James Rollins, Map of Bones

Map of Bones by James Rollins

In Cologne, Germany in the Kolner Dom Cathedral, during services celebrating the Feast of The Three Kings, killers dressed in monk robes kill almost the entire congregation. Some were shot but most died in the same manner at the same time. The golden sarcophagus was opened and the bones of the magi were stolen. The sole survivor tells how the people died and describes the symbol on the monks' robes that belong to the Royal Dragon Court, a fraternal order of alchemists who want the world to return to a feudal order with them as the leaders.

The Vatican sends two of its agents and asks for help from the U.S. Sigma Force, a secret organization known to very few. Working together, the group figures out that the bone dust in the sarcophagus was also in the wafer that everyone had eaten. The Royal Dragon Court wants to possess the knowledge the Magi possessed so that it would give them unlimited power and it is up to the Sigma force and the Vatican spies to stop them from completing their quest for world domination.

Readers who like action thrillers in the vein of Jack Higgins and a story reminiscent of Dan Brown's THE DAVINCI CODE will find MAP OF BONES an exquisitely exciting and entertaining reading experience. The audience will find that James Rollins also attempts to educate his readers about the inner working of the Catholic Church and the early teachings of the Apostles that were later destroyed as heretical. There will be other Sigma Force books that readers will eagerly await them coming out in the same manner as anticipating their publication like waiting for a Clancy or Brown thriller.

Harriet Klausner