Black Order: A Sigma Force Novel

A sinister fire in a Copenhagen bookstore ignites a relentless hunt across four continents. Arson and murder reveal an insidious plot to steal a Bible that once belonged to Charles Darwin. And Commander Gray Pierce dives headlong into a mystery that dates back to Nazi Germany...and to horrific experiments performed in a now-abandoned laboratory in Poland. A continent away, madness ravages a remote monastery in Nepal, as Buddhist monks turn to cannibalism and torture. Lisa Cummings, an American doctor investigating the atrocity, is suddenly a target of a brutal assassin. And Lisa's only ally is Painter Crowe, director of SIGMA Force, who already shows signs of the baffling malady. Now it is up to Gray Pierce to save them both as SIGMA Force races to expose a century-old plot that threatens to destroy the current world order . . . and alter the destiny of humankind forever.

From Publishers Weekly

What would thriller writers do without the Nazis? At the start of Rollins's inventive eighth Sigma Force novel, a secret experiment is smuggled out of Berlin in the waning days of WWII. While the Americans have been working on the atomic bomb, the Nazis were delving into the paradoxical tenets of quantum mechanics. In the present day, descendants of Heinrich Himmler are trying to create a new race of Aryan supermen. Last seen in 2005's Map of Bones, Painter Crowe and Grayson Pierce, employees of Sigma Force, a secret arm of the U.S. military, venture to the brink of death to puzzle out mysteries that encompass the theories of evolution, intelligent design, and the physical and spiritual nature of love and God. It's a tall order, but every time the author appears to have stretched too far, he saves the read by throwing in a fascinating scientific or historical fact, plus a scene of heart-pumping action. This is Cussler and Ludlum territory with a dash of Dan Brown, sure to please devotees of any of these authors. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The globe-trotting adventurers of Sigma Force, that elite American special-ops team, return in this high-powered thriller. The story begins cryptically. In Nepal, a strange plague has struck a remote Himalayan monastery, and a Nazi swastika is found on a cave wall. In Denmark, someone is buying up rare historical documents connected to Victorian scientists (for instance, Charles Darwin's family Bible), and the purchaser is desperate enough to kill for his prizes. In South Africa, a mythological beast is apparently alive and well and preying on wildlife. The author interweaves these stories, following the Sigma Force team members as they risk their lives to get to the heart of one of humankind's greatest mysteries: the origins of life itself. Rollins keeps getting better with every novel, and his fast-paced thrillers are feasts for the imagination. Why Hollywood hasn't snapped his books up yet is a mystery, but it's doubtful any big-screen version could capture the author's gung-ho enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity. If you like all-stops-out, high-concept adventure, this one's for you. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

From the bestselling master of heart-stopping adventure, and historic intrigue comes his most exhilarating and controversial novel to date-a riveting story of an enigmatic riddle locked in cryptic runes that, if solved, will answer the questions that have baffled humankind since the beginning of time...questions as current as today's headlines and as old as biblical writings...questions about the origines of life. Black Order A sinister fire in Copenhagen bookstore ignites a relentless hunt across four continents. Arson and murder reveal an insidious plot to steal a Bible that once belonged to Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory. And Commander Gray Pierce dives headlong into a mystery that dates back to Nazi Germany...and to horrific experiments performed in a now-abandoned laboratory buried in a hollowed-out mountain in Poland. A continent away, madness ravages a remote monastery high in Nepal, as Buddhist monks turn to cannibalism and torture. Lisa Cummings, a young American doctor investigating the atrocity, is suddenly a target of a brutal assassin working for clandestine forces that want the affair buried at any cost. Lisa's only ally is a hidden pilgrim, Painter Crowe-director of SIGMA Force, an elite command of American scientists and Special Forces operatives-who is already showing signs of the baffling malady that destroyed the minds of the monks. Now it is up to Gray Pierce to save both Painter and Lisa-and a world in jeopardy-as SIGMA Force races to expose a century-old plot that threatens to destroy the current world order...and alter the destiny of humankind forever. Combining the historic scope of The Da Vinci Code with the relentless thrills of today's best action novels, James Rollins's Black Order is a classic adventure-an ingenious and breathtaking tour de force that explodes with revelation...while offering a startling new view of our place in the grand scheme of existence.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR JAMES ROLLINS AND THE SIGMA FORCE NOVELS Rollins is one of the most inventive storytellers writing today." -- Lincoln Child, coauthor of Brimstone "While Clive Cussler maintains the gold standard in action lit, Rollins has a firm grasp on the silver." -- Publishers Weekly "Rollins writes with intelligence, clarity, and a refreshing sense of humor." -- Kirkus Reviews "[His] fans have come to expect a fun and fast-paced story that is full of suspense...Rollins delivers fantastic tales of action and adventure." -- Booklist

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 his two golden retrievers, Echo and Duncan. 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.

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