Crucible: A Thriller

Written by James Rollins

Narrated by Christian Baskous

In the race to save one of their own, Sigma Force must wrestle with the deepest spiritual mysteries of mankind in this mind-expanding adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, told with his trademark blend of cutting edge science, historical mystery, and pulse-pounding action.

Arriving home on Christmas Eve, Commander Gray Pierce discovers his house ransacked, his pregnant lover missing, and his best friend’s wife, Kat, unconscious on the kitchen floor. With no shred of evidence to follow, his one hope to find the woman he loves and his unborn child is Kat, the only witness to what happened. But the injured woman is in a semi-comatose state and cannot speak—until a brilliant neurologist offers a radical approach to “unlock” her mind long enough to ask a few questions.

What Pierce learns from Kat sets Sigma Force on a frantic quest for answers that are connected to mysteries reaching back to the Spanish Inquisition and to one of the most reviled and blood-soaked books in human history—a Medieval text known as the Malleus Maleficarum, the Hammer of Witches. What they uncover hidden deep in the past will reveal a frightening truth in the present and a future on the brink of annihilation, and force them to confront the ultimate question: What does it mean to have a soul?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062866936

James Rollins

James Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers that have been translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and one of the “hottest summer reads” (People magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets—and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight. He lives in the Sierra Nevada.

Reviews for Crucible

[syanobakteeria 666 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A lot is happening to our favourite DARPA staff members, so don't miss this one. Otherwise the themes of AI, neurosciences and religious fanatism offert a nice change from the biothreats of the previous entries. I found the dark tone and relatively realistic setting to be thrilling; as for the narrator, by now you should be used to him.

[Donna Geller · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Worst narrator ever. He has ruined this series for me as far as audiobooks. Love the series, the stories, all of it through Bloodline, then for some reason they switched to this narrator. So I'm giving this 1 star because although the author is great, he should know by now this narrator is ruining his work, has gotten enough negative reviews about him for the previous 5 books and still kept him, so he bears some responsibility for this. It's a shame really, great writer, had a great series going, but it's just so hard to really get into the audiobooks now, Baskous is so annoying and difficult to understand. I guess I'll just read them instead

[bookanonjeff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can Even Sigma Defeat This Threat? Honestly, the best thing about this book is that Rollins ups the stakes *so much* that the threat feels *all too real* - even moreso than during the events of The Demon Crown. And yes, in part this is because I'm reading this book - where the science involved is fully realized Artificial General Intelligence - in 2023, when it seems we hear every day that this is truly just days away from actually being real. But also because of Rollins' writing and what he is willing to put the characters we've come to love so much through. The team is actually split in *three* ways here, rather than the more typical two, and with each feeding on the other (as usual)... pulse pounding at its finest. Rollins truly makes you feel that even Sigma is actually being gravely threatened - and that is a true talent, after spending so many books showing them to be almost a John Cena type of organization, able to take any beating that comes their way and ultimately win anyway. Combining the science of AI with the history of the witch purges and in particular the Spanish Inquisition - which was still raging as recently as just 200 yrs ago - was truly inspired here, and works quite well - even moreso with the particularly shocking revelation in the end that ties all the way back to the very first words of the book. Truly one of the better Sigma books, but absolutely one that needs to be read at minimum in order as a trilogy with this being Book Three and The Seventh Plague and The Demon Crown being books 1 and 2, respectively. (Even if you don't go back and re-read the *entire* Sigma story before coming into this one.) Very much recommended.

[niaomiya · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a James Rollins superfan, I always look forward to his new books, especially those in the Sigma Force series. "Crucible" didn't grab me quite like Rollins's books usually do, but it did grow on me as the story progressed.

In this 14th book in the Sigma Force series, the danger to the team doesn't just hit close to home; it actually hits home, and in a very personal way. After having drinks together on Christmas Eve, Monk and Gray return to Gray's house to find the place tossed, Seichan and Monk's two daughters missing, and Kat near death on the kitchen floor. Not knowing what happened and with no other options, Monk agrees to try a radical experimental approach to finding out what Kat knows, even though she is comatose. Meanwhile, in Portugal, a group of female scientists are murdered while gathered for a scientific demonstration. How are these things related? The Sigma Force team works against the clock to find out.

I think what appealed to me less about this book vs. the previous Sigma Force books is that part of the Sigma Force team is out of commission in this book - Seichan and Kat. The action belongs to the rest of the team. Because Seichan is eight months pregnant, she wouldn't be able to be involved in much action anyway, but I really missed her badassery. Toward the end of the book, we get just a small taste of what she's capable of -- even with an eight-months-pregnant belly, and I revelled in it. Seichan is one of my favorite characters (and always has been, even before she joined Sigma Force), and I really, really wanted more of her.

Also, while in real life the concept of artificial intelligence fascinates me, AI's role in "Crucible" didn't really draw me in until about halfway through the book. I can't really explain why, except that it just wasn't connecting with me.

Regardless, I give this book a solid 4 stars because James Rollins really knows how to write action thrillers. Even with a dual story line that didn't engage me like past Sigma Force books did, "Crucible" still held my interest well enough that I thoroughly enjoyed the action sequences. I look forward to book #15!

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very readable and fast paced thriller. Rollins effectively weaves science, pseudo-science, and future science into his novels. If even a small percentage of his plot stirrers come to pass, the world will be a totally changed place - and not necessarily for the good. As a work of fiction this book, even more than his others, comes very close to being completely science fiction. All-in-all a fun read - action packed and somewhat thought provoking.