نقشه‌ی استخوان‌ها

Sigma Force #2

by James Rollins, هادی امینی (Translator)

در طول مراسم شلوغی در کلیسای جامع آلمان، مهاجمین مسلح با لباس راهب‌ها، کابوسی از خون و نابودی ایجاد کردند. اما این آدمکش‌ها به دنبال طلا نبودند؛ بلکه در پی گنج با‌ارزش‌تری بودند: استخوان‌های مگی افسانه‌ای که زمانی پیشکش‌هایی به منجی نوزاد تقدیم کرده بودند... گنجی که قادر است دنیا را تغییر شکل دهد.
با آشفتگی در واتیکان، نیروی سیگما تحت فرماندهی گریسون پیرس وارد ماجرا شده و راز مرگباری را دنبال می‌کند که از هفت شگفتی دنیای باستان عبور کرده و به یک انجمن باستانی مرگبار، رازآلود و وحشتناک ختم می‌شود. انجمنی با نقشه‌های پلید که استخوان‌های مقدس با قدرت تغییر سرنوشت بشریت را دزدیده‌اند. علم و مذهب برای آزادسازی وحشتی متحد شده‌اند که بشر از زمان ازل به چشم ندیده ‌است.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Action, Suspense, Historical Fiction

510 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2005

About the author

James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. His writing has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold more than 20 million books. The New York Times says, “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together.” NPR calls his work, “Adventurous and enormously engrossing.” Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets matched with stunning suspense. As a veterinarian, he had a practice in Sacramento for over a decade and still volunteers at local shelters. Nowadays, Rollins shares his home up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with two furry companions, Echo and Charlie. He also enjoys scuba diving, spelunking, kayaking, and hiking. Of course, he loves to travel and experience new places around the world, which often inspire his next globe-trotting adventure.

Reviews

[Will Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Map of Bones is an action adventure tale, combining both ancient secret societies, a la Dan Brown, and other secret societies, a la...well... Ian Fleming. Sigma is the good guy crew here, led by Grayson Pierce, this book's version of 007, ably assisted by his trusted buddy, Monk, and the relative newbie, Kat. It comes complete with an opening action sequence that introduces the two antagonists. When a cathedral in Cologne is assaulted by a crew using strange technology that leaves all present but one dead, and the take is ancient Magi bones, the Church is, as one might expect, alarmed. Sigma is called in.


James Rollins - from wikimedia

There is a secret afoot and a highly competitive treasure hunt in which Sigma tries to outpace not only the Dragon Court, a millennia old cult of alchemists and overall bad guys, but their hired team of assassins, the Guild, led by Pierce's personal enemy, the cold-blooded Dragon Lady. Joining Pierce in his attempts to find out who, what, and where is Rachel Verona, Vatican Caribinieri and niece to a Vatican big-wig. Raoul, the major bad guy is straight out of central casting, lacking only steel braces. There are plenty of sub-mysteries concerning who is on which side in both the Vatican and Sigma, which adds some spice. Of particular value here is the technology, both real and speculative, and the offered history, a definite plus. Rollins is not the tightest writer in terms of offering reasonable explanations for the twists and turns of the story. Far too often he relies on silliness like "Gray had memorized the layout of the castle." This grows in frequency as we near the end. Another gripe is that the book seems a series of chases and battles with not all that much to connect them for the first 100 pages. That abates a bit, thankfully. Rollins offers the mandatory climactic thunderstorm, a reasonable quantity of blood and guts, hints of sexual attraction, a bit of perversion, but focuses on the story and keeps it moving at a hectic pace. Good fun. Leave your disbelief on a hanger somewhere.

Review first posted - 2008

Rollins's site

I read and reviewed one other Sigma Force Book, #4 - The Judas Strain

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Map of Bones is the 2nd book in the Sigma Force series written by James Rollins. I've previously read the first book in the series and several other novels in this genre. The focus shifts from Painter Crowe to Grayson Pierce now, although Painter does appear in many scenes. Grayson leads a team to prevent the underground Guild from causing more damage around this world; this time, they've blown up a church and killed nearly 100 people while stealing relics that might be the bones of the Magi, more commonly known as the Three Wise Men. Several Vatican personnel and the niece of an important one help Grayson on the case.

The plot was a bit wonky for me. When it delves too far into the scientific realm of elements and what can happen to them under different treatments, my mind grows leery, or is it weary? Of course, this is necessary to create varied suspense and intriguing complexity. But I question... is it really possible that thousands of years ago, humankind knew all these chemical opportunities? There are documented cases of some genius inventions and creations yet when combined with that stroke of luck where a city that's been bombed and fallen under mountains or sea still has a statue with a finger that points the villains or the heroes in the direction of a clue, I struggle! But it's momentary and I pretend this is not meant to be 100% factual. Then I settle in and enjoy the ride.

Which I did for this one, as I have in others. I love learning about history and connecting the dots. As has happened other times, I research things in between chapters. This time, I found myself fascinated by Alexander the Great and the various transfers of power between popes when there were conflicts or an interregnum. It's intriguing to learn how much has been lost yet grow curious what has been saved. Is the Vatican truly keeping secret documents? Are wealthy men and women holding on to items from 2 millennia ago purely to protect them from wicked people or religious? It's a compelling read from that aspect, and when you toss in a bit of romance, danger, religion, and geography, it can be an addicting read.

I tend to love the turncoat characters... in this case, an Asian woman who crosses sides to help both the good and the bad guys, or at least, who we think are the good and the bad guys. When she appeared, my focus on the scenes and hidden messages became clearer. When I thought she died, I was disappointed. I hope she sticks around as a friend or a foe in the future -- no spoilers here, other than she might still be alive in the end. I'm planning to order the third book next month, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. 3.5 stars again for this one.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars. Second in the Sigma Force series (after Sandstorm), I can now see that this is going to be a great series. These books are incredibly quick reads with fast, well thought out plots. Even though they are quick reads, don't think there is no detail as James Rollins is a research fanatic and packs the book with a lot of interesting details from which he extrapolates some of the more "fantastic" plot devices. Think "Tom Clancy" meets "Fringe" with a dash of "Indiana Jones" and you will have a good idea what these books are about. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

[Simon Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction mixed with physics and religious conspiracy. Rollins gives a complex narrative and entertaining at the same time.

[Jerry Mead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid speculative fiction and historical thriller. Will look for more in this series.

[Fernando Paredes · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a terrible, incredibly long dribble this is. Many of the people who've rated this book poorly have pointed out the many failings within it.

The entire plot is absolutely ridiculous:
You have an implausible group of so-called geniuses who also happen to be -supposedly- super agents, James Bond type of guys. They put them through "fast track PhD programs" (what in the hell is that anyway, who goes through a "fast track" PhD???) so they know anything about everything or something.... and yet they are utterly incompetent all throughout the book. This is where we find the first of the book's many cliches, and to me, the first warning sign: The group is called Sigma Force (because Delta is already taken as a cliche, I guess)

Then there's the "bad guys" - cartoonish, Dr. Evil type of bad guys, who are nothing but Yet-Another-Ancient-Secret-Society blah blah blah, yadda yadda, complete with an evil plot to rule the world or something. I swear, the main bad guy is a mix of the bad guys from the 60's Batman show, Dr. Evil and Disney villains. The author does a feeble attempt of making the reader hate him for his evilness, but I just rolled my eyes every time he acted "evil".

Finally there's this "mysterious white powder" (m-state gold), as the author refers to it the whole time, which somehow "the ancients" discovered and used as a superconductor. They left clues (for who?) that take you to some treasure or other...they hint at "ancient knowledge", but never say what or what about. Having the bad guys find this will bring about "armageddon" (I kid you not) or "remaking the world in their image" - whatever that means. It's all so far fetched and ridiculous that I really couldn't find a reason to wanting the bad guys stopped.

In between there's this romance building up between 2 of the characters but the author is so clumsy about it he just builds it up with cheesy phrases and yet more cliches thrown in randomly during the story.

The entire book is plagued by even more cliches, comic book style: Characters, plot, motivation for the villains, situations, the romance, the ending, everything is a cliche.

Other absurdities abound: the heroes seem to pack just about everything and anything they might need in their "packs". Two notable examples: At one point the hero is trapped in a room with metal bars in the windows. He conveniently produces a "portable jack" (or something) and separates the bars. Another example, he sets up wireless cameras transmitting video to his laptop. There he installs a USB "signal booster" so the video feed can be transmitted elsewhere. All very convenient to the specific need of the moment. Not to mention that he also carries weapons (which he seldom seems to be able to use at all), medical gear etc. These must be HUGE packs, but they only get mentioned any time the heroes pull another convenient gadget out of them.
At another point, they go into a cavern, and he tells their team to turn off the lights to conserve battery. What? Are they planning on staying down there for days? The heroes obviously not bring down food and water, so why are they worried about batteries at all?
In the same chapter, they conveniently bring down 4 six-packs of Coke. So, again, while they're worried about batteries: I'm thinking they were stupid enough not to bring extra batteries, but hey, let's bring tons of Coke, why don't we!! - most inept group of heroes, if you ask me.

This was obviously an attempt by the author to get in on the "DaVinci Code bandwagon", along with a scene almost totally ripped off from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - the author fails terribly and just manages a "me too" story.

Cartoonish characters all throughout, implausible premise and cliche packed, tedious plot, boring action scenes makes this an intolerable mess of a book. First and last James Rollins book I ever read.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by James Rollins that I was going to read, then I learned that there was a series, so I read the first book, "Sandstorm", first and then returned to this. You don't really HAVE to read the first two books in any order I think because there is little that is actually spoiled in Map of Bones, most of the previous book is referred to in passing and is more helpful to having a believable world than anything. Not that the world of Sigma Force is all that believeable, well some of it is, like most of his books Rollins includes a lot of science in this book and most of it seems to stem from real stuff, but usually it's being used in a strange way or in an unbelieveable way that is more attributed to "action movie logic" than anything sometimes.
Still with all the faults that may exsist for this series one of them is not readability. I love the Sigma Force novels for more than one reason, but the easiest to explain is: They are fun to read. There's a bit of depth with the science stuff. There's a bit of depth with the history stuff, there's fun action adventure moments and it's actually pretty well written. It may not be Shakespeare, but sometimes you don't need Shakespeare. Or you want "Titus Andronicus" instead of "Hamlet". Both may have fighting and death, but one is about the suffering of man and the other is about (Spoilers for "Titus Andronicus") cooking your rivals' children.
Uh. That was meant to be a way of saying "Map Of Bones is a fun read", but somehow became about Shakesperian cannabalism. I don't know why.

[John Paxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first and still fav from the Sigma series. The science mixed with history is interesting albeit sometimes goes a little over the realism edge but still entertaining. Keep em coming.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75 stars - ☘️☘️☘️- 4,75 sterren - Nederlandse paperback - 🌹🌹🌹
Quote uit het boek : in die periode zou het zelfs makkelijk zijn geweest een geheime kamer te bouwen. Het Vaticaan was toen grotendeels verlaten. Het werd pas in 1377 de plek waar de pauselijke macht zetelde.
Wederom een verhaal vol actie en mystiek. Sigma opereert onder de bescherming van DARPA - een legeronderdeel dat onderzoek doet en wetenschappelijke uitvindingen ondersteund. Gary krijgt samen met Kat en Mink een nieuw missie naar aanleiding van een aanslag in Keulen. Pastor Vigor en zijn nichtje Rachel weken samen met hen. Er is een genootschap wat de wereld orde wil overnemen. Een genootschap dat zelfs geïnfiltreerd is binnen Vaticaanstad. Hoeveel wijzen waren er en welke schatten en kennis bezaten zij? In hoog tempo worden we door de gebeurtenissen heen geleid. Het is een page turner ook al legde ik hem iedere keer neer. Zeker met moeite, maar dat is het nadeel als je meerdere boeken tegelijk leest. De wetenschappelijke weetjes en chemische verbindingen zijn in gewone mensentaal verweven in het boek. Voor mij zeker een super boek. 🌿🌿🌿

[Jacqueline]

Great book! I love James Rollins. He's like a cross between Tom Clancy and Micheal Crichton. Right up my Star Trek/Indiana Jones alley!! I highly recommend his books to anyone who loves any of the aforementioned authors or movies. Basically anyone who is a geek like I am.

[Dystopian · Rating 5 out of 5]

সিগমার প্রথম বই পড়ার পর আমার সন্দেহ ছিল সেইম প্যাটার্নে হয়তো বাকি বই গুলো হবে আর আস্তে আস্তে তা বোরিং লাগবে।
জেমস রলিন্স যে এত অসাধারণ আর ইউনিক ভাবে সেকেন্ড বইটা লিখেছে তাতে আমার নেক্সট ১৫ টা বই নিয়ে এক্সাইটমেন্ট আরো অনেক বেড়ে গেলো!

কঠিন কঠিন সাইন্টিফিক থিওরি গুলো এত সহজে ভাষায় বোঝানোর ক্ষমতা ছিল আশ্চর্যজনক। বই এর শুরু থেকে শেষ পর্যন্ত স্লো হওয়া ছাড়ায় দারুন ভাবে ক্যারেক্টার ডেভলপ করে গেছেন লেখক। সাথে এক একটা ইভেন্ট ভিজুয়ালাইজেশন করা ছিল সেরা একটা এক্সপেরিয়েন্স।

একশান সিকোয়েন্স প্রথম বই থেকে কম হলেও চরিত্র চিত্রন এর ব্যাপার টা ম্যাপ অফ বোনস এ দারুন ভাবে করেছেন রোলিন্স। তবে কিছু কিছু বর্ননা কল্পনায় আনা বেশ কষ্টকর ছিল।

[Eadie Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book and found Rollins' research to be excellent. I also liked the biblical and historical references and the visits to Maryland, Washington D. C., Cologne, Rome, Alexandria and Avignon France. The characters were very interesting with an adventurous plot with lots of action. Rollins is a great writer and his descriptions make you feel a part of the story. This is the 2nd book of the Sigma Force series and I look forward to continuing with the series. I would highly recommend this series to those who love Clive Cussler's or Steve Berry's books.

[Rubi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not brilliant but at least quite entertaining.
I have liked/enjoyed the plot and the character development but I must say that in some parts of the book, I missed more action while in others I was expecting more in general...

I need to mention something that I have hated a lot. In some parts of the book some sentences are written in Italian... and they are badly written, with grammar mistakes. HOW CAN THAT BE POSSIBLE? I was mad reading that.

"Out of darkness and towards the light."

[Berengaria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review for 6-CD audio version.

Dan Brown, just sillier and with more boom-booms

This novel suffers from the same problems as Dan Brown's novels (lemme mansplain you somethin', honey), just with more bombastic shootouts and destruction of sacred spaces. Let's not mention the more-evil-than-evil cartoonish villains, shall we? And keep mum about the not-so-secret "secret" knowledge that even if you are half-way versed in European history and culture will know most of and be able to guess before the so-called "experts". Total Brown rip in almost all categories. So, if you like Dan, you'll love this!

On a personal note, the treatment and misrepresentation of the Cologne cathedral really hurt. It's one thing to use a building in a thriller, it's another to totally destroy a world heritage site that is one of the most important medieval churches in the world just to show how evil your villains and how superhero your heroes. That's what lost this most of its stars.

Still the very end (probably about 3/4 through the book) the story got more realistic, less over-the-top, and actually interesting...which saved it from being a 1-star 'read'.

As far as the German audio goes: It was annoying that the speaker didn't know how to say the name Raùl. He kept saying "Rawl" but beyond that, fine.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this book was well written and the author's knowledge of the concepts and history integrated throughout the book is evident. Characters are well developed, but there was one major flaw that I found which affected my perception of Map of Bones. By the time I got to the end, I had no idea what the purpose of the whole adventure was. I couldn't remember what the main characters were looking for. I asked my friend, who recommended this book to me, about whether she knew, and she too couldn't remember what it was! Oh well. Conceptual- great. Maintenance of focus -- eh (less said the better)

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, man, this was a fantastic book, with things like Magi Bones, m-state metals, and the ancient wonders of the world, and yeah, so freaking good! I thought it ended in England, but no, it ends in France, and yeah, loved rereading it!

*First read January 1st 2011*
This book was amazing, I loved it, it was a great start to a great series!

[Kasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historyczne zagadki i sceny akcji napisane brawurowo, ale czy konieczne jest, żeby główni bohaterowie wyglądali jak z Harlequina i tak się zachowywali?

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good second volume of this series. Nice mix of action, adventure and mystery. Secret societies, ancient biblical mysteries, splinters within the Catholic church, racing to and fro, even Alexander the Great. Add the military angle of the Sigma force and you have a deadly and brilliant group. Very entertaining read.

7/10

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Map of Bones was a thrilling read with a fascinating plot and a wonderful group of characters.

At a cathedral in Germany, a group of armed intruders steal the bones of a Magi before making their escape, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. When it becomes clear there’s more to this attack than meets the eye, Sigma Force, an elite team of Special Forces operatives all trained in different scientific fields, is dispatched. Soon Grayson Pierce and his team, accompanied by Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's carabinieri, are in a race to uncover who was behind the attack and why, leading them on a path through the Seven Wonders of the World.

Map of Bones is the second book in the Sigma Force series but it works well as an introduction to the series as the events and cast of the first book aren’t the focus in the second book. The main character in book one, Painter Crowe, is the head of Sigma Force and is a secondary character in this book as the main focus is on Pierce and his team. So if you choose to skip the first book and go directly to this one, you should be fine as the events of book one are only mentioned in passing.

Pierce is a great character and I enjoyed his leadership style in that he let his team members do what they knew best and didn’t try to force his ideas on a situation. I enjoyed the dynamics of Pierce and his team and felt they all worked quite well together. Monk and Kat, the other members of Sigma Force, were excellent characters. I also liked the inclusion of Rachel’s character and felt she added a much needed “normal person” element to the group. She was also definitely the easiest to connect to. There is a minor romance subplot between Pierce and Rachel that felt a bit unnecessary and that’s coming from someone who mainly reads romance.

The mystery Pierce and his team are working to solve was really interesting and managed to keep me invested throughout. There are quite a few action scenes where the good guys and bad guys clashed, which are all well done. Pierce and his team move around across the world quite a bit so there are a number of exciting locations to see. While this book does have a heavy dose of science and history mixed in, it’s never too much information and the author does a good job making everything easy to understand. It’s clear the author did his research when it came to the historical aspects and I liked how he managed to make the information interesting and not like you were reading a textbook.

Map of Bones ended up being a really enjoyable read and I’m excited to see where the Sigma Force series goes. I hope to get to the next book in the series soon and would definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a thriller series with a hint of something other.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had three things that were just so poorly done that I couldn't like the book:

1. lame romance sub-plot
2. lame characterization ("I am bad guy" *thumps chest* "must rape") - Seriously, if you're going to have a bad guy in your book, put a little bit of effort into why he's a bad guy. Using rape is lazy and stereotypical.
3. Everything You Need to Know You Learned Reading The DaVinci Code. I may have actually slapped my own forehead when one guy said "Do you know why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky?" The parts that weren't DaVinci Code were often Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life, which I like better.

Otherwise it was okay? After writing this all out I'm wondering why I didn't go with one star. The characters were carbon copies of the characters in the first book. This was a very shallow book. I've talked myself down to one star.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my second James Rollins book and I'm excited to read another. His novels read like "beach read" thrillers, but not those you'd feel embarrassed about toting around a public poolside. I'm a fan of fun mystery series like the ones written by Jeffrey Deaver and Harlan Coben, but with Rollins' books, I actually learn something. I also love his author's notes following the texts that recommend many of the sources he used for his stories. I don't imagine it's possible to read a tome on papal history while wearing a bikini, but I don't want to limit my sunshine reads to US Weekly, either. Rollins' provides a nice balance between academia and suntan oil.

[Leyla Karzand · Rating 4 out of 5]

الان که میخوام ازش تعریف کنم می‌بینم بیشتر عیب‌هاش به چشمم میاد. از کلیشه‌های دن براونی که بگذریم (یه رابطه رمانتیک آبکی بین دو شخصیت اصلی، حضور مهم یه الگوی پدر برای شخصیت اصلی زن، ناقص شدن بناهای باستانی 😐 و حداقل یک شخصیت منفی متعصب و وحشی که خواننده‌ی سالم نمی‌تونه باهاش احساس همدردی کنه و در نتیجه شخصیت محکوم به فراموشیه)، درمجموع کتاب جالبی بود. هم براون و هم رولینز مطالب مختلفی از کتاب‌های دیگه رو جمع می‌کنند و بعد میذارنشون تو یه قالب شخصیت‌پردازی و پیرنگ‌نویسی. این کتاب‌ها ارزش ادبی بالایی ندارند ولی بخاطر مهارت بالای نویسنده توی خلق تعلیق و یه روند منطقی برای حل معماها خواننده به شدت درگیر می‌شه. اخر همین کتاب هم منابع نویسنده معرفی شده که به لطف کتاب درموردشون کنجکاو می‌شید و بعید نیست برید سراغشون. اگه دوست دارین با تاریخ مسیحیت، عجایب هفتگانه و کلی مطلب علمی برگ‌ریزون آشنا بشید این کتاب رو پیشنهاد می‌کنم. به‌خصوص این که ترجمه‌ی واقعا خوبی داره.
پ.ن: ماجرای نکروپولیس واتیکان هم توی کتاب فرشتگان و شیاطین دن براون که سال ۲۰۰۰ منتشر شد اومده هم تو این کتاب که مال سال ۲۰۰۶ه، اگه اونو خوندید اینم میتونه جالب باشه.

[سعید سیمرغ · Rating 4 out of 5]

فکر می‌کنم اگر علاقه‌مند به کتاب‌های دن براون و ماجراهای رابرت لنگدان باشید، از سری نیروی سیگما هم لذت ببرید. البته مجموعۀ سیگما ماجراهای بیشتر و توصیفات فضاهای تاریخی کمتری داره و در اون قهرمانان با کمک همدیگه مشکلات رو حل میکنن و به دانش یه فرد تنها تکیه ندارن.
یکی از نکات جالب این کتاب خاص از مجموعۀ سیگما این بود که بخشی از اتفاقات در همون فضای رمان «فرشتگان و شیاطین» رخ میداد که چند ماه پیش خونده بودم و به نظرم می‌اومد که داستان در فضای آشنایی رخ میده.
یکی از ویژگی‌های مثبت مجموعۀ سیگما نسبت به ماجراهای رابرت لنگدان اینه که نویسنده در به کار بردن یه تم خاص افراط نمیکنه که باعث بشه خواننده بتونه چیزی رو حدس بزنه. حتی تا صفحات آخر این کتاب هم میتونین موارد غافلگیر کننده پیدا کنین.

[Ithlilian · Rating 2 out of 5]

One day I decided to go on a book hunt. I liked Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, so I decided to try things that were considered similar. If this book is any indication of the type of books considered similar then I don't think I will be continuing on that quest.

We have the tough guy military type and his team of sidekicks, one whom happens to have just the right background to magically be of assistance at crucial moments, the intelligent yet tough love interest, and the know it all type that will be giving the history lessons in the novel. The military type has some back story that I found to be extremely uninteresting, and even though he is the main character I couldn't find much that stood out about his personality. Every character is flat, they are all here to serve their purpose, which is furthering the plot.

The plot involves gold, clues, and a secret society. Pretty typical I would say for this type of book, yet I couldn't find myself really caring about the bad guys or the mystery. There isn't much mystery solving here. The characters are led to one place where a character spouts off history and instantly solves the puzzle allowing them to move on to the next location. I never felt a sense of danger even when buildings were being set on fire and people were being tortured. I thought, "The team has to fight their way out of yet another location, yippee." Every single location followed the same script, and there was nothing exciting or unique about this book at all. In three words: formulaic and dull.

[Albert Felixovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Էս գալիվուդսկի էքշընը մի հատ մեծ մինուս ունի ու մի հատ էլ մեծ պլյուս.
Մինուսը՝ գալիվուդսկի,
Պլյուսը՝ էքշըն :Դ
Ինչ մեղքս թաքցնեմ, ես էքշըն սիրում եմ ))
Լավ, մի քիչ լրջանամ :)
Ուրեմն ժանրը՝ պատմաարկածային, գիտաֆանտաստիկ թրիլլեր (իդեալական համատեղում իմ համար):
Ամբողջ գրքի ընթացքում տպավորություն էր, որ Դեն Բռաուն եմ կարդում: Շատ նման ա գրում Ռոլլինսը, նույնիսկ գործողությունների ընթացքը նմանություն ուներ: Ու ասեմ, որ շատ ավելի հաջող, քան հենց Բռաունը: Ի տարբերություն Բռաունի, ստեղ լավ հերոսներ կային, իրանց անցյալով, իրանց պատմություններով: Մանրամասն նկարագրություններ, որոնցով լավ սկսում էիր ճանաչել պերսոնաժներին, որը, ընդհանրապես էս ժանրի մեջ հազվադեպ հանդիպող երևույթա, որովհետև ֆիշկեն միշտ դրածա լինում գործողությունների վրա:
4 աստղ եմ գնահատում էդ գալիվուդսկի պահերի համար, որ սաղ աշխարհն էլ եթե պայթացնեն, մեկա գլխավոր հերոսը սաղա մնում :Դ Ու տենց էլի տիպիկ կինոշնի մոմենտներ:
ԲԱՅՑ!!
Պատմությունա գնա գալիս եմ: Լիքը նոր պատմական ինֆորմացիա Հին Եգիպտոսից սկսած մինչև Իտալիա, Ֆրանսիա: Նու, միշտ ստիպված էի լինում մտնել գուգլ ու ստուգել էդ պատմական դեպքերի ճշտությունը (աչքս ոնց որ մի քիչ վախեցածա էլի Բռաունից հետո :Դ): Բայց ինչ իմանայի, որ ամենավերջին էջում Ռոլլինսը իրա ձեռով գրելա ինչն ա իրական ինչը չէ իրա վեպի մեջ :)
Կառոչե կարդալ ժանրի սիրահարներին!!!
P.S. Պուճուրիկ սփոյլեր - Ինձնից ֆսյո տըկի մաֆիա խաղացող դուրս չի գա :Դ

[Rita Tomás · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um thriller que envolve História, Sociedades Secretas e Ciência. Ao estilo de Dan Brown, mas não com a mesma qualidade.
Há qualquer coisa neste autor que não me prende a 100%, ainda não consegui descobrir o quê. Não sei se será a escrita ou o enredo por vezes fantasiado, demasiado forçado... vou dar continuidade à leitura para tentar perceber.

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while I was in the goofy garage during 2014. My delightful friends supported my reading habit, and never once wondered (to me, that is, I have no idea what they said amongst themselves!) why I was asking for Rollins's books.

I wanted to read them because they are very entertaining, have enough plot and character development to keep me distracted from being in a public mental health facility, and are intensely visually told stories with deep sci-fi roots and some supernatural almost-Lovecraftian cosmic horror overtones.

This entry cranks up the, how shall I say this, the negativity surrounding organized religion that Rollins doesn't shove at you but makes sure that you see. It's a vector for some seriously bad stuff. And Sigma Force is made up of serious experts in evidence and fact based intellectual disciplines. I resonated on a happy frequency with this.

Suited me down to the ground at a time when anything more or less challenging would've been impossible to handle.

[সালমান হক · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th book by rollins that i've finished in just two seatings. His books are like this. U just cant stop cz there is always a rush. Reading a rollins book is kind of like reading wikipedia. Lots of information. It would be better 4 u if u r from science background and have interest in christianity.
The characters, the settings, the science, technology, history, religion - all of it was woven into such a complex and thoroughly fascinating story. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I did not want it to come to an end.
The DaVinci Code and Dan Brown have nothing on James Rollins and the Map of Bones. Whereas the DaVinci Code was a little beyond realistic, Map of Bones was believable, and in my mind, quite possible.
3.5 stars. Good time pass read

[Don Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great novel blending history, sci-fi/fantasy, and action! I can't recommend these books highly enough!

[Aparnaa Thanigai · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was am electrifying adventure but i would prefer james rollins oracle to this book.though it had many ingenious parts it kind of gets murky where fact and fiction clashes.there are parts where u cannot grasp it or wrap your head around it.but in the upside it is a good book which can keep you occupied.commander gray pierson is ordered by sigma to head to cologne in germany along with his team to investigate the mysterious massacre of mass of people and the archbishop in a cathedral.they are joined by the representatives of vatican The killers haven't come for the church's gold and valuable artwork, but for a priceless treasure secreted within: the preserved bones of the Three Magi who once came to pay homage to a newborn savior. As they flee the carnage they have wrought, they carry a prize that could reshape the world. New to SIGMA, Pierce assembles a crack team of scientific and Special Forces operatives to unravel the mystery of the stolen bones, and together they set out on a twisting trail through a labyrinth of clues and dark revelations that carry them to the sites of the Seven Wonders of the World -- and to the doorstep of the mystical and terrifying Dragon Court. Suddenly Pierce, Verona, and the SIGMA team are the hunted as well as the hunters, forced to use every skill they possess to survive as they follow the bones to the ultimate confrontation between darkness and light -- in a lost place of history where science and religion will unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.
.and lurking dangers from the gnostic dragon court and budding romance between gray and rachel this is one ROLLER COASTER RIDE that you dont want to miss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1