Black Order: A Sigma Force Novel (Sigma Force Series Book 3)

"Black Order" is, by far, the most exciting, fascinating, heart-wrenching, suspenseful book I've read in years. The premise is believable, the pace is fast, and the characters are all well developed and interesting. I cheered for the hero's, bled with them, worried for them, held my breath waiting to find out what happened to them, and I cried for them. The 2 anti-heroes were worthy of my contempt, suspicions, limited admiration, encouraging cheers and my tears. The evil ones are pure evil--evil that is believable and caused the hairs to stand up on the back of my neck. James Rollins has done his research--and it shows. He carefully explains several scientific theories, without talking down to the reader, and I was able to follow along without being lost in the mechanics of it all. The highlight of the book for me was near the end when Gray and Lisa figured out the puzzle and stated the simple answer--I cried. It's something I discovered long ago in my life, and to read this in a book touched my heart. Jim stated in his "Author's Note": "Rather than focusing so intently on where we have come from, a larger question deserves even more fervent attention: Where are we headed?" What a great summation--to encourage the reader to think: to think about their life and it's purpose, to think about their life and their future. In "Black Order" Jim incorporates history, science, and religion as effortlessly as a chef moves about the kitchen. Put together, it's an exciting blend of story telling that draws the reader along on a grand adventure. I highly recommend this adventure.

Black Order is another solid entry into the Sigma series. These have been my first reads from James Rollins and from what I've seen so far his books are very similar to Clive Cussler, another of my favorite writers. There's a cold opening of some event happening long in the past (Here it's a scene in Poland during the German invasion of WWII) which eventually ties into the villain's nefarious scheme in the present. The main story involves the heroes going from one deathtrap to the next, thwarting enemy assassins left and right until saving the day at the very last possible moment. Sure it's a little over the top, but it's darn entertaining! I won't go into plot details here to avoid spoilers, but if you liked the previous book, you'll enjoy this. What I'm pleased about so far in this series is the characters seem to be evolving with each book. My biggest complaint about Cussler and other similar authors are the characters seem to be stuck in stasis - they never change in age or appearance, never seem to get married, have children, or have any relationships that last outside of a single book. Whenever a new character comes in I just can't get excited because I know I'll likely never see them in the series again. Here I was happy to see the return of Monk and Kat and their advancing story. Also very happy to see Painter Crowe back in the field after it looked like he'd been benched in the last book. New character Lisa Cummings is an interesting addition and looking at the synopsis of the next book, looks like she'll be joining the Sigma team. So far this series has been a blast!

This is by far the best James Rollins book I've read so far. Demonstrating his impressive scope of vision and imagintion, he pulls together science, history and the occult into a plot that grabs you and holds you tight until the last page. While I found some other books by this author quite readable but still sadly shallow and lacking feasibility, "Black Order" has no such flaw. The opening of the book takes place in post World War II Germany, which I think will hook many European readers as myself to the story. But the way Rollins intertwines these infamous events in European history with ancient lore, science and technology into a wild "super human" project orchestrated by a modern day "mad scientist" is awesome and raises an almost unbeatable challenge to the reader. The knot of this mystery stays tight throughout the book and only begins to loosen towards the end. So I simply have to give Rollins credit for that. I enjoyed the scientific background as well as the bits of Norse lore and mythology thrown here and there. Some of the conclusions he makes are a little far-fetched for my taste, but after all, this is a work of fiction, so I guess it's quite alright. All in all, I would highly recommend this book. It is a great example of suspence literature that puts one's mind to work from the very first page and keeps it busy to the end. You can't go through the book without a decent amount of thinking in order to put all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together. Best of all, a significant amount of the information the book is based on is TRUE--which comes to show--as the author has repeatedly stated--that indeed "truth is often stranger than fiction." I do intend to follow up on the recommended readings because I really find some of the questions raised in "Black Order" worth exploring. This is a great read, and I hope Rollins keeps up the good work!

I took this book away with me at Half Term, and discovered the usual snag to James Rollins' books - I couldn't put it down!!! The story was gripping, with a several strands linking together as the plot developed. Once again, we are introduced to the Sigma force and, from an early stage, we find that the life of one of the key characters is threatened - and there seems to be no cure. However, he pushes on and perseveres in his battle against another of the evil foes that he and the rest of the team encounter - and, as ever, the reader is pulled in further and further! The plot is one that will instantly appeal to lovers of Dan Brown and Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is pure adventure and fantasy, but at the same time, sweeps the reader around the world as the adventure travels through a range of countries! Scientifically, it is as intriguing as any of his other books and sends you rushing to the internet to find out more! I will leave you to research which elements are based on truth and which are not! For those who have enjoyed previous Sigma force books, I will say that there is a lot of good news on the relationship front in this book - as well as at least one that is left hanging! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I'm a huge fan of rhis series and this ine was quite good. The author blends fiction and history so well that sometimes makes you question if it real or not, did it happen truly?

James Rollins stößt mit seinem aktuellen Roman in eine Nische vor, die bislang den Erfolgsautoren Clive Cussler, Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child vorenthalten blieb: den des Hightech-Thrillers. Was Rollins dabei so besonders macht, ist seine Verknüpfung von revolutionären wissenschaftlichen Ideen mit rasanter Action, wobei er sich zum Unterschied von o.g. Autoren jedoch auf das Wesentliche konzentriert. In vorliegendem Roman greift er auf eine mysteriöse Hinterlassenschaft von Nazi-Wissenschaftlern zurück, die heutzutagte von einem mächtigen Verschwörerkreis benutzt wird, um seine Vorstellung einer elitären, "arisch reinen" Gesellschaft durchzusetzen. Gegen diese Verschwörer kämpfen die Spezialagenten der SIGMA-Force, einer USA-Elitetruppe, deren Aufgabe es ist, den internationalen HiTech-Terrorismus zu bekämpfen, wobei in diesem Fall der Feind lange Zeit die Oberhand behält.. Der Thriller garantiert Spannung von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite, allerdings sei davor gewarnt, manche historischen Hintergünde der Handlung ohne weitere Dokumentation bedenkenlos zu übernehmen. Der Mythos einer überlegenen Geheimwissenschaft der Nazis wurde lange Zeit von bestimmten Kreisen dazu benutzt, die selbstverschuldete historische Niederlage Deutschlands im 2. Weltkrieg in einem etwas milderen Licht erscheinen zu lassen.

Very good read in my opinion...really liked the historical background and the scientific information and debate about "the question of intelligent design versus evolution". Brilliant and well-done!

Evitez de le lire si vous n'avez pas trop de temps : l'auteur nous tient en haleine jusqu'au bout ! Mais qui en doutait ? C'est sombre, instructif, curieux et plein d'actions. On ne s'ennuie pas une seconde.