The Devil Colony
A Sigma Force Thriller by James Rollins
Review: The top secret government division known as the Sigma Force is called in when workers at the site of an archeological dig recover artifacts that may relate to the country's origins in The Devil Colony, the seventh political thriller in this series by James Rollins.
A cave along the border between Federal and Native American lands in the Western US is discovered in which the remains of dozens of men and women are found. The bodies bear signs of ritual suicide, but what interests authorities most is a gold-plated skull on which strange markings are etched. A historical artifact, to be sure, but to whom does it belong? The political tug of war is just the start of a series of events that quickly escalate in scope and magnitude … but what troubles the Sigma Force most is that much of what they are experiencing seems to be out of their control — indeed, a natural phenomenon potentially of out everyone's control.
There's a familiarity to The Devil Colony that is both comforting and yet disappointing. It's as if there is some master outline from which the author is working, into which he simply inserts this interesting or fascinating historical or scientific fact (or plausible fiction) and then executes an automated script to fill in the action connecting them. Some readers will enjoy the unwavering predictability of what's going to happen; others will wonder why the author didn't take a bit of a risk and try something just a little different. The underlying storyline is strikingly compelling, the numerous included drawings and depictions of symbols and such are a nice touch, and the locations in which the action takes place are creatively drawn, all well and good, but the interchangeable, generic characters that carry the plot forward fail to make it as engaging as it could have been. There's clearly a market for these novels, and The Devil Colony is decidedly better than most, but — and depending on whether one finds this comforting or disappointing — from a narrative standpoint there is very little to distinguish this thriller from dozens of others.
Acknowledgment: HarperCollins provided a copy of The Devil Colony for this review.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in The Devil Colony: Utah, Washington DC, Iceland
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The Devil Colony by James Rollins
Publisher: William Morrow
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 0-06-178478-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-178478-1
Publication Date: June 2011
List Price: $27.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a gruesome discovery—hundreds of mummified bodies—stirs international attention and fervent controversy. Despite doubts about the bodies' origins, the local Native American Heritage Commission lays claim to the prehistoric remains, along with the strange artifacts found in the same cavern: gold plates inscribed with an unfathomable script.
During a riot at the dig site, an anthropologist dies horribly, burned to ashes in a fiery explosion in plain view of television cameras. All evidence points to a radical group of Native Americans, including one agitator, a teenage firebrand who escapes with a vital clue to the murder and calls on the one person who might help—her uncle, Painter Crowe, Director of Sigma Force.
To protect his niece and uncover the truth, Painter will ignite a war among the nation's most powerful intelligence agencies. Yet an even greater threat looms as events in the Rocky Mountains have set in motion a frightening chain reaction, a geological meltdown that threatens the entire western half of the U.S.
From the volcanic peaks of Iceland to the blistering deserts of the American Southwest, from the gold vaults of Fort Knox to the bubbling geysers of Yellowstone, Painter Crowe joins forces with Commander Gray Pierce to penetrate the shadowy heart of a dark cabal, one that has been manipulating American history since the founding of the thirteen colonies.
But can Painter discover the truth—one that could topple governments—before it destroys all he holds dear?