The
Sixth Extinction by
James Rollins is another winner. On the tenth anniversary
of this series Rollins is able to look into his crystal ball
and see the future, although not too distant a future. Consider
the current outbreak of the Ebola virus that is spreading
faster than it can be controlled spurring New York City to
conduct a massive bio-weapons drill. On the tails of the Ebola
reality, this novel combines pure science with a very believable
storyline that can easily be played out on the world stage,
showing the dangers of bio-labs that are attempting to create
life-threatening viruses.
The plot is intense from the very beginning. After receiving
a distress call from a bio-research scientific lab in California,
Park Ranger Jenna Beck and her partner Nikko, a Siberian Husky,
investigate only to find a dark cloud of fire and smoke engulfing
them. This cloud brings death and destruction, through a bio-engineered
virus, to anything in its path. If this unknown force is not
stopped, the sixth extinction, the elimination of the human
race, would prevail. Sigma Force is called in to prevent this
from happening, and find the key to destroying this threat,
which lies beneath the Antarctic ice. While the government’s
point person, Dr. Raymond Lindahl, leans heavily into using
a nuclear option to destroy this organism Jenna and the Sigma
team race to the Brazilian Amazon to find an eco terrorist,
Elwes Cutter, that is at the root of the problem. He initiated
this terrorist act to advance his cause of creating new life
through death of existing life. Sigma races the clock to stop
Cutter and save not only their teammates, but all of mankind.
Rollins commented, “The starting point for this novel
is the bio-punk movement where labs are set up in people’s
garages. Because the technology has gotten faster, cheaper,
and easier they can do some amazing things in these make shift
labs. What is scary and startling is the lack of oversight.
I have read about vials of Smallpox being found in the back
closet of the National Institute of Health. Nature can build
some really indestructible things. The labs have taken that
and made these organisms nastier, tougher, easier to spread,
and harder to kill, which is the point of this novel.”
Although Rollins classifies his novel as a scientific thriller
it is much more. By blending science, technology, and history
with a fast action plot he has created a very riveting, realistic,
and gripping story. With great character development, including
the newly introduced Jenna and Nikko, Rollins is able to warn
readers of the dangers of these scientific labs. A quote from
the book hammers the point home, “Right now there are
fifteen thousand scientists authorized to work with deadly
pathogens, but there are zero federal agencies charged with
accessing the risks… there’ve been countless reports
of mishandling of contagious pathogens, of vials gone missing,
of poor records. So when it comes to an accident like this
one, it was not a matter of if but of when it would happen.”
Rollins warned, “Regarding the terrorists, there is
a very real fear that a terrorist organization can sneak someone
into these postdoctoral programs. They can learn how to create
or obtain one of these organisms because there is a lack of
oversight. They then can use it for a weaponization. We should
not reign in the scientists but we do need to be looking over
their shoulders with some government policing.”
As with all his recent novels Rollins includes amongst the
characters man’s best friend. Rollins, who used to practice
as a full-time veterinarian, writes great dog characters,
Nikko included. The author uses his past experiences to create
heart-wrenching, likeable animals that play an intricate part
in the story.
He noted,
“After I had written about five or six books a reader
pointed out that I included animals as intricate parts of
the story. There was the orphan Jaguar cub, a search and rescue
dog, a military dog, Kane, and now Nikko. I realized at about
the time I started weaning myself from my veterinary practice
and writing full time that animals were seeping into my stories.
I guess the side of my brain that loves animals brought out
these characters. Nikko’s character came about from
a picture. I ran a contest last year when The Eye Of God came
out. Whatever picture I liked that person would be made a
character in this book. The woman who won was Jenna Beck and
in her picture was her Siberian Husky, Nikko. She became the
main character in the entire book. BTW: I might have Nikko
run into Tucker and Kane sometime in the future since I like
to mix up my characters.”
He also always gives a shout out to those in the military
since many of his characters are former and current military
personnel. This year he will also be helping those defending
America through his charitable actions. On November 8th he
will be attending the Military
Book Fair being held on the USS Midway in San Diego California.
Besides a new novel, on the eve of his tenth anniversary of
the Sigma Series, Rollins has just signed a new book deal
with William Morrow. Fans can look forward to more stories
like The 6thExtinction where Rollins takes truth and stretches
it to create an intense and believable plot, combining pulsating
adventure, intriguing history, and cutting-edge advances in
science and technology.
Reviews of other titles in this series
Sandstorm
#1
Map
of Bones #2
Black
Order, #3
The
Judas Strain, #4
The
Last Oracle, #5
The
Doomsday Key, #6
The
Devil Colony , #7
Bloodline, #8 [review
1] [review
2]
The
Eye of God #9
The
Sixth Extinction #10
Seventh
Plague #11
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