Carlos Mock's Reviews > Arkangel

Arkangel (Sigma Force, #18) by James Rollins (Hardcover)

This is a stand-alone book. You don't need to read any of the prior books to read it.

The book opens in 1764 when Catherine the Great ruled Russia and sent an expedition to the Arctic to look for the lost Arctic Continent of Hyperborea - where giants roamed the Arctic and lived for a long time. They also had medical knowledge unrivaled by current standards. Catherine's expedition also warned of terrible evil associated with the place.

In present-day Moscow, Finnigan Bailey - prefect of the Vatican Archives, is sent to Russia to search the Golden Library, which was hidden by Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV) after his father, Ivan the Great (Ivan III) collected its precious books. It is supposed to rival the great collection of the Library of Alexandria. His execution by Valya Mikhailov (Seichan archnemesis - and a mortal enemy of the Sigma force.) within the shadow of the Kremlin exposes a conspiracy going back three centuries - to the bloody era of the Russian Tsars. Before Bailey's murder, he manages to dispatch a coded message, a warning of a terrifying threat, one tied to a secret buried within the Golden Library of Tsars that had vanished into history. As combative forces race for the truth behind this death and alarming discovery, Sigma Force is summoned to aid in the search—not only for this missing trove of ancient books but to follow a trail far into the Arctic, to search for the truth about Hyperborea and a revelation that could ignite a global war.

The Sigma force is under threat of being dissolved, as Valya had just executed the destruction of the Smithsonian Castle - which was up for renovations. The success of this mission is relevant to the future of the organization.

Facing enemies on all sides, it will be up to Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force to unravel a mystery going back millennia - and uncover the truth about a lost civilization and an arcane treasure that could save the planet…or destroy it.

Narrated from the third-person point of view, this was a chaotic read. I found it not believable. There were too many setbacks and at some points, the Sigma force looked like a joke. I never cared for the characters or the plot. It was a slow tedious read, even though the plot should have made the book interesting.

I do not recommend the book and will not be reading any of the other books in the series.