Scan barcode
2dogsbarkin's review against another edition
I had a little trouble sticking with the book, not because of the storyline but the narrator John Meagher. Normally I like him, but I just didn't think that he was the right fit for the characters in the book. Personal preference.
The story on the other hand was great. I really enjoy books about ancient civilizations, their treasures and curses, and the conflict between the multiple parties who are after the "prize." This book did not disappoint. There was even the side romance thing between lead characters for which I am a total sap.
The story on the other hand was great. I really enjoy books about ancient civilizations, their treasures and curses, and the conflict between the multiple parties who are after the "prize." This book did not disappoint. There was even the side romance thing between lead characters for which I am a total sap.
pagesofpeace's review against another edition
adventurous
4.0
Former Navy SEAL, Jack Kirkland, surfaces after an underwater mission to discover parts of the world have faced massive destruction following a series of solar flares. Air Force One has gone down in the middle of the ocean and a new city has been discovered in the Pacific. His team uncovers how these two are connected while they race to stop the world from its own destruction.
James Rollins was one of the first authors I fell in love with back in high school. I read this one several years ago but decided to revisit it while attempting to clear my shelves. Rollins books are packed with suspense and just enough historical elements that make you feel like they could actually happen one day. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book and can’t wait to experience the others I have by him all over again.
James Rollins was one of the first authors I fell in love with back in high school. I read this one several years ago but decided to revisit it while attempting to clear my shelves. Rollins books are packed with suspense and just enough historical elements that make you feel like they could actually happen one day. I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book and can’t wait to experience the others I have by him all over again.
jurassicreader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? N/A
3.25
lah_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Wow! I really enjoyed this one. It starts off with a bang, and gets better from there. I loved the characters (except for the antagonists, who were very well developed: Easy to appreciate, impossible to like), the story of the ancients, the action, the rivalries. Wow! And that ending! 20 pages from the end, I didn't expect it to turn out that way.
lah_reads's review against another edition
5.0
This one is really exciting. The characters after great, the plot is insane, and it's really hard to put things book down! I've just finished my second reading of it, and I don't think it will be my last.
ricksilva's review against another edition
2.0
This had something of a Clive Cussler vibe, but with SF and apocalyptic elements. Basically, there's a massive disaster, the US president is lost in a plane crash, and the world teeters on the brink of war. Oh, and also ancient lost civilizations and a whole mess of Bermuda Triangle kinda stuff. Put it this way, Charles Berlitz gets namedropped in the acknowledgements.
Jack Kirkland, ex-Navy SEAL, is our hero, and he comes off as a bit of a jerk early on, but the idea here is that he's still grieving the loss of his fiancee in a tragic space shuttle accident (no, really), so he's refusing to let anyone get close to him. The problem is, that when he does finally discover a new potential romance and begins to care about the world again, he goes from generic-hero-but-something-of-an-asshole to just plain generic hero.
The supporting cast is a lot better, although the villain is still generic. The action sequences are handled well, as are the large scale disaster sequences. The ancient civilization mysteries have a few good moments, but it's still pretty silly.
Unfortunately, the author decides to wrap everything up a bit too neatly using, and so the ending is feel-good, but not all that satisfying.
Jack Kirkland, ex-Navy SEAL, is our hero, and he comes off as a bit of a jerk early on, but the idea here is that he's still grieving the loss of his fiancee in a tragic space shuttle accident (no, really), so he's refusing to let anyone get close to him. The problem is, that when he does finally discover a new potential romance and begins to care about the world again, he goes from generic-hero-but-something-of-an-asshole to just plain generic hero.
The supporting cast is a lot better, although the villain is still generic. The action sequences are handled well, as are the large scale disaster sequences. The ancient civilization mysteries have a few good moments, but it's still pretty silly.
Unfortunately, the author decides to wrap everything up a bit too neatly using
Spoiler
time travel, and ridiculously deus-ex-machina gimmicky time travel at thatkarenangela_1's review against another edition
3.0
It was fun and action packed, just what I expect from James Rollins but the ending doesn't work for me.
Not only do they save the world but they manage to turn back time so that all the bad stuff that happened - like a nuclear war, massive earthquakes that cause island chains to disappear. For me it would have made more sense to have them somehow destroy the crystal pillar and then have the incoming nuclear missile hit them, I know all the good guys would have died but it just makes more sense that way. Although I suppose once you've had crystals that can make basalt float, a dog that finds a hidden bomb and the ghosts of an ancient civilization then turning back time is perfectly logical.
Not only do they save the world but they manage to turn back time so that all the bad stuff that happened - like a nuclear war, massive earthquakes that cause island chains to disappear. For me it would have made more sense to have them somehow destroy the crystal pillar and then have the incoming nuclear missile hit them, I know all the good guys would have died but it just makes more sense that way. Although I suppose once you've had crystals that can make basalt float, a dog that finds a hidden bomb and the ghosts of an ancient civilization then turning back time is perfectly logical.
alexctelander's review against another edition
4.0
On the day of a solar eclipse, the world is changed forever. A series of solar flares somehow set off a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions along the ring of fire: stretching from Japan all the way around the Pacific to the west coast of Alaska, Canada, and the United States; Hawaii is in ruins. Air Force One makes an emergency flight from Guam back to DC with the President on board. It is while in the air that the full force of the devastation hits and Air Force One somehow drops into the water like a stone.
Now as the world tries to recover, an investigation and possible rescue mission is immediately launched as the Vice President becomes acting President. Meanwhile Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland is out in the Pacific with his ship, the Deep Fathom, and crew looking for an old wreck. As he finds it, the earthquakes and eruptions hit and the wreck breaks up and sinks into an underwater volcano, leaving them with nothing but the two gold bars Jack was able to grab with his small submersible. He soon gets the call: the US government is commandeering his ship and salvage services to find out what happened to Air Force One; he has no choice.
At the crash site, Jack heads down in the submersible to track the wreckage of the plane and collecting the Black Boxes. On the ocean floor he also finds a strange crystalline tower with powerful magnetic properties that messes with his instruments and communications, as well as appearing to somehow stop time. Jack also notices ancient carvings on the crystal, what looks to be some form of writing. As the aircraft carrier USS Gibraltar arrives, Jack comes face to face with an old enemy. Brother to his wife who was killed in a NASA shuttle mission; Jack was the only one to survive; his wife’s brother, David, has never forgiven him for her death, and wants to kill him any way he can.
Meanwhile things are heating up between the US and China as suspicious evidence arises implicating the Chinese in the downing of Air Force One; things take a turn for the worse as the missiles begin flying. And yet there is hope as Karen Grace, working on her doctoral thesis at Ryukyu University in Micronesian Studies, has discovered a similar form of crystal at the other end of the Pacific and is working on decoding the language.
While Rollins goes a little over the top with the constant action as no character seems to able to catch a break — there is always someone after them, looking to kill them; he has nevertheless created a very interesting story around the myths of the Bermuda Triangle and the Pacific equivalent known as the Devil’s Triangle. As for the ending, the reader will never be able to see what’s coming, as Rollins goes all out delving into some interesting science fiction to get everything nicely wrapped up at the end.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Now as the world tries to recover, an investigation and possible rescue mission is immediately launched as the Vice President becomes acting President. Meanwhile Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland is out in the Pacific with his ship, the Deep Fathom, and crew looking for an old wreck. As he finds it, the earthquakes and eruptions hit and the wreck breaks up and sinks into an underwater volcano, leaving them with nothing but the two gold bars Jack was able to grab with his small submersible. He soon gets the call: the US government is commandeering his ship and salvage services to find out what happened to Air Force One; he has no choice.
At the crash site, Jack heads down in the submersible to track the wreckage of the plane and collecting the Black Boxes. On the ocean floor he also finds a strange crystalline tower with powerful magnetic properties that messes with his instruments and communications, as well as appearing to somehow stop time. Jack also notices ancient carvings on the crystal, what looks to be some form of writing. As the aircraft carrier USS Gibraltar arrives, Jack comes face to face with an old enemy. Brother to his wife who was killed in a NASA shuttle mission; Jack was the only one to survive; his wife’s brother, David, has never forgiven him for her death, and wants to kill him any way he can.
Meanwhile things are heating up between the US and China as suspicious evidence arises implicating the Chinese in the downing of Air Force One; things take a turn for the worse as the missiles begin flying. And yet there is hope as Karen Grace, working on her doctoral thesis at Ryukyu University in Micronesian Studies, has discovered a similar form of crystal at the other end of the Pacific and is working on decoding the language.
While Rollins goes a little over the top with the constant action as no character seems to able to catch a break — there is always someone after them, looking to kill them; he has nevertheless created a very interesting story around the myths of the Bermuda Triangle and the Pacific equivalent known as the Devil’s Triangle. As for the ending, the reader will never be able to see what’s coming, as Rollins goes all out delving into some interesting science fiction to get everything nicely wrapped up at the end.
For more book reviews and exclusive author interviews, go to BookBanter.
carmelade6645's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.0