The Doomsday Key

The Doomsday Key is the latest in the Sigma Force series, although one need not have read any of the earlier books to understand the story, as all pertinent background information on characters and their relationships is presented as they are introduced in this book. Never having read (or, admittedly, heard of) any of the earlier works in the series, I had few expectations informing my reading experience, other than having seen a few diagrams while flipping through my pre-pub copy (I'm a sucker for visuals). As far as I can tell, the Sigma Force - a top, top secret US government organization specializing in arming operatives highly educated in specific fields, such as ecology, mythology, or engineering - novels usually feature a crisis of religious history (making the books [b:The DaVinci Code 968 The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) Dan Brown http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233010738s/968.jpg 2982101]'s violent stepbrother, or cousin at the least), which the Force must solve/fix/undo, narrowly averting certain doom and destruction - until next time, of course. The story relies heavily on the characters, and on heavy artillery; personifications brought to mind the A-Team, but unfortunately without much of the panache of B.A. Baracus and the rest of the gang. Grey, Monk, Painter and the rest of the gang don't have much going for them other than lots of exposition of religious symbolism and history, and their uncanny knack for getting themselves into, then out of, trouble.Like Dan Brown's books, though, I can see that this would inspire some readers to dig deeper into the history and mystery surrounding this Sigma Force quest, and I appreciate that the author took the time to include factual information regarding people, places, history, science, and theory introduced and relied upon in the book; he even offers suggestions for further reading.A great summer read for someone who would rather be at the movies.