The Last Oracle: A Sigma Force Novel
by James Rollins
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Book Summary Information
Author: James RollinsEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-05-26
ISBN: 0061230952
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of The Last Oracle: A Sigma Force Novel
Book Review: His worst book yet
Summary: 2 Stars
I have read almost every James Rollins novel, and The Last Oracle is by far, without a doubt, his worst. To emphasize how disappointed I am in this book, I just quit reading with only 75 pages left. I'm in the middle of the climax, and I could honestly care less.
Lets talk about why this normally five-star writer has dipped down to a two:
First, his lack of character development. I guess because most of the characters have been written about for five novels now, he feels that it's not necessary to spend even a paragraph letting you know who the characters are. There is no time spent letting you know who they are, or why they are who they are, it's just nonstop problem followed by deus ex machina. The characters go go go go at a full pace, but there isn't a sentence here or there that explains their thoughts, or their reasoning behind what they're doing. From the very beginning it feels as if you've just opened up a book at random and started reading. There are also random characters sprinkled in who seem to serve no purpose. I still don't know why Luca, the gypsy, was in the novel. He randomly joined the team and was scarcely mentioned again the rest of the way. The only thing I know how him is that he's a gypsy with daggers. And he sat at the back of the car once. That's it. Dr. Masterson also serves little purpose. You meet him, he almost gets killed, they run, that's it. Who is he? Why is he important? Why couldn't we have spent some time explaining why he's even in the novel?
Second, he's getting away from his forte. What I used to love about Rollins was the way he took me by surprise with his imagination. His novels had secluded areas with ancient trees that had fruit that allowed people to regrow limbs, he had subterranean caves filled with dinosaur-like creatures and humanoids living in their own bio dome, scary creatures that could see you in the dark on an ice island, strange diseases that turned you into zombie-like ravages, and so many other incredible ideas. This one falls flat. He tries to bring up an ancient mystery in the first chapter, but it truly has nothing to do with the rest of the book. Instead, it's guilded as an ancient mystery, but underneath it's really his attempt at a Bourne-esque novel. Industrial espionage and intrigue. But he's just not good at those novels. He needs to get back to his roots of linking past and present like he did in The Judas Strain.
Finally, he focused entirely too much on ending every single chapter with a cliff-hanger. He had so many insurmountable obstacles on every page that he lost focus on what the book was about. I found myself wondering what the point was. Why are they running? Who are these random hit men? Who cares? There were so many deus ex machina that I eventually got desensitized. When I got to the big, important climax I just couldn't give a rat's butt. It didn't matter. Yeah yeah, they're going to find a way to save the world, even though they shouldn't have been able to. So much of the novel was spent on each section's climax that when I finally got to the big one I couldn't help but think, "That's it?"
Bottom line, Rollins has written some outstanding novels. I'd recommend him to friends (in fact, I have multiple times), and I will definitely be reading Doomsday Key, but save your time and money on this novel. It's clearly his worst book yet.
BAC
Summary of The Last Oracle: A Sigma Force Novel
In Washington DC, a homeless man dies in the arms of Commander Gray Pierce clutching a bloody coin in his hand - an ancient artefact that could unlock a plot threatening the very foundation of humanity. Meanwhile, a group of international scientists are engineering children with exceptional talents into something far greater and far more frightening - a world prophet for the new millennium, one to be manipulated to create a new era of global peace...a peace on their own terms. For Commander Pierce and SIGMA FORCE, it's a race against time to solve a mystery that dates back to the Oracle of Delphi...Literature & Fiction Books
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