Readwine Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) Wow! We have chick-lit. Is there such a thing as guy-lit? I had an unexpected journey and had no time to really pick a book to take with me. Pressured, I just picked up the closest thing to me: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins. I have never heard of Rollins, so I was unfamiliar with his novels and series (The Doomsday Key is the sixth of his Sigma Force series). I guess from now on I shall remain unfamiliar with him. Brief summary from Amazon: Bestseller Rollins's labyrinthine sixth Sigma Force thriller (after The Last Oracle) offers plenty of intriguing science and history lessons. Sigma Force director Painter Crowe gathers the usual crew—Cmdr. Grayson Pierce; Pierce's best friend, Monk Kokkalis; lumbering Joe Kowalski—to discover why an experimental agriculture site in Africa has been attacked and razed, killing everyone, including a U.S. senator's son. The future of mankind may depend, they learn, on the Doomsday key, a strange substance brought to England long ago by ancient Egyptians that holds the promise of a new and powerful medicine. A few of the book's many highlights include genetic manipulation, traitorous beautiful women, illuminated manuscripts, saints, prophecies, curses and miracles. Rollins deftly juggles all this and more as the Sigma team races from the depths of the Vatican to the outer reaches of Norway toward an explosive confrontation with the shadowy forces of evil known as the Guild. The Coliseum of Rome gets blown up, the Lake District burns and polar bears beat an army armed with an arsenal. Okaaay. I tell you, guy-lit. I know a thriller has to be thrilling, but this is off the map. Apart from really farfetched situations and escapes, the thing that I disliked most about this book is that the beginning is almost exactly like that of The Da Vinci Code: Man gets killed (not in the Louvre but the Vatican); man leaves cryptic message for his niece; niece asks for help from an expert. :motz:Pleeeease. Can we say: riding the tail of Dan Brown. Not only that, at the close of the novel, Rollins sends a smoke signal that his next novel will deal with the Free Masons. Can we say: riding the nose of Dan Brown’s next novel. At any rate, there is something very interesting in The Doomsday Key: its epilogue, where Rollins outlines the true historical content of some of his book's propositions: the Celtic myth, the black Madonna, ancient Egyptians in Britain, the current death of bees, a seed vault in the Arctic and bio-technology gone awry. This is an eye-opener. I give it a 3/10 Edited July 9, 2009 by Readwine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mia Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 This doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all, but I just had to mention the ridiculous character names... Who on earth is called Monk Kokkalis?! Purlease... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levine Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 some time ago, i was considering this one to put on my wish list... thank god i read this this now before i buy it... thanks Readwine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopyloo100 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I've got the 3rd of the Sigma Force novels on my TBR list! I suppose at some point I'll have to give it a go and see what I think. They certainly get high ratings on Librarything - I wonder if they've mostly been rated by men! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 This doesn't sound like my cup of tea at all, but I just had to mention the ridiculous character names... Who on earth is called Monk Kokkalis?! Purlease... I agree. I read your review and now looking back, all I can remember from it is copying Dan Brown and Monk Kokkalis. Which pretty much means I won't be reading this book. Thanks for the review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowordneeded Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Wow! We have chick-lit. Is there such a thing as guy-lit? I had an unexpected journey and had no time to really pick a book to take with me. Pressured, I just picked up the closest thing to me: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins. I have never heard of Rollins, so I was unfamiliar with his novels and series (The Doomsday Key is the sixth of his Sigma Force series). I guess from now on I shall remain unfamiliar with him. Brief summary from Amazon: Bestseller Rollins's labyrinthine sixth Sigma Force thriller (after The Last Oracle) offers plenty of intriguing science and history lessons. Sigma Force director Painter Crowe gathers the usual crew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I have a bunch of James Rollins novels, but I have never read them. I hope the ones I have turn out better than the one you read. I am sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowordneeded Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I have a bunch of James Rollins novels, but I have never read them. I hope the ones I have turn out better than the one you read. I am sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it. Don't let this review be your guide. Rollins is a very capable writer. Just read. SIGMA series goes in this order: Sandstorm Map of Bones Black Order The Judas Strain The Last Oracle The Doomsday Key And you have to read them in this order because things happen in latter books that reference the earlier ones. The rest of his stand alone books can be read in any order. NWN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Don't let this review be your guide. Rollins is a very capable writer. Just read. SIGMA series goes in this order: Sandstorm Map of Bones Black Order The Judas Strain The Last Oracle The Doomsday Key And you have to read them in this order because things happen in latter books that reference the earlier ones. The rest of his stand alone books can be read in any order. NWN I have read SANDSTORM anf MAP OF BONES and I found them good reads. I found the characters a lot better than Browns and in general the writing was better. The only difference between the two authors was that I like the history behind 'The Da Vinci code' better than some of the other books around. If you like that Thrillers with the historical twist and codex puzzles I would recommend these. I am not the biggest Dan Brown fan but I do love this genre. CW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowordneeded Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I have read SANDSTORM anf MAP OF BONES and I found them good reads. I found the characters a lot better than Browns and in general the writing was better. The only difference between the two authors was that I like the history behind 'The Da Vinci code' better than some of the other books around. If you like that Thrillers with the historical twist and codex puzzles I would recommend these. I am not the biggest Dan Brown fan but I do love this genre. CW CW: I do have "DaVinci" and "Angels" and do plan on buying "Lost Symbol". I will be reading those when I'm done the SIGMA series. And yes I do agree about the history behind Brown's books. What I love about Rollins is that he's very good at technical detail and the character development in Rollins' books. I also love the female characters better. He doesn't have them wilting lillies like in some books. I'm reading "The Judas Strain" right now and am loving how Monk is taking the lead in this story. Rollins does a fantastic job of weaving each character and the story together. NWN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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