Deep Fathom

I've read plenty of farfetched action and adventure stories, thrillers, and galaxy-spanning sci-fi books in my time. But I don't know if I've ever encountered anything as farfetched and preposterous as Deep Fathom by James Rollins. Before I continue, let me say that I found this book highly entertaining, farfetched as it was. Since this was my first James Rollins book, I didn't have a clue what to expect. Now I know.So, how farfetched is it? Well, let me summarize it for you, spoilers notwithstanding, and YOU decide.***SPOILER ALERT***In a nutshell, former Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland and his ragtag crew aboard his salvage ship, the Deep Fathom, get diverted from a treasure hunt, and with the help from a couple of ladies from the university, an AI personality, and a mysterious Pacific Islander, defeat their enemies and save the world from nuclear destruction. Never mind that the university ladies, Dr. Karen Grace and Professor Miyuki Nakano of Ryukyu University in Okinawa, just happen to connect with Jack's crew through a mutual desire to decipher some ancient glyphs. And never mind that the mysterious Pacific Islander repeatedly tries to murder the ladies before "joining the team."As they're saving the world, Jack and his expanded crew manage to take out an entire Navy Seal Black Ops team, one by one, escape certain death on numerous occasions, and unlock 12,000-year-old secrets associated with those ancient glyphs. But that's not all. They also jury rig a "lost" military satellite to shoot a Particle Beam from orbit to obliterate a rogue crystal obelisk located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Why use a particle beam? Because, as they determine on the fly, that's the only way to stop the crystal without annihilating themselves. And get this, the process of destroying the crystal obelisk resets the world's timeline two weeks into the past, thereby averting world destruction. wOOt wOOt!Best of all, the good guys that got killed during the original timeline get "magically" restored to life while the bad guys who our hero's killed off stayed dead. And finally, now that the rogue crystal obelisk is out of the way, Jack and his crew can fetch the massive gold treasure from the shipwreck. And Jack will no longer have to worry about his boat getting repossessed. The End.Preposterous or not, I found myself reading page after page. James Rollins does an excellent job with characters, creating tension, moving the story forward, and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. All the main characters add to the story. Even the villain, David Spangler, and his cronies. There was more foul language than necessary, but overall, I'd say the book itself is a rollicking, swashbuckling adventure. In fact, I was disappointed when it ended.

I'm reading with more excitement, more emotion, more anticipation with every story James Rollins weaves. Truly a master story writer...keep em comin!

Wow...I was blown away by this story! It brimmed with excitement and suspense. The characters were spot-on. It was a brilliant tale. I am sad to understand that it is a stand alone story. I really enjoyed it. Kudos to Mr. Rollins!

I read James Rollins's "Black Order"---a relatively recent book---before going back and reading "Deep Fathom." One of the things I most liked about "Black Order" was the characterization. Rollins showed great skill in painting characters with the briefest of brushstrokes, and his characters were interesting and engaging, from main characters to walk-on parts to even the nastiest of villains. I wanted to know what happened to them, good guys and bad guys alike. In "Deep Fathom" I can see the beginnings of these skills---the main characters and their allies are intriguing, interesting, and wonderfully fun to read about---but it's obvious that Rollins has improved since then as well.Minor characters are drawn in every bit as quickly, but often not as skillfully, making it harder to care about their fates. In particular, the villains are extremely black-and-white, one-dimensional eeeevil bad guys, with little to make them compelling beyond their use to drive the plot and threaten the main characters. There's a brief attempt at giving depth to one of them---David Spangler, an old enemy of Jack's---by providing a few meager childhood explanations for his depravity, but depth really needs to come from depiction, not background. Not even that much thought is given to the vice president-now-president, who takes horrifying glee in the idea of starting a nuclear war without so much as a flicker of regret or second thought.As usual, Rollins provides a high-tension thrill ride. It appears he's always had a great feel for action and pacing, and even on those occasions when I wasn't 100% on board with the story I was still pulled along and engrossed by it.The story involves a fascinating archaeological mystery---was there once an entire continent that has now sunk beneath the waves of the Pacific Ocean? If so, what happened to it? How does Easter Island tie into it, and the Bermuda Triangle, and a mysterious pillar of crystal found jutting out of the ocean floor---with writing on it!However, unlike Black Order, which despite some highly unusual plot points succeeded in causing me to suspend disbelief pretty much entirely, I had a little more trouble with that here. Partially I think that's because some events---particularly toward the climax of the book---wrapped up a bit too neatly and conveniently.So is this book worth reading? Absolutely! It's a fun read with a fascinating plot, and just because Rollins has improved since then hardly means that you shouldn't go back and read his earlier work if you haven't already. Consider my rating a 3.5.

Interesting story - deep ocean, earthquakes, solar eclipse. An ancient race. A crystal pillar in the Pacific Ocean. Treachery and adventure.Ancient race mentioned a bit similar to one Clive Cussler uses in Atlantis Found.I listened to this via Overdrive audiobook in March - April 2016. I like it just as much the second time. I think I understand the ending a bit better this time. The first time it seemed pretty mystical.A bit more bad language than I prefer. So interesting the possibilities when you are considering timelines and the effects of physics on the spacetime continuum.

This book supplies everything that a good thriller should - fast pace, detailed interlinked plots and characters that drive the plot lines. It was a great book to relax with after coming home from work as I was drawn in and able to immerse myself in the story and spend some time with the characters at the bottom of the ocean or looking out across a remote island.One thing I would have liked to see expanded on was the "how" of the ending - I will not expand of this for the sake of those who have not read the book yet. The nature of the ending has its roots in the earlier part of the book but I would have liked to known how this distortion occurred. This however did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

What a good read! I am wedded to my Kindle Fire now - what a great tool ... but to the book: I like the way James Rollins brought the reader into the tale gradually rather than with the bang that many authors do, and then the subject matter is just at the edge of what's known, what's suspected, and plausible + that raconteur's field, the action tale. Yes, very enjoyable read and highly recommended.

Exciting story but rather lacking in credibility of physics. Quick delivery and good condition.

Least well-written of all the books of this author that I have read but still enjoyable.

Yet another fantastic read from James rollins now straight on to the next one didn't think anything after sigma series would be as good