Once again, James Rollins has written a cliffhanger that will leave you guessing. As all his past books has done, this one takes the unimaginable and makes it very real. Imagine a virus that invades a body, taking the bacteria that is in all of us, and starts turning our body against us. An ancient virus that Marco Polo discovered as he was traveling home from China, that destroyed most of the crews of his ships, leaving only a handful of survivors. On his death bed, Marco left clues to a virus so deadly, so devastating that he refused to speak of where his travels had taken him. Fast forward to present day, and the on going fight between The Guild and Sigma Force. Add this deadly virus, and the race is on for who will gain the knowledge, and control, of the possible end, or salvation, of the world. A definite page turner!

This was another fast-paced action novel from Rollins. As usual, he threw in a lot of interesting premises including the Judas Strain itself and bioterrorism, the use of the "angelic script", and the historical mystery of Marco Polo and what happened to his fleet on his return trip to Venice. The novel also takes the reader to several interesting locations including Angkor in Cambodia, Christmas Island, and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (I was unaware of the details about this massive structure). Along the way he also throws in cannibals and pirates, eletrified killer squids, and nasty land crabs -- what more could you ask for in an action novel!

Wow! Marco Polo, red land crabs, glowing squids (and people), the Vatican, cannibals, Angkor Wat, angelic language, Christmas Island, and liver flukes. Mix all these (and more) up into an exciting story that holds logically together. It never lost momentum or my interest. Interesting, capable, resourceful people; hairbreadth escapes; constant surprises.

Loved this book as a medical mystery. More believable than Ludlum's nanophage plaque in the Lazarus Vendetta. Kept me reading way past bedtime! I'll read more Rollins now.

It kept my interest throughout the entire book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a medical thriller and/or a historical mystery.
Marion

Great book! One I would read again,

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This would make a great movie. Action that makes you not want to put the book down. Plenty of plot with lots of twists.

Great book - I read it again right after I finished it the first time!

Rollins and his SIGMA Force have done it again. I couldn't have said it better than the following paragraph, a quote from the Knoxville News-Sentinel---

'You won't want to put this adverturous thrill ride down! Theres a code to crack, a disease to cure, a villain to outsmart, an assassin to outrun, a map of Marco Polo's travels to follow, and the words of an angel to translate. And, just to make going to sleep out of the question, the fate of every man, woman, and child on Earth hangs in the balance.'

From back cover:
From the depths of the Indian Ocean, a horrific plague has arisen to devastate humankind--unknown, unstoppable... and merely a harbinger of the doom that is to follow.
Operatives of the shadowy covert organization Sigma Force, Dr. Lisa Cummings and Monk Kokkalis search for answers to the bizarre affliction aboard a cruise liner transformed into a makeshift hospital. But a sudden and savage attack by terrorist hijackers turns the mercy ship into a floating bio-weapons lab.
Time is an enemy as a worldwide pandemic grows rapidly out of control. As the seconds tick closer to doomsday, Sigma's commander, Gray Pierce, must join forces with the beautiful assassin who tried to kill him -- following the trail of the most fabled explorer in history into the terrifying heart of an astonishing mystery buried deep in antiquity and in humanity's genetic code.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been reading all of the books in the Sigma Series and the do not disappoint. Great adventure, great characters, interesting story lines. The books take you to great places all over the World and encompass the history of the places.

Once again James Rollins writes a page turner..Great and fast read.

Another great novel by James Rollins. Is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller with a biomedical AND historical theme. While the style of the book is pretty typical, the plot was something different.... I mean-- who gets Marco Polo, bio-weapons, Christianity, and global conspiracy all in one place! :-)

An elite scientifically inclined military organization, pirates, super bugs, cannibals, the vatican, Marco Polo, and more! Suspend your belief a bit and you'll have a lot of fun reading this one.

What can I say except outstanding.

I'm getting into fiction a lot more lately. The latest is The Judas Strain, by James Rollin. It is like Da Vinci Code and Outbreak combined. The lead characters are agents of a covert organization and a secret organization, and then you have the man from Vatican City for a touch of faith. It's science meets religion but the world is at stake while a deadly virus spreads through the world. The good and the bad and the man in the robe must work together to solve a series of riddles following the path of Marco Polo. From the beginning to end, the story is action packed. I'm not so sure I'm satisfied with the ending, but when is anyone ever satisfied with an ending?

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