Black Order - James Rollins

A sinister fire in a Copenhagen bookstore ignites a relentless hunt across four continents. Arson and murder reveal an insidious plot to steal a Bible that once belonged to Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory. And Commander Gray Pierce dives headlong into a mystery that dates back to Nazi Germany . . . and to horrific experiments performed in a now-abandoned laboratory buried in a hollowed-out mountain in Poland.A continent away, madness ravages a remote monastery high in Nepal, as Buddhist monks turn to cannibalism and torture. Lisa Cummings, a young American doctor investigating the atrocity, is suddenly a target of a brutal assassin working for clandestine forces that want the affair buried at any cost. Lisa's only ally is a hidden pilgrim, Painter Crowe -- director of SIGMA Force, an elite command of American scientists and Special Forces operatives -- who is already showing signs of the baffling malady that destroyed the minds of the monks.Now it is up to Gray Pierce to save both Painter and Lisa -- and a world in jeopardy -- as SIGMA Force races to expose a century-old plot that threatens to destroy the current world order . . . and alter the destiny of humankind forever.Combining the historic scope of The Da Vinci Code with the relentless thrills of today's best action novels, James Rollins's Black Order is a classic adventure -- an ingenious and breathtaking tour de force that explodes with revelations . . . while offering a startling new view of our place in the grand scheme of existence.

Published: 2006-12-27 (Orion)

ISBN: 9780752876450

Language: English

Format: Paperback, 448 pages

Goodreads' rating: -

Genres

Action Fiction Thriller Mystery Adventure

Reviews

Tish rated it

This was a really unputdownable read, which I had to put down on several occasions just to savour the suspense, and to relish the last dash to run through the final third of the book (Im afraid that, like the nasties of these books, I have also started enjoying the hunt). I would like to describe this one as not only a great book with characters that would compel the reader to return to the Sigma Force, but also as a thriller that deals with enough scientific theories to force even class-bunkers like us to re-read some of the texts that had been surrendered to the vagaries of time decades ago. Highly Recommended.

Heinrick rated it

Really enjoyed this book and the 3 different story arcs set in South Africa, Denmark and the Himalayas and how it all came together at the end of the book. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Glenn rated it

Kept me up late two nights. That is why I gave it 4 stars.A wild roller coaster ride in Denmark,Nepal and South Africa! Non-stop action from start to finish.

Melina rated it

As always, another great Sigma Force novel!

Shane rated it

Well, I guess I'll never be a Rollins fan. I feel a bit bad about this as I have friends here who really like his work. bear that in mind and realize that my review is subjective...it's how I liked the book.This one is better (imo) than the other I read by Mr. Rollins (The Judas Strain), but still it lost me. I mean you'd think a book with Nazi scientists, mutant horrors, a chemical/biological threat, daring rescues, harrowing escapes, action...and an/the answer to the ultimate evolutionary questions would hold the interest. And it does/did, sometimes. It caught me at first...we'd dropped back to reliable territory, Nazis escaping with a mystery, a lost secret of some kind and so on. Then we move to an accidentally discovered conspiracy. There's murder, danger...and then we stop for a word from our interpersonal counselor. How will "our" love lives work out...will "I" get the nerve to "pop the question", "what are your intentions" toward that girl? Are "you" just leading her on"? (All these pronouns are of course addressed to our characters from each other to each other.)Sigh.The thing here is I'm sure the very things that "tuned me out" of the story and caused me to say..."get on with it", will be some readers' favorite part. By the time we got to the climactic culmination of the story I was tired of the whole thing, again. I "tuned back in" at the end a bit, but was just as relieved it was over and while I got through it the interpersonal lives of our protagonists had to be nodded to at the end also...of course.The book has some loose historical background which I actually find more interesting than the novel itself (subjects I was already slightly familiar with). As in the last book I read he finishes with a bit of a bibliography and some sources. Some might find this interesting.So, while I have another Rollins book waiting I probably won't read it, at least not now. I have other library books out and waiting (including two Brad Thor novels and A Storm of Swords, a book of not inconsiderable length). To you who are Rollins fans I am sorry I can't rate his books higher, this is my take and my taste. Just not books I enjoy.