The Doomsday Key (Sigma Force Series)

by James Rollins Narrated by Peter Jay Fernandez

Overview

In this electrifying adventure from James Rollins, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma Force series, Commander Gray Pierce returns to solve a centuries-old secret, one coded in prophecies of doom.

At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peters Basilica. In Africa, a US Senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. Three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their flesh.

The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a race against time to solve a riddle going back centuries, to a ghastly crime against humanity hidden within a cryptic medieval codex. The first piece of the puzzle is discovered inside a mummified corpse buried in an English peat bog-a gruesome secret that threatens America and the world.

Aided by two women from his past-one his ex-lover, the other his new partner-Gray must piece together the horrifying truth. But the revelations come at a high cost, and to save the future, Pierce will have to sacrifice one of the women at his side. That alone might not be enough, as the true path to salvation is revealed in a dark prophecy of doom.

Sigma Force confronts humankind's greatest threat in an adventure that races from the Roman Coliseum to the icy peaks of Norway, from the ruins of medieval abbeys to the lost tombs of Celtic kings. The ultimate nightmare is locked within a talisman buried by a dead saint-an ancient artifact known as the Doomsday Key.

Fans of historical fiction, mystery, and science fiction will be on the edge of their seats with The Doomsday Key, the electrifying adventure from James Rollins that follows Commander Gray Pierce as he races against time to solve a centuries-old secret.

HarperCollins 2024

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Rollins takes fans on a frenetic roller-coaster ride through the streets of Rome, across England and into Norway. The Sigma Force is in a race to find a link between a nearly 1,000-year-old mystery and a modern conspiracy that could cause the starvation of billions of humans. Comdr. Gray Pierce leads a team that includes his former lover and his current enemy, getting them to work together to save each other's lives long enough to save the world. Peter Jay Fernandez serves up an entertaining gravelly Scottish brogue and a plausible Norwegian accent and gives every character his or her own distinctive voice, allowing easy identification by using inflection and cadence. He keeps listeners involved through lengthy descriptive passages, convoluted scientific explanations and historical fact and speculation, and does well at raising the tension as the narrative escalates into explosive, action-packed scenes. A Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 27). (July)

Library Journal

Rollins's (The Last Oracle) prose explodes off the page in a twisty and compelling thriller that explores the issues of human overpopulation and genetically modified food. The Sigma Force must unravel the mysterious deaths of a geneticist, a senator's son working for the Red Cross in Africa, and someone with close ties to the Vatican. Gray Pierce and his team follow the clues starting from Rome, while Sigma leader Painter Crowe takes his group to meet with the head of a corporation that appears to be genetically modifying food. VERDICT Swashbuckling adventure, elite team effort, and religious symbology all add up to another gripping and terrifying read. Rollins somehow juggles all of these elements and incorporates them into an amazing and brilliant technothriller that might be his best to date. [See Prepub Alert, LJ3/15/09.]—Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.

—Jeff Ayers

From the Publisher

This guy doesn’t write novels—he builds roller coasters....Rollins excels at combining action and history with larger-than-life characters....A must for pure action fans.” — Booklist

“Rollins’s prose explodes off the page in a twisty and compelling thriller....Swashbuckling adventure, elite team effort, and religious symbology all add up to another gripping and terrifying read....An amazing and brilliant technothriller that might be his best to date. — Library Journal (starred review)

Booklist

This guy doesn’t write novels—he builds roller coasters....Rollins excels at combining action and history with larger-than-life characters....A must for pure action fans.

Booklist

This guy doesn’t write novels—he builds roller coasters....Rollins excels at combining action and history with larger-than-life characters....A must for pure action fans.

SEPTEMBER 2009 - AudioFile

Rollins's latest Sigma Force thriller combines science, history, and religion to save the world from an evil group that wants to use genetically mutated food to control the food supply. Painter Crowe and his crew must solve three murders on three continents, which are connected by a pagan cross having been burned into each victim. With so many twists and a roller-coaster plot that moves at a breakneck pace, THE DOOMSDAY KEY benefits greatly from Peter Jay Fernandez's versatile performance. Whether the characters are investigating a murder at the Vatican, involved in a motorcycle shoot-out, or carrying out some other high-energy action, Fernandez's breathless style complements the book's pace and accentuates Rollins's imaginative story. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173457912
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/23/2009
Series:	Sigma Force Series , #6
Edition description:	Unabridged

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