now is at a master level. This is how is done. Thank you for the adventure, Mr Rollins.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2019
my heart wasn't in it, somehow
p55: she drove her uncle to the floor, sheltering him behind the desk with her body—as the grenade exploded with a concussive blast of fire and smoke.
p55: an object ricocheted off the stone edge of the narrow window and rebounded to the room's far side.
p58: "...details are still sketchy, but apparently someone shot a rocket-propelled grenade into the university offices of monsignor verona."
p121: the bus immediately straightened and sped faster.
p240: using the steel bar as a fulcrum, he got his feet on the rock to either side of the wreckage—and heaved down.
p55: she drove her uncle to the floor, sheltering him behind the desk with her body—as the grenade exploded with a concussive blast of fire and smoke.
p55: an object ricocheted off the stone edge of the narrow window and rebounded to the room's far side.
p58: "...details are still sketchy, but apparently someone shot a rocket-propelled grenade into the university offices of monsignor verona."
p121: the bus immediately straightened and sped faster.
p240: using the steel bar as a fulcrum, he got his feet on the rock to either side of the wreckage—and heaved down.
August 12, 2020
The Eye of God is another action-packed installment in the Sigma Force series with an engaging plot.
After a research satellite crashes in Mongolia, retrieving the satellite and the data onboard, including an image showing the Eastern United States in ruin, is paramount. But when a package arrives at the Vatican containing an inscribed skull with DNA evidence pointing to its' owner being the great Genghis Khan, it's clear a mystery centuries in the making is at play. A team from Sigma Force led by Commander Gray Pierce set out to discover how these ancient mysteries could somehow be connected to the potential destruction of the Eastern seaboard. But what they uncover has the potential to alter the world as we know it.
The Eye of God differs a bit from other books in the series in that it doesn't have two large plotlines that eventually converge. Instead, there is the main plot of recovering the satellite and researching the ancient skull with only a minor subplot at the beginning of the book that deals with Seichan. The Seichan plotline was interesting with tons of action and I definitely enjoyed it, but it worked well as a background plot. The main plot about the satellite and skull was engaging with a lot of surprise twists along the way. The way the author managed to connect a modern day crashed satellite with an ancient skull was fantastic and it was easy to believe the connection. The ending of this book is where the action really picks up and I thought the ending was wonderfully done. I will say there were a couple of things that really surprised me as I hadn't considered them a possibility at all.
The characters in this series continue to be the best part of the series. In The Eye of God we see the return of Rachel and Vigor Verona who have not appeared recently in the series. I always enjoy getting to revisit characters from earlier books and this was no exception. One thing I really liked about this book was that there was a subplot that focused on Seichan who is my favorite character. Seichan is just such a complex person and I loved that we got to focus on her for a bit. Her ever evolving relationship with Gray continues to be fantastic and I enjoy watching the dynamics in their relationship constantly shift. As for other characters, Kowalski continues to be fantastic and he is definitely shaping up to be one of my favorite characters in the series.
Overall The Eye of God was a great read that was on par with the rest of the series and I definitely hope to pick up the next book in the series, The 6th Extinction, soon. I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a thriller mixed with history and science.
After a research satellite crashes in Mongolia, retrieving the satellite and the data onboard, including an image showing the Eastern United States in ruin, is paramount. But when a package arrives at the Vatican containing an inscribed skull with DNA evidence pointing to its' owner being the great Genghis Khan, it's clear a mystery centuries in the making is at play. A team from Sigma Force led by Commander Gray Pierce set out to discover how these ancient mysteries could somehow be connected to the potential destruction of the Eastern seaboard. But what they uncover has the potential to alter the world as we know it.
The Eye of God differs a bit from other books in the series in that it doesn't have two large plotlines that eventually converge. Instead, there is the main plot of recovering the satellite and researching the ancient skull with only a minor subplot at the beginning of the book that deals with Seichan. The Seichan plotline was interesting with tons of action and I definitely enjoyed it, but it worked well as a background plot. The main plot about the satellite and skull was engaging with a lot of surprise twists along the way. The way the author managed to connect a modern day crashed satellite with an ancient skull was fantastic and it was easy to believe the connection. The ending of this book is where the action really picks up and I thought the ending was wonderfully done. I will say there were a couple of things that really surprised me as I hadn't considered them a possibility at all.
The characters in this series continue to be the best part of the series. In The Eye of God we see the return of Rachel and Vigor Verona who have not appeared recently in the series. I always enjoy getting to revisit characters from earlier books and this was no exception. One thing I really liked about this book was that there was a subplot that focused on Seichan who is my favorite character. Seichan is just such a complex person and I loved that we got to focus on her for a bit. Her ever evolving relationship with Gray continues to be fantastic and I enjoy watching the dynamics in their relationship constantly shift. As for other characters, Kowalski continues to be fantastic and he is definitely shaping up to be one of my favorite characters in the series.
Overall The Eye of God was a great read that was on par with the rest of the series and I definitely hope to pick up the next book in the series, The 6th Extinction, soon. I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for a thriller mixed with history and science.
July 15, 2013
I have had the great good fortune to have hosted James Rollins twice at our library. I had long been a fan the first time and was a bit nervous to meet him. He was surprisingly funny considering that his novels are fast-paced scientifically serious thrillers. That first time here he mostly talked about his large family and how he became a storyteller. The second time he visited he talked more openly about his research and writing process. Both visits were delightful and made him even more fans here.
His latest, The Eye of God, again finds his Sigma Force desperately looking for clues to save the world. In the wilds of Mongolia, a research satellite has crashed, triggering an explosive search for its valuable cargo: a code-black physics project connected to the study of dark energy—and a shocking image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin. At the Vatican, a package arrives containing two strange artifacts: a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a tome bound in human skin. DNA evidence reveals that both came from the same body: the long dead Mongol king Genghis Khan.
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force set out to discover a truth tied to the fall of the Roman Empire, to a mystery going back to the birth of Christianity, and to a weapon hidden for centuries that holds the fate of humanity. Rollins does this better than anyone around–the blending of history, science and our world today. I look forward to many more novels from him. (Debbie)
His latest, The Eye of God, again finds his Sigma Force desperately looking for clues to save the world. In the wilds of Mongolia, a research satellite has crashed, triggering an explosive search for its valuable cargo: a code-black physics project connected to the study of dark energy—and a shocking image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin. At the Vatican, a package arrives containing two strange artifacts: a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a tome bound in human skin. DNA evidence reveals that both came from the same body: the long dead Mongol king Genghis Khan.
Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force set out to discover a truth tied to the fall of the Roman Empire, to a mystery going back to the birth of Christianity, and to a weapon hidden for centuries that holds the fate of humanity. Rollins does this better than anyone around–the blending of history, science and our world today. I look forward to many more novels from him. (Debbie)
July 1, 2013
Of course this is James Rollins and of course it is a great story blending the science, history, and Rollins' way of interweaving it all. Our favorite characters of the Sigma Force are back this time batting the end of the world (what else of course!). This time out our earth is being threatened by dark energy, (held within a comet and outer space) which is a real phenomenon and is part of quantum physics. Rollins blends the history of Attila, St Thomas, and Genghis Khan to bring out quite a story of how they were quite possibly influenced by dark energy. To tell more would ruin the "fun" of the story.
As always, the story moves quite quickly and the resolution to the earth's dilemma is solved in just the nick of time. I love Rollins' stories for they always bring that believable into their arena. I particularly love how he explains what is real at the conclusion of the book. As always, I will await another installment of these books. They are always such fun to read even if they often mean the end of life as we know it. But then of course we do have the Sigma Force to save us!
As always, the story moves quite quickly and the resolution to the earth's dilemma is solved in just the nick of time. I love Rollins' stories for they always bring that believable into their arena. I particularly love how he explains what is real at the conclusion of the book. As always, I will await another installment of these books. They are always such fun to read even if they often mean the end of life as we know it. But then of course we do have the Sigma Force to save us!
October 16, 2016
This book, like so many of James Rollins, sucked me down a rabbit's hole I didn't want to leave. Genghis Khan, Atilla the Hun, Quantum Physics, and astronomy: they all collide in this book and make it a book that you don't ever want to put down.
November 27, 2022
Im a fan of Rollins older books…. It seems like there is less action than there use to be. I might be at the end of the road with Rollins books.
December 3, 2022
What do Genghis Khan's skull, a message made of human skin and a crashed satellite harnessing dark energy have in common? This adventure of course! So much action and history crammed in with Grayson and Sigma team solving it again!
January 22, 2015
I can't seem to wrap my mind around why so many people apparently found this book good enough to give it an overall score of 4.08.
Perhaps it is because I haven't read the previous books in the 'Sigma Force' series, but it is not often you end up caring so little for the 'good' guys at the end of a book. In my mind a book, even if it is part of a series, should be able to get it's readers involved in the people that feature in it. Well, not so here. This type of book usually comes with a lot far fetched ideas and I'm fine with that, but this whole Genghis Khan - Eye of God thing is just too ridiculous. How come such 'amazing' agents that have got skills and intellect that every mortal would be jealous of, end up getting every single decision they make wrong, and even worse, getting away with it.
Peaceful end at 96 or Horrible premature death by asteroid for the characters? Who cares.
Perhaps it is because I haven't read the previous books in the 'Sigma Force' series, but it is not often you end up caring so little for the 'good' guys at the end of a book. In my mind a book, even if it is part of a series, should be able to get it's readers involved in the people that feature in it. Well, not so here. This type of book usually comes with a lot far fetched ideas and I'm fine with that, but this whole Genghis Khan - Eye of God thing is just too ridiculous. How come such 'amazing' agents that have got skills and intellect that every mortal would be jealous of, end up getting every single decision they make wrong, and even worse, getting away with it.
Peaceful end at 96 or Horrible premature death by asteroid for the characters? Who cares.
January 8, 2022
Cały cykl Sigma Force jest świetny, a "Oko Boga" jest jedną z lepszych, do tej pory przeczytanych przeze mnie jego części.
May 5, 2020
Best of the Best
May 22, 2013
James Rollins has made a niche for himself in the currently overcrowded historical fiction field. He not only excels at creating eerily plausible premises based in some form of ancient history infused with a good amount of scientific research but also combines it with the brutal action of a Special Forces novel.
Rollins once said at a book signing that he has a ‘magic box’ that he draws his ideas from for each of his novels. As he comes across interesting news or scientific articles he cuts them out and puts them into the box. Then, when he is in need for a new idea to base his next novel on, he shakes up the box and reaches in.
It may not actually be that simple --- but James Rollins makes it look that way! His latest Sigma Force Novel is entitled THE EYE OF GOD and presents readers with an end-of-the-world plot that will have them clinging to their seats. Imagine, if you will, that the famous Mongol warrior Genghis Khan may be genetically related to a good portion of the world’s population. Statistics state that 1 in 10 Mongolians and 1 in 200 men around the globe share some genetic make-up with the ancient conqueror. I guess it pays to conquer many countries and have many wives!
The Eye of God literally refers to a downed U.S. military research satellite. It is not just important that the satellite be retrieved from where it landed (supposedly, somewhere in the remote wilds of Mongolia) but more urgent is the images that were viewed from it before it crashed. Sigma Force Director Painter Crowe and several other high-ranking U.S. Government officials witnessed a feed from this ill-fated satellite that depicted much of the U.S. Eastern seaboard decimated and in flames --- the apparent victim of a massive meteor strike.
As usual, Sigma Force --- led by Gray Pierce --- is split up pursuing different segments of the same assignment. Gray and a small team of colleagues team up with a pair of Vatican historians to discover the actual cause of the Roman Empire’s fall. This pursuit leads them from China --- where they face off with both a highly dangerous criminal Triad as well as other unsavory characters --- and ends up converging with the rest of Sigma in the sacred Mongolian territory that has been preserved since the days of Genghis Khan.
The rest of the team is already in the Mongolian territory in search of rare artifacts relating to Genghis himself. As it turns out, both teams need to gather Christian and Mongolian artifacts and place them strategically in an ancient place that has not seen the light of day in centuries. This combination of artifacts may indeed have the necessary might to deflect the oncoming meteor that is aimed at planet earth. Without this deed being accomplished, the magnetic pull that was prophesized in ancient times will keep the meteorite on its deadly course.
THE EYE OF GOD is a page-turner of the highest caliber and I defy any reader to avoid the temptation of consuming it all in one sitting. As always, Rollins provides an informative afterword entitled Truth or Fiction, whereby the most speculative ideas that were posited have the most evidence supporting their validity. Fans of sci-fi and physics will enjoy the passages on quantum physics and dark energy that provide for a nice alternative/twisting final chapter.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
Rollins once said at a book signing that he has a ‘magic box’ that he draws his ideas from for each of his novels. As he comes across interesting news or scientific articles he cuts them out and puts them into the box. Then, when he is in need for a new idea to base his next novel on, he shakes up the box and reaches in.
It may not actually be that simple --- but James Rollins makes it look that way! His latest Sigma Force Novel is entitled THE EYE OF GOD and presents readers with an end-of-the-world plot that will have them clinging to their seats. Imagine, if you will, that the famous Mongol warrior Genghis Khan may be genetically related to a good portion of the world’s population. Statistics state that 1 in 10 Mongolians and 1 in 200 men around the globe share some genetic make-up with the ancient conqueror. I guess it pays to conquer many countries and have many wives!
The Eye of God literally refers to a downed U.S. military research satellite. It is not just important that the satellite be retrieved from where it landed (supposedly, somewhere in the remote wilds of Mongolia) but more urgent is the images that were viewed from it before it crashed. Sigma Force Director Painter Crowe and several other high-ranking U.S. Government officials witnessed a feed from this ill-fated satellite that depicted much of the U.S. Eastern seaboard decimated and in flames --- the apparent victim of a massive meteor strike.
As usual, Sigma Force --- led by Gray Pierce --- is split up pursuing different segments of the same assignment. Gray and a small team of colleagues team up with a pair of Vatican historians to discover the actual cause of the Roman Empire’s fall. This pursuit leads them from China --- where they face off with both a highly dangerous criminal Triad as well as other unsavory characters --- and ends up converging with the rest of Sigma in the sacred Mongolian territory that has been preserved since the days of Genghis Khan.
The rest of the team is already in the Mongolian territory in search of rare artifacts relating to Genghis himself. As it turns out, both teams need to gather Christian and Mongolian artifacts and place them strategically in an ancient place that has not seen the light of day in centuries. This combination of artifacts may indeed have the necessary might to deflect the oncoming meteor that is aimed at planet earth. Without this deed being accomplished, the magnetic pull that was prophesized in ancient times will keep the meteorite on its deadly course.
THE EYE OF GOD is a page-turner of the highest caliber and I defy any reader to avoid the temptation of consuming it all in one sitting. As always, Rollins provides an informative afterword entitled Truth or Fiction, whereby the most speculative ideas that were posited have the most evidence supporting their validity. Fans of sci-fi and physics will enjoy the passages on quantum physics and dark energy that provide for a nice alternative/twisting final chapter.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader
January 9, 2019
4.5 stars
Christian Baskous ROCKS! Loved this narrator, otherwise, had i read and not listened, this would have been a 3.5 star rating.
Seldom have i enjoyed an Audio Book more. i found myself looking forward to going to work so i could listen to more of this story. Did not believe before this one that i could get into another Sigma Force Book, due to flaws that i will explain below, faults that pertain to the whole series and not any single installment.
What i liked: James Rollins is a very good writer. Love the blend of Science and Secret Agent Mission Impossible Blend, and as he was a Vet before he became a best-selling author, Rollins usually slips in an animal or two that does amazing fun secret agent stuff to help the heroes in their quest to save the Planet--like the animal attacks terrorists on command or swims the injured astrophysicist minority woman to safety.
These books are ridiculously unbelievable but also a guilty pleasure--so much fun.
What i don't like about Sigma Force novels: the main characters are BO-Ring as Hell. They are all brilliant, have advanced degrees in Astrophysics, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Medicine, Biology and Bioinfomatics, Neuronanotechnology, Green Beret Level combat training, magnetized hands or gadgetry, can speak many languages flawlessly, all pack Sig Sauers, Nunchucks and Ph.Ds, have Cirque du Soleit level dexterity, the ability to climb ropes while bleeding profusely and murder assasins while racing motorbikes, shoot down helicopters on a daily basis with rocket launchers, adept with computers, all fantastically young and ageless forever and healthy and of course, drop-dead gorgeous.
These people are so dull and interchangeable that when two characters died i felt absolutely no grief (Meh), and when the same two characters miraculously survived in another dimension i felt aboslutely no relief (Meh).
i sort of like Grey Pierce, i do love Kowalski, and the non-human characters are awesome.
Other criticism: If you are triggered by overly graphic descriptions of bad guys being torn apart by wolves, stay clear of this one.
Christian Baskous ROCKS! Loved this narrator, otherwise, had i read and not listened, this would have been a 3.5 star rating.
Seldom have i enjoyed an Audio Book more. i found myself looking forward to going to work so i could listen to more of this story. Did not believe before this one that i could get into another Sigma Force Book, due to flaws that i will explain below, faults that pertain to the whole series and not any single installment.
What i liked: James Rollins is a very good writer. Love the blend of Science and Secret Agent Mission Impossible Blend, and as he was a Vet before he became a best-selling author, Rollins usually slips in an animal or two that does amazing fun secret agent stuff to help the heroes in their quest to save the Planet--like the animal attacks terrorists on command or swims the injured astrophysicist minority woman to safety.
These books are ridiculously unbelievable but also a guilty pleasure--so much fun.
What i don't like about Sigma Force novels: the main characters are BO-Ring as Hell. They are all brilliant, have advanced degrees in Astrophysics, Astronomy, Biochemistry, Medicine, Biology and Bioinfomatics, Neuronanotechnology, Green Beret Level combat training, magnetized hands or gadgetry, can speak many languages flawlessly, all pack Sig Sauers, Nunchucks and Ph.Ds, have Cirque du Soleit level dexterity, the ability to climb ropes while bleeding profusely and murder assasins while racing motorbikes, shoot down helicopters on a daily basis with rocket launchers, adept with computers, all fantastically young and ageless forever and healthy and of course, drop-dead gorgeous.
These people are so dull and interchangeable that when two characters died i felt absolutely no grief (Meh), and when the same two characters miraculously survived in another dimension i felt aboslutely no relief (Meh).
i sort of like Grey Pierce, i do love Kowalski, and the non-human characters are awesome.
Other criticism: If you are triggered by overly graphic descriptions of bad guys being torn apart by wolves, stay clear of this one.
July 15, 2015
Won this via Goodread's First Reads.
With both Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan in the same book I was pretty sure that this was going to be a particularly action packed thriller and I wasn't disappointed. Also, in every book of his that I've read Rollins puts something new and totally out of left field in the book. In this one it was rare Earth magnets in people's fingers. I'd never heard of them, wouldn't want to personally do it, but, it was an interesting new thing that I got to learn about through the book. Always a good thing.
The story is just as multifaceted as usual in Rollins' books. For one thing, SIGMA has about four days before the world ends. SIGMA also needs to find and recover a fallen satellite that's on the border of China and Russia in Mongolia. And, Seichan and Gray are looking for Seichan's mother and manage to get caught up in a bit of an intense pickle that has has the head of the underbelly of Macau, a Triad leader, and North Korea in it. (As I said, action packed) Of course, as usual Rollins combines all his stories very well and in this book it seemed much less contrived when they came together. It flowed very well and was thrilling in very natural ways.
It was a much more philosophical novel and that's saying something because most of the SIGMA books have a religion component in them. But, in this one it wasn't about Christianity (or even Vigor's Catholicism) it was about the greater questions about our soul souls, not just our religious souls. (See, it was such an upper level philosophical book that now I'm making no sense in a philosophical way...)
All in all it's my favorite Rollins book so far and I eagerly await what he will do in the next SIGMA series book, because the end of this one. It blew my mind.
With both Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan in the same book I was pretty sure that this was going to be a particularly action packed thriller and I wasn't disappointed. Also, in every book of his that I've read Rollins puts something new and totally out of left field in the book. In this one it was rare Earth magnets in people's fingers. I'd never heard of them, wouldn't want to personally do it, but, it was an interesting new thing that I got to learn about through the book. Always a good thing.
The story is just as multifaceted as usual in Rollins' books. For one thing, SIGMA has about four days before the world ends. SIGMA also needs to find and recover a fallen satellite that's on the border of China and Russia in Mongolia. And, Seichan and Gray are looking for Seichan's mother and manage to get caught up in a bit of an intense pickle that has has the head of the underbelly of Macau, a Triad leader, and North Korea in it. (As I said, action packed) Of course, as usual Rollins combines all his stories very well and in this book it seemed much less contrived when they came together. It flowed very well and was thrilling in very natural ways.
It was a much more philosophical novel and that's saying something because most of the SIGMA books have a religion component in them. But, in this one it wasn't about Christianity (or even Vigor's Catholicism) it was about the greater questions about our soul souls, not just our religious souls. (See, it was such an upper level philosophical book that now I'm making no sense in a philosophical way...)
All in all it's my favorite Rollins book so far and I eagerly await what he will do in the next SIGMA series book, because the end of this one. It blew my mind.
September 30, 2017
“গিল্ড” বিহীন “সিগমা” কেমন হয়, সে শঙ্কা ছিল কিন্তু গল্পটা এতোটই কম্প্যাক্ট রাখা হয়েছে যে গিল্ডের অভাব বোধ করার সুযোগই মেলেনি। মূল গল্পের দৈর্ঘ্য ৪ দিনের ভেতর আঁটতেই হতো, তাই কম্প্যাক্ট না হবার কোন কারণ ছিলনা। আর ভাল লাগলো, ভরকেন্দ্র সেন্ট্রিক না থাকাটা। নিশ্চিতভাবেই সিগমা, পিয়ার্স আর পেইন্টার কেন্দ্রিক। “দ্য আই অফ গড” এ নতুন কিছু চরিত্র এত শক্তিশালী তৈরি করা হল, পিয়ার্সকে ছাড়াই ওরা গল্প টানতে সক্ষম।
সিগমায় নতুন চরিত্র যোগ হওয়ার ইঙ্গিত দিলেন পেইন্টার আবার একদম শুরু থেকে সাথে থাকা কিছু চরিত্রকে সরিয়ে দেয়া হল । এই “সরানো”টা আবেগঘন ছিল। একইসাথে বইয়ে��� শেষ অংশটা তাদের মৃত্যুকে মহিমান্বিত করলো যেমন, তেমনি মাল্টিপল ইউনিভার্স তত্ত্ব, যেটা এই গল্পের একটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ উপাদান; তাকেও জোরদার করার প্রয়াস পেলেন যেন জেমস রলিন্স। এর জন্যে একটা তারা বেশি।
সিগমায় নতুন চরিত্র যোগ হওয়ার ইঙ্গিত দিলেন পেইন্টার আবার একদম শুরু থেকে সাথে থাকা কিছু চরিত্রকে সরিয়ে দেয়া হল । এই “সরানো”টা আবেগঘন ছিল। একইসাথে বইয়ে��� শেষ অংশটা তাদের মৃত্যুকে মহিমান্বিত করলো যেমন, তেমনি মাল্টিপল ইউনিভার্স তত্ত্ব, যেটা এই গল্পের একটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ উপাদান; তাকেও জোরদার করার প্রয়াস পেলেন যেন জেমস রলিন্স। এর জন্যে একটা তারা বেশি।
December 29, 2015
Four stars as opposed to the usual five I've given every other Sigma Force full novel so far. The new romance in this novel did not seem authentic by any means; I predicted it from the beginning simply because one new character was a girl and one was a boy. Their interactions were not subtle at all; they didn't behave in any romantic way yet you knew they would get together. The science and history seemed a little less explained than usual and not tied together as well. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the novel and the last chapter brought tears to my eyes.
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