Customer Reviews

Sandstorm CD

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Having read all of James Rollins' previous novels, I couldn't wait to get my hands on "Sandstorm" and dive in. While Rollins did a good job setting the stage for the plot, I found myself soon losing interest in the story as I got 100 or so pages into it.

Rather than waste your time with another plot synopsis of this book, let me just suffice to say that there are plenty of well-developed characters (a Rollins strength), but his over-wordy style took a book of about 300 pages and turned it into a 500+ page novel.

If you're new to Rollins, start with any of his earlier works to get a better feel for his talent (and he is a talented writer).
This reviewer's recommendations are in this order:
1. Subterranean (his first and still best IMHO)
2. Amazonia
3. Deep Fathom
4. Ice Hunt
5. Excavation
6. Map of Bones (to be read yet)

Imagine Indiana Jones, (his name is Omaha Dunn here), taking-on 'the perfect storm' in the great Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter, in central Arabia. In this desert place, beneath the burning sun, hurricane force winds blow up quickly. One can drown in an ocean of sand and remain interred forever. Add to this mix, the obsession to find a great fabled city, and a civilization lost thousands of years ago, now buried beneath the shifting dunes. Ubar, a rich and fabulous trading center of ancient Arabia, ruled by the Queen of Sheba, once rose out of the desert and then mysteriously vanished back into the sands. References to Ubar in the Koran, the Arabian Nights, and countless Bedouin tales told around desert campfires have captivated the imaginations of explorers and archaeologists. But all searches have been fruitless and the city remained lost. The storm, the search for Ubar and for a source of energy strong enough to fuel the entire earth, are just the basics of this enthralling story. James Rollins' "Sandstorm" also contains various subplots, no less exciting than the primary adventure, a terrific cast of characters, fascinating historical and scientific information, a love triangle and enough action, suspense and thrills to keep you reading long into the night. This is one of the most addictive novels I have read in some time. Once I began, I just couldn't put it down.

Dr. Safia Al-Maaz, curator of the Arabian wing of the British Museum was abruptly awakened one night by the smell of smoke and the sound of sirens. She looked out her window and saw her wing of the museum in flames, and chaos in the streets. Dressing in panic she ran to the site, a short distance from her flat. The Arabian wing, priceless artifacts, and all the work she had accomplished over a 10-year period, were totally destroyed by a tremendous explosion. Clandestine organizations worldwide were alerted to this event almost before Safia reached the disaster area. And so begins a dangerous, lethal race to discover what caused the explosion, why it happened and what it means.

Lady Kara Kensington, Safia's best friend and sponsor to the Arabian gallery, is devastated also. Both women have strong roots in the deserts of Arabia. Painter Crowe, member of a secret American government organization, is tasked with finding the incredibly powerful source of the explosion before anyone else does, and if possible, to contain it. Answers to these questions and many more are to be found in the desert country of Oman and the Rub al-Khali, a forbidden land where evil spirits reign, and where, perhaps, lies the mysterious city of Ubar, the Atlantis of the Sands. Lady Kensintron organizes a small expedition, including Dr. Al-Maaz and Crowe, to travel to Oman to find these answers. However, Kara's expedition is not the only group determined to discover the desert's secrets; other shadowy groups trail the expeditions every move.

Again, I was completely riveted. The historic detail is amazing. A great read & highly recommended!
JANA

With Sandstorm James Rollins takes his story telling skills to a new level. Sandstorm like all of his previous works is a fast paced, action packed adventure that takes to fabulous locations and keeps the action moving. This is the best Rollins book yet and it is sure to please.

Sandstorm begins in England, and after a mysterious murder, an artifact is found inside an ancient statute. It leads to a race in the desert between two groups searching for the lost city of UBAR.

The story leads of a fact paced, and exciting finish that will have you on the edge of your seat turned each page faster and faster. The writing takes you into the desert and you can feel the Sandstorm heading towards you. If you are looking to be transported away for a fun filled journey, this is the book for you!

Along the way there are the normal twists and turns that keep you wanting more. Some in the past have said there was not enough character development in Rollins' books, but this time, I think there is just enough. You get to know what is driving the characters and can see why they are doing the things that they are.

This is a great book for that summer weekend at the beach or just sitting out on your front porch! Fans of Rollins will love this new book, and if you are a first time reader of Rollins, I am sure that you will be hooked. I HIGHLY recommend Sandstorm by James Rollins!

First of all I liked this book. It's fun, fast, never overly silly, but just silly enough. It's one of his two best. Now, I'd like to rant about something that bothers me. I've been an avid reader for well over twenty years and I can't help but cringe whenever I hear someone talking about character developement in an action/thriller where all of the action takes place in a matter of a few days. First off, when someone is staring at an enemy army with no hope of escape and a potentially Earth destroying antimatter bomb under their noses... who cares if they once had a puppy that died or if their favorite color is blue?!? This isn't an epic saga of the Russian Revolution where it might be important to know what events have molded our characters in the past. This is a fast-paced action adventure where we get to know all we need to know about the characters in order to enjoy the story. We have tough guys and even tougher gals fighting for their lives in extreme, supernatural circumstances. It's GREAT for a fun weekend read. I love some author's ability to coax a lot out of his characters, but in a book like this more character developement would have slowed down the pace and seriously hurt the overall book. As far as character developement, Dean Koontz is the champ, Matt Reilly is at the other end, and Rollins is in the middle somewhere. However, I can get just as big a kick out of Rollins and Reilly as I do from Koontz. Overall, for this kind of book, I think Rollins does pretty good in the overrated "Character Developement" category. It's an enjoyable read and you won't get cheated out of anything. I gave it 4 stars only because I save 5 star reviews for the truly GREAT works.

James Rollins's books have something going for them: they are lengthy and written with an eye for detail and interesting plot twists, essentially providing the reader with a "money's worth" summer read.

Unfortunately, while Sandstorm is long (and not overly so), I found it lacking. Despite the fact that Rollins overuses the word "subterranean" in all his books (he refuses to say underground), he is a good writer, one of the better authors working today. But his latest book, the first of his Sigma Force series, is a major disappointment.

Omaha Dunn is not the main character. But he should've been. For a character-tribute to the genre's superstar Indiana Jones, Dunn had the most potential of anyone in the book. Rollins brings him in late, and we get a weak pre-adventure adventure (Rollins introduces most of his characters in the middle of their own mini-sequences). Painter Crowe, a cop with a cool name, is the flattest person here. He thinks straight, shoots the same, but has no dimension, and is not very likeable.

Safia and Kara are the two girls whose plotlines are the most important. I really enjoyed these two.

Here's the big upsetting thing: this is the first book I have read in years that has zero payoff. You read me correctly: by the time you reach page 440 (hardcover), and you've paid close attention, you will notice that the whole book was for nothing. I have not been this disappointed in a long time. And perhaps this was a style Rollins was going for... a different approach to the Grand Finale. But it didn't settle with me.

Obviously this book works for most people, so do not fret, and enjoy the story! But I heartily recommend Ice Hunt over Sandstorm as a great Rollins read.

The fertile mind of James Rollins conjured up the incredulous plot of his latest adventure thriller "Sandstorm". While Rollins' use of cutting edge technology makes for a mostly interesting read unfortunately the novel gets more preposterous as it proceeds.

The crux of the novel is an unexplained explosion at the British Museum in London thought to be caused by static electricity. The explosion, centered in the Kensington Gallery, was so ferocious in actually melted the bones of an unfortunate security guard that had the misfortune to be present within the gallery. The gallery was a vast collection of Arabian artifacts collected by Sir Reginald Kensington, who had mysteriously disappeared in the Arabian desert during a quest for the fabled city of Ubar. Head of the family Lady Kara Kensington appointed her dear friend and childhood playmate Dr. Safia Al-Maaz, a talented and attractive archaeologist as its curator.

Examination of the rubble that remained of the gallery pointed to a meteoritic artifact in the shape of a resting camel that eminated from the legendary Omani city of Ubar as the source of the outburst. U.S. counterespionage agent and former Navy Seal Dr. Painter Crowe and his amazonlike partner Dr, Coral Novak were called in to lead the investigation as to the cause of the devastation. The use of Geiger counters lead to the discovery of a major source of radiation within the gallery. Amazingly the source seemed to be within a nine foot tall sandstone statue. With the help of Dr. Al-Maaz, an iron relic shaped like a accurately proportioned human heart was extricated from the statue. Inscribed on it were the words U-B-A-R. It was postulated that the explosion was due to the degradation of anti-matter which when put in contact with matter could result in a massive release of energy.

The potential to acquire the secrets of this powerful energy source lead to an expedition to Oman by the characters previously mentioned, to find the mythical city of Ubar, thought to be the home of the Queen of Sheeba. Typically another team of mercenaries under the banner of a group called the Guild was also attempting to learn the secrets hidden in Ubar. Lead by a turncoat ex-partner of Crowe, Cassandra Sanchez they would kill anyone that stood in their way.

Along the way numerous twists, turns and fantastic revelations attempt to hold our interest as the plot thickens. It gets somewhat too thick at times.

I bought this book at the beach and read it in 2 days!!! Great book. It reminded me of Indiana Jones,The DaVinci Code and Clive Cussler books all rolled into one book. Don't pass this one up!

Sandstorm, from its first page (which launches the first mystery), is a true page turner. Rollins is a combination of Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy. He is able to bring to life scientific mysteries with fully fleshed, believable characters reminisent of Crichton. Like Cussler, Rollins weaves a tale of archealogical wonder around mysteries that have their roots in our most ancient history and mythology. Yet what Rollins does best is blend Clancy-style military intrigue into the mix. But he does it with three-dimensional characters that are believable because they are human and humane, flawed and fascinating. Like all three authors, Rollins' plot steams along, taking you on a sweeping journey of adventure and excitement. There is enough cutting edge technology to keep a techno-geek like my husband happy. But as a woman, I appreciate Rollins strong female characters and the fact he cares for his romantic sub-plot in a way the other three male authors I mentioned don't. So if you like scientific mysteries, archeological adventures, and military thrillers, you are going to love this book!

WOW! James Rollins has hit the homerun of his career with 'Sandstorm'. Even though 'Ice Hunt' was a great action/adventure thriller, I for some reason (that still eludes me to this day) just didn't enjoy it with the usual amount of excitement I have come to expect from this talented Veterinarian turned author...however he totally has one amazing thrill ride with this tale.

The novel almost defies a specific genre, bordering on an adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones, the supernatural via The Mummy and add a touch of semi Sci-Fi and well, the results are just spectacular. Fun from beginning to end, 'Sandstorm' is a surge of adrenaline in written form. The characters are all well-drawn and fleshed out (at least they were for me) and provided just the right amount of just about everything you could want from a novel that is supposed to entertain you. Action, adventure and a touch of romance, this book has it ALL.

What has devastated a chunk of one of the most important historical museums in the world? Caught on film, the explosion seems to defy a normal explanation, until the theory of anti-matter is brought forth. Suddenly things begin to make sense, and pieces to a long buried puzzle begin to fall into place. An expedition to the Arabian penninsula is organized not just to uncover the possibility of a true source of anti-matter, but to also solve a mystery that happened many years ago.

Like I said, this novel has virtually something for everyong, including techno-thriller fans. The absolute best part: How Rollins manages to tie all the pieces together so well as the story weaves itself into a cohesive mix of adventure, REAL history and thrills. For fans of Rollins' previous tales, 'Sandstorm' will truly be high on the list of Must Reads this year, and quite possibly his best novel to date. After reaching the fun climax, I distinctly remember thinking one thing in particular: Just HOW long will I have to wait for another novel from this guy? Great, fun stuff.

James Rollins is the best selling author of several novels, he is also a practising vet and has his own surgery in Sacramento, California. Among other things he is also an enthusiastic scuba diver.

This is a tale of a lost city, buried beneath the sands of the Arabia desert. A lost city where something astonishing is waiting. Lady Kara Kensington's family paid a high price, both financially and also in the blood sweat and tears to found the gallery that now lies in ruins after a savage explosion devastates the building and its contents.

Her search for answers to the tragedy leads her along a path to a part of the world she never knew existed while wrapped in her own little cocoon of wealth and luxury. It leads her to the lost city. But she is not along a government representative is also drawn there. What lies at the end of the dangerous journey that leads them there. Is it a power that can and will create good for all mankind. Or is it something that will destroy everything that man has worked for through the centuries.