Black Order

May 1, 2006
What would thriller writers do without the Nazis? At the start of Rollins's inventive eighth Sigma Force novel, a secret experiment is smuggled out of Berlin in the waning days of WWII. While the Americans have been working on the atomic bomb, the Nazis were delving into the paradoxical tenets of quantum mechanics. In the present day, descendants of Heinrich Himmler are trying to create a new race of Aryan supermen. Last seen in 2005's Map of Bones
, Painter Crowe and Grayson Pierce, employees of Sigma Force, a secret arm of the U.S. military, venture to the brink of death to puzzle out mysteries that encompass the theories of evolution, intelligent design, and the physical and spiritual nature of love and God. It's a tall order, but every time the author appears to have stretched too far, he saves the read by throwing in a fascinating scientific or historical fact, plus a scene of heart-pumping action. This is Cussler and Ludlum territory with a dash of Dan Brown, sure to please devotees of any of these authors.

June 15, 2006
Ancient philosophies clash with major scientific discoveries in Rollins's ("Map of Bones") latest adventure, which tackles the debate over intelligent design. A mysterious plague in the Himalayas sends medical doctor Lisa Cummings to a monastery where all of the monks have died. There she meets the director of Sigma Force -a covert arm of the Department of Defense -who has been exposed to the disease but is still alive. Meanwhile, when another Sigma Force operative helps a teenage girl in possession of Charles Darwin's Bible, they both become the target of assassins who want the notes scribbled in the margins. These notes will tie in to the disease at the top of the world -Mt. Everest -and a conspiracy that began at the tail end of World War II. All of these diverse elements blend seamlessly in Rollins's hands. Readers will eagerly await the fourth -Sigma Force - installment. For all fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/15/06.]" -Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2006
The globe-trotting adventurers of Sigma Force, that elite American special-ops team, return in this high-powered thriller. The story begins cryptically. In Nepal, a strange plague has struck a remote Himalayan monastery, and a Nazi swastika is found on a cave wall. In Denmark, someone is buying up rare historical documents connected to Victorian scientists (for instance, Charles Darwin's family Bible), and the purchaser is desperate enough to kill for his prizes. In South Africa, a mythological beast is apparently alive and well and preying on wildlife. The author interweaves these stories, following the Sigma Force team members as they risk their lives to get to the heart of one of humankind's greatest mysteries: the origins of life itself. Rollins keeps getting better with every novel, and his fast-paced thrillers are feasts for the imagination. Why Hollywood hasn't snapped his books up yet is a mystery, but it's doubtful any big-screen version could capture the author's gung-ho enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity. If you like all-stops-out, high-concept adventure, this one's for you.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)