The Demon Crown (Sigma Force #13) by James Rollins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am big Rollins fan, anybody who has read my blog posts and reviews will know that about me. Any Rollins book that gets released is a must read on my list. There are few authors whom I follow diligently - Rollins is one of them.

The guy just blows my mind every time I read one of his books. He outlines Armageddon scenarios and then coolly and calmly ticks off the ways that Armageddon can be achieved with just a little push from human greed and ambition. Demon Crown is no different.

I have never before been scared of bugs and wasps. Demon Crown has made me look at the flying critters as never before, locusts have been a part of the biblical plagues unleashed upon humans eons ago; but wasps triggering the genocide of Dinosaurs while propagating their own species have made me take a second look at the plausibility of the scenario. Exactly what could we humans do if such an impossible scenario were to become possible? Going by the way we have handled the crisis of Zika outbreaks and Ebola, I am not too hopeful.

Rollins background at a veterinarian plays to his strengths here. The scientific aspects of the book are well laid out and each stage of the wasp evolution ties into the story as a piece fitting the jigsaw puzzle.

I am also a huge fan of the character development that Rollins does in each of his books. Each central character's story moves a few paces forward in every book. E.g. the readers who have followed Rollins's Sigma Force series from the start are well aware of how the lives of Gray, Seichan, Kowalski, Crow, Kat, and Monk have moved forward from the day we got introduced to them.

The readers have been through an emotional journey with all of these characters and are vested in the well being and health of each of them. This is my opinion is what makes the Sigma Force series a very connected series. Hell, you are even interested in the perennial Sigma enemy The Guild, their main movers and its reincarnation after undergoing the purge by Sigma.

What does not destroy you makes you stronger - so goes the quote and we definitely see a new and sleek version of The Guild under the aegis of Vanya who is as ambitious as she is ruthless. Her cunning and strategical planning is also brought to the forefront by Rollins, given how easily she aligns and shifts her alliances during the course of the novel. She will make a formidable enemy to the Sigma Force in the future novels.

Overall I will give Sigma Force#13 - The Demon Crown a solid 4.5 stars. Since GoodReads does not allow me to give a .5 star rating, I will move it to a full 5 stars.

P.s: I believe in marking up rather than marking down in an acknowledgment of the author's effort.

Verdict: Must Read

List: Book 1 of 52 of the Year 2018 Reading Challenge