The bestselling master of astonishing adventure James Rollins delivers his most relentlessly exciting page-turner to date—a gripping and explosive novel of an ancient conspiracy to create a terrifying new world order out of the ashes of modern civilization.
The crime is inhumanly cruel with horrific consequences both unthinkable and inevitable. During a service at a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, a band of armed intruders dressed in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and terror, ruthlessly gunning down worshippers and clergy alike. The killers haven't come for the church's gold and valuable artwork, but for a priceless treasure secreted within: the preserved bones of the Three Magi who once came to pay homage to a newborn savior. As they flee the carnage they have wrought, they carry a prize that could reshape the world.
The Vatican is in turmoil, and Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's carabinieri is assigned to lead the investigation. But no ordinary police organization alone can deal with the bizarre theft and massacre, and SIGMA Force—an elite covert arm of the U.S. Defense Department—is called in under the command of Grayson Pierce. New to SIGMA, Pierce assembles a crack team of scientific and Special Forces operatives to unravel the mystery of the stolen bones, and together they set out on a twisting trail through a labyrinth of clues and dark revelations that carry them to the sites of the Seven Wonders of the World—and to the doorstep of the mystical and terrifying Dragon Court.
An ancient, secret fraternity of alchemists and assassins, the master-adepts of the Dragon Court have plans for the sacred remains that will alter the futureof humankind in devastating ways that only the maddest of zealots could desire—and they will let nothing and no one stand in their way. Suddenly Pierce, Verona, and the SIGMA team are the hunted as well as the hunters, forced to use every skill they possess to survive as they follow the bones to the ultimate confrontation between darkness and light—in a lost place of history where science and religion will unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.
Indiaplaza Review
James Rollins (The Judas Strain , Excavation) always writes a blend of history
and technology. He follow the three M’s of storytelling: murder, magic, and
mayhem. In Map Of Bones, the history of the Three Magi unites with todays
technology to create an unprecedented force and a hunt for a lost treasure.
Who are the Three Magi?
Magi means men of special knowledge. They visited Jesus who offered them gifts.
Since three gifts were offered, there are traditionally said to have been three
Magi. The sarcophagus of these people are in Vatican. It is believed that their
bones bring destruction to the world.
An incident happens in Vatican, where the thieves steal the bones of the Magi
leaving behind a carnage. A sole survivor explains what happened. Only the
people who consumed the Church bread had died.
A secret society called the Dragon Court has surfaced claiming the destruction
of the Church in Vatican. But their intention is something else. The Magi bones
were kept along with gold artefacts,but only the bones were stolen.
But these are no ordinary bones.
SIGMA Force Commander Gray Pierce and his team set out to seek the origin,
secret and the potential danger of these Magi. Their arch enemy, the Guild has
joined hands with the Dragon Court doubling the risk for the SIGMA Force.
The trail leads Gray and his team from the Vatican to Alexandria in Egypt to
Marseille in France. They also discover a fourth Magi, a king so powerful, he
conquered half the world and whose tomb disappeared in history. They start for
the hunt for this tomb which holds the key to the source. They also encounter a
deadly labyrinth at the center of which lies the truth.
A missing link starting at a time before Christ connecting John and Thomas,
Moses, Issac Newton, Ramses, Library of Alexandria, a Church within the Church
and The Knights Templar. All these trace and indicate to one unique lost piece
in history.
"During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior . . . a treasure that could reshape the world."
With the Vatican in turmoil, SIGMA Force leaps into action. An elite team of scientific and Special Forces operatives under the command of Grayson Pierce and accompanied by Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's "carabinieri," they are pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order. For there are those with dark plans for the stolen sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind . . . when science and religion unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.