Review by Booklist Review
A Russian scientist with a weapon that could wreak havoc upon the world; a chilling historical mystery; a breakneck race against time the usual kinds of ingredients, in other words, for one of Rollins' Sigma Force novels. But this one's a bit different: it stars former Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his working dog, Kane (introduced in Bloodline, 2012), and it spends more time than usual exploring the relationships of its lead characters. Rollins, who was a practicing veterinarian before turning to full-time writing, makes Kane, a Belgian Malinois (they look a lot like German shepherds), a fully participating character in the story, similar to the way Jonathan Maberry makes Ghost a character in the Joe Ledger novels. Coauthor Blackwood is best known for the three Fargo novels he wrote with Clive Cussler, but his solo trilogy featuring covert op Briggs Tanner, published 2001-03, gives him solid grounding for this novel. Fans of the Sigma Force series will definitely enjoy this one, and readers who have occasionally wished Rollins would slow down a bit and spend some time with his characters will get their wish.--Pitt, David Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This exceptional military thriller, a spin-off from bestseller Rollins's Sigma Force series (Bloodline, etc.), introduces U.S. Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his four-footed partner, a small Belgian shepherd named Kane. After a short stint protecting a Russian billionaire, Tucker signs on with Sigma Force, a unit working for the ultra-secret Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. His job is to smuggle pharmacological tycoon Abram Bukolov out of Russia. Bukolov's reasons for fleeing his country are murky, but it eventually becomes clear that he has the key to a virulent life form that has the potential to destroy all the plant life on Earth. Meanwhile, Gen. Artur Khazin of Russian military intelligence hires freelance mercenary Felice Nilsson to prevent Bukolov from escaping. The action careens across Russia and into South Africa, where Tucker and Kane must go underground to find the deadly life form. Rollins and Blackwood succeed brilliantly at depicting interspecies communication. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Late in the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa, a primordial material, to be later known as LUCA, sickens and kills a party of Afrikaners in a remote cave. Kept hidden for over a century, this strange organism has been rediscovered. Will it lead to scientific advancement or devastation in the modern world? Former U.S. Army Ranger Tucker Wayne and his military working dog, Kane, are recruited by Sigma Force to extract from Siberia a scientific genius, Russian pharmaceutical magnate Dr. Abram Bukolov, who just might know where to find the elusive LUCA, and the key to its control. Getting Bukolov out proves to be no easy task-the Russian military and GRU spy network, including the beautiful and ruthless Swedish sniper Felice Nilsson and Russian Gen. Artur Kharzin, have plans for LUCA that echo the worst Cold War nightmares. VERDICT The taut and complex story sprints across the globe from Russia to Istanbul to southern Africa to the United States, and offers a diverse cast of well-developed characters and a tightly woven plot that intrigues, excites, and doesn't let go. This is the first volume in a new subseries of the Sigma Force novels focusing on Tucker Wayne and loyal and fearsome Kane. Highly recommended for thriller readers. [See Prepub Alert, 10/20/13.]-Vicki Gregory, Sch. of Information, Univ. of South Florida, Tampa (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
