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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Just average. Sometimes read like a bad screenplay for a Hollywood action movie, but good for a quick read on vacation.
Another enjoyable installment to this series. The questions of sustainability, climate change, and overpopulation are unnervingly relevant to today’s society. This one is by no means my favorite of the series, but still definitely worth a read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you aren’t utterly gripped by the prologue of this book, there may be no help for you. I was utterly spellbound by the dismal image that James Rollins presented, I couldn’t turn away! Think a zombie apocalypse or the coming of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse during the time of the Celts, and then some.
Unfortunately the rest of the book was a bit predictable. In The Judas Strain I had no idea how the events in Christmas Island, Indonesia and Cambodia would all link together to form some elaborate historical technological conspiracy, and Rollins had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Doomsday Key was a bit more obvious and predictable, reading like a Hollywood movie that spells it out rather than letting the reader come to their own conclusions.
But that being said, the fungal pathogen at the centre of this story was truly fascinating. I thought the idea of the titular Judas Strain was about the coolest thing I’d ever read; that a virus could pervert good bacteria into bad bacteria on the scale that it’d cause an extinction level event. And then Rollins went and introduced a fungal pathogen that would cause you to starve to death, no matter how much you eat! I was fascinated and horrified by the thought.
I love love love Kowalski. At first he was presented as a stereotypical meathead that I refused to grow to love, but I’m loving seeing bits of his personality shine through more and more in each book. His love for teddy bears was absolutely adorable, and I can’t wait to learn more about him! I also loved that we got to see Painter out in the field again; his character was stagnating behind that desk, not able to do much more pull his hair out and push papers. I also loved that we got to see into Seichan’s psyche so much in this book. I’ve always wondered what makes her tick, and it was great to see she’s an actual human being in there for once.
On the other hand, I am so over Gray and Rachel. To bastardise a quote from Regina George, “Stop trying to make Graychel happen, it’s not going to happen”. While I roll my eyes at the thought of Gray’s worst enemy (Seichan) turning out to be his one true love, I dislike his relationship with Rachel even more. They have no chemistry, and Rollins relies solely on circumstance to get his characters together. It didn’t work out once, and that was for a reason, bro.
Overall: Doomsday Key had an incredibly fascinating premise that wouldn’t be out of place in The Walking Dead, Supernatural or Fringe, but I wish Rollins had been a bit more adventurous. This felt formulaic and it was far too easy to connect the dots, and the horrifying fungal pathogen often got lost amongst the other themes in this book. It was a good read, but not my favourite of the series.
Unfortunately the rest of the book was a bit predictable. In The Judas Strain I had no idea how the events in Christmas Island, Indonesia and Cambodia would all link together to form some elaborate historical technological conspiracy, and Rollins had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Doomsday Key was a bit more obvious and predictable, reading like a Hollywood movie that spells it out rather than letting the reader come to their own conclusions.
But that being said, the fungal pathogen at the centre of this story was truly fascinating. I thought the idea of the titular Judas Strain was about the coolest thing I’d ever read; that a virus could pervert good bacteria into bad bacteria on the scale that it’d cause an extinction level event. And then Rollins went and introduced a fungal pathogen that would cause you to starve to death, no matter how much you eat! I was fascinated and horrified by the thought.
I love love love Kowalski. At first he was presented as a stereotypical meathead that I refused to grow to love, but I’m loving seeing bits of his personality shine through more and more in each book. His love for teddy bears was absolutely adorable, and I can’t wait to learn more about him! I also loved that we got to see Painter out in the field again; his character was stagnating behind that desk, not able to do much more pull his hair out and push papers. I also loved that we got to see into Seichan’s psyche so much in this book. I’ve always wondered what makes her tick, and it was great to see she’s an actual human being in there for once.
On the other hand, I am so over Gray and Rachel. To bastardise a quote from Regina George, “Stop trying to make Graychel happen, it’s not going to happen”. While I roll my eyes at the thought of Gray’s worst enemy (Seichan) turning out to be his one true love, I dislike his relationship with Rachel even more. They have no chemistry, and Rollins relies solely on circumstance to get his characters together. It didn’t work out once, and that was for a reason, bro.
Overall: Doomsday Key had an incredibly fascinating premise that wouldn’t be out of place in The Walking Dead, Supernatural or Fringe, but I wish Rollins had been a bit more adventurous. This felt formulaic and it was far too easy to connect the dots, and the horrifying fungal pathogen often got lost amongst the other themes in this book. It was a good read, but not my favourite of the series.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book is heavy on action and clues that lead to places where other clues are found, but the characters are almost an afterthought. Other than which guy is interested in which woman, they all seem almost entirely interchangeable. This might work well for some people, but for me it feels like a book version of a dumb action movie. Info dumps end up revealing a lot of the “whys” behind the plot and the whole thing feels pretty forgettable to me. Still, the part of me that does love a dumb action movie kinda wants to pick up the next book to see where things go and if these characters get any kind of unique personality, but I won’t be in any rush to do so.
I love myself some speculative fiction that revolves around the problem of population growth! Especially the "solution" they propose. The best of them yet has to be Dan Brown's Lost Symbol. But this one fell flat for me. I mean control the food to control population? Seriously?! How's that any better than good ol' genocide? In any case, this will only affect the lower economic strata.
Anyway. That's the plot in a nutshell. As for the rest of the book, the action somehow seemed a bit toned down? But we have Kowalski. That's good enough entertainment for me!
Anyway. That's the plot in a nutshell. As for the rest of the book, the action somehow seemed a bit toned down? But we have Kowalski. That's good enough entertainment for me!
This was an easy read. Exciting thriller. Great subject line. I would definitely pick another Rollins book.