Liked this one better than the second book in the series. There were a few points where the science got a little too sciency for my understanding and I found myself skipping past some of the quantum stuff. ( )

Blurb from the cover:

In Copenhagen…a suspicious bookstore fire propels Commander Gray Pierce on a relentless hunt across four continents – and into a terrifying mystery surrounding horrific experiments once performed in a now-abandoned laboratory buried in a hollowed-out mountain in Poland.

In the mountains of Nepal…in a remote monastery, Buddhist monks inexplicably turn to cannibalism and torture – while Painter Crowe, director of Sigma Force, begins to show signs of the same baffling, mind-destroying malady…and Lisa Cummings, a dedicated American doctor, becomes the target of a brutal, clandestine assassin.

Now only Gray Pierce and Sigma Force can save a world suddenly in terrible jeopardy. Because a new order is on the rise – an annihilating nightmare growing at the heart of the greatest mystery of all: the origin of life.

My review:

Black Order is the third book in the Sigma Force series, and truthfully, the hardest one for me to get through. I enjoyed the first two books in the series for various reasons, but I found myself dragging myself through Black Order. The plot of the story (basically tracking down the creation and use of a machine that can create a perfect specimen) was interesting, but it was pretty long winded. There were also three locations through most of the book, and it wasn't until close to the last 100 pages that it all seemed to come together.

Like in the previous two books, Rollins does a fantastic job of showing the extent of research that he puts into his writing. At no point was I confused or needed further explanation of what science topic he was discussing. That being said, at times it did seem like the explanations turned into doctoral papers.

I was happy to see all of my favorite characters from the first two books come together in this one. I know it is stated that you do not need to read the books in order, however I do see the benefit of doing so, and I would highly encourage anyone interested in the books to read them in order. The character development and their deeper story lines carried through and I as a reader have become invested in them.

While this was not my favorite book by Rollins, I did still enjoy the adventure that he wrote and will continue on to read the next book in the series. ( )

Ok - this was way more science than I can usually handle, but the action and pace of the novel was fantastic. The flipping back and forth between Gray and Painter was great, and kept you reading and reading and reading. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/20160214/289-read-black-order ( )

James Rollins once again outdoes himself in Black Order.

"Lisa knew what she had to do. She let go of the scientist inside, let go of her own self. Her goal was beyond consciousness, beyond prayer, it was simply belief in the purity of that moment, the Bell burst with a blinding light, binding them together."

This quote comes at the end of a long, harrowing and heartbreaking journey from WWII and the mad scrabble of the Superpower Allies to scoop up the best/worst of Nazi Germany's scientists and their work.

Ranging from the Himalayas to the Veldt of South Africa through Europe; Stigma Force chases, well, I can't tell you. This is an outstanding scientific and philosophical thriller. Well read! ( )