James Rollins CRUCIBLE Sigma Force 14 - Book Review
* * * * Stars out of 5
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From the Back Cover
In the race to save one of their own, Sigma Force must wrestle with the deepest spiritual mysteries of mankind in this mind-expanding adventure from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, told with his trademark blend of cutting edge science, historical mystery, and pulse-pounding action.
Arriving home on Christmas Eve, Commander Gray Pierce discovers his house ransacked, his pregnant lover missing, and his best friend’s wife, Kat, unconscious on the kitchen floor. With no shred of evidence to follow, his one hope to find the woman he loves and his unborn child is Kat, the only witness to what happened. But the injured woman is in a semi-comatose state and cannot speak—until a brilliant neurologist offers a radical approach to “unlock” her mind long enough to ask a few questions.
What Pierce learns from Kat sets Sigma Force on a frantic quest for answers that are connected to mysteries reaching back to the Spanish Inquisition and to one of the most reviled and blood-soaked books in human history—a Medieval text known as the Malleus Maleficarum, the Hammer of Witches. What they uncover hidden deep in the past will reveal a frightening truth in the present and a future on the brink of annihilation, and force them to confront the ultimate question: What does it mean to have a soul?
Crucible Sigma Force #14 by James Rollins
I should tell upfront that I am a big fan of James Rollins since I first read Excavation in 2009 and my interested a fevered frenzy after I completed Amazonia a couple of months later and have pursued the subsequent novels with the eager anticipation of an addict.
So please be warned.
The longest I have kept a James Rollins book in my bookshelf over 1 year after getting it in April 2021. Resumption of work after long periods of Covid lockdowns could be a reason.
After the blockbuster The Demon Crown which somehow I felt was the zenith for the series, Sigma and Guild working together for a cause...... the follow-up books may not measure up.
With Kingdom of Bones beckoning and in my bookshelf, I discovered I was way behind, 2 books.
Note to self - Complete The Last Odyssey asap.
Ohk...
Back to this book. No spoilers here...
The benign start of the book with Gray Pierce, soon to be father and Monk his best friend and colleague and experienced in fatherhood with two daughters, trying to let their hair down with a talk over drinks at a small tavern on Christmas Eve. Gray apprehensive about fatherhood and the kind of father he would turn into.
Monk, recently fitted with a newer, more advanced prosthetic on his severed arm, uses DARPA’s latest tech to earn the duo free drinks by flipping random coins and consistently predicting whether it’ll come up heads or tails. And getting on the wrong side of the drunk patrons in the tavern who feel cheated in some way. All in all a evenings enjoyment.
Returning back to Gray’s house where both families including Monk, his wife, and their kids were staying for the holidays, they discover that his home has been ransacked. Even worse, Monk’s wife, Kat, is found lying on the kitchen floor covered in blood, barely surviving the attack that left her comatose. Seichan, Gray’s pregnant lover, and Monk’s two girls have all vanished without a trace.
On top of this mess, Sigma Force Director Painter Crowe calls them to the office with more dire news, a group of female scientists were killed in a fire attack in a Portugal library building while having gathered together to discuss the presentation of a young genius scientist, Mara Silviera, who has made quantum leaps in the world of artificial intelligence research. Mara has also disappeared.
The race starts pulse pounding to uncover and get back...
Returning back to Gray’s house where both families including Monk, his wife, and their kids were staying for the holidays, they discover that his home has been ransacked. Even worse, Monk’s wife, Kat, is found lying on the kitchen floor covered in blood, barely surviving the attack that left her comatose. Seichan, Gray’s pregnant lover, and Monk’s two girls have all vanished without a trace.
On top of this mess, Sigma Force Director Painter Crowe calls them to the office with more dire news, a group of female scientists were killed in a fire attack in a Portugal library building while having gathered together to discuss the presentation of a young genius scientist, Mara Silviera, who has made quantum leaps in the world of artificial intelligence research. Mara has also disappeared.
The race starts pulse pounding to uncover and get back...
An ancient evil seems to be behind these attacks and has raised its ugly head. An organization responsible for the infamous withes trials and then burning them at the stake centuries ago. They are now hell bent to possess the AI and unleash a new wave of evil.
The quest for AI which is a current research situation has several naysayers including the best minds of our generation who decry the fact that advanced AI or one more intelligent than humans may not be a benign one.
Rollins strings together this situation into this latest Sigma operation with a lot at personal stake for the team.
Everything good so far but...
Sigma Force team was created for high risk assignments knowing fully well that they will be going into situations, to quote my fav from Trek going where no man has gone before.
That is why I docked a star for this book..
An AI going amok is not exactly where no storyline has gone before especially when we have had the Terminator and Skynet nearly 4 decades back with Doomsday scenario(s).
Ok ranted enough..
The book details the process of the AI very well and James Rollins has always been very detailed about the science and pseudo-science stuff in his books. The continuous evolution of the AI is a pleasure to read and helps in understanding the process as to why many intellectuals tell about why AI especially super-human intelligence research should be abandoned.
The story intertwines with the Spanish Inquisition and the trial of the witches the inspiration for the name Crucible.
Amidst the high-tech gadgetry and complex scientific theories we jump back in time to find answers buried in the past.
There are multiple story lines, with different parts of the Sigma team involved working towards a common end.
The Seichan kidnap story though incidental to the story (kickstarting the story) ultimately peters down into a redundant story line that seems to have no reason except ending up like an bad Easter egg. Not the best in the Sigma line-up.
What works is the frantic pace that James brings to each and every story and the smooth synergy of science, humanities and relationships that have worked in almost every book in this long series.
Recommend this book.
Recommend this book.
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