Product Description

ju·das strain, n. A scientific term for an organism that drives an entire species to extinction

A master at combining historical and scientific intrigue with cutting-edge adventure, New York Times bestselling author of Map of Bones and Black Order James Rollins returns with his most relentless, high-octane thriller to date—a terrifying story of an ancient menace reborn to plague the modern world . . . and of an impossible hope that lies hidden in the most shocking place imaginable: within the language of angels.

From the depths of the Indian Ocean, a horrific plague has arisen to devastate humankind—a disease that's unknown, unstoppable . . . and deadly. But it is merely a harbinger of the doom that is to follow.

Aboard a cruise liner transformed into a makeshift hospital, Dr. Lisa Cummings and Monk Kokkalis—operatives of the shadowy covert organization SIGMA Force—search for answers to the bizarre affliction that has inexplicably washed ashore. But there are others with far less altruistic intentions. In a savage and sudden coup, terrorists hijack the vessel, turning a mercy ship into a floating bio-weapons lab.

At a Fourth of July celebration a world away, SIGMA's commander Gray Pierce thwarts the murderous schemes of a beautiful assassin—a would-be killer who holds the first clue to the discovery of a possible cure. With the fate of every man, woman, and child on Earth hanging in the balance, Pierce joins forces with the woman who wanted him dead, and together they embark upon an astonishing quest—one that winds through Venetian tombs, Byzantine cathedrals, and jungle-encrusted ruins—following the trail of the most fabled explorer in history: Marco Polo.

But time is an enemy as a worldwide pandemic grows rapidly out of control. And as a relentless madman dogs their every step, Pierce and his unlikely ally are being pulled into an astonishing mystery buried deep in antiquity and in humanity's genetic code. And as the seconds tick closer to doomsday, Pierce will realize he can truly trust no one—not the bewitching enigma who runs at his side or even those who are closest to him—for any one of them could be . . . a Judas.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7260 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Released on: 2007-07-02
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The special-ops trained scientists of Sigma Force battle the criminals of the shadowy Guild in bestseller Rollins's lively third Sigma Force thriller (after Black Order). An ancient and deadly plague, the Judas Strain (which afflicted Marco Polo), has suddenly re-emerged. Gray Pierce, a Sigma operative, and Seichan, a Guild defector, pursue clues to the nature of the plague to the Vatican, Istanbul (with a fine shootout in the Hagia Sophia mosque), Marco Polo's tomb and, finally, Cambodia's Angkor Wat. Meanwhile, Guild members hijack a cruise ship full of plague victims (to provide experimental subjects for the weaponizing of the plague), and Gray's parents are taken hostage (though the senior Grays prove feistier than their kidnappers reckon). Sophisticated the plot isn't, but Rollins includes more than enough action and suspense to keep readers turning pages. 8-city author tour. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The crack, ultrasecret Sigma Force team returns in another adventure that, as usual, unfolds at breakneck speed. Sigma Force, made up of former Special Forces officers trained as experts in various scientific fields ("killer scientists," one of their number calls them), scours the world for technologies that could help or threaten the U.S. This time the group's mission involves a devastating bacteriological plague, a mysterious cryptogram that may predate humanity, and the deadly truth about what happened after Marco Polo's expedition to China. After a handful of Sigma Force novels, Rollins has fine-tuned the formula to precision: characters rendered in broad strokes, punchy dialogue, short paragraphs that propel us headlong through the story. The novels are like prose versions of comic books, or lightly fleshed out movie treatments. But this is not a criticism, at least not completely. The books' style perfectly matches their subject matter, and it's impossible not to be swept up by their energy and excitement. Action/adventure fans unfamiliar with Rollins' work should be emphatically urged to read this series. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author James Rollins holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine and runs his own practice in Sacramento, California. An amateur spelunker and a certified scuba enthusiast, he'll often be found either underground or underwater.

Customer Reviews

Should have been abridged with a more complete ending
It has always been a mystery to me why a lot of writers have a few good books and then a mediocre one. This is the fifth Rollins Book that I have read; two have been five star, Black Order: A Sigma Novel (Sigma Force Novels) and Ice Hunt, and the others something less, like this one.

Part of the plot was unrealistic such as four people were captured and all were kept alive as they traveled to other countries. One of these, a bodyguard, was kept alive by this vicious group that had no qualms about killing hundreds of innocent victims. Was this manufactured since he was used later on in the story? Another woman switched sides so many times it is unbelievable that either side would have trusted her more than once, or twice at the most.

You had to set aside your disbelieve when it came to the group's code-breaking discussions and just skip over the dialog as you knew the answer would just pop-out from the discussion. A lot of the book was too wordy and an abridged version would have made for a better read.

This was the fourth book in the Sigma Force series which is not a problem if only the main characters are carried forth from book to book, but Rollins seems to like to leave a question about some characters for resolution in the next book. Someone in a review for a previous Rollins book said they didn't understand why `Seichan' was even introduced but guess she would be needed in a later book. Well yes she was needed in this book and became one of the main characters but was allowed to escape at the end. Will she be in the next book?

Other than what I mentioned here the book was well written and kept my interest but had an incomplete ending in several respects.

Judas is a fitting name
After finishing this book, I felt betrayed and it was definitely a strain to get through it. There are plenty of good action adventure fiction stories out there so don't waste your time or money with this author.

Sadly, I bought 2 books by this author at the same time: Judas Strain and Black Order. I struggled to finish Judas Strain, finding the dialog, story and action contrived and hard to follow at times. I gave up after 200 pages of Black Odor, finding it even worse.

The books by Preston and Child are generally much better and their worst novel is far better than either Judas Strain or Black Order.

Great book
As usual, Rollins delevers a book full of action and thrills. The masterpiece that I have come to expect from his every release. A must read!!!!!!!!