Review: The Devil Colony by James Rollins

The Devil's Colony by James Rollins is a great read. The novel is a high octane action packed search for secret treasure buried thousands of years in America's past. The story is based on a mixture of facts, myths, and outright fiction to create a story that thrills as well as enlightens. The focus of the novel is a secret government organization known simply as Sigma. Sigma is a highly trained organization made up of former military special forces soldiers and officers retrained to work as scientist in critical and dangerous situations. The headquarters for Sigma are located under the National History Museum in Washington D.C.

The  Devil's Colony begins in the times of our founding fathers as an early archaeological dig and discovery is attacked by an unknown force. From there the novel jumps to the present and takes the reader on a wild ride all over the North American continent as Sigma forces races to stop an ancient technology that is so powerful it could destroy all life on Earth.

Much of the story is based on what is now popular culture, masonic images, the Knights Templar, and other esoteric symbols shielding a nefarious organization from our gaze. Unlike many novels about secret societies this novel is focused on a secret history of America, and the first Jewish settlers the Americas'. From there the novel connects, tribes of Israel, Native Americans, and the Book of Mormon to create a twisting story that left me chomping at the bit to read onward.

The idea of ancient technology or lost information that is more powerful than that we currently have has almost become passe, but Rollins does an excellent job of using this theme to give the story an edge. His use of actual American history and fiction creates an excellent platform for him to advocate the importance of Native Americans in the forming of the original thirteen colonies. Rollins doesn't beat the reader over the head with these facts but makes them imperative parts of the plot and story making the impact of each realization important to the story, and the reader as well.

Before The Devil's Colony, I had stopped reading these sort of adventure/ science fiction big explosion stories, but I have been so impressed by this book that I plan to read the rest of Mr. Rollins body of work, and if you read this book I am sure you will want to do the same.

Reviewed by Andrew Swanson

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 3/27/2012
Pages: 672