James Rollins Reviews Thieves of Darkness

James Rollins is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma series. This past year, he debuted the first of his award-winning new middle school series, Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow, and his first "veterinary thriller" in January 2010, titled Altar of Eden. Read his guest review of The Thieves of Darkness:

 

I think Richard Doetsch may be my long-lost brother, or at the very least we're kindred spirits. First, we're both adrenaline junkies, living life on the edge--though in his case, literally. Richard jumps out of planes, off cliffs, even from dangling cranes. He scuba dives, competes in triathlons, and is an expert skier. At least he left cave exploring to me. But both of us love to take these sports, these adrenaline highs, and fold them into our thrillers, something Richard does with a skill and dexterity that astounds.

Don't believe me? Then check out any of his books featuring Michael St. Pierre, a master thief and explorer of all things ancient and lost. The Thieves of Darkness, the latest in the series, is the best one yet.

The story roars from the start with a daring rescue, as Michael must break two friends out of a desert prison in a breakaway republic near Pakistan: one is his best friend, Simon; the other is KC Ryan, a woman close to his heart and who happens to be a skilled thief herself.

But the trouble only starts from there and rolls into an amazing and thought-provoking adventure. Seeking a map to a lost repository of forbidden knowledge and priceless treasure thrusts Michael, Simon, and KC into a global game of cat-and-mouse with a truly sadistic businessman, Philippe Venue. The story moves from the sun-baked palaces of Istanbul to the snowy valleys of the Himalayas; from the streets of London to the canals of Amsterdam; and from luxurious harems to dusty church tombs.

This novel has it all. Part heist novel, part escape story, this book will keep you guessing with every turn of the page. Each chapter draws you deeper into a tangled web that challenges the characters' friendships and tests their loyalties. With revelations, betrayal, murder, and redemption, The Thieves of Darkness never lets up and demands to be read in one sitting.

It's also whip-smart, cobbling bits of real history into a story that is as believable as it is thrilling, for it's not just the lives of his friends that Michael must protect, but the very fate of humanity.

So help keep Richard Doetsch alive. Buy his book, tell friends, do anything necessary to keep this man in his desk chair, pounding at a keyboard?instead of flinging himself off some cliff. It's the only way we can ensure we get more jaw-dropping, razor-edged thrillers out of this guy.