[QuickTidal]

I'm curious to see what you think of THE LAST ORACLE (personally I feel it is the weakest of the series), and then DOOMSDAY KEY (which I quite enjoyed and felt was a return to form)...the latest THE DEVIL COLONY is quite action-packed.

[Abyss]

Also, this...

QuickTidal, on 24 January 2012 - 05:51 PM, said:

...you should probably know that Kat doesn't do a lot of action anymore as the series progresses.

makes me sad, because Kat stabbing people in the face repeatedly was a high point (pun intended) of Map.

Quote

Seichan basically takes that distinction away from her ...

This makes me feel mildly better, altho i want to see more of the crazy mute Indian sword chick with the soft spot for kids.

[QuickTidal]

So I'm 100 pages into the latest Sigma, BLOODLINE and I wanted to note a few non-spoiler points.

For Abyss' sake.

1. With each book I realize more and more that Kowalski is Monk's replacement as the "muscle" and "humor"...and I'm alright with that because Kowalski is DAMNED funny.

2. Seichan gets more and more badass with every book.

3. The addition of new characters Captain Tucker Wayne and his wardog Kane are switching things up and making this book really kick some ass.

4. (this one is especially for you Abyss) Kat is for once NOT preggers in this book and I think....I THINK she's about to be sent out on assignment (with Lisa Cummings)...and so the possibility exists that there will be some bad guy eye stabby in this book...and perhaps Kat's badass days are not yet over. I'll keep you posted.

[Abyss]

Tnx! Consider me reassured.

[Hound]

As I like quick, fun reads between the more brainpower demanding larger work, I've read some Rollins stuff. I really liked Map of Bones and Last Oracle. Sandstorm was a bit so so, as was Black Order. But that could also be because I read the Dutch translation and they are more often than not really really really terrible.

Just started The Devil Colony and liking it so far. In my to read pile are also Doomsday Key and Judas Strain. And yes, I read them totally out of order

Btw, if you like Rollins, then maybe you will also like the Pendergast novels by Preston&Child, murder mysteries with a bit of a supernatural twist located in (at least in some books) a Natural History Museum. The first one is Relic.

[QuickTidal]

So I'm about 220 pages into BLOODLINE now, which is well over halfway....and...

Non-spoiler info:

The reason I got into Rollins to begin with was the mix of Historical mysteries/treasure hunts with cutting edge science and military wing killer scientists.

So far, no REAL historical mystery or treasure hunt has shown up (persay), and the tentative one that is in the prologue hasn't even really shown back up either. I presume it will...but I mean at this point in MAP OF BONES they already had the capstone and were headed to a tomb....hell, in THE DOOMSDAY KEY (two books ago) they were already knee deep in historical mystery at that point.

It just disappoints me a bit that so far it's been straight up, chase/attack/science thriller...and even the science so far has been "light". I'm sure it will all come up in the finale. So while I can't say I'm not enjoying it (it's still entertaining) I can't say it's so far been high on my Rollins list, and this one kind of fits into the "Generic Thriller" category...

Me want History Rollins!

Anyways...Still as well written and paced as his previous outings, but it's only currently being served by the great character interaction (barring the over the top Gray / Seichan stuff) and not as much plot. A few guessable things in the opening have made a couple of the "twists" be non-entities as such since they can be quite easily sorted.

Oh and one utterly unbelievable plot point. Like it jumps out at you and says "Yeah, I know I'm not believable, go with it"...which doesn't bother me, but might bother others.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 29 June 2012 - 01:00 PM

[QuickTidal]

Finished:

Meh. Probably my very least favourite of the whole series so far. A big let down in the second half.

And a back cover synopsis gaffe has made me ask the author on FB about it...

It reads: "Galilee, 1025. A Templar Knight discovers..."

So this was REALLY incongruous to me...and that's why I questioned him.

The Knights Templar were not formed until AFTER the 1st Crusade in 1096, and weren't active until at least the early to mid 1100's...so how one could exist and find a BIBLICAL treasure in the Holy Land nearly 75 years before ANYONE went to the Holy Land for such purposes...baffled me.

I think it may be author hubris, but at any rate it rankled the fuck out of me.

Like I said, entertaining, but mostly action, a little science and an excuse to world-travel to places like Somalia and Dubai...both of which are boring as shit as backdrops these days as they've been done to death in movies.

[Hound]

Hmm... I finished BLOODLINE yesterday and I have to say, I LOVED that book. Definitely a LOT better then (than?) THE DEVIL COLONY. Tucker Wayne and Kane were both great (also read the short story TRACKER featuring Wayne & Kane), I hope we'll see them again in future books. Kat has some great action scenes, and we got a tiny bit more insight in Seichan's back-story. There is indeed very little history, but that's ok for me, I read these books because they are entertaining, action-packed reads and I think it was about time we got some sort of "breakthrough" with all the Sigma vs. Guild-stuff.

[QuickTidal]

After a disappointing (to me anyways) read of BLOODLINE...I recently finished THE BLOOD GOSPEL (Non-Sigma) and it was astoundingly excellent. Great fun, and in a whole new supernatural vein. Enjoyed every last moment.

And copied (below) from the "reading" thread...my experience with meeting Rollins yesterday and info about the next Sigma book EYE OF GOD (of which you can read the synopsis at his website).

He said that what a little girl said to Monk way back in THE LAST ORACLE will come to fruition, and that a few other small seeds he planted in early books are going to become gigantic, series changing events. He say this one is his game-changer.

And judging by the description of the next Sigma book, EYE OF GOD...jeebus, this is going to be one insane scientists with guns book!

Oh and a little aside, the girl in front of me in the signing line had just the day before gotten a third book-related tattoo (the first two were Dean Koontz quotes)...and it was the Sigma symbol...under her arm, upper side (Rollins, who was very impressed, snapped a pic and will be posting it to his FB). I talked to her in the elevator telling her how cool I thought the tat was, and told her my story about my visit to Washington DC and telling Mrs. QT about the scientists with guns that are HQ'ed under the Smithsonian Castle as we stood in front of it, and she looked at me like I'd grown three heads (I told James too, he laughed).

A great event. James' Fave food and beverage...are Pizza and Rockstar Energy drinks. They were in mass supply for us...to go with our signed books.

He was super down to earth and says he's still got a number of Sigma books in his head.

[Abyss]

Noted, and i think i'm ready for some Sigma vacation reading, or possibly just jump to Blood Gospel which is adorning my TRP.

(it took this long to wipe DEEP FATHOM out of my brain... love Rollins but wow that was weak).

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 11 February 2013 - 06:53 PM, said:

Noted, and i think i'm ready for some Sigma vacation reading, or possibly just jump to Blood Gospel which is adorning my TRP.

(it took this long to wipe DEEP FATHOM out of my brain... love Rollins but wow that was weak).

Yeah, I've only read two of his pre-Sigma works and they aren't a shade on his Sigma stuff.

But yeah, what BLOOD GOSPEL has going for it is the same stuff that makes Sigma great (action sequences, historical and tech stuff) and added the supernatural element. It's really win-win because it's putting the Sigma style into a totally new arena, and I truly enjoyed it.

I hope you do as well.

[Hound]

From Rollins' Facebook page:


Today during a Twitter Chat , I stated the following about a Sigma member death, "With a team, it's nice that the series can survive a major death or 2 (hint/warning)". Folks, prepare yourself - The Eye of God is coming June 25th!



Wow, I'm really looking forward to this book!


I agree with the above regarding BLOOD GOSPEL. Really sollid story, enjoyed it a lot. For me it was on par with some of his better Sigma Force stuff. Re non-Sigma books, I liked ICE HUNT too.

[Aptorian]

Jumped through this thread, skimming posts trying to avoid any spoilers.

I am considering starting this series but I just wanted to hear what the verdict is on the series so far.

From the sound of it Abyss thinks the series is a bit shaky and since there is apparently a dozen of these books, I wanted to hear if the series keeps on trucking or if it is starting to lose strength as it continues? Is it worth starting if you're the type that HAS to finish what ever he starts reading?

EDIT: Also, is there an overarching plot, recurring story elements, etc. or is it more of an episodic nature, where the crack team of commandos have to deal with the Monster/Threat of the week?

This post has been edited by Maybe Apt: 04 February 2014 - 03:36 PM

[QuickTidal]

Maybe Apt, on 04 February 2014 - 02:57 PM, said:

From the sound of it Abyss thinks the series is a bit shaky and since there is apparently a dozen of these books, I wanted to hear if the series keeps on trucking or if it is starting to lose strength as it continues? Is it worth starting if you're the type that HAS to finish what ever he starts reading?

EDIT: Also, is there an overarching plot, recurring story elements, etc. or is it more of an episodic nature, where the crack team of commandos have to deal with the Monster/Threat of the week?

It's got GREAT entries, and only so-so entries. Some of the ones I think are best were ones Abyss didn't think were up to scratch, and vice-versa. Each book is going to come down to your personal preference on what it's specifically about, and which characters you like best. Ex. Abyss likes Kat when she's in stabby-stabby action-mode over her later less-actiony mode (while I'm cool with either). I like Painter when he's in-field over when he's behind the desk. So you're going to find hit and misses throughout the series, but the misses aren't ever horrible...they just can't touch the ones you'll truly like best. Latter books blow open the cast list further.


I say skip the prequel book SANDSTORM (as it's not really needed, and is kind of ho-hum formulaic, and includes a useless Indiana Jones figure (Omaha Dunn...not shitting you, that's his name) and a Tomb Raider Lara Croft-analog named Lady Kensington...and hit straight for MAP OF BONES which introduces the main team (Grayson, Kat, Monk, Painter ect.), and it's MUCH better (and is officially Sigma Book 1).

There IS an overarching plot that begins with Sigma's enemy (named The Guild), but as we round like book 4 or 5 you start seeing that it's a much bigger conspiracy and includes much wider stakes. I have no idea where the overarching plot will go, but it's definitely there. And it doesn't impede the stand-alone-ness of each tale. So it's kind of both answers to your question. The good news is that the character growth for each main is solid as things go along. (For example, Gray has to deal with his father's growing and debilitating dementia as it progresses)

EDIT: Oh, and did you like the Dog and Soldier team in CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS? Cause Rollins introduces such a team in a later book and they really are excellent.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 04 February 2014 - 04:06 PM

[Aptorian]

I just read the first couple chapters of Sandstorm thinking it was the first book. I am not blown away by the writing so far, so I guess I could skip to Map of Bones, but on the other hand I think I want to read it chonologically, right?

Also mummies!

Hmm, decisions, decisions.

This post has been edited by Maybe Apt: 04 February 2014 - 04:10 PM

[QuickTidal]

Maybe Apt, on 04 February 2014 - 04:07 PM, said:

I just read the first couple chapters of Sandstorm thinking it was the first book. I am not blown away by the writing so far, so I guess I could skip to Map of Bones, but on the other hand I think I want to read it chonologically, right?

Also mummies!

Hmm, decisions, decisions.

SANDSTORM has some cool moments. Mostly at the beginning and at the end....but it's not as good (I think) as MAP OF BONES which was solid all the way through.

That said, there are a few things that happen in SANDSTORM that would help you flesh out people going fwd (Painter and such)...BUT I should point out that I read MAP OF BONES first and had no trouble setting things straight...and didn't read SANDSTORM till I was about 5 or 6 books deep into the series. And in hindsight I feel it's unneeded.

NOTE: These are thrillers. Based upon what you said in the BREACH thread, they are never going to read as anything else. So expect that.

[Aptorian]

QuickTidal, on 04 February 2014 - 04:17 PM, said:

NOTE: These are thrillers. Based upon what you said in the BREACH thread, they are never going to read as anything else. So expect that.

I am going to keep that in mind.

So, the supernatural/superscience element is not that strong in these books then? Or just not a pivotal element?

[QuickTidal]

Maybe Apt, on 04 February 2014 - 04:50 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 04 February 2014 - 04:17 PM, said:

NOTE: These are thrillers. Based upon what you said in the BREACH thread, they are never going to read as anything else. So expect that.

I am going to keep that in mind.

So, the supernatural/superscience element is not that strong in these books then? Or just not a pivotal element?

The science element definitely is. Always. The supernatural is too, but it's usually got sciency-backgrounds.

I just mean the thriller writing style is present.

[Aptorian]

Just finished the second book. I tried, I really did, but I don't like these books.

I feel sort of frustrated because I feel like I should like them. They are kind of like reading the Da Vinci Code on steroids but unfortunately they just don't read as well as Dan Browns stories.

I think my initial disappointment lies in the fact that I mistook the books for being a kind of sci-fi/suspense novels centred around a military unit. A unit as in a navy seal like team of specialists. It is a secret unit but it's more "Indiana Jones with a calculator" than military fiction, which was what I was expecting. It bothered me that it was never more than three operatives, instead of a dozen along with an advanced HQ used for communication and resupply, which lead to me second issue.

My second problem is that in both books our heroes are always a step behind the bad guys and they are sort of... really bad at their jobs. (Except Kat, Kat is awesome) In the first book I ran with it, because there was a bad guy on the inside, so they had to rely on their own resources, but that doesn't fly two books in a row. Instead of being a story where genious elite soldiers hunt bad guys and ghosts with the immense resources of the American government as a back-up, we just get some people making do with what they have. It makes for a great sense of suspense but when you know that they should have just been able to call Uncle Sam and have a platoon of Navy Seals or Foreign Legion units airdropped, it makes the stories really painful to read.

Third problem was the characters. They are sort of okay in that "cardboard cut-out" kind of way you come to expect from suspense/thriller stories but the internal monologue and the interaction. It's just a fraction too angsty and emotional. The romantic angles in both books made me slightly nauseous. We're talking Twillight levels of bad romance here.

I am going to cut my loses early. It's a shame because I like how ludicrously complicated he makes the "Mysteries" in the books but I just don't like the way he tells the tale.

This post has been edited by Maybe Apt: 11 February 2014 - 08:07 PM

[Abyss]

Maybe Apt, on 11 February 2014 - 08:02 PM, said:

... Kat is awesome...

I'm just going to point out that this alone is justification for reading at least the next book.