A Great Summer Read

 

Two years ago, my mother got me James Rollins' Kingdom of Bones for my birthday. The cover mentioned soldiers, scientists, and supernatural stuff, so she figured I'd like it.

She was right!

I read it later during my trip to Drumheller, finishing it by summer's end over the course of a few trips to the family cabin, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 I came to find out afterwards that it was the latest book in Rollins’ Sigma Force series. Sigma is a government-affiliated team of “scientists with guns.” Each novel focuses on mostly standalone missions that often combine historical events with scientific and pseudoscientific details. Very much Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, and Tom Clancy combined. 

Rollins always includes notes about the historic record and scientific record at the beginning of every book, and a “Fact versus Fiction” section at the end with the truth and inspiration behind the major plot points.

While the novels are pretty self-contained, they do include overarching elements like characters’ relationships and families, as well as a rivalry with The Guild, Sigma Force’s evil opposite.

 After Kingdom of Bones, I went backwards and got the previous Sigma novel, The Last Odyssey. Lost civilizations, ancient wars, and gigantic Grecian robot monsters drew me into this one. After that, I was addicted and quickly sought to fill out the rest of the series, with most books being small and engaging enough to enjoy during summer trips, cabin time, and sunny trips around the city.

I just got the newest release, Arkangel, the other night (at a reduced price!), which follows up on a massive cliffhanger. A few other books in the decent stack I’ve been accumulating since around May to get through first, but looking forward to diving in.

 Cheers!