Customer Reviews

The Judas Strain: A Sigma Force Novel

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

James Rollins does what many authors fail to do: He continues to get better. While I still believe 'Map of Bones' to be his best all-around novel, 'The Judas Strain' is certainly no light-weight follow-up. This is great storytelling, simply put. While you would be hard-pressed to find an action/adventure oriented novel by almost ANY author that doesn't stretch the limits of credibility to SOME extent, I like that no matter how difficult some of Rollins' stories seem to be, he manages to put enough believable science into the mix to make what would otherwise be hard to swallow right into the What If category.

I liked the premise from the first page, which is ALWAYS a good sign in my book. The voyage of Marco Polo from Asia back to Italy was beset by some kind of major tragedy which nearly wiped out all those who participated on the journey...a voyage which Marco never spoke about to seemingly anyone, even at his deathbed...or DID he? Yet another fantastic What If scenario begins as we jump to the modern day world where what seems to be a particularly nasty plague is infecting, and then altering the very DNA of those inflicted. It seems to be originating from the ocean, and after a very short time, scientists from Sigma Force kidnapped by the infamous Guild are working side-by-side attempting to stop what could very well be a planet-wide catastrophe. As always, those in the Guild may or may NOT be what they seem, and all the while we factor in the Vatican and surprisingly the possibility of an actual language of the Angels being translated which somehow seems to be all connected. But to what end? Never fear...Mr. Rollins has control, and he takes us on another thrilling roller-coaster ride that never fails to entertain as well as inform -- which always seem to be the best kind of books to read (IMHO).

For those familiar with the novels by Rollins, this is one of those No Brainer decisions: you simply MUST get this book, it really IS awesome...however, for those who may be new to these books, by all means, buy, read and then run to go purchase the complete works by Mr. Rollins. IF you have the chance, while you do not have to, I would buy and read his books in the order they were released. Entertainment written by a real master...and definitely worth the wait. Kudos again to James Rollins boundless imagination. Now the wait for the NEXT Sigma Force novel begins...

Rollins certainly did his homework when researching the science and the locales in this book, the result being some intriguing content for a story, but then it went downhill from there. The characters lacked any real substance and the action was described a bit too superficially to be believable. In addition, many of the desperate situations in which the characters find themselves seem to have very convnient resolutions, like a movie with predictable plot twists. And what's with the repetitive use of one-line parahraphs? The book is infested with them! Instead of nicely flowing narrative, many of the scenes read like a list, one thing right after the other, written in repeated one-line sentences or fragments.

I have to admit that I'm a die-hard James Rollins fan. Cracking open his new book is one of the highlights of my summer. Sure his action can be a bit over-the-top and a few details slightly hyperbolic, LOL. I mean, what's a thriller without the thrills? But the books are consistently well-researched, deftly plotted, and very, very smart.

Probably my favorite aspect of Rollins' thrillers is their integration of science into the story. After all, his team of protagonists, the Sigma Force, is part of a government agency that recruits former special forces operatives and educates them to the Ph.D. level in scientific disciplines. They've got both the military training and the scientific knowledge to investigate technological and scientific phenomenon around the world on behalf of the US government. Not a bad starting premise.

The plots of Rollins' novels tend to be complex, multi-stranded affairs that are difficult to summarize. In Judas Strain, as has been noted by other readers, there is an urgency brought on by a possible pandemic outbreak of bacterial infections. That, in and of itself, is not the most original plot. But in a Rollins novel, it's never that simple. Did you know that only 10 percent of the cells that make up your body are human, and the other 90 percent are alien--bacteria, parasites, etc? It's true, absolutely true. Did you know that the difference between a commonplace, harmless bacteria and a potential killer disease is just the tiniest alteration to its genetic code? What would happen if something altered all the zillions of harmless bacteria we have contact with daily and suddenly they turned on us in the most horrific way imaginable? And I do mean the most horrific way imaginable, because James Rollins is a bit of a sicko, and nothing seems to be off limits for him. What he puts his poor "patient zero" through is--yuck--awful!

But what does all this have to do with the travels of Marco Polo? The architecture of Angor Wat? The behavior of red crabs on Christmas Island? The development of "Angelic" text? The religious beliefs of cannibals? How the heck does Rollins COME UP WITH all this stuff? And most impressively, how the heck does he tie all the strands together! Because he does, most satisfyingly. Although, it must be warned that The Judas Strain leaves readers with a simply terrible cliff-hanger that will have us all on tenterhooks until next summer. Waiting for the next book in the series is going to be torture!

James Rollins is getting better with every novel he writes. Unlike other popular novelists with a series, he hasn't fallen into formula or stock characters. He reaches and stretches in every novel, both in plot and idea and character development.

The Judas Strain doesn't disappoint. Rollins has endearing characters that you really care about, a very interesting premise, and non-stop action.

He moved up to hardcover with Black Order, and is now on my "pre-order" list. To see an author get better and better with every novel is a real treat.

This book has it all...Cannibals, killer squids, glowing people and barbie-squad villains, and I enjoyed every guilty minute of it! I'm a big fan of disaster fiction- and in this novel the disaster is a toxic virus that has infected the waters off of Christmas Island. Enter: Sigma Force. Sigma force a GI Joe'esque group of professionals who contain the problem and send medical experts to investigate on a donated Yacht.

I liked the bacteria plot and the Marco Polo backstory, and I really liked Kowalski, he was funny! I was less excited about Gray's romance, and I found the villains really cheesy, particularly the sadistic (but hot and multi-cultural) women. They seemed so stereotyped. Does the guild hire from Barbizon? Seriously.

I was torn about Gray's Parents subplot. On one hand I found them endearing, on the other hand I found them distracting. Maybe I would care more if I read the first book. I was grateful when that subplot ended.

Overall, a solid entertaining book with some fun ideas and lot of shallow characters. I could easily see this being made into a movie. 4 stars.

No spoilers

I'm a huge James Rollins fan and as is the case with all of his recent novels, I eagerly awaited the release of The Judas Strain. After having it since it came out, I finally got the time to sit down and devour it and now I'm able to give a review.

To keep it short, I'll give some direct advice. If you've read Rollins before, you know what to expect and if you liked anything of his from the past then you'll enjoy this one too. The only complaint I can really lodge is that (as was the case at points in Map of Bones) he overdoes it on the scientific end to the point where you have to re-read a few passages to glean what it means. Besides that though, it's still a great read (Amazonia is still my favorite) so you should pick it up.

On the other hand, if you're new to Rollins, first you should pick up some of his older books, if for no other reasons so you can appreciate the development of the author. If you're going to ignore that and still read this first anyway and are wondering what kind of read it is, the description that is both most fitting and succinct is Dan Brown-esque adventure/thrills/mystery with a healthy dose of both fully realistic and quasi-realistic science.

Bottom line for fans both new and old is pick it up.

This book is on a short list of books that I not only did not finish but threw away as to not pass onto someone else. When one of the characters who was away from his family compared his attachment to his wife and new child as three people sharing an umbilical cord, I felt reader doom early on and should have stopped reading.

Simply put, the cover is better than the story. It seems made up rather than real, historically accurate and interesting. I know it's not historically accurate but it should at least pretend as such.

You don't get to really know and care about most of the characters. Too much "tell" rather than "show." Rollins likes to use branded products in his writing instead of showing what is going on or the objects used and why they matter. While I wanted to finish reading this story because I've invested half of a book in it, I can't finish it. Maybe his other stuff is better. I probably won't read him again.

if you're looking for a book that has alot of adventure and action, and dont mind crazy stunts that you would only see in movies, then this would be a good book for you. the book moves very fast without losing any detail. james rollins does a good job of explaining scientific terms in his books and this book is no different. for pure enjoyment reasons this book should get 5 stars. you could easily finish this book in a few sittings, as i did.

the reason i gave this book 4 stars is because this book is flimsy and i had a few pages fall out which was annoying.

also, ive read all of james rollins' sigma force books and this book comes in 2nd after his last book entitled "the black order".

Rollins always gives you excitement - and The Judas Strain is no exception - This time the Sigma Force is off to find why there are outbreaks of plague-like symptoms at the Christmas Islands - Monk and Lisa, posing as WHO members, are onboard a luxury liner converted into a floating hospital/research lab. The liner is suddenly attacked by pirates and Guild members and there is an assault that can jeopardize the work. On the other side of the world, Gray meets Seichan, beautiful Guild member and somtime nemisis, near his parents' house - she has an ancient obelisk that she says will save the world. When Guild members come in to retrieve the ancient object, Gray and Seichan start on a trek to see what the message in the stone says - it deals with Marco Polo and his trip home and the mystery of the way he returned - a couple of ships and few men - he wrote a true account of what happened to them and it seems this plague-like occurrance happened to Polo's party, and may have a possible cure. But Gray and co. must go on a quest for pieces of the puzzle that will show where this cure is, if it indeed exists. As usual, Rollins takes us around the world - Rome, Istanbul (I call it Constantinople) and Cambodia. He gives us the history of Marco Polo and the history of how Aghia Sophia, once a marvel of Christianity, was converted to a mosque then to a museum. The script on the clues seems to be in a language that predates known language and well may be the 'language of angels' - the means to communicate with angels -

The action is non-stop. I thought the book might have been about 50 pages too long, just prolonging the actions on the cruise ship, but it all works and it is another winner for Sigma Force. The next installment will be very important to me because it is a cliffhanger for one of my favorite Sigma Force folks.

Again, this is a non-stop read, with humor, horror, adventure, history and all points in between -

This was my first James Rollins book and i do have to say that overall i enjoyed the book very much. So how come it only got 3 stars? well true believers read on to find out.

With out ruining the plot of the book to much lets say that it involves a Bio-Terrorist group, a covert government agency, a world ending virus, a famous explorer and of course completely over the top action.

This book will keep you very entertained if your an action junkie. Most of the action is completely over the top that it becomes kinda silly. This was pretty much the downfall of the book for me. I love action as much as the next guy but when "Secret agents/scientists/scholars" can do everything from deciphering century old puzzles in one breath and dodging rockets a second later it kinda gets ridicules. I mean one guy even has a prosthetic hand that can clamp down with superhuman strength.

But if you can look past the cheesy action sequences you will find a truly compelling story involving a very well known explorer....it should be noted though that the characters in this book have stared in a book from this author once before and a few references were made to past relationships. I think the book is called "Map Of Bones". However since this is the first James Rollins book that i have read, i cant really say should read the other book first. After i read it ill let you know!