Amazonia
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: 2003-06-24
ISBN: 0060002492
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Amazonia
Book Review: Intensely exciting page-turner
Summary: 5 Stars
I am already a big James Rollins fan, have nearly all his books, and I am just making my way through them all. Amazonia is a gripping, intense, fascinating story that is a total page-turner. I really had to pry myself away from the book, and I raced to the end. I was sorry when I was finished, it was that good. To me, James Rollins' is "Mr.Thriller" - his stories are that exciting. I love novels that deal with larger-than-life issues and have extraordinary plots. Amazonia is both of those, and like other Rollins' books it is exceptionally well researched and written, and never fails to please. The author puts a ton of work into laying down the details and facts of his books' environments - in this case the Amazon jungle - and presents a plausible plot in a way that gets you thinking. His writing makes you feel like you're right in the middle of the action.
Amazonia has a superb mix of well-developed characters that spring to life from its pages, and Rollins' describes the tribes of the Amazon that the book deals with, and the jungle itself with great care - I feel that I learned a lot from reading this story and I have a greater appreciation and understanding for the Amazon rainforest and its myriad inhabitants. I was thoroughly entertained & educated at the same time!
Amazonia deals with a tantalizing plot - the mysterious jungle and a secretive, much-feared tribe that seem to possess the power of regeneration - a soldier who was part of a research team missing for four years, one day walks back out of the jungle, alone, battered, but the arm he had lost long ago, has inexplicably re-grown. This naturally piques the heated interest of many parties - good and bad, some very, very bad - eager to seek out the jungle cure that allowed this miracle to take place. Billions of dollars are at stake for the party who can successfully secure the source, hidden deep within unexplored regions of the fierce and formidable Amazon jungle. However, what else the soldier brought out is equally lethal and terrifying - he is riddled with unprecedented, riotous cancers and carries a deadly plague that spreads quickly through the population. The protagonists are charged with a highly dangerous mission with enormous stakes and Rollins' pull no punches in describing the many horrors that befall those who seek the prize and race to find a cure for what has now been unleashed.
I have only a couple of problems with this story **possible spoiler alerts** - when the mystery of Amazonia is unveiled, and it is truly enthralling, the team members on this expedition who otherwise have a great love of, and respect for, the Amazon and its peoples, are gripped by deep fear and a sense of loathing for what this mystery represents. On one hand, I can understand the revulsion and protectionist reactions, and the fear - it is certainly warranted - but on the other, I wish more voice had been given in favor of a reverence for life, an awe of it, and a realization that we ourselves, are not all-knowing, all-important, and wise, and that there are things greater in the world than ourselves and our own selfish interests, and further that we cannot, and should not, try to control everything around us. Ultimately, I think the book does voice an affirmation of life, in all its forms, I just wish its highly educated and experienced characters would have reacted with just a tad more enlightenment, and that there had been a lively debate on the topic with regards to peaceful co-existence. The earlier character development would have lent itself to that. The other thing I have a problem with is a character who suffered what should have easily been a fatal wound, turned around and lived happily ever after pretty much as if nothing happened. It would have been a better choice to have the character have suffered a different injury, because of other, later outcomes, and because of what similarly happened to another character earlier in the story. This particular aspect to the ending was just too inconsistent. **end possible spoiler alerts**
But these things do not overshadow the story. Overall, Amazonia is such an exciting, fascinating and completely entertaining book, that is so well-written & researched that neither of those points are large enough to take away a star from what is, to me, clearly a 5-star book. Amazonia unveils a startling and frightening concept that dares to peer into the heart of the mysteries of life in all its - at times terrifying and utterly unpredictable - glory and wonder. The story reminds us of our dependence on, and our interconnectedness with, the natural world that must be - that demands to be in no uncertain terms - respected. It reminds us that we are not in the driver seat - the natural world is, and we are only fooling ourselves, perhaps fatally so, if we think otherwise. The natural world is at once life-giving, beautiful, and deadly and Amazonia boldly walks that path. If you are looking for an engaging thriller that will grip you and pull you mercilessly into its pages and not let go - Amazonia is a great choice. A highly recommended, rocking adventure!
Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands
Summary of Amazonia
The Rand scientific expedition entered the lush wilderness of the Amazon and never returned. Years later, one of its members has stumbled out of the world?s most inhospitable rainforest -- a former Special Forces soldier, scarred, mutilated, terrified, and mere hours from death, who went in with one arm missing . . . and came out with both intact. Unable to comprehend this inexplicable event, the government sends Nathan Rand into this impenetrable secret world of undreamed-of perils, to follow the trail of his vanished father . . . toward mysteries that must be solved at any cost. But the nightmare that is awaiting Nate and his team of scientists and seasoned U.S. Rangers dwarfs any danger they anticipated; an ancient, unspoken terror -- a power beyond human imagining -- that can forever alter the world beyond the dark, lethal confines of . . .
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