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Summary: Rollins Does it again
Review: This is my third Rollins book and in each one he has successfully accomplished the action thriller. This one has a similar feel to Mathew Reily's Temple. A group of scientists and military Rangers go on a trek through the Amazon searching for a group that disapeared about 3 years prior. This is because one of the group has found his way back to civilization and died of a mysterious ailment. Most remarkable is that the man has regrown an arm that he lost. This perks the interest of the military and businesses alike.As the group treks along they meet with all kinds of terrors from animals that are part poison frog part pirhanna as well as killer locusts and super large jaguars. Additionally, there are a group of mercenaries tracking them, hoping to eventually kill them and steal their booty. If that isn't enough, the body of the man with the regrown arm has somehow spread an airborne disease that is as powerful as Ebola and is rapidly spreading throughout the southern US. So it is up to the party in the Amazon to find a possible cure before time runs out for the whole US! Rollins has a masterful way of describing action where you can picture everything happening in its terrifying reality.
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Summary: Amazonia By James Rollins
Review: This is by far the best book I have ever read. At times my heart was racing as if I was really a part of what was happening in the pages. A very hard book to put down at night. My only disappoinment is that it (the book) had to come to an end.
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Summary: Not his best work.
Review: I ordered Amazonia hot off the press as soon as I possibly could - hardcover, no less. Needless to say, I was disappointed. It was not, in my opinion, of the same page-turning, nail biting quality of his other novels. I'm a science fiction buff, but even I found the premise so hard to believe that it almost ruined it right off the bat. The plot was weak, the characters unbelievable, and, well, that whole giant panther thing was just too much. I think I'll wait and see if Mr. Rollins comes back down to earth before reading another one of his books.
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Summary: One of the Great Adventure Novels of Our Time
Review: Absolutely brilliant. An amazing ride. Epic in scope, and flawless in execution. Wow.
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Summary: The Mighty Tor-Tor
Review: Here you go folks, a book seemingly designed for those with ADD. Extreme action, mutated creatures, explosives, giant jaguars, violence( including dismemberment and head shrinking!), a dash of sex, poison, betrayal, technology on the fritz, insects that will eat you alive, pirahnas that will chase you onto land, giant caimans that will jump into trees, a lost tribe, a plague threatening the world, prehistoric plants, and regenerating body parts! Whew, that's a lot of stuff going on and James Rollins pulls most of it off without a glitch. The characters are strong enough to make you care, the action is most definitely exciting, the various creatures interesting and nasty enough to shock and awe even the most poised reader. So why not 5 stars? Well... The ending could have been better, there could have been a little bit more surprise when it comes to the realization of who the "mole" is (that was kinda Scooby Doo-ish), and those who deserved horrible demises get dispatched rather quickly. However, if you have read Rollins earlier work you most likely won't be dissapointed here. No matter how you look at it this guy is damn fun to read, and his books would make excellent movies. I know I'd buy a ticket, and speaking of buying check out Subterrranean and Excavation, both solid actioners. No Tor-Tors were harmed in the writing of this review.
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Summary: Not the best Cryptozoology book I've read...
Review: I picked this book up because I'm into cryptozoology and I really liked Rollins' book, Subterranean. While the book was intriguing and fast paced, I didn't enjoy it as much as Subterranean or some of the other cryptozoology stories I've read. The characters aren't that well developed. I didn't feel much for Nathan Rand, the protagonist of the story and didn't have too much of an attachement for him or feel like I knew him that well as the story went on. I didn't really care about his relationships in the story or if he lived or died, and I thought a couple of Rollins' other characters were much more intriguing. The story is a bit too fast-paced with catastrophe following catastrophe, and the dangers of the Amazon just weren't that exciting to me. The "secret-twist" that many of these cryptozoology books have wasn't that interesting to me and didn't really make up for the storyline. While this wasn't the best fiction I've read, it was somewhat entertaining, just didn't quite live up to the hope I had for it. I won't let it dissuade me from reading other Rollins novels however, I just won't be picking up a sequel if one comes out.
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Summary: Great Adventure, Fast Pace, Some Interesting Science
Review: I had never heard of James Rollins until a friend recommended this book. After taking a few glances on the cover and in the book, I decided to try it out. The book has elements of adventure, horror, and science fiction. I have read several fiction books over the past year with major authors that have disappointed because of slow pace, silly science, or just very poor writing. What a refreshing change this one was! The chemistry of different plants at the start of major sections provides a foreshadowing of what might happen next. The adventure of discovery makes you wish you were there and then the threats (small & large) of the Amazon make you glad you weren't. Some of my favorite authors are Crichton, Dan Brown, and Ludlum. The only books that I would put in the same class as Amazonia are Jurassic Park (Crichton) for its science/adventure and the Da Vinci Code (Brown) for its art history/adventure. If you liked either of these books, then Amazonia would probably be something you enjoy.
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Summary: LOVED IT!!!
Review: I listened to the unabridged audio cassette version of this story on my way to and from work. I absolutely LOVED it! There were times when I would actually start to get a little anxious listening to a particularly gripping portion of the story, waiting to see how the end of that particular episode would turn out (it was all I could do to keep from fast-forwarding). The entire premise was very ingenious and the ending was as I hoped it would be. The defining line between the good guys and the bad guys was straightforward; the bad guys were REALLY bad. At the risk of giving away part of the storyline, the only bone I have to pick with the author is that he wrote as though the tree were a bad thing. I actually thought of the entire premise as not a bad thing, but a fascinating thing, and not so much a moral dilemma as it was made out to be. I couldn't really see much wrong with a new species, since it would basically be confined to that part of the Amazon. And despite the analogy to slavery and the ant tree, the tribe was happy, healthy, and seemingly content with its lot in life. Aside from finding a cure for the raging disease, it was as if we outsiders were breaking the "prime directive", as it were. Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to the story and was sorry it had to come to an end - I'm glad it was a happy ending and that the loose ends were tied up pretty neatly (and the bad guys dispatched as well). Time for another audio story by this same author.
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Summary: Wow!! A terrific ending!!!!!
Review: This book grabs you from page one. This also being my first by Rollins i immediatly picked up Deep Fathom and am looking around for Subterranean. If ur someone who like coincidence and irony in a book you'll love it.
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Summary: Tedious
Review: This book was rather tedious. Too much action. It detracted from the storyline. Once one crisis was over anther immediately started or was already in progress. Overkill. I did manage to make it to the end of the book. It was worth the effort...but barely. His books need more substance and less flash.
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