Altar of Eden: A Novel

This is a very disturbing book on any number of levels. It's maybe science fiction, maybe adventure, and a well-written combination of the two genres. But it manages to create images and ideas that can keep you up at night.<br/><br/>The hero of the story is Dr. Lorna Pope, a veterinarian who is responsible for a laboratory in Louisiana that preserves genetic material of rare species, mostly to prevent their becoming altogether extinct, but also to help the zoos of the world to maintain their specimens. As we soon learn, she is genuinely compassionate, courageous and resourceful, all of which she will need in the crisis ahead.<br/><br/>A boat runs aground in a storm, and the animal specimens on board are strange, which prompts Jack Menard of the Border Patrol to call Dr. Pope to help them track and capture the ones that have escaped into the bayou. In the process, she is confronted with her history with Jack and his family, and why the Menards all hate her so much.<br/><br/>As Dr. Pope begins to answer the question of why these animals are so strange, a horrible secret comes to the surface. A secret project so menacing that those who run it cannot allow anyone to survive who discover what they are up to. So Jack and Lorna must die, of course.<br/><br/>Several thorny ethical questions are embedded in this story. The one that was especially disturbing to me was the use of major weaponry on all sides. We've been talking about assault weapons and such lately, and this story depicts good guys with weapons going head to head with bad guys with weapons. The story also unfolds in such a way that leaving the fire power to the authorities (even though Jack is an authority himself) won't work. People come out of the bayou with major firepower and the skill to use it, and we cannot flinch at the fact that they have these weapons because they are on the side of the good people in the story. But of course really rotten people also have guns. Indeed, one of the most rotten is the son of the local sheriff.<br/><br/>OK, this is fiction, and it's quite possible nothing like this would ever happen. But we do have to ask whether there are people who do not wear badges who should nevertheless be trusted with assault rifles, and whether there are people who have badges who should not. It seems nothing is simple. Nothing.

Having never read any of James Rollins work before, I wasn't sure what to expect. Based on the book's description, it sounded like a dose of escapism with plenty of action, larger than life heroes and villans, exotic locations and a bit of romance. Altar of Eden does, in fact, contain all those elements, but I found it kept surprising me by going in directions I hadn't anticipated.For example (and this is a fairly mild spoiler), I was certain that when one of the characters noted the tracking ability of one of the escaped animals and it was also noted that the main character had been carrying the creature infant in her arms, I thought 'Aha! So now we know that the main character will be imperiled by the beast because she carries the scent of the creature's baby!' But I was wrong. Not only in that case, but in other observations I made during the first quarter of the book. It wasn't that Rollins was intentionally tossing red herrings into the plot. It was more that I have read enough genre fiction to guess which direction the plot will take. That's not so hard to do when you're reading some authors; but with Rollins, I felt like I was in the hands of a master story-teller. Instead of trying to see where the story was going I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.That's not to say there weren't weak spots scattered here and there. The whole discussion of "junk" DNA seemed to be under-explained (or else I am overly dense). And the bad guys seemed more like super villans in a James Bond movie. In fact, the bad guys' tropical paradise/base of operations sounded like the type of place where you expect to run into Bond villans like Blofield, Odd Job and Dr. No around every corner.Taken as a whole, Altar of Eden makes for great escapism. You probably won't confuse it with great works of literature, but as a great way to spend a weekend snowed in at home it can't be beat.

If this were by a different author, I'd enjoy it quite a lot. It's a good read and an interesting story that explores the typical set of interesting science and socio-political intrigue Rollins tends to do. In this case, it's government military contractors, junk DNA, viral warfare, and genetic manipulation/cloning.I do have problems with a lot of his stand alone (non-Sigma force series) novels though and this is no exception. It just doesn't seem as rich. In this one there's really only two locations (swamp south USA and "Eden Island" and the later isn't really well developed and is pretty sterile). I don't know if it's because he spends more time on characters since they aren't ones he's developed in the past? The skills, resources, and "ruggedness" of the "Cajuns" seems a bit hard to believe. It's also quite shocking that the violence that occurs can raise so little notice from the larger world. Some of the supporting characters are interesting, but they feel a bit neglected too. The main focus is on the veterinarian hero, the US CPB officer hero, and the scarred villian, with a lesser nod to some family members and a doctor of questionable ethics. Pretty much everyone else comes and goes. The background story between the hero/heroine is meant to establish a past relationship but it ends up being clunky (family guilt, young mistakes, etc) as does their semi-romance.The part that I found the most interesting was the genetically engineered animals. Sadly, it felt like there was so much more that could have been explored about them, but the ended up being pretty minor to the story on the whole.So it was an interesting book...don't get me wrong. I just feel like Rollins can and has done a lot better.

Another great book by this author and so believable in a mad scientist type of way. I love the opening storyline with a very real situation I felt I could relate to in the war torn Iraq. The story takes you to New Orleans in the middle of a hurricane, which again is something you can understand and relate to. The various twists and turns leading to the mad scientists behind the genetic experiments made me think of the recent experiments where an ear was grown onto the back of a rodent. All in all a very enjoyable read that I could not put down.

I read this in a day &I found the whole thing fascinating and scary at the same time. I am aware that there are things going on in the world of scientific development that is beyond my meagre brain - this book helped to put some of this 'underworld' activity into the light. Hopefully it will make us individually think and decide which path we would choose to pursue. As for me I choose to serve the 'Lord' creator of it all and deep down in some primordial cortex fractal based or whatever; i know and trust that when He decides enough is enough He will return and sort it all out. We will all then be judged, and it won't matter who we are,how wealthy we are, what we have achieved in the end it will be based on what is worthy in our hearts -and His Grace. NB This is not a religious book so for all atheists out there don't be put off - but it does make you think and question your beliefs - and maybe explains why sometimes we just know things.Despite the gruesome bits - of which i gloss over - there is excitement, adventure, lots of individual characters, romance infact most things involved with human life. In places it is quite 'tender hearted'. There is something in this book that i feel will transcend male & female genders. Just enjoy.....I am so sad it is finished.........maybe a sequel James?

James Rollins writing has the ability to keep you wanting to find out what happens next and throws in a few surprises along the way to keep you on your toes. It's worth reading the novels as a series as certain things happen that follow through from book to book but you can generally work out what's going on if reading a book out of sequence as I did once then the penny drops when you read the book that you missed.

Quite simply this book is ok. the plot is unique (well for me), and I have read one of Rollins books before, so thought I would give this a go. I wasnt disappointed, but neither was I thrilled. For me, it is an easy read for a bit of escapism or if you want to have a holiday read.Certainly worth a read, but not a classic

I am in the process of reading all James Rollins books one after the other including Sigma and as I have read each one I have been unable to put it down he is an excellent writer and keeps you gripped all the way through the story keep writing James!