More than _The DaVinci Code_ or _Angels & Demons_ (and I hardly remember reading _The Lost Symbol_), this book was confusing as hell from the beginninMore than _The DaVinci Code_ or _Angels & Demons_ (and I hardly remember reading _The Lost Symbol_), this book was confusing as hell from the beginning. It was hard to know who to trust, right along with Robert. And, in the end, when all the misconceptions of what'd been happening to him for the previous 24 hours (or so) come to light.... it almost felt like he was being lied to again. I mean... Elizabeth's character is portrayed throughout as being upset that she's been drugged, struggling against her captors, when she's actually given the ORDER that she be drugged? It felt like Dan Brown decided to negate everything he'd told us about what'd been happening up until that point, but knowing that the story was written, he decided to say that "Oh, it was all in the plan to confuse you, Robert!"
That said, I thought the topic was timely, and I thought the genetic solution to overpopulation was elegant, if rather underhanded. To sterilize 1/3 of the population from now unto forever, without anybody know to whom it's been done, with a virus that is unprejudiced against one nationality, skin-type, or religion over another.... I think it'd be a genius manner in which to control the population of this earth. Some very valid, heart-wrenching topics were brought up in this novel, and I'm in agreement with Sienna, with Elizabeth, and even with the bad guy himself (sorry, name escapes me this morning), that it's high time those topics were discussed openly.
Merged review:
More than _The DaVinci Code_ or _Angels & Demons_ (and I hardly remember reading _The Lost Symbol_), this book was confusing as hell from the beginning. It was hard to know who to trust, right along with Robert. And, in the end, when all the misconceptions of what'd been happening to him for the previous 24 hours (or so) come to light.... it almost felt like he was being lied to again. I mean... Elizabeth's character is portrayed throughout as being upset that she's been drugged, struggling against her captors, when she's actually given the ORDER that she be drugged? It felt like Dan Brown decided to negate everything he'd told us about what'd been happening up until that point, but knowing that the story was written, he decided to say that "Oh, it was all in the plan to confuse you, Robert!"
That said, I thought the topic was timely, and I thought the genetic solution to overpopulation was elegant, if rather underhanded. To sterilize 1/3 of the population from now unto forever, without anybody know to whom it's been done, with a virus that is unprejudiced against one nationality, skin-type, or religion over another.... I think it'd be a genius manner in which to control the population of this earth. Some very valid, heart-wrenching topics were brought up in this novel, and I'm in agreement with Sienna, with Elizabeth, and even with the bad guy himself (sorry, name escapes me this morning), that it's high time those topics were discussed openly....more
I love this series. I love all the history, the science, the intrigue, the characters..... I love seeing these characters grow and adapt and develop oI love this series. I love all the history, the science, the intrigue, the characters..... I love seeing these characters grow and adapt and develop over the course of these stories. Which makes it heart-breaking when they are hurt, or when you reach the end of one of these stories and find that a character in them is facing a more personal battle that may or may not be overcome in future stories.
Once again, J. Rollins knocks it out of the park with this tale of science and history come to life (quite literally) and the battles our main cast of characters face as they look evil in the eye and don't back down. Not as much Painter Crowe, Kat and Monk in this series. All the action is with Grey and Seichan, Kowalski and Maria, and some new secondary characters.
I really cannot truly express how much I love seeing the way Rollins pulls all these threads of history and science into a coherent story. Already jonesing for my next "hit" of Sigma Force!...more
I loved the progression through this story from the contamination of the "scene" by the potential apocalyptic biological weapon, the frantic search foI loved the progression through this story from the contamination of the "scene" by the potential apocalyptic biological weapon, the frantic search for means to understand and control the damage facing population, and the final conclusion bringing a viable "cure" and yet promise of more excitement soon.
There were no points in this story where it felt to me as though the author relied on a lucky guess, or a deus ex machina to resolve the conflict. His plot-points fell into place easily, and I could easily envision the action taking place throughout the story....more
SOOO much action packed into these 600 pages. The science is well beyond what I can comprehend, but not because of Rollins' writing style. He brings iSOOO much action packed into these 600 pages. The science is well beyond what I can comprehend, but not because of Rollins' writing style. He brings it down to laymen's terms as much as possible, without dumbing down his writing, I'm just not as scientifically minded as I was when I was a bit younger (and genetics was still a relatively new line of study).
I can hardly wait to see what Jenna and Jason and the whole Sigma Force crew get up to next. The tantalizing hints at the next book leave me anxious to get reading.
Rollins is a master of the science thriller, and I will continue to recommend these books highly to anybody I know looking for a good read....more
Picked this up at work the other day after I forgot my current read at home.... This seemed the most intriguing of the ARCs we have lined up in our brPicked this up at work the other day after I forgot my current read at home.... This seemed the most intriguing of the ARCs we have lined up in our break room for employee reading. I was hooked from the start. The premise of having access to strangers homes, seeing how they live and what their daily lives look like is similar to my forever-need to slow down and catch a glimpse through windows of the lives lived inside, when I'm passing on the road. This story takes that curiosity about the lives of those around us to another level, though. Mr. Heming comes across initially as a benign, curious gentleman. But, as is mentioned throughout the novel, not all is as it seems. We see that while Mr. Heming obviously feels that he has the best interests of his community in mind, and he does do quite a lot of good for his community, he is not as benign as we initially see him. In fact, if you dare do something that Mr. Heming DOESN'T like, he is not at all the nice, innocuous gentleman that he initially seems to be.
This novel was a rather quick read, took me only a couple days. The pace of the story kept going. My only complaint is that his background, while told from the view of Mr. Heming's memories of his childhood, are rather full of holes. There were things that happened that just don't quite make sense, but we're not given more information to help those incidences make better sense.
Thus, I'm giving this book 4 stars. It wasn't really a mystery. The back cover lists it as a psychological suspense, but I didn't find myself in suspense, nor dreading a twist. It was almost a cozy, really. Maybe in a sense that makes me as twisted as Mr. Heming himself....more
Wasn't initially too happy with this book. The first-person perspective tends to drive me nuts, as often (as was the case in the first hundred or so pWasn't initially too happy with this book. The first-person perspective tends to drive me nuts, as often (as was the case in the first hundred or so pages of this book) it tends to come across as narcissistic & self-centered. Eventually the story picked up, the main character lost most of the annoying self-centered perspective, and the story became about the mystery, not the Zachary's (the main character's) angst so much. Once the mystery & science started becoming more of a focal point, I actually started enjoying the book. Wasn't the BEST book I've ever read, but wasn't the worst either....more
I decided I REALLY had to read this after watching the first 4 seasons of True Blood. Was really hoping that Sookie Stackhouse as written in the novelI decided I REALLY had to read this after watching the first 4 seasons of True Blood. Was really hoping that Sookie Stackhouse as written in the novel was less annoying than Sookie Stackhouse as played by Anna Paquin. She's not. She's just as annoying, the emotions & dialog are even LESS "realistic" feeling than the TV show. I can't honestly say I like the TV show more than the book, because there were points in the book (Bubba, for example) that were pretty funny that weren't included in the TV show. It should suprise NObody that the book is less gory than the TV show (and that's perfectly fine by me), and that there are MORE characters in the book than in the show (which is only a problem point when it comes to keeping track of who's who). The ending of this book is somewhat different than than was the ending of the first season of True Blood, which doesn't bother me so much as leave me wanting to read the next book & see how some of the plots from the TV show were changed from the original plots in the books. I DO think I'll read more of the books, but I hope the intelligence of the dialog, and the "real-ness" of the emotions start getting better in the next book. It's funny, I know that it's a fictional story about vampires and shape-shifters and such, but it's the EMOTIONS and DIALOG that felt fake to me. The fictional aspects of the story were just fine, it was the "real" aspects that need to be better....more
Received this as a First Reads win. I'd never read anything by this author before. I've got to say that I think her strengths lie in the building of iReceived this as a First Reads win. I'd never read anything by this author before. I've got to say that I think her strengths lie in the building of interpersonal relationships between her characters, and their developement into multi-dimentional people. I do NOT feel like this book was the "compelling page turner" that it was advertised as. The action takes place all in Paris, with a couple scenes set in New York and a couple scenes set in China. The book was based on a past-life memory device in the form of a perfume. This perfume dates back to the time of Cleopatra, and we see many flashbacks on the part of the main character to a past life in the time of Cleopatra. We also see Jac (that main character) flash back to another past life in the time of Napoleon. These flashbacks got a little confusing, at times it wasn't very clearly explained that she's flashing back (halucinating, she thinks), and she wavers between being one character and being the other (and sometimes even being the third) all at the same time. I can see where the author was going, tying in the current struggle between Tibet and China in regards to China's injunction against reincarnation w/o first "registering for permission to reincarnate". But I felt that this story aspect was largely introduced as a political protest on the part of the author (which she's welcome to do), but didn't TRULY contribute much to the story itself. I felt like the story could've been longer and resolved this aspect (mainly in the finding of the Panchan Lama and his return to the Dalai Lama's company) better. All in all, a good read, but not great. Many aspects that I felt were somewhat unresolved at the end of the book. I wish the author had resolved things more completely....more
I received this as a First Reads ARC. I've never read any of Austen's original books, nor any of P.D. James novels, so I had nothing to compare this tI received this as a First Reads ARC. I've never read any of Austen's original books, nor any of P.D. James novels, so I had nothing to compare this to for either author. I liked the story, over all. Seemed very well written. Toward the end of the story I was somewhat disappointed to not see more of the sub-story of Georgiana's potential engagement and the intereactions between herself and Alveston or Fitzwilliam. The mystery of the murder is well presented, and while there was no surprise that Wickham wasn't the guilty party in the murder, the final admission of guilt by the guilty party WAS a surprise, but it didn't feel terribly honest, either. All in all, reading this novel leaves me wanting to go back & read Austen's P&P, as well as pick up a couple of P.D. James' novels, including her _Children of Men_. But, I can hardly say that this will be within the top 100 of my all time favorite novels....more
I'm SOOO glad I found James Rollins' books. This is a science thriller/mystery like they should be written. Keeps a reader on the edge of her seat, anI'm SOOO glad I found James Rollins' books. This is a science thriller/mystery like they should be written. Keeps a reader on the edge of her seat, anxious to see how things are going to play out, if a character that you're coming to care about is going to survive a deadly encounter. I find myself wanting to pick up the next Rollins book in the series and read them one after another, but I realise too that this isn't an author with 40-odd books in his repetoire (yet) and so I should pace myself before I run out of his novels....more