Bloodline: A Sigma Force Novel, by James Rollins

James Rollins hits another home run with the next Sigma Force Novel. He brings all of our friends back as well as introduces some new players who help the team. His writing is crisp, fast paced and equals anything the Vince Flynn or Tom Clancy have put out. If you love the spy / adventure / war / political intrigue type of novel this one is for you.

Pierce Gray and his group are still reeling from their previous adventure. Pierce is still grieving the loss of his mother and the persistent dimentia that his father is living with. His life is complicated and add his desire to find and punish those who took his mother's life and you have a young man wound a bit to tight.

Add to that the issue of the President's pregnant daughter being kidnapped by Somalian Pirates and you have the beginning of a novel that will keep you riveted to your seat until you finish it.

The problems are compounded by The Guild, who have a hand in every part of this adventure. It appears that they are working on making the perfect DNA string, adding a third variable to the dual helix to produce a triple helix that will allow man to live forever. They are also working on advanced robotics that use the brains of living things to operate. Would you believe that the brain of a mouse can be used to control a robot, or fly an aircraft or fight a war? What if you used the brain of a more intelligent being, say maybe a human, what could your robot do then?

These are frightening things to consider and Rollins points out that these scientific happenings are now made up, they are the here and now. He sights sources that state that the triple helix will be viable by the year 2045. Is that true? Is man that close to playing God? At the end of the novel Rollins sights web sites that will give you the details for his scientific pondering in this novel.

Well, back to the book. The Guild is working on the triple Helix and they have research to do on mothers and their infants. President Gant's daughter, Amanda, happens to be one of those experiments, but she doesn't know it.

Further complicating things are the fact that the Gant Family is involved with the Guild up to their eyeballs. How can they go after one of their own as part of the experiment, or are they.

Gray and his crew are joined by a new partner, former Army Camptain Wayne Tucker and his military trained dog Kane. They have sought Tucker out because of his dog. The dog, Kane, turns out to be the true hero of this novel, at least in my opinion. It is the dog and his training that provide much of the tension, excitement and solution to the whole issue of Amanda's kidnapping.

This thrilling ride will be a frightening ride when you realize that what Rollins is talking about in regards to The Guild could actually be happening in our scientific communities of today. In the wrong hands their experiments will be devastating.

Being a Pastor I believe in an Intelligent Designer, The Lord Almighty, and thus I don't believe that science will be able to break through all of the codes that God has planted in our DNA. BUT, Satan is also real and He is the Prince of this world at present and I am afraid of what that might mean for this world.

Rollins book is a great novel, but it also will cause you to stop and start questioning, are we, mankind, getting to advanced in our technology for our own good.

So, is this a novel or a statement on scientific and technological advancements? I don't know, you decide. But truth often reads like fiction.

Enjoy!