Kingdom of Bones: A Thriller

Written by James Rollins

Narrated by Christian Baskous

From #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins, the latest riveting, deeply imaginative thriller in the Sigma Force series, told with his trademark blend of cutting-edge science, historical mystery, and pulse-pounding action.

It begins in Africa . . .

A United Nations relief team in a small village in the Congo makes an alarming discovery. An unknown force is leveling the evolutionary playing field. Men, women, and children have been reduced to a dull, catatonic state. The environment surrounding them—plants and animals—has grown more cunning and predatory, evolving at an exponential pace. The insidious phenomenon is spreading from a cursed site in the jungle — known to locals as the Kingdom of Bones —and sweeping across Africa, threatening the rest of the world.

What has made the biosphere run amok? Is it a natural event? Or more terrifyingly, did someone engineer it?

Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are prepared for the extraordinary and have kept the world safe, vigilance for which they have paid a tragic personal price. Yet, even these brilliant and seasoned scientific warriors do not understand what is behind this frightening development—or know how to stop it. As they race to find answers, the members of Sigma quickly realize they have become the prey.

To head off global catastrophe, Sigma Force must risk their lives to uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent—a truth that will illuminate who we are as a species and where we may be headed . . . sooner than we know.

Mother Nature—red in tooth and claw—is turning against humankind, propelling the entire world into the Kingdom of Bones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9780062893024

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 Kingdom of Bones

[DeAnn Ziegler · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic, as usual. The Sigma gang does not dissapoint at all!

[Balazs Fodor · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Author should make a correction in chapter 10. Covid-19 was not transmitted by any animal. it was man made in China!

[IngridKronborgArchambault · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a great book! I loved every second of it.

[jill.mackin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not one of his better stories, IMHO.

[majkia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Compelling as always. Our guys and gals go into the Congo to discover the origin of a terrifying new disease, and discover far more than they expected.

[cassprout · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another good one!

[niaomiya · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a bit different from the previous Sigma Force novels. There was still plenty of action, with the Sigma Team running around all over. However, there seemed to be almost too much action and not enough character development. Because there was so much going on, with the team pulled in so many different directions, there seemed to be no time for Rollins to take a breath and give us a peek inside the personal lives of the characters. Despite the fact that the book was a whopping 426 pages long. The backgrounds and personal lives of the characters are only mentioned in passing - as if to just remind the reader of who they were - and that really was a shame, because getting to know these characters across the previous 15 books was really enjoyable. I want to keep getting to know them better.

Also, I very much missed Seichan. She was left out completely, only barely mentioned. How can there be so much action without her and her inner demons? She is the most complex character of them all and always brought an uneasy undercurrent to the Sigma Force novels, and I really liked that unsettling feeling that I'd get whenever she popped into the scene. She gave more depth to the series.

I was very happy to see Tucker and Kane make their way into this book. It's always fun when an author has characters from one series mix with characters from another series, and I had been waiting interminably for a new Tucker and Kane story. So it's like I got that and a Sigma story rolled into one. Yay!

Despite the weaknesses of this book, I still enjoyed it quite a bit because Rollins really knows how to write an action thriller. I have always loved the Sigma Force series, and I eagerly await book #17.