The Judas Strain - James Rollins

   2007; 668 pages.  Book 4 (out of 16) in the Sigma Force series.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Action-Adventure; Save The World.  Overall Rating : 8*/10.

 

    Off the Sumatran coast, an oceanographic team, trying to figure out why eighty dolphins recently beached themselves on nearby Java, suddenly finds the sea around them has turned milky.  It dawns on the scientists that this could be a sign of a plague starting to emerge, but they realize this just a little bit too slowly.

 

    In Venice, certain people are willing to pay a large amount of money for a small Egyptian obelisk currently residing in a Vatican vault.  Sadly, for the local petty thief who swipes it for them, they’re also willing to kill for it.

 

    In Washington DC, the black-ops organization, Sigma Force, has just become aware that they may be suffering internal security leaks.  It falls to Director Painter Crowe to go mole-hunting, and we’re not talking about the four-footed variety.

 

    Director Crowe elects to have Sigma Force investigate the  Sumatran and Venetian incidents as well.  The manpower available for this is limited, but it should be sufficient as long as things don’t get out of hand at any of the three locations.

 

    But what happens, though, if things get out of hand at all three locations?

 

What’s To Like...

    In The Judas Strain, Sigma Force once again finds itself pitted against the shadowy, ultra-evil, ultra-effective bad guys known as “The Guild”.  The book follows the three storylines listed above, the main one being the threat of a worldwide plague, but somehow, this jumping from one storyline to another does not get confusing and allows James Rollins to spin a tale that has oodles of action and no slow spots.

 

    We visit a bunch of exotic settings throughout Asia and Europe, and James Rollins makes it feel like you’re right there alongside our heroes.  There’s a neat “is it natural or supernatural” aspect to the quest, a riddle-solving scavenger hunt, and of course, a “save-the-world” challenge to overcome, plus a tie-in to the historical past, in this case, Marco Polo's journey to the Far East and back again.  Sigma Force team members Monk and Kowalski both play major roles here; they’re probably my favorite characters in this series, due to their wit and snarkiness.

 

    A number of language snippets get worked into the text; so we treated to a smattering of Malaysian (including “Iblis” which is apparently a cussword), Hindi (Namaste!), Italian, Turkish, and Cambodian.  The book’s title is what the newly-emerging plague is dubbed.  I liked the brief mention of “durian” fruit; I had an opportunity to taste one on a business trip to the Far East long ago.  Tuk-tuks are also present; I encountered those on the same trip.

 

    The ending is exciting, over-the-top (which is okay in an Action-Adventure tale), and replete with convenient timing and clever twists.  The plague threat is dealt with and the Guild’s evil plans are thwarted.  One plot thread remains open – Monk’s whereabouts – but since I’m not reading this series in order, I know how that turns out.  The final scene in the book left a lump in my throat.

 

Ratings…
    Amazon:  4.6/5 based on 1,397 ratings and 578 reviews.

    Goodreads: 4.16/5 based on 31,535 ratings and 1,332 reviews

 

Excerpts...

    “Inside the ant, the fluke controls the insect’s nerve centers, changes its behavior.  Specifically, whenever the sun sets, the fluke compels the ant to climb a blade of grass, lock its mandible, and wait to be eaten by a grazing cow.  If not eaten, the ant returns to its nest at sunrise—only to repeat the same thing again the next night.  The fluke literally drives the ant like its own little car.”  (pg. 256)

 

    “Is that soft-shell crab?” he asked, leaning closer for a whiff.  The skewer speared something meaty with jointed legs, blackened and curled by fire.

    The woman nodded her head vigorously, smiling broadly at his interest.  She spoke rapidly in Khmer.

    Seichan stepped to Kowalski’s side, placing a hand on his shoulder.  “It’s fried tarantula. Very popular for breakfast in Cambodia.”

    Kowalski shuddered and backed away.  “Thanks.  I’ll stick with an Egg McMuffin.”  (pg. 531)

 

“Why do people keep trying to blow me up?”  (pg. 624)

    There are a couple nits to pick.  I noted two typos in the book: aid/aide and course/coarse.  That would be quite good for a self-published effort by an Indie author, but hey, this was a mass-market paperback.

 

    There’s a moderate amount of cussing (18 in the first 20%), including at least one f-bomb.  That’s acceptable for a gritty thriller like this, and that was about it for R-rated stuff.  Also, I’ve been trying to avoid pandemic-themed novels during this Covid crisis, and it really should've dawned on me that the book's title is plague-related.  Lastly, and leastly, the tiger shark dies.  Yeah, they’re not as cute and cuddly as a kitten, but still...

 

    Overall, I found this book to be a long, quick, easy-to-follow page-turning read.  I expect any Sigma Force book to keep me entertained with lots of thrills and spills, and that’s exactly what The Judas Strain did.

 

    8 Stars.  Be sure to read the “Author’s Note” at the very end of the book.  In it, James Rollins goes over the Marco Polo, Angelic Script, Plagues, Fauna, Cannibals & Pirates, Angkor, and Bacteria aspects of the story, revealing which parts are real and which are fictional.  Hint: almost all of it is factual.