Book Review: Map of Bones by James Rollins

Map of Bones, is the second book to the Sigma Force series. I think the best description of this book is: Raiders of the Lost Ark + Da Vinci Code + Mission Impossible.

Author James Rollins, wrote Map of Bones as the second installment to his Sigma Force series. Sigma Force, is a fictional US government organisation, under DARAP. This organisation recruits operatives who are scientists with military training, to combat terrorists organisations who attempt to use technology to threat world peace.

If you like history, science, tomb raiding, action thriller, and conspiracy theories, then read on, because you will definitely enjoy this book. Let's take a closer look:




Synopsis:

In Germany, a service in a cathedral is interrupted by armed intruders wearing monk's outfits. These intruders unleashed a mysterious, nightmarish destruction that killed almost all people in the cathedral. Only a few survived. Adding to the web of mystery is the unknown motive of these intruders, because they did not want the treasures in the cathedral. Instead, they came to steal the bones of magi, the same magi who, according to the Bible once paid homage to baby Jesus on the night he was born. It seems these intruders believe this relic holds a power that could reshape the world.

Meanwhile, in the Vatican city, the Catholic church asked for aid from Sigma Force to resolve this mystery. Commander Pierce Grayson, and his two companions Monk and Kathy, traveled to the Vatican, and teaming up with Lieutenant Rachel Verona and her uncle Vigor. Together, these five heroes embarked on a dangerous mission, a heart racing journey to thwart a horrific plan of an ancient order. Their journey will take them across the world, to revisit and discover the sites of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Where science and religion, will combine to unleash the blackest horror...

My thoughts on this book:

Map of Bones is a great book. It is truly awesome! I finished it in 2 days. This is a high octane, adrenaline driven adventure story. The pace of the story was fast as lightning and heart pounding. I couldn't put it down after I started reading it!

Being the 2nd book in the Sigma Force series, Map of Bones improved over its predecessor in story telling, characterization, and pace. Three new major characters are introduced in this book; Pierce Grayson, Monk, and Kathy. All three characters are Sigma Force operatives, where the protagonist from the previous book, Painter Crowe became the minor character in this book. While I really like Painter Crowe, but I also like the new characters. For example, Monk is my favorite Sigma Force operative. The characterization of the villain and supporting characters are equally as impressive. The storytelling is gripping, there are plenty of twists and turns in the story that will definitely surprise you. The action scenes are well written. The author used history, science, and supernatural elements, to orchestrate a plot full of mysterious and estoric elements that will definitely win nods of approval from fans of Indiana Jones movies or Dan Brown's books.

Although the book incorporated heavy use of religion at the core of its story, but the author treats religion with great respect. In this aspect, I speculate Christians may find this book more enjoyable than Dan Brown's books.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and after reading 2 books from this series, I will say I am now a fan of James Rollin's Sigma Force series. If you are a fan of this genre, or if you have read Sandstorm but haven't read this book yet, then make sure you don't miss out Map of Bones.

Happy reading!