The Demon Crown

Tom Clancy Meets Jeremy Robinson Meets Brett Battles In An Epic Race To Save The World. Yet again, Rollins manages to blend different things from science and history in ways that seemingly only he can, though this time he did indeed have shades of the other authors named above. You've got the Debt of Honor ties to Tom Clancy with similar villains. You've got the Island 731 ties to Jeremy Robinson via using the real-world Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army for some of the backstory. And you've got the PROJECT EDEN ties to Brett Battles' epic series via the ultimate endgames of the bad guys.

And yet Rollins manages to make this story completely his own, with only fans of the other three authors being able to see the connections show more probably at all. The follow up from The Seventh Plague in the opening scene with Sigma characters is great, and really drives home the very humanity that makes this series so truly compelling. But then the action picks up dramatically, and because of the nature of the threat... never really dies down. Once again the team is split with various people going various places, so people who don't like following multiple trains on a given story may not like that bit - though at least here, we basically follow the two halves of the Sigma team the bad guys (a bit). One interesting feature here is that Rollins actually bakes the life span of the featured creature into the narrative here, having one chapter devoted to each stage of its development - from that stage's perspective. And yes, there are some utterly horrific scenes here as well, as virtually anything based on Unit 731 must include.

Overall an excellent tale and strong followup to The Seventh Plague, and sets in motion events which are sure to pay off down the line as well. Very much recommended. show less

First things first, I knew what I was going to get from this book before I started it because I’ve become used to this series. So, it was a good read and met my expectations. It felt nice to meet some of my favorite characters, whom I have loved for over a decade now.
I always enjoy the action sequences in the Sigma Force series and they were awesome here too.
I absolutely loved the descriptions of the city of Tallinn (especially it’s Library) and the Salt mines in Krakow. Mr. Rollins always manages to make me want to visit the places he so wonderfully describes in his books.
But the book also dragged at a lot of places and I skimmed quite a few pages. I was not disappointed, but I hope that one of these days, my expectations will be show more exceeded too. show less

Another solid book in the Sigma Force series. I️ just wish he’d stray a bit from the formulaic storyline. There is a nice nuance in the development of the regular characters. But the crises and solution are predictable. But I love Rollins. So, a great read-meaning I couldn’t put it down. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5.

Wow. James Rollins does NOT disappoint. This 13th in the Sigma Force series is just as full of thrills and science and history and action and heart as the previous 12 in the series. Un-put-downable!

In "The Demon Crown" Sigma Force finds itself pitted against a seemingly indestructible biological creature, a deadly insect with ancient origins. With its power harnessed by a human enemy bent on dominating the world, the insect becomes a potential threat to the entire globe. Their search for a way to combat both the insect and the humans who unleashed it takes Kat, Monk, Gray, Seichan, and Kowalski on a hunt around the world, delving into historical archives, combing through research done by Alexander Graham Bell and James Smithson, the show more founding donor of the Smithsonian Institute. Joined by expert scientists and researchers, the Sigma Force team races against time to save the world -- as well as one of their own.

I can't wait for book #14! show less

The Demon Crown by James Rollins is a very highly recommended terrifying, horrifying thrill ride of action and adventure! This is a smart, excellent new addition to the Sigma Force series.

Professor Ken Matsui, an entomologist who specializes in venomous creatures, is the lone survivor of an attack on an island off the coast of Brazil. What he discovers there is a frightening foe that hasn't been seen alive for millions of years.

Surprisingly, the threat was first known by James Smithson, the man who founded the Smithsonian Institution. A secret vault under the National Mall holds the artifact first collected by Smithson and buried with him. Alexander Graham Bell led a team to recover the artifact and hide it to protect humankind. The show more artifact is the bones of a small dinosaur preserved in amber - Smithson called it the Demon Crown. They cannot destroy it as it is said to hold the very secret of life after death. Additionally, Smithson’s diary contains the warning that "what the Demon Crown holds is very much alive... and ready to unleash the very hordes of Hell upon this world."

When the large chunk of amber is stolen, the secret it contains is unleashed as a dreadful, horrifying weapon with an unimaginable strength to wipe out life as we know it. When the menace is unleashed on the islands of Hawaii, the Sigma Force must survive it and try to stop the maniac behind the abominable attack before the threat expands to cover the Earth.

The Demon Crown is one of the stronger additions to the Sigma Force novels and it will hold your attention in a vise-like grip for the whole novel.

The novel presents us with a terrifying, repellent, menacing horde. Rollin's cautions in the opening Notes From the Scientific Record that we are living in the Age of Insects and "some insect will kill one person out of sixty every year." It could be possible that insects contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Unless you want to be scared half to death, those with spheksophobia, apiphobia, or melissophobia need to be warned to avoid this book.

As expected, the writing is excellent, the plot intelligent, and the action is non-stop and fast-paced. This would be the perfect selection for reading during a vacation when staying up late reading "just-one-more-chapter" might not matter as much - because you will lose sleep when reading The Demon Crown. All the team members are back for long time fans of the series. There is also an unexpected alliance that must form to save the world. There are chapters written from the view of the menacing foe that are truly frightening.

As many of us who are fans of Rollins expect, at the end of the novel there is a whole section on Truth or Fiction. I love that Rollins includes these notes and I appreciate the work and research he does when writing his novels. I know many of us like the fact that Rollins treats his readers with respect and a nod to their intelligence and ability to comprehend a complex plot based on facts and science.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/11/the-demon-crown.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2199024458 show less

The Demon Crown is James Rollins' 19th solo novel. While it is a Sigma Force novel, it is a bit unusual because the threat that they are fighting against is a prehistoric wasp.

At the conclusion of book 8 in the series, Bloodline, the Sigma Force crew had eradicated Japan's Kage, also known as The Guild, a terrorist group. However, at least 2 of them survived. One of them, Seichan, is now working with the Americans and Takashi Ito, has formed a smaller, tougher group whose intent is to replicate a Pearl Harbor attack on Hawaii. Takashi hopes it will bring an Imperial Japan back to power.

A secondary plot concerns James Smithson, the creator of the Smithsonian Museum. Upon his death in 1829 in Italy, he was buried with a chest. He left show more papers that mentioned a secret artifact that could leash hell upon the earth. He called it the demon crown and ordered that it be buried with him. When Smithson's grave was about to be uprooted by a quarry in 1903, Alexander Graham Bell, A Smithsonian Regent, immediately took a group to Italy and brought back Smithson's bones and the chest which appeared to contain a vial filled with amber and bones.

Over the years of U. S. history, the Librarian of Congress personally ensured the security of Smithson's personal papers and the chest but in 1944 a robbery took place and they were stolen by Japanese agents. A few Sigma Force members later wondered whether this robbery was the reason for dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima for no one knew if the vial held a weapon.

On May 6 in the present day a swarm of wasps entered the City of Hana on the island of Maui and killed 54 people with their venom but injured a thousand more. Commander Grayson Pierce and girlfriend Seichan were vacationing in Hawaii when the swarm arrived and instantly reacted to the event. The Sigma Force deployment then began.

I was enthralled with the book until the halfway point when I realized how far-fetched the plot was. It was still thrilling but it was bizarre. Author James Rollins is a veterinarian by trade and his scientific and historical facts have always been accurate in prior books so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and continued reading.

He added a special touch with the addition of chapters written from the wasps' point of view. We now know how they think and why they act a certain way. I thought this addition was quite creative.

The thriller formula was followed exactly. I like it when an author who consistently writes a book every year does not get bored and change the formula. Many authors have fallen to boredom and written a few poor novels but Rollins has been consistent with he thriller formula.

This may be James Rollins' best book to date. It certainly was his most creative. show less

The Demon Crown is book thirteen in the Sigma Force series and let me tell you that this is a favorite series of mine and I have read every book published! And, the series keep going strong with its mix of thriller, science fiction, and adventure. One thing I always find so enjoyable with the books is the history lesson you get. Like in this book which started with Alexander Graham Bell traveling to Italy to steal James Smithson (founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution) remains. Yup, true story. Quite a fascinating tale.

But, what has James Smithson remains to do with this story? Well, you see he discovered something that could change the course of history and pretty much unless destruction on earth. And, of course, now someone has show more managed to release it. And, it's up to the Sigma Force to stop it. Without spoiling the story too much do I just want to say that there is a deadline of three days before everything is too late so they have to hurry to solve the riddle that Smithson left behind and find a "cure".

As usual is the book thrillingly good, and this one is storywise better than the last book. The threat to the life on the planet felt acute especially when the story in detail revealed what could happen to the human body if the threat that has been realized would infect. Trust me, I was like "shoot me" if that would happen to me! Personally, the only drawback was that the story now and then got a bit "scientific". I'm more a history fan than science so I prefer when the characters travel over the world hunting information than stories taking place in a lab. But, that's me. Other than that was the book truly great and I can't wait for the next book to be released!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review! show less