Amazonia

Rating:
Summary: Indiana Jones does the Amazon
Review: A team of scientists launch an expedition into the Amazon jungle and disappear without a trace. One of the lost members is a Special Forces Agent who lost his arm while on duty in Iraq. Four years later, this same one-armed man miraculously staggers out of the jungle and into a missionary camp. He dies shortly thereafter but a photo taken shortly before his death shows both arms intact. Could it be that the Amazon is the habitat of some sort of miracle elixir that can actually grow back limbs? Perplexed, the government hires Carl Rand (the son of the original expedition leader) to lead his own team into the region to (1) what happened to the original team and (2) what research had they uncovered that would explain the numerous oddities discovered after their disappearance. The group must survive extraordinary encounters with walking piranhas, 40-foot anacondas, and other deadly dangers while their fellow Americans deal with a plague of abominable proportions.

James Rollins hands us a bit of everything in this exciting action adventure...an exotic locale, Indiana Jones-type protagonist, devilish villains, and detailed scientific descriptions of fauna and animal life. His pace is fast and feverish, his writing taunt. I was left wondering at the end of each chapter what he could possibly have up his sleeve next.. For those who love an exciting adventure with a dose of science thrown into the mix, AMAZONIA should fit the bill perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: What happened to the ending?
Review: I really give this one 3.5 stars. The story builds in action and complexity throughout the book and punches are not held. But as I finished the book I felt a little cheated.

With fewer than ten pages left, our characters are deep in the heart of the Amazon basin and a virulent plague is spreading across the United States. Suddenly, it is eight months later and everything is hunky dory. What happened? So much of the book is grounded in real science and theory that the "rabbit out of the hat" ending was just too cheap. My advice is to read the book and avoid the epilog; just make up your own ending.

The book centers around a race for what could be one of the greatest medical discoveries of all time; a method to stimulate regeneration of limbs.

A team of scientists and Army Rangers is hot on the trail but they are followed by mercenaries in the pay of a French pharmaceutical company. To make matters worse, the initial discovery, a soldier whose arm regenerated while he was missing in the jungle, has caused the spread of a terrible plague, one with a %100 kill rate. Now the first team has to find their objectives and find a cure for the plague. All this while having to survive mercenaries, local Indians, giant crocodiles, killer life forms and the jungle itself.

A real page turner until you turn the page and see "Eight months later".

Rating:
Summary: good popcorn book
Review: Take this book for what it is. It's a by the numbers action/adventure story. It you can get past that and suspend your disbelief (especially when it comes to Tor-Tor) you'll really enjoy this tale of non-stop jungle adventure. There is plenty of action, violence, and gore. I listened to the book on cassette and the reader does a great job of using different voices, expression, and inflection. It would make a great popcorn movie.

Rating:
Summary: A great adventure story!!
Review: This is one of Mr. Rollins' best books so far, reminiscent of the non-stop action in his first book, "Subterranean". It is far better than "Deep Fathom" with more hair raising situations and unbelievable escapes. Characterzation takes a back seat to plot development and action sequences, but taken just as a thrilling adventure it is suberb. Mr. Rollins' style reminds me a lot of the writing of Alister McLean, another author who could spin a great, albeit sometimes unbelievable yarn.

Not being an expert on the Amazon rain forest, I cannot attest to the validity of the flora and fauna theories described in the book, but whether factual or not they contribute greatly to the mood of the story. My only complaints are that the ending seems a bit contrived and some of the characters were unnecessarly killed off. It is violent, but not as graphic as lot of novels with similar story lines. And there is of course the requisite romantic interests, although it does not play a significant role in the story line. All in all a great read. I look forward to Mr. Rollins' next book.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting to the last page!
Review: If you loved SUBTERRANEAN, you're going to love AMAZONIA. Having a personal tendency to rank books by my favorite authors, this one ranks head to head with Rollins' first thrill ride SUBTERRANEAN. The concept and plot of this novel are both captivating and unusual thus making a suspenseful and exciting story to read. Add to that the gigantic man eating crocs, land lubber piranhas and giant black panthers (my own personal faves), you're set for a rollercoaster ride. You'll find that
the action doesn't slow down and the characters drive the plot to its triumphant conclusion. The worse thing about reading this book was the feeling of "what am I going to read now to top that?" after I finished it! The prologue alone was enough to hook me. Highly recommended. Rollins easily leaves his peers in the action/adventure genre behind him in the dust with this new novel.

Rating:
Summary: AMAZONIA
Review: This is Rollin's best book yet! The prologue is very riveting, with a military agent found with an evil symbol on his chest. It is the sign of the "Blood Jaguars" an evil tribe that captures and does horrible things for people. Later in another Indian village, a tribe member saves a girl from being suffocated by a 40-foot long anaconda. He dives into the dangerous Amazon River that is filler with electric eels, piranhas,and freshwater stingrays to fight the giant snake. Later at a military organization, a person named Nathan Rand is assigned with a group of about 20 military soldiers to go in the Amazon rainforesst and find out what happened to his father 50 years ago. In the jungle they encounter a 20-foot long black caiman, piranha\frogs which attack the Amazon river dolphins, and giant panthers. I like the guy named Manny who had the pet leopard named Tor-Tor. There is also the insect scenes that involve giant tree ants and carnivourous locusts. Another team is also following them to KILL them and steal their treasure. The group's leader Louis and his assistant Tshui kill victims for their heads, which wind up as shrunken heads. They also find prehistoric plants that were thought extinct, such as the giant ferns and the Cymbraeoid tree. AWESOME BOOK! 510 pages.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhere in here a great premise is lurking
Review: Take a deep breath before you start this one because you'll be moving so fast with setback after injury after disaster after catastrophe that you may forget to suck in enough oxygen to take you through to the end.

The premise-- that there are many things in the Amazon jungle both wonderful and terrible we haven't discovered yet-- is sound. The writing is a bit trite and cliche ridden, and the characters are pretty much either disposable redshirts or Hero/Love Interest (with a couple of entirely too predictable and one-dimensional villians thrown in.)

It all gets somewhat gory, what with hackings and various animal life chompings when plants aren't doing their part to make jungle travel miserable. We don't really get an inkling why multiple native villages seem to thrive when Army Rangers cannot go more than a mile or two without an unfortunate encounter with a caiman or big ants or something. Rather than horrific, the absurdity begins to be laughable after awhile. I, for one, was rooting for the giant caimans.

However, I salute the author's supposition regarding the scientific possibility posed at the end. I wish, instead of a somewhat moralistic and ultimately destructive culmination (with the untidy bits all hastily snipped off and tucked in afterwards), Rollins had actually explored the premise his characters discovered. Granted, it would have required character development and a deeper knowledge of biological, palontological and chemical science (and possibly less knowledge of military hardware) but I think it would have made this into a brilliant book instead of an eye-rolling summer read.

Rating:
Summary: Jurassic Park Without the Cages
Review: This book is about action, plain and simple. I was greatly reminded of Jurassic Park in the sense that there were fantastic animals and they were lethal. You never knew where death would be found (lake, plants, cats, fish, etc.) Yes most folks in this book die pretty gruesomely to prove the point that the JUNGLE IS DANGEROUS. Oh sure the army rangers are tough, but they just don't get it. This isn't a hiking excursion. THE JUNGLE IS DANGEROUS. Yes I guarantee you will never even want to see a map of the Amazon you'll be so scared.

As far as the storyline goes, it's ridiculous. I told you, this book is about action and not much else. It's teeth, claws, guns, fire and buckets o' blood. If you liked Jurassic Park and you're looking for a fun adventure that won't weigh you down with too much serious drama then this book is for you. But know this, this story is strictly meant to entertain. Don't ask it for anymore than that. And tell your friends if you truly care about them that THE JUNGLE IS DANGEROUS!!

Rating:
Summary: Satisfying action-packed thriller!
Review: I bought this book because of Amazon's recommendation if I liked Douglas Preston/Child books I would enjoy James Rollins. Absolutely! This book was great - action, mutated godzilla-sized jungle creatures, explosions, dismemberment, head shrinking, a dash of kinky sex, poison darts, treachery, greed, medical science, lost tribes, plague threatening the world, prehistoric plants, and regenerating body parts! Whew, to name a few.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: This book is pretty good for what it is. Yes, the writing is at times sub-par (my favorite line comes on page 27, with the helicopters that looks like "wasps... <i>camouflaged</i> wasps." The ellipsis and italics are the author's, not mine.

The characterization never hops out of the archetypal niches (the weasly, apathetic-towards-nature capitalist, the damaged yet strong hero and his equally damaged and equally strong heroine, the mousy asian doctor, the wise Indian professor), but it's never jaw droppingly awful. And once the plot gets rolling, it's a nice ride.

The final explanation is as well-thought out and creative as it is over-reaching and implausible. The author packs in as much far-fetched explanation as he can to fill in his fair share of "suspension of disbelief", but the seams are about to burst.

The biggest problem is the revelation of the "traitor"-- so predictable it's appalling. Didn't he learn from Agatha Christie? But that's one of a few small cracks in an otherwise sturdy book. Yes, I'd take George Eliot or William Faulkner any day, but James Rollins is just fine when your mind needs a rest without completely turning itself off. I'd recommend this best for people in car trips or waiting at an airport.