Sandstorm by James Rollins (Sigma Force book 1)

I had been meaning to read a James Rollins book for a while and so I thought I might as well start with Sandstorm as it is the first book of his highly rated Sigma Force series.

Synopsis

The story starts with an explosion in the Arabian wing of the British Museum. This kicks off an action adventure where the protagonists chase down a series of clues in search of a lost city while simultaneously being chased by a mysterious group who have loads more equipment, men and organisational skills. The adventure takes them to Oman and the desert. Chuck in some mysticism, a bit of vague science, elite soldiers, cool technology and the odd unlikely coincidence and you have an exciting thriller. Think of a combo of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton and Indiana Jones (if the latter was a book) and you will have a good idea of what to expect with Sandstorm.

Review

The book is fun. I enjoyed it. Just be aware that it is what it is. I have read reviews and apparently the series gets better. Like with Clive Cussler (seriously read some of his early stuff) it seems like he establishes a decent style and characters as he goes along. The result is that you get a perfect holiday read. If you enjoy Dan Brown and things of that ilk, then you’ll like this. That’s the level.

Sandstorm is exciting and a page turner. I do have some issues but they are minor. The author is clearly American and it taints his world view. For example, in the early bit of the book, set in London, a character who lives there longs for the famous fog. The fog stopped being a London thing decades ago. One of the main characters is a rich woman called Lady Kensington. One of the main heroes is basically Indiana Jones – he is called Omaha Dunn – and Lady Kensington actually calls him Indiana as a laugh, to point out that he is a bit of a cliche. The main character is continually described by the others as being strong and well, I just didn’t see much evidence of that. One of the other protagonists, Painter Crowe is pretty cool, although he seems to fall in love at the drop of a hat.

There is also a fair amount of pseudo science based a bit on actual science and some major deus ex machina.

I sound like I am now complaining but so what if a character is like Indy, he’s cool. The scenes are set well and Rollins writes great descriptions of places like Oman. And none of the rest of the stuff really matters. There are chases and fights and mystery and action. In Sandstorm James Rollins set out write a rip roaring adventure and he delivers.

In summary – if this is the kind of thing you like, then Sandstorm is a book you’ll like.