Sandstorm (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Marry Masterson would be dead in thirteen minutes..." (more)
Key Phrases: iron camel, desert cloak, dune face, British Museum, John Kane, Queen of Sheba (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If he weren't such a good action writer, Rollins might make a dynamite climatologist. Each of his thrillers has featured as a central character an extreme environment, most recently the Arctic ice (Ice Hunt, 2003) and now the hot sands of Saudi Arabia. But while Rollins writes settings and scenes that sizzle, what's caught in the heat are usually familiar characters grappling with far-fetched threats, and so it is here. That one male lead is a danger-courting archeologist named Omaha Dunn seems less parodic than tired, and the novel's premise of a hoard of antimatter hidden in the legendary city of Ubar is almost as ridiculous as the idea that this cache has been guarded for millennia by an order of women who propagate without men, via parthenogenesis. Rollins writes less like Michael Crichton than Stan Lee. Most of his readers won't care, though, because there's just enough scientific gloss on the nonsense to make it palatable, and anyway, what they want, and what he delivers, is action, as Omaha and an American military agent, Painter, join forces with two Mideastern women, one a scientist, the other a billionaire, to locate the steadily destabilizing antimatter before it's snatched by a villainous cabal, or worse, blows up the planet. And that's why they'll buy this book in numbers big enough to have it flirt with national bestseller lists.
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Product Description

Nationally bestselling author James Rollins has transported readers to the dark heart of the Amazon, the bowels of the earth, far below the ocean, and the top of the world. Now he embarks upon his most gripping and terrifying adventure yet: to a nightmare buried beneath a treacherous desert wasteland. An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum -- a devastating blast that sets off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world, as the race begins to determine how it happened, why it happened, and what it means.

Lady Kara Kensington's family paid a high price in money and blood to found the gallery that now lies in ruins. And her search for answers is about to lead Kara and her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator, into a world they never dreamed actually existed. For new evidence exposed by the tragedy suggests that Ubar, a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert, is more than mere legend ... and that something astonishing is waiting there.

Two extraordinary women and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, are not the only ones being drawn to the desert. Former U.S. Navy SEAL Painter Crowe, a covert government operative and head of an elite counterespionage team, is hunting down a dangerous turncoat, Crowe's onetime partner, to retrieve the vital information she has stolen. And the trail is pointing him toward Ubar.

But the many perils inherent in a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmarish secrets to be unearthed at journey's end. What is hidden below the sand is more than a valuable relic of ancient history. It is an ageless power that lives and breathes -- an awesome force that could create a utopia or tear down everything humankind has built during millennia of civilization. Many lives have already been destroyed by ruthless agencies dedicated to guarding its mysteries and harnessing its might. And now the end may be at hand for Safia, for Kara, for Crowe, and for all the interlopers who wish to expose its mysteries, as it prepares to unleash the most terrible storm of all ...

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition first Printing edition (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060580666
• ISBN-13: 978-0060580667
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #65,211 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Riveting Read!, November 21, 2004

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars James Rollins whips up a great tale in Sandstorm, June 29, 2004

By	B. Larson (Palatine, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wordy and disjointed...this Sandstorm was tough to get through, July 22, 2005

By	coachtim (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sandstorm (Mass Market Paperback)

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)