From the initial moment when protagonist Lorna Polk makes an incredible discovery to the denouement Christensen perfectly captures each characters' shock, fear, resolution. ALTAR OF EDEN is a spellbinder, albeit a scary one.The tale begins at the Baghdad Zoo where two young boys are poking around where they shouldn't be - they find a storeroom filled with strange equipment and come face to face with an enormous monster, the likes of which they've never seen.Action segues quickly to veterinarian Lorna Polk in Louisiana who is summoned to see a cage of animals in a shipwrecked vessel. Odd things may have been found in the Mississippi River but never anything like this - the animals have been mutated, horribly so yet they are all highly intelligent. However, one beast is missing - a mammoth jaguar escaped and is killing in order to eat.Not only must the jaguar be found, but what or who could possibly be behind such nefarious doings, and for what reason? Lorna, with the help of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jack Menard, must find the answers to these questions and quickly. It's a gasp producing hunt as the two eventually uncover a secret they never could have imagined. Another great James Rollins book. This was a quick read with lots of action similar to his other books. It is always amazing the extent of detail that he manages to provide well still getting into a brand-new topic. This one involves the genetic background of animals that have been imported illegally into the country. That genetic background has been enhanced so that, while the animals are of different species, they will function as a complete unit when they are in proximity to each other. Especially scary when you consider the fact that the same experimentation has been expanded to humans.
What do You think about Altar Of Eden (2009)?
An unusual cargo of animals is shipwrecked and the investigation into their origins leads to death and destruction.I know the plotline was pretty ludicrous but the writing style, characters and pace all sucked me into this book, giving me half a days reading pleasure.If you are looking for an art house book / something with some hidden meaning then avoid this book, if you simply want to escape reality for a while reading a ‘shoot them up’ type thriller then this book is worth picking up.
—Lex
An unusual cargo of animals is shipwrecked and the investigation into their origins leads to death and destruction.I know the plotline was pretty ludicrous but the writing style, characters and pace all sucked me into this book, giving me half a days reading pleasure.If you are looking for an art house book / something with some hidden meaning then avoid this book, if you simply want to escape reality for a while reading a ‘shoot them up’ type thriller then this book is worth picking up.
—ahri
Good book; however it did feel a bit predictable.
—nathalia
