Map of Bones

• Hardcover - 26 April, 2005 - William Morrow
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• By: James Rollins
• ISBN: 0060763876

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Reviews by readers

Fast-paced Thriller!

My mom's friend lent me this book and in spite of a very heavy schedule ~~ I managed to read it as quickly as I could because I could NOT put the book down and read it every chance I could get. It's fast, suspenseful and very interesting. It is slightly predictable ~~ but even I was caught off guard on who the leader of the opposition was because Rollins didn't even drop enough clues to give me an idea who it was.

This book is better written than "Da Vinci Code" ~~ it's more detailed in the historical aspects of the Catholic Church and focuses more on the ancient churches scattered all across Europe. Sometimes, it's too technical in explaining the codes and in describing Sigma's weapons. It does not have depth of characters for the characters ~~ I kept feeling like I was in the middle of the movie waiting for the next scene to happen. (This would make a very good movie ~~ definitely one that my husband and I would watch!)

It was a fun novel to read and I will definitely be on the outlook for Rollins' books. I used to read Tom Clancy books all the time but his books were too technical for me (it just puts me to sleep!) ~~ but I had always loved the suspense of his novels. I am glad to have discovered Rollins because not only is he technical about the new weapons out there now, he is also writing about history which is my favorite subject. Whether the stories are plausible or not, I really don't care. I read to be entertained sometimes, and this book did the trick for me.

This book focuses on Gray Pierce along with his teammates, Monk and Kat, meet up with Rachel and her uncle, Vigor, a cardinal in the Vatican, to solve the riddle of the Magi bones. It all starts off violently in the beginning with the massacre in Cologne where midnight mass worshippers were killed after taking communion or by gunfire and the Magi's bones were taken from the altar. And the chase was on to discover why the bones were taken. They come to realize that there was a secret sect called The Dragon Court who has a history dating back to the middle ages and they were on a race against time to save the world.

Like I mentioned earlier, it's a fast and suspenseful book and it was great reading as well. I will definitely be on the outlook for his books now.

7-23-06

Science and Religion, what more could a reader want?

I really enjoyed this novel. I had been told that it was "kind of like the 'Da Vinci Code.'" I was excited because I enjoyed Dan Brown's clues and the puzzle solving which personally engaged the reader. Map of Bones was not quite as interactive, but the characters were well-developed, the storyline was strong, and his scientific explanations were believable. This novel was both action-packed and riddled with complex interpersonal relationships. I found this to be a great stand-alone story. Very entertaining reading.

Delta Force meets the Da Vinci Code

I was somewhat disappointed by this book. MAP OF BONES is basically a very complicated scavenger hunt, with Rollins throwing in all sorts of details about religious history and science along the way.

This novel is not very tightly written, and I found the sheer volume of information to be more confusing than illuminating. Rollins has some very interesting ideas, but I think he focuses more on quantity than quality here. There were numerous times when I had to flip back a few pages and reread certain passages to understand what was going on.

This book is more Clive Cussler than Dan Brown. Every 50 pages or so, Rollins presents a rather silly, over-the-top action sequence that I found completely unbelievable. I realize that this is fiction, but I prefer my action more realistic than the stuff you find here.

The worst aspect of this book is the characterization. Too many characters introduced at once, and many of them are bland and two-dimensional. Not much different from what you see in a typical action movie. There is a romantic relationship in this book that really didn't work at all.

In short, don't bother unless you're primarily interested in action. If you're looking for a book similar to the Da Vinci Code, I recommend the books of Steve Berry, or even Rhamond Khoury's book THE LAST TEMPLAR.

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