At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in the heart of St. Peters Basilica. In Africa, a US Senator's son is slain within a Red Cross camp in Ghana. These three murders on three continents bear a horrifying tie: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their flesh. The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a global hunt for a powerful group of industrialists who have a stranglehold on the world's food supply. Aided by two women from his past, Gray flees a trio of high-tech assassins as he pieces together the clues. But saving the world comes at a high price: Pierce must sacrifice one of the women. Yet even that price might not be enough, for, as he soon discovers, the only true path to salvation lies with the Doomsday Key.
Reviews
"Rollins's (The Last Oracle) prose explodes off the page in a twisty and compelling thriller that explores the issues of human overpopulation and genetically modified food. The Sigma Force must unravel the mysterious deaths of a geneticist, a senator's son working for the Red Cross in Africa, and someone with close ties to the Vatican. Gray Pierce and his team follow the clues starting from Rome, while Sigma leader Painter Crowe takes his group to meet with the head of a corporation that appears to be genetically modifying food. VERDICT Swashbuckling adventure, elite team effort, and religious symbology all add up to another gripping and terrifying read. Rollins somehow juggles all of these elements and incorporates them into an amazing and brilliant technothriller that might be his best to date."—Jeff Ayers, Library Journal
Bestseller Rollins's labyrinthine sixth Sigma Force thriller (after The Last Oracle) offers plenty of intriguing science and history lessons. ..A few of the book's many highlights include genetic manipulation, traitorous beautiful women, illuminated manuscripts, saints, prophecies, curses and miracles. Rollins deftly juggles all this and more as the Sigma team races from the depths of the Vatican to the outer reaches of Norway toward an explosive confrontation with the shadowy forces of evil known as the Guild. Publishers Weekly
About the Author
In a short period of time, James Rollins has established himself as major bestseller in the UK and Commonwealth. His mixture of high action and high concept has led him to mass market sales of over 100,000 copies. Jim is a regular NEW YORK TIMES top ten bestseller in the USA. The novels are fanatically well-researched and Rollins's imaginative ideas gain even more intrigue as a result. This style of speculative thriller continues to do extremely well in all markets. An amateur spelunker and scuba enthusiast, he holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Missouri. He currently lives and writes in Sacramento, California.
