Amazonia: A Novel (Hardcover)

by James Rollins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The use of mass market originals as a farm team for hardcovers has lost popularity, but still works occasionally, as with Rollins, whose three mass markets (Deep Fathom, Excavation and Subterranean) displayed a flair for brawny adventure within an exotic locale a flair put to good use in his hardcover debut. A U.S. Special Forces agent walks out of the Amazon jungle and quickly dies of rampant tumors; what's especially bizarre is that this man has two arms, but when he entered the jungle five years before as part of a biopharmaceutical exploratory expedition, which has been lost track of, he had only one. The rest of the novel follows a group of scientists and U.S. military guardians as they trek deep into the jungle in search of the missing expedition and, hopefully, the secret to the regrown arm a secret that takes on vast importance when the dead agent's body, shipped to the States, spreads a disease that threatens to wipe out the American population. Meanwhile, a second, predatory expedition, led by a French psychopath, surreptitiously follows the first, aiming to steal whatever cure the searchers uncover; both expeditions wind up at the isolated home of a legendary tribe and the malignant, giant tree that sustains it. Rollins won't win awards for his prose or characters, though both function smoothly in this boldly drawn entertainment, and there's little here that isn't a variation of some classic adventure trope. His pacing is forceful, however, and his atmospherics rich, with giant caimans and jaguars, mutant amphibians and hungry locusts adding to the mayhem, a high body count and a congenial sense of the ridiculous although Rollins plays it deadpan. This is old-fashioned, rugged adventure in the tradition of Haggard and Crichton, told with energy, excitement and a sense of fun. (Mar.)Forecast: National print ads and California regional author appearances will win Rollins some fans, but the simultaneous release of 12-copy prepacks of his three mass markets manifest this novel's likely fate: respectable hardcover, bestselling paperback.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
From James Rollins, national bestselling author of Subterranean, Excavation, and Deep Fathom, comes a breathtaking masterwork of extraordinary adventure -- a gripping journey into a wilderness of astonishing mysteries as deadly as they are unfathomable.

AMAZONIAOut of the world's most inhospitable rainforest, a man stumbles into a small missionary village. Within hours, the CIA operative and former special forces soldier -- tongueless, scarred, his eyes wide with terror -- is dead. But the most disturbing aspect of Agent Gerald Clark's death has his superiors in Washington baffled. Agent Clark had only one arm when he first came to the Amazon -- the result of a well-placed sniper's bullet -- but the photograph of him submitted by a Brazilian morgue shows a corpse with two upper limbs fully intact.

Nathan Rand has made the Amazon region his home since his father led a scientific mission into the lush green wilderness and never returned -- the same doomed expedition that took Gerald Clark into the jungle. Now the government wants Nate to follow the elder Rand's trail, accompanied by a team of scientists and a phalanx of experienced U.S. Rangers. For somewhere in the dark, impenetrable depths of the most dangerous region on Earth there are mysteries that must be solved, no matter what the cost in money, materials... or lives.

There are undreamed-of perils here in this breathtaking world where devouring insects rule, diseases unknown to modern science flourish, and rivers teem with hungry, flesh-eating predators. As Nate Rand and his party push deeper into the jungle, toward places no human has ever entered, they are haunted by an ugly truth that cannot be dismissed and, perhaps, will not be survived: They are not alone... and they are being stalked.

But the threat of mortal hunters pales before the nightmare that awaits fourteen unsuspecting men and women, as each step brings them closer to an ancient, unspoken terror that even the native peoples fear. And as madness, terror, and horrific death descend upon the second cursed Rand expedition, those still living are forced to confront a power beyond human imagining -- one that can forever alter the world beyond the dark, lethal confines of the Amazon rainforest for better... and for worse.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (March 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060002484
• ISBN-13: 978-0060002480
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #235,380 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Mighty Tor-Tor, December 4, 2003

By	Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Amazonia (Mass Market Paperback)

Here you go folks, a book seemingly designed for those with ADD. Extreme action, mutated creatures, explosives, giant jaguars, violence( including dismemberment and head shrinking!), a dash of sex, poison, betrayal, technology on the fritz, insects that will eat you alive, pirahnas that will chase you onto land, giant caimans that will jump into trees, a lost tribe, a plague threatening the world, prehistoric plants, and regenerating body parts!

Whew, that's a lot of stuff going on and James Rollins pulls most of it off without a glitch. The characters are strong enough to make you care, the action is most definitely exciting, the various creatures interesting and nasty enough to shock and awe even the most poised reader. So why not 5 stars? Well...

The ending could have been better, there could have been a little bit more surprise when it comes to the realization of who the "mole" is (that was kinda Scooby Doo-ish), and those who deserved horrible demises get dispatched rather quickly.

However, if you have read Rollins earlier work you most likely won't be dissapointed here. No matter how you look at it this guy is damn fun to read, and his books would make excellent movies. I know I'd buy a ticket, and speaking of buying check out Subterrranean and Excavation, both solid actioners.

No Tor-Tors were harmed in the writing of this review.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delivers start to finish action!, August 25, 2004

By	Jackie Tortorella - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Amazonia (Mass Market Paperback)

Judging this book by its genre gives it a solid 5. Rollins gets better with each book. There is enough action to keep you up all night, and though some reviewers have not thought the characters were interesting, I disagree. I felt the characterization was excellent, especially for an adventure novel of this type. It bordered on being too gruesome in its torture details...I don't like that...but all in all this book held me spellbound throughout. The ending was totally satisfying too. I heartily recommend it. (And after you've read this one, be SURE to get Sandstorm! It is even better!)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love a Mystery, April 15, 2002

By	Don Wagner (Fair Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews

When I was a boy (1946), I used to lay in bed and listen to a radio show called "I Love a Mystery". It only lasted for 15 minutes each night but use to scare the hell out of me as Doc, Reggie and Jack took on the mystery and majic of the night. This book had the same effect as each night I would read a few chapters about a team of men and women who were trying to locate a group that disappeared 5 years earlier in the amazon. The thrill of the quest which was followed by non-stop action and a little majic had me turning each page slowly so I won't miss a thing even though I was never sure what would happen next. If you want to take a wild ride with James Rollins down the Amazon never knowing what's aroound the bend as you encounter creatures, old enemies and a whole new world, then put on a reading lamp, turn down the lights and sit back, hang on, and enjoy.

I read all the mystery and thrillers on the market and this is clearly one of the best this year.........