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lisahelene's review against another edition
4.0
Really good, I just noticed that this was Sigma Force #2, I'm gonna have to see what Sigma Force #1 was called.
kimal25's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly don't remember much of this, I read it so long ago. I know it started out with death in a cathedral and had something to do with the three magi, but don't remember much more. We are introduced to Grayson Pierce and Rachel, who make an amazing team. Good action and adventure all around.
ekeyreads's review against another edition
3.0
It was a very interesting concept. It started off great and the adventure was intriguing, but I got lost in the middle with a lot of the religious talk. And there were just too many stops along the way. I’m all for adventure but come on. Raoul was a good bad guy, but I don’t feel like there was a big payoff. However, it was still enjoyable. Rollins’ stand-alones are still my favs but I will keep with this series.
rclz's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book but good grief there was a lot there to absorb and it drug the story down at times. That said the rest of it was one roller-coaster ride after another. I also wish just a little bit that they aren't all so long.....I read fast but shoot.
auntblh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars - Intricate story full of intrigue, action, and history.
ninthwave's review against another edition
3.0
Map of Bones is the first book I've read by James Rollins. It was well-researched, and the ideas were entertaining.
That being said, I have a few tiny nitpicks with the book.
* Rollins appears to suffer from Cool Fictitious Character Name Syndrome, to the point that I was eyerolling a bit over some of them, which I felt crossed the line into cheese. Grayson "Gray" Pierce. Rachel Verona (for the female Italian character). Logan Gregory. Painter Crowe. Monsignor Vigor. Kathryn Bryant, who was nicknamed "Kat" possibly for the primary purpose of making a little joke later about "Kat toys." As I say, it's a minor issue, and not something that would prevent me from reading another book in the series, but I did find it smirkworthy.
* Again, it's a tiny thing, and bookmarks work just fine, but I found the structure of the book a little annoying. The chapters are exceedingly long. While they do include time demarcations within them, such as "1:34 pm," it can be hard to feel like one has reached a good stopping place, particularly in an action-packed title like this one.
* There are a few minor typos, grammatical errors, and odd word choices and phrasings. Some of these may be related to formatting the e-book (there are a few places where two words are crushed together without spaces, likethis, for example).
* In my opinion, the climax suffers just a touch from deus ex machina, which I found a bit unsatisfying and vague, given all the detailed information we'd been provided along the way.
* I found both of the romances very tacked-on and ham-handed ... one of them even implausible, given events that transpire in the second half of the book. There was no real need for it, and to me, it felt squeezed-in between the numerous confrontations. Really, it seemed like the author felt obligated to include it in the hope of an eventual Hollywood movie. This is perhaps my most legitimate annoyance with the book.
* I felt that the characters overexplained things frequently: there were numerous bits of dialogue where Monsignor Vigor broke down a puzzle for another character when the reader had figured it out four pages ago. I thought the exposition got a little heavy at times, but I suppose authors these days factor in readers having to put the book down at any given moment and want to make it easy for them to pick it back up without having to flip back to figure out what's going on.
Nitpicks aside, I found the premise of this book quite engaging, and while some plot points and characters are a bit over the top (such as the villain), I think that's okay for a romp in the adventure genre. The theories related to archaelogy, religion, mysticism and alchemy are what really caught me -- for me, that was the best part of the content.
I think Map of Bones is a good choice for a vacation read, if you're looking for something that's interesting without being too mentally heavy. I'd rank it above Dan Brown and perhaps just a hair below some of Preston & Child's better work in terms of overall quality.
That being said, I have a few tiny nitpicks with the book.
* Rollins appears to suffer from Cool Fictitious Character Name Syndrome, to the point that I was eyerolling a bit over some of them, which I felt crossed the line into cheese. Grayson "Gray" Pierce. Rachel Verona (for the female Italian character). Logan Gregory. Painter Crowe. Monsignor Vigor. Kathryn Bryant, who was nicknamed "Kat" possibly for the primary purpose of making a little joke later about "Kat toys." As I say, it's a minor issue, and not something that would prevent me from reading another book in the series, but I did find it smirkworthy.
* Again, it's a tiny thing, and bookmarks work just fine, but I found the structure of the book a little annoying. The chapters are exceedingly long. While they do include time demarcations within them, such as "1:34 pm," it can be hard to feel like one has reached a good stopping place, particularly in an action-packed title like this one.
* There are a few minor typos, grammatical errors, and odd word choices and phrasings. Some of these may be related to formatting the e-book (there are a few places where two words are crushed together without spaces, likethis, for example).
* In my opinion, the climax suffers just a touch from deus ex machina, which I found a bit unsatisfying and vague, given all the detailed information we'd been provided along the way.
* I found both of the romances very tacked-on and ham-handed ... one of them even implausible, given events that transpire in the second half of the book. There was no real need for it, and to me, it felt squeezed-in between the numerous confrontations. Really, it seemed like the author felt obligated to include it in the hope of an eventual Hollywood movie. This is perhaps my most legitimate annoyance with the book.
* I felt that the characters overexplained things frequently: there were numerous bits of dialogue where Monsignor Vigor broke down a puzzle for another character when the reader had figured it out four pages ago. I thought the exposition got a little heavy at times, but I suppose authors these days factor in readers having to put the book down at any given moment and want to make it easy for them to pick it back up without having to flip back to figure out what's going on.
Nitpicks aside, I found the premise of this book quite engaging, and while some plot points and characters are a bit over the top (such as the villain), I think that's okay for a romp in the adventure genre. The theories related to archaelogy, religion, mysticism and alchemy are what really caught me -- for me, that was the best part of the content.
I think Map of Bones is a good choice for a vacation read, if you're looking for something that's interesting without being too mentally heavy. I'd rank it above Dan Brown and perhaps just a hair below some of Preston & Child's better work in terms of overall quality.
teribrick14's review against another edition
2.0
Just started it, but it is a good summer read - action packed with little social implications.
martinpatrick's review against another edition
3.0
Wasn't as impressed as some other work of his, but it's a good thriller, typical of the genre. I have to give it only three stars because of some major editing problems - not with grammar with facts. It says that Constantine built a church in "324 BC", the book also has a priest who works at the Vatican going around saying the "Book of Revelations", and the book suggests that Dante's Divine Comedy was written in Latin, even though it quotes from it, which is clearly Italian.
I don't mind an occasional typo or poor sentence structure, but issues like that significantly detract from the reading experience for me.
I don't mind an occasional typo or poor sentence structure, but issues like that significantly detract from the reading experience for me.
hjh's review against another edition
4.0
A James Rollins book I really liked! Excellent action/adventure, no blind and razor-toothed creatures.
tzanet94's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0