Map of Bones

by: James Rollins

Published by: Avon

Reviewed by Jeff Foster

In his latest Sigma Force thriller, James Rollins starts fast and finishes faster. Commander Grayson Pierce of Sigma Force finds himself lured into solo operation at Fort Detrick, Maryland by a shadowy female operative. Seichan is a deadly female operative of Sigma's nemesis, The Guild. Turning the tables, Pierce is under the impression he has finally eliminated his adversary, only to find a dragon pendant hanging from the handlebar of his motorcycle upon departure.

Sigma Force, a black ops outfit run off the books by the Defense Department, is charged to liaise with Vatican investigators into a gruesome mass murder that takes place at a catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany. Gray quickly finds himself snared into a web of deceit that will rapidly spiral beyond his control. It leads him and his team of doctorate-holding, yet deadly, intelligence operatives on a race across Europe in a desperate attempt to prohibit a ancient alchemist cult, The Dragon Court, from acquiring secrets, and thus remaking the world in their image.

Pierce finds that all is not as it seems in the cathedral. Together with Vatican Monsignor and his niece, an Italian Carabinieri lieutenant, the American/Vatican team follow leads from Rome to Alexandria, where the mysterious Seichan surfaces allied with The Dragon Court, then to a forbidding Swiss chateau and finally to Avignon, France.

It is a race, with many detours, twists, and deviations, all in an attempt to prevent The Dragon Court from attaining their nefarious goal of unraveling the ancient secrets--guarded since the time of Alexander the Great--of primordial light.

Map of Bones is replete with convincing explanations of ancient religious methodology and history. Rollins research is thorough and tightly woven into a story that will make you take a long deep breath when you finish.

This story is a whirlwind! James Rollins writing style flows easily from eloquently descriptive when he takes you into the Vatican, to chillingly brutal in the action sequences. You will vividly experience the exotic locations, sweat when the action heats up, and cringe when the bullets fly!

Armchair Interviews says this thriller is a good read and a wild ride!