Unrestricted Access: New and Classic Short Fiction

by James Rollins, Christian Baskous (Read by), Scott Brick (Read by), Scott Aiello (Read by), Emily Woo Zeller (Read by)

Overview

Experience the exciting breadth of #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins’s wild imagination and adventurous spirit in this anthology of his short masterworks, including a new full-length novella featuring Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane, as well as eleven previously published short stories, gathered together for the first time.

In this breathtaking collection of short fiction, his first ever anthology, James Rollins brings together twelve thrilling stories that dig a little deeper into his creative stomping grounds and open vistas into new landscapes and characters.

At the center of Unrestricted Access is the never-before-published novella "Sun Dogs.” While trekking through the Sonora desert, a gunshot thrusts Tucker and Kane into an adventure that challenges their considerable skills. The discovery of secrets known only to the native tribes of Arizona threatens to unleash an ancient force that could irreparably alter the future. It also forces Tucker to make a terrible choice that will shatter his relationship with his soul-bonded companion Kane. As these partners learn, nothing remains buried forever and old debts must be paid, no matter the cost.

Other stories—each with an introduction by James Rollins—are just as compelling, offering broader insight into this acclaimed master’s fictional universes, including:

“The Pit”: a young dog is kidnapped and brutalized into becoming the bloody champion of a dog-fighting ring. But can this tortured monster find redemption and a path back to the boy who first raised him with love and compassion?

“Tagger”: A pair of teenage street artists must protect San Francisco from a demon who has been seeking revenge for centuries.

“The Devil’s Bones”: In this jungle adventure—the first joint story from Rollins and Steve Berry—Commander Gray Pierce and Cotton Malone must work together using their unique skills to survive a deadly threat.

The stories “The Midnight Watch,” “The Skeleton Key,” “Tracker,” and “Kowalski's in Love” shine light into some of Sigma Force’s secrets. Who were these characters before they were recruited by Sigma? What solo adventures did they experience? How do these short adventures tie into the larger Sigma universe? Rollins offers some clues.

And rounding out this collection are a pair of entertaining stories “Blood Brothers” and “City of Screams” that complement The Order of the Sanguines series.

Filled with adventure, intrigue, history, and speculative science, Unrestricted Access demonstrates Rollins’s remarkable creative powers and is a must-have collection for his many fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781799942368
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

James Rollins is the New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers that have been translated into more than forty languages.

Christian Baskous is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. His theatrical credits include numerous roles in the New York Shakespeare Festival, Circle in the Square, the Kennedy Center, and Theater for the New City, as well as other regional theaters. His film and television work includes appearances in Glory, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Law & Order, Swan’s Crossing, and Swift Justice.

Scott Brick has won many dozens of AudioFile Earphones Awards and several prestigious Audie Awards and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.

Scott Aiello is an actor. He has appeared on the TV shows Person of Interest, Elementary, and Blue Bloods.

Emily Woo Zeller is an artist, actor, dancer, choreographer, and voice artist who has won Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2018. She began her voice-over career by voicing animation in Asia. AudioFile magazine named her one of the Best Voices of 2013 for her work in Gulp. Other awards include the 2009 Tristen Award for Best Actress as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and the 2006 Roselyn E. Schneider Prize for Creative Achievement.

When he was seven, David Sadzin's first grade teacher gave him a paragraph to read out loud. She interrupted him halfway to proclaim him "The Ringmaster" in his class's musical extravaganza about the circus. He's been using his voice to get out of trouble ever since. After a few intense years on New York's stages, performing traditional and experimental theater, improv, and sketch comedy, he's now settled comfortably in front of the mic in his home studio in Brooklyn.

Hometown:

Sacramento, California

Date of Birth:

August 20, 1961

Place of Birth:

Chicago, Illinois

Editorial Reviews

07/20/2020

Fans of bestseller Rollins’s Sigma Force thrillers (The Last Odyssey, etc.) will best appreciate this collection of 12 stories, all reprints except for “Sun Dog,” a novella starring series hero Tucker Wayne. In “Kowalski’s in Love,” a typical formulaic specimen, Sigma Force character Joseph Kowalski is introduced hanging upside down in a snare, having ended up on an island off Brazil’s coast populated by savage baboons infected as part of a mad scientist’s experiments. The attractive physician who frees Kowalski warns him that the island will be firebombed in less than half an hour, giving him limited time to locate an antidote that will save the lives of humans who have contracted the same mind-altering disease as the primates. At the outset of “The Skeleton Key,” another series character has an explosive charge locked around her neck, setting up another familiar ticking-bomb scenario. Author notes connect stories to the various series, complete with hype: a new character is “unlike any seen in print before,” and a discovery will alter how readers “view the very founding of America.” Many will conclude that Rollins’s blend of fantastic concepts, violence, and action works best at novel length. Agent: Russ Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Nobody does this stuff better.”  — Lee Child

“Bestseller Rollins’s excellent 15^th Sigma Force novel... marries nail-biting action with a highly imaginative premise...This is a thoughtful, nonstop thrill ride that’s an exemplar of an escapist page-turner.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Last Odyssey

“Rollins balances action-adventure, history, mythology and science in a truly imaginative story. All of the elements harmonize in this page-turner, which takes his team of adventurers into the very gates of Hell. This is one of Rollins’s best novels, and a perfect book to get immersed in during these turbulent times.”  — Seattle Times on The Last Odyssey

“Rollins spins an entertaining thriller.”  — Kirkus Reviews on The Last Odyssey

“Science fiction and archaeology have had a long relationship. The link is a conviction that there is a hidden truth in the relics of dead civilizations…and that this can be uncovered by what we now know about science… The dominant figure in this area of fiction right now is James Rollins.” — Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

Rollins balances action-adventure, history, mythology and science in a truly imaginative story. All of the elements harmonize in this page-turner, which takes his team of adventurers into the very gates of Hell. This is one of Rollins’s best novels, and a perfect book to get immersed in during these turbulent times.” 

Seattle Times on The Last Odyssey

Nobody does this stuff better.” 

Lee Child

Science fiction and archaeology have had a long relationship. The link is a conviction that there is a hidden truth in the relics of dead civilizations…and that this can be uncovered by what we now know about science… The dominant figure in this area of fiction right now is James Rollins.

Wall Street Journal

Science fiction and archaeology have had a long relationship. The link is a conviction that there is a hidden truth in the relics of dead civilizations…and that this can be uncovered by what we now know about science… The dominant figure in this area of fiction right now is James Rollins.

Wall Street Journal