Altar Of Eden [Mass Market Paperback]

I love James Rollins' books and this one was no disappointment. He consistently keeps the reader attached to the plot and the characters. I consider his books a "quick read" because I can't put them down until they're finished.

It must be stated upfront that I am a Rollins fan. I like the thriller genre as an escape and have made my way through all of his work along with many from Preston & Child, Glenn Meade, Jeff Long, Brendan DuBois, Grant Blackwood, David Morrell, Christopher Reich, and others. They are fun escapes that are not to be taken too seriously. Indeed, I listen to many of them on my iPod because they lend themselves to dramatization.

And while Alter of Eden was an escape of sorts, as I read it I could not help but become critical as the formula is getting stale. This critique is not of Rollins solely but to many of the current batch of writers who ply the thriller trade and who appeal to a large market who gobble up these now repetitious and lazy efforts. I am a frequent traveler and see these books being bought in airports by the masses just before they go to Sbarro's or Starbuck's and order the equivalent predictable food and drink.

Alter of Eden is a mix of The Island of Dr. Moreau and Jurassic Park with plenty of shoot 'em up action and overdoses of lectures on fractal science. Writers of this genre should note that 99% of the readers do not care about substantiating the science in this genre - think of the flux capacitor and the Millennium Falcon - they just want to be entertained.

In terms of the story it included animals with heightened intelligence, Blackwater-like evil military contractors, and scientists with and without hearts. The attempt to make Saddam's regime seem like the prolific Nazi's of so many fictional books is a real stretch. The characters are so ludicrous and their back stories so unbelievable that it makes the book hard to finish. Especially the bizarre story about Lorna Polk and her past connection to the Menard family - it is treacle, a distraction, weird, and worst of all, unnecessary. The whole book is choppy and a disappointment but maybe I am taking it too seriously or perhaps Rollins' audience is growing tired of the same old formula.

I'm a big fan of the stand alone books of James Rollins (I really don't like his Sigma series) and I've read them all including this latest one.
I was only slightly disappointed with Altar of Eden. The intrigue wasn't quite up to par with his other stories. It also lacked the "adventure" I'm used to with his other books.
As always the characters are really nicely defined and you get the usual big bang stressful ending that Rollins is known for.
All in all, it's not a bad book, but it's probably not in the top 5 of Rollins die hard fans.