Books : Deep Fathom

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- World's Hidden Secret
James Rollins seems to love writing about hidden secrets. This time the world is rocked by earthquakes after a massive solar flare occurs during an eclipse. Off the coast of Asia, ancient ruins rise from the sea and the President of the United States disappears with Air Force One. An ex-seal is brought in with his salvage equipment to help recover the President's plane. The site of the wreck has some very unusual topography and artifacts.

Investigation into the artifacts and their markings converges with the work of other researchers looking into an early language. More exploration is done of the sea and the ancient ruins now accessible. Slowly a story and history is revealed. But as our main characters continue their quest, secondary characters are getting tense and the world is getting closer and closer to a nuclear exchange. Unlike in AMAZONIA, this one tells the whole tale. The ending may surprise readers.

Unlike Rollins's other early books, there is no fantastic or bizarre life in this one. There is a rare glimpse of a known creature but all of the fantastic is saved for the archeology, history and science. Also unlike his other early books, this one has global consequences and is not set in some remote setting. With the whole Pacific Rim and direct involvement from super-powers the dynamics of this book are quite different. My one surprise was that Deep Fathom is a surface vessel and not the advanced submersible. Otherwise I really enjoyed this one but some may find the ending a bit of a cop out for a thriller (but not like in AMAZONIA). If you like thrillers full of exploration and ancient secrets you will have to check this one out.

Rating:

- Very good book for reading while waiting...
This is a thrill-a-minute book that was really handy to have in my purse while waiting in lines or at doctor offices. I was able to put it down and then pick it up again later without needing a review, because the story stayed in my imagination. I really enjoyed it, and in fact, after buying Rollins' "Map of Bones," I will be adding him to my list of favorite authors.

Rating:

- A Fathomless, Deeply Written Sci-Fi Novel...

Being my second James Rollins novel after the Sandstorm, I have assumed that Sandstorm is one the best science fiction, history, thriller and mystery novel. Guess what? I was totally off, for Deep Fathom is fathomlessly more intriguing compared to the Sandstorm. Since no more than 5 stars rating is allowed, I have to settled for a five star, though I would not hesitate rating it as a 6-star.

Though being a top rated novel, I found that somewhere in between the novel, the author faltered a bit. I did not especially enjoy the prolonged narratives on Jack Kirkland personal issues. Jack Kirkland is the main protagonist of this novel. Rollins could have cut short of these elaborations, while maintaining the plot integrity at the same time.

The plot traversed between volcanic hotspot regions all over the Pacific Rim region. Apocalyptic cataclysms occurred all along these areas. While the end of the world was imminent due to natural disasters, nuclear war-or the Third World War is right across the door, started by the new US administration upon China.

All in all, this novel is an extremely good read, especially for thriller/sci-fi fans. I highly recommend James Rollins novels.

Rating:

- Promising start-ridiculous finish.
I picked this book out of desperation for something to entertain me while on vacation. The book did not grab my attention at first, but at least the premise sounded plausible. However, as the plot unfolded, it grew more outlandish by the page. Mr. Rollins clearly does not have a good grasp of technology and science and therefore should refrain from writing about those topics. He is no Michael Crichton. He falls back on the lazy plot device of a supercomputer with artificial intelligence to fill gaps in his story. It is so convenient to ask the computer to do any task or find any information much like snapping your fingers or rubbing Aladdin's lamp. The climax was just plain dumb and made me angry. Skip this stinker.

Rating:

- Nice story but gets facts wrong again
Good book, but whenever Rollins writes about Alaska he always gets his facts wrong. A trip to Alaska would do him a lot of good.
1. There are no Inuit in the Aleutians. Only Aleuts who are not related to the Inuit.
2. There are no trees on the Aleutian islands, black spruce or otherwise.
3. There are no totem poles in the Aleautians because there are no trees and the Aleut have no tradition for carving such things (or the Inuit for that matter).
4. There are no bluffs or hills in the Aleutians that would allow you to see the entire strech of the islands. The Aleutians are so long they go beyond the curvature of the earth.
5. Having an Aleut with a dog named Nanook is strange since that is an Inuit word meaning polar bear. Unlikely.
At least he put a lot of effort into his facts about the Polynesian islands.

page 5 of 18