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ihateprozac 's review for:
Bloodline
by James Rollins
I don’t know what to think about this book! On one hand I loved how much headway we made in finding out who runs the Guild and what their motivations are, but on the other hand, it just didn’t fit with the rest of the series.
We found out about PNA, an ancient life-extending herb, the female lineage and that the Guild’s ultimate mission is to achieve immortality. Until now we’ve been led to believe that the Guild is this sinister paramilitary shadow organisation, but in reality they’re more like a creepy cashed up cult (say that five times fast!)
I’m curious as to what the Guild’s motivations for achieving immortality are….I mean, do they just want to extend their lifespans and roam around the earth forever, being benign but God-like creatures? Do they want to raze the earth to the ground and start anew with only immortals? And what did the big “El Dorados” (i.e. the artefacts they were hunting in each previous novel) have to do with their end goals? Do they just want a giant pile of dangerous shit to sit on, much like a dragon and his pile of gold?
Also, how have the Bloodline managed to propagate their lineage for all this time? It was mentioned that when descendants went too far off the beaten path they’d be reined in and married back into the family, but I’m unsure as to how. Was it subtle manipulation occurring behind the scenes, or were they literally just sat down and told “this is your family history, you have to marry back in, or else”?
While the Bloodline and their motivations in the context of the whole series is still a bit fuzzy to me, I’ll admit that there was fantastic character development in this novel. We learned the truth about Seichan’s parents, though I think Rollins could have done more work with foreshadowing, so that her father’s identity wasn’t so farfetched and out of the blue. I’m curious to find out more about her mother - I hope that she’s a victim or captive of the Guild, and that she hasn’t been turned into a monster who now works for them!
Kowalski continues to be the sassiest of sassy bitches. He really is going from strength to strength, and has transformed from the stereotypical strong but stupid meathead to being a good source of comedic relief, and a valuable member of the team. I wonder though - what happened to his girlfriend that he suited up for? There’s been no mention of her in the last two books, and homeboy needs some love. :(
I loooooved the additions of Tucker and Kane. The series was starting to grow a little stale, being the repeated adventures of Gray and co, and the new additions really shook up the dynamic. I’m undecided on how Kane’s perspective is written - it doesn’t quite float my boat - but it certainly makes for an interesting read. I hope that Rollins continues to shake up the dynamic in future books by reintroducing minor characters like Chin the geologist or Jason Carter.
I’m worried about how Kat and Monk will go in the next few books. I’d hoped that they’d both retire from Sigma or take up desk jobs to raise their young family, not both go out into the field!
If they both die and leave their children to be raised by Lisa and Painter I don’t think I could handle the heartbreak!
Overall: This book took us miles in terms of revealing the Guild’s leaders and their motivations, but it felt really out of character. We found out that the Guild’s end goal is immortality, but I’m confused as to how the artefacts of the previous books have built up until this point. It was a weird book with a weird tone, but the answers we got and character development we saw mean that I’m still going to keep reading on.
We found out about PNA, an ancient life-extending herb, the female lineage and that the Guild’s ultimate mission is to achieve immortality. Until now we’ve been led to believe that the Guild is this sinister paramilitary shadow organisation, but in reality they’re more like a creepy cashed up cult (say that five times fast!)
I’m curious as to what the Guild’s motivations for achieving immortality are….I mean, do they just want to extend their lifespans and roam around the earth forever, being benign but God-like creatures? Do they want to raze the earth to the ground and start anew with only immortals? And what did the big “El Dorados” (i.e. the artefacts they were hunting in each previous novel) have to do with their end goals? Do they just want a giant pile of dangerous shit to sit on, much like a dragon and his pile of gold?
Also, how have the Bloodline managed to propagate their lineage for all this time? It was mentioned that when descendants went too far off the beaten path they’d be reined in and married back into the family, but I’m unsure as to how. Was it subtle manipulation occurring behind the scenes, or were they literally just sat down and told “this is your family history, you have to marry back in, or else”?
While the Bloodline and their motivations in the context of the whole series is still a bit fuzzy to me, I’ll admit that there was fantastic character development in this novel. We learned the truth about Seichan’s parents, though I think Rollins could have done more work with foreshadowing, so that her father’s identity wasn’t so farfetched and out of the blue. I’m curious to find out more about her mother - I hope that she’s a victim or captive of the Guild, and that she hasn’t been turned into a monster who now works for them!
Kowalski continues to be the sassiest of sassy bitches. He really is going from strength to strength, and has transformed from the stereotypical strong but stupid meathead to being a good source of comedic relief, and a valuable member of the team. I wonder though - what happened to his girlfriend that he suited up for? There’s been no mention of her in the last two books, and homeboy needs some love. :(
I loooooved the additions of Tucker and Kane. The series was starting to grow a little stale, being the repeated adventures of Gray and co, and the new additions really shook up the dynamic. I’m undecided on how Kane’s perspective is written - it doesn’t quite float my boat - but it certainly makes for an interesting read. I hope that Rollins continues to shake up the dynamic in future books by reintroducing minor characters like Chin the geologist or Jason Carter.
I’m worried about how Kat and Monk will go in the next few books. I’d hoped that they’d both retire from Sigma or take up desk jobs to raise their young family, not both go out into the field!
If they both die and leave their children to be raised by Lisa and Painter I don’t think I could handle the heartbreak!
Overall: This book took us miles in terms of revealing the Guild’s leaders and their motivations, but it felt really out of character. We found out that the Guild’s end goal is immortality, but I’m confused as to how the artefacts of the previous books have built up until this point. It was a weird book with a weird tone, but the answers we got and character development we saw mean that I’m still going to keep reading on.