Rating: 
Summary: extreme action
Review: After reading several of this author's works, I felt compelled to write a review. The book is interesting, but gets much too out into left field in the activities of its players. Not in the fantasy department, but in the extreme actions the folks can manage to pull off. This is a failing in all of Rollins' books, it seems, and really detracts from the story line. These do not come up to Jeff Long and Childs & Preston.
Rating: 
Summary: Good standard SF adventure fare
Review: In this SF effort, Rollins follows a tried and true adventure story format: Put characters, some of which are bigger than life, into exotic locations, apply pressure from several dangerous sources, then show what the participants are made of. Points go to the author for utilizing an imaginative concept for one of the major antagonists: a giant tree. Of course there are also mutated animals, mysterious lost native tribes a la Edgar Rice Burroughs and, naturally, wicked, evil killers after the good guys plus a love angle between the two main characters all in the mix. Despite today's emphasis on same sex lovers, Rollins refreshingly decided to forego that trendy agenda and tell the traditional story of a man and woman trying to make a connection while caught up in several major crises: Daring to go into unknown jungle dangers to search for a cure to a deadly disease, resolving familial tragedies or near-tragedies, survival in a hostile and strange environment and the aforementioned wicked, evil killers who are motivated mostly by, you guessed it, the universally-denigrated "large corporations." This particular corporation is French, however, so most USA citizens will not feel bad about their perfidy eventually coming home to roost. The ending is predictable, one which readers will approve of and therefore feel a comfortable satisfaction. All in all, the book's pacing is steady, the plot not too complicated and the description of the flora and fauna very well done, bringing the imagery of the author's concept into clear focus. Rollin's style reminds one of Clive Cussler's, generally good, but not outstanding. Considering all the work featuring really bad writing that miraculously makes its way onto the New York Times Best Seller list, (do they even READ the books?) Amazon gets my vote as one worth buying. -Barker Reviews
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Put it Down!
Review: Great Book! Lots of action. It would make a terrific movie. This author has a wonderful imagination. This was my first book by Rollins. After reading all the reviews on it, I think I will read Subterranean.
Rating:
Summary: Soon to be a major motion picture...
Review: If you like Michael Crichton's books, you'll probably like this one as well. I enjoy Rollins' books, but like Crichton, there are elements of his writing style which bother me. The most favorable aspect of Amazonia is that it's packed with action. So much action, that you might mistake the book as the novelization of a movie. Unfortunately, the book also has many of the drawbacks of an action movie. The characterizations are cliched and much of the dialogue is overly melodramatic. Undeniably Rollins spins a pretty good story, but his novels are becoming too formulaic to give this book anything more than a passing mark.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!!
Review: I bought this book as an impulse buy while I was shopping... boy am I glad I did. This is a great, easy, and quick read (it's 500+ pages but it really does go at quite a quick pace). A very well told, written, and researched story w/ likable characters and very dislikable villans. Horror, intrigue, mystery, and real science combine to make an amazing story. Would that some of the discoveries in the story were real... what a world we would have. My one complaint is that there could have been just a bit more in the ending... not that the story is left unresolved as the resolution (not to give away the ending), is perfect. I'll be collecting the author's other works as his writing is quite good. I may have to give it a second spin in the future-buy and enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic!!
Review: This is hands down a fantastic novel!!!Now that I got that out of the way let me give a bit more detail. the novel follows the travels of a team into the farthest reaches of the Amazon. They are going there to search for what might be a cure for cancer,as well as look for a lost member of a previous expedition. There is a race to fine this cure becuase there is a growing plauge spreading into the US that is linked to this discovery. There are all the elements that make up a good story.The action scenes are great and there is just enough science fiction added in to give it a little kick in the pants.I really enjoyed the story it moved along rather well (Which is perhaps the most important quality of a good book). The characters were well drawn out and you found yourself caring for them.I have alos read Subterranean by this author and found it just as enjoyable.Pick it up!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing Summer Read
Review: James Rollin's Amazonia is fun. It's not a spectacular read, and it's not going to blow you away with its prose or imagery or plot twists. It's just plain and simple fun. Set aside your worries and daily responsibilities and escape into this jungle world filled with giant crocodiles and flesh-eating piranhas that can travel on land. Amazonia recalls Michael Crichton's Congo on some levels, but mostly just because they're both good adventure reads. His characters are a bit dull, and most of the Army Rangers are there just to end up in body bags. If you can get past that, you'll enjoy yourself. Rollins' description of the Amazon and its inhabitants rings pretty authentic, but at times it seems he's stretching the science a bit if only to give the thought of giant crocs and DNA-absorbing trees an air of credibility. In any case, if you're looking for some exciting reading on the beach or at home after a long day of work, Rollins' Amazonia delivers.
Rating:
Summary: A shame it's not more popular!!!
Review: I usually have trouble getting into mysteries because I'm so...cynical. I'm constantly questioning things that go right and just seem to fit into place. I haven't read mysteries in a long time, but for some reason I've been picking them up lately. I read the "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown which has been on the best seller list for a few months now and as much as the subject matter is absolutely amazing I felt it was poorly written from the plot standpoint. "Amazonia" restores my faith in mysteries although it still capitalizes on a romance angle, as the "Da Vinci Code" did. If I wanted to read something with romance I'd choose a romance. :p The clandestine meeting between two people and the way they connect in some otherworldy way annoys me in how it's been just a subplot and a distraction from the main one. I can only speak for these two mysteries but you know there are more out there like that. If you're going to throw in the romance bit at LEAST throw in conflict between the two people rather than star-crossed hero worship. Ok now with that rant off. "Amazonia" is a book that makes me want to stop all else to read it and this hasn't happened in awhile. It's exciting, combines an exotic place and its cultures with the tease of the unknown. "Amazonia" prompted me to contribute what was formerly my monthly MMORPG bill to Greenpeace. I am an absolute fool for any intimation that there are things out there beyond our wildest imagination and this book catered to that rather nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing premise, exciting storytelling
Review: This book is well researched and quite intelligent. As a medical student with a vivid imagination, I almost wanted to believe what is written in this book could happen (and to a certain degree, some of it has already happened). The prion theory was retooled and was intriguing. And so was the symbiosis theme throughout the book. The action sequences, which runs through most of the book, were very well written. The book is also very politically correct and rich in symbolism (spoilers: did anyone else catch the symbolism of "the jungle devouring only the military personnel" or "the demise of one of the philanthropist by Louis, an evil pharmaceutical rep?" or even "everyone in the book who something to do with pharmaceutical, per se, are evil?"). The author does have minor inconsistencies in his writing style, which sometimes required me to backtrack a few sentences to figure out out what exactly he was describing, but I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Amazonia
Review: This book was great. Grabs you on the first page and does not let go. I could not put it down. The story is new and different and the characters are interesting and intelligent. Well thought out plot line with a lot of action. You feel like you are in the Amazon with the heat and the bugs. The search for the missing father and for a miracle cure keeps you on the edge of your seat. I think this is Rollins best book so far.
|
