I am a new comer to the Sigma Force series, created by author James Rollins. Each book in this series is a stand alone novel, telling stories about the adventures of a group called "Sigma Force".
Sigma Force, is a fictional, US counter-terrorism group, set up as a division of DARPA to protect and prevent advance technologies from falling into the wrong hands. This group is made up of talented individuals who have both brain and brawn, not only are these group members brilliant scientists, they also possess deadly combat skills. Sigma Force is usually assigned with missions involving the struggles against terrorist organisations, who seek to use powerful, ancient artifacts from archaeological findings to threaten the world peace.
I thought the premises are very interesting, so I got myself a copy of Sandstorm, the first book of Sigma Force. According to the author, Sandstorm is the prequel to Sigma Force series. Here is my review for this book.
Synopsis:
On a stormy night, an explosion rocked a private section at the British museum, destroyed a collection of valuable artifacts. The cause could not be explained. Sigma Force was called to investigate the cause of the incident, because DARPA believes whatever caused the explosion, could be weaponized and become a global threat, should it fall into the hand of the terrorists.
Commander Painter Crowe, was given the instruction to lead a small squad of Sigma Force for this assignment. Their mission, is to find out what caused the explosion. By teaming up with archaeologist Safia Almazz, multi-billionaire Kara Kensington, tomb raider Omaha Dunn, and other allies, their quest will take Crowe's team to venture into the heart of the Arabian peninsula, to search for the fabled city of Ubar, lost and hidden in the desert waste. But Crowe's team is not alone, Cassandra Sanchez, a former Sigma Force op, works for a terrorist organisation called The Guild. Cassandra and the Guild are determined to steal the secret of Ubar, and use it to terrorize the world. It's a race against time, lost treasures will be found, ancient mysteries will be solved, can Crowe's team succeed?
What I think about the book:
Sandstorm is a good read. I like the story, because it is a good combination of a treasure hunt story and an action thriller. This book is quite easy to read, the pace of the story is very fast. It has some memorable moments, likable characters, and lots of thrills.
Some people compared Sigma Force series to Dan Brown's novels. I can understand why this comparison is made. But at the same time, I think Sigma Force novels are very different to Dan Brown's novels. For starters, Sigma Force novels are more akin to stories of Indiana Jones, packed with actions and adventures in the wastelands. And stories in Sigma Force novels often revolves around the discovery of some ancient, powerful artifacts. Unlike Dan Brown's Robert Langdon stories, which often revolved around conspiracies of ancient organisations. Overall, I find James Rollins' Sigma Force books slightly more enjoyable than Dan Brown's novels. But this is just my personal preference toward the genre.
The story in this book is also centred around science and history, lots of it. Most of historical facts and science in this book are real, but sometimes it crosses over into the realm of science-fiction. I actually like the elements of science fiction, because it lifts the story to a higher notch on the scale of imagination and sense of wonder.
The only area that needs improvement, is character development. This book has almost no character development. But since this is only the first book in the series, hopefully this is an area that has already been improved in the next book.
I finished this book in 2 days, it is a fun, exciting read, and I had a good time with it. I am grateful to have discovered this series, and I look forward to reading the next Sigma Force novel, titled "The Map of Bones". And my conclusion is, if you like Indiana Jones, then definitely try this book. If you like it, there are 7 more Sigma Force novels available, and you are likely to have lots of fun reading them.
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