The Demon Crown Unabridged CD (Sigma Force, #13)

by James Rollins

Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers an island where all life has been eradicated by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks, killing them all, save one: an expert on venomous creatures. Strangest of all, this inexplicable threat traces back to a terrifying secret buried a century ago beneath the National Mall: a cache of bones preserved in amber that holds an astonishing promise for the future: the very secret of life after death.

Yet, nothing stays buried forever. An ancient horror is free once more, nursed and developed into a weapon of incalculable strength and malignancy, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world. To stop its spread, Commander Grayson Pierce of Sigma Force must survive a direct attack on the island of Maui. But this time, even Sigma may not be able to decipher this deadly mystery, one that traces back to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution. Running out of time and options, Pierce will be forced to make an impossible choice. To eradicate this extinction-level threat and expose those involved, he will have to join forces with Sigma's greatest enemy even it if means sacrificing one of his own.

Performed by Christian Baskous

• ISBN10: 0062694332
• ISBN13: 9780062694331
• Publish Date: 5 December 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 6 December 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Audiobook
• Duration: 0 hours and 14 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Tom Clancy Meets Jeremy Robinson Meets Brett Battles In An Epic Race To Save The World. Yet again, Rollins manages to blend different things from science and history in ways that seemingly only he can, though this time he did indeed have shades of the other authors named above. You've got the Debt of Honor ties to Tom Clancy with similar villains. You've got the Island 731 ties to Jeremy Robinson via using the real-world Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army for some of the backstory. And you've got the PROJECT EDEN ties to Brett Battles' epic series via the ultimate endgames of the bad guys.

And yet Rollins manages to make this story completely his own, with only fans of the other three authors being able to see the connections probably at all. The follow up from The Seventh Plague in the opening scene with Sigma characters is great, and really drives home the very humanity that makes this series so truly compelling. But then the action picks up dramatically, and because of the nature of the threat... never really dies down. Once again the team is split with various people going various places, so people who don't like following multiple trains on a given story may not like that bit - though at least here, we basically follow the two halves of the Sigma team + the bad guys (a bit). One interesting feature here is that Rollins actually bakes the life span of the featured creature into the narrative here, having one chapter devoted to each stage of its development - from that stage's perspective. And yes, there are some utterly horrific scenes here as well, as virtually anything based on Unit 731 must include.

Overall an excellent tale and strong followup to The Seventh Plague, and sets in motion events which are sure to pay off down the line as well. Very much recommended.