The Demon Crown by James Rollins

"Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers a horror like no other, an island where all life has been eradicated, consumed, and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks the group, killing them all, save one: an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures, Professor Ken Matsui from Cornell University. Strangest of all, this inexplicable threat traces back to a terrifying secret buried a century ago beneath the National Mall: a cache of bones preserved in amber..."--

First things first, I knew what I was going to get from this book before I started it because I've become used to this series. So, it was a good read and met my expectations. It felt nice to meet some of my favorite characters, whom I have loved for over a decade now.
I always enjoy the action sequences in the Sigma Force series and they were awesome here too.
I absolutely loved the descriptions of the city of Tallinn (especially it's Library) and the Salt mines in Krakow. Mr. Rollins always manages to make me want to visit the places he so wonderfully describes in his books.
But the book also dragged at a lot of places and I skimmed quite a few pages. I was not disappointed, but I hope that one of these days, my expectations will be exceeded too.

The same as the rest of the series; maybe getting a little repetitive and overwrought within this one book

I always love a Sigma Force novel. I got a little bogged down by the science in this one and felt it moved a little slower than other Sigma Force novels, but I still enjoyed it!

Tom Clancy Meets Jeremy Robinson Meets Brett Battles In An Epic Race To Save The World. Yet again, Rollins manages to blend different things from science and history in ways that seemingly only he can, though this time he did indeed have shades of the other authors named above. You've got the Debt of Honor ties to Tom Clancy with similar villains. You've got the Island 731 ties to Jeremy Robinson via using the real-world Unit 731 of the Imperial Japanese Army for some of the backstory. And you've got the PROJECT EDEN ties to Brett Battles' epic series via the ultimate endgames of the bad guys.

And yet Rollins manages to make this story completely his own, with only fans of the other three authors being able to see the connections probably at all. The follow up from The Seventh Plague in the opening scene with Sigma characters is great, and really drives home the very humanity that makes this series so truly compelling. But then the action picks up dramatically, and because of the nature of the threat... never really dies down. Once again the team is split with various people going various places, so people who don't like following multiple trains on a given story may not like that bit - though at least here, we basically follow the two halves of the Sigma team + the bad guys (a bit). One interesting feature here is that Rollins actually bakes the life span of the featured creature into the narrative here, having one chapter devoted to each stage of its development - from that stage's perspective. And yes, there are some utterly horrific scenes here as well, as virtually anything based on Unit 731 must include.

Overall an excellent tale and strong followup to The Seventh Plague, and sets in motion events which are sure to pay off down the line as well. Very much recommended.