CHARACTERS: 3/5
WRITING STYLE: 4/5
CLIMAX: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
Anyone who has read a good number of books would have their own favourite authors – authors whose books you would pick up without thinking twice because you are sure you will certainly like the book.
For many, Dan Brown would probably be a must-buy while for many Indian readers, it could be Chetan Bhagat. There are, of course, many cases where the reader does not like the author but will buy the book anyway.
I have a few such “must buy” authors myself, and James Rollins is one such.
The Eye of God by James Rollins brings back the Sigma Force, and this time the team is to face a literally out of this world danger, as a comet is hurtling towards earth. This is only known when a US military research satellite crashes to earth.
But before it does, it sends out an image of an eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin. This image was sent across by the comet, which seems to be emitting dark energy, causing it to warp time and space.
Sigma Force gets to know of a relic of Genghis Khan that is supposed to hold information that can help save the planet, and so the team sets out to find the location in time.
Action adventures tend to be more about the action and the plot and, character development is usually given a back seat.
However, in The Eye of God, Rollins does build the character of Seichan, who goes in search of her mother but gets captured by mobs in North Korea.
Gray goes after her to free her, after finding her mother. All the action scenes are well portrayed and the pace, as you would expect in any Rollins book, is very fast and continues in the same vein throughout the book.
But as one might expect, there is not much in terms of story. In fact, the added urgency of a North Korean villain trying to stop the team for no good reason, despite not knowing what the Sigma Force was after, was a bit too much to take.
Also, it seems like the author is on a repetitive plotline, as most of his books have already dealt with life and death issues with various other events.
On the whole, if you are a fan of action thrillers and can look beyond the plot lines, you will certainly enjoy yet another fast-paced book from James Rollins – The Eye of God.