The Sigma series is one of the first series that pulled me into the genre and has continued to get better each installment. James Rollins is able to blend science and action better than almost anyone in the game today.

Always good for a thrill, James Rollins is back again with Tides of Fire. With his ability to blend history with relevant scientific fact Rollins is able to take the reader on a thrilling adventure while helping them learn something. In Tides of Fire he does just that - AGAIN! There is a reason his characters pull on heartstrings and cause anxiety - that reason is that they are fully formed human characters based on the world's biggest asset and downfall - people.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

Sigma Force helps to stop a massive geological disaster. I enjoyed the deep sea adventure.

In the latest riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author, an international research station in the Coral Sea comes under siege during a geological disaster that triggers massive quakes, deadly tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. To stop the world from burning, it’s up to Sigma Force to uncover a secret buried at the heart of our planet. 

James Rollins is my favorite author and he didn't disappoint in this 17th Sigma Force novel. All the usual characters stay true to form. As always, I love how the team is split up across the world doing their individual things and ultimately come together to solve the crisis. James Rollins never fails to keep me entertained.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for allowing me to read and review Tides of Fire.

Tides of Fire– the 17th Sigma Force novel by James Rollins– employs history and science to build a foundation of truly harrowing events that threaten the survival of the human race. And will give you new fears to haunt your dreams. While visiting the grandmother of Gray and Seichen’s son in Hong Kong with their close friends, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the region. With the earthquake ongoing, the compound everyone is staying at is attacked. In the melee and confusion of the disaster and attack, Seichen’s mother is taken.

Also in the region is a massive scientific research project studying the ocean’s deepest trenches. With billionaires tripping over themselves getting to space, one billionaire is going the opposite direction. Building a structure with multiple levels and anchoring them to the bottom of the ocean thousands of feet below the surface and can only be reached by submarines. The billionaire is self-funding hundreds of projects with the world’s best and brightest scientists in numerous disciplines to discover the secrets of the deepest oceans on Earth.

In the midst of a research expedition, a submersible notices what looks like a crumpled submarine in the middle of a kelp forest. The research submersible is the first to experience the earthquake and when they surface what they find is hard to fathom. Multiple volcanoes are erupting, spewing ash and raining fiery boulders, and the ocean is on fire. Doing what scientists do, they begin searching for the reason why the world is on fire and how to stop it. Eventually meeting up with various sigma members, their predicament becomes abundantly clear: the fate of the world is in their hands. Good luck! It’s going to take multiple approaches, big ideas, and lots of luck to stave off whatever is happening around them.

What James Rollins does is so impressive. To take actual events in world history and science and to develop a coherent story that stretches our construct of believability is ridiculous. He treats science with the utmost respect which is greatly appreciated, especially in the bizarro world we live in now. I’m a big fan of Rollins’ author’s notes regarding the historical and scientific principles within his books. Always read the author’s note! I learn something new each time and that’s never a bad thing.

Rollins creates multiple environments within Tides of Fire and each of these environments has its own unique set of atmospherics that are diametrically opposed. You have literal fire and brimstone on the surface while beneath the water is at times dark and peaceful; others bright and violent. Then there are times when Tides of Fire has a whimsical quality to it. Almost fairytale-ish. It felt like I was reading the Book of Revelations that veers off into a Disney movie and back again. These environments are so different and weird they enhance the other. I’m not sure I’ve experienced anything like that before. It was jarring and unexpected but in the best possible sense.

Anywho, do yourself a favor and don’t miss Tides of Fire and the rest of the Sigma series. I can’t recommend Rollins enough!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Tides of Fire!

Published by William Morrow on August 15, 2023

Readers know what they’re getting in a Sigma Force thriller: action, undersea adventure, above-sea adventure, fights, explosions, and more action. Sigma Force is a “clandestine organization operating at the periphery of military structure.” Military operatives have been “re-trained in various scientific disciplines.” In other words, soldiers have been made into scientists. Wouldn’t it be easier to make scientists into soldiers? I mean, it takes longer to master a science than to master the art of fighting. Doesn’t matter. Readers are best served by not thinking too deeply about Sigma Force novels.

Much of the action takes place off the coast of Australia in the Coral Sea, home of the Titan Project. The Titan X, a “thousand-foot-long gigayacht,” houses a couple dozen research laboratories. The yacht supports Titan Station, a research facility that consists of a floating platform (Titan Station Up) and an inverted pyramid consisting of five tiers that rests two miles below the ocean surface (Titan Station Down). Submersibles ferry researchers from Up to Down and back.

In the early years of the nineteenth century, Sir Thomas Raffles was investigating the relationship between volcanic eruptions in Southeast Asia and people who turn to stone. Rather than turning his findings into a report that would benefit humanity, he divided his research papers and hid them in separate places to make it as difficult as possible for researchers to find them when they will be most needed. That makes no sense, but hiding secrets that will save the planet from disaster is a common thriller theme. What fun would it be if the hero could just pick up a book and find the solution?

Back in the present, marine biologist Phoebe Reed is studying deep-sea coral for the Titan Project. She wonders if coral exists in the deep trenches that extend below the seabed. While she’s puzzling over that question, she discovers that a new form of coral has a nasty stinger. Yes, the stinger turns people to stone, or into something that resembles stone.

Reed also discovers a Chinese submarine that crashed through the coral on the seabed. It turns out that the submarine was armed with nuclear weapons and the Chinese military doesn’t want anyone snooping around it. Of equal importance, the coral doesn’t like being disturbed by radioactive submarines.

James Rollins fills his books with characters. This one includes nineteenth century sailors and explorers, members of a Chinese triad, Grayson Pierce and his Sigma Force operatives, officers of the PLA, employees of a couple different museums, and a Russian assassin who sets up the next novel in the series. None of the characters have much personality. They exist to drive the action unless they are standing to the side and explaining the plot. Readers probably don’t pick up a Rollins novel expecting a character-driven story. There’s no risk of finding one here.

The plot is a bit eye-rolling. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions threaten to destroy all life on the planet. One school of thought blames the Chinese. Another school of thought holds that the natural disasters are caused by cheesed-off undersea dragons. Thankfully, indigenous people in Raffles' day knew how to appease the dragons. Sigma Force and Chinese soldiers battle to uncover the secret to appeasement that Raffles carefully concealed. Meanwhile, the heroes of the Titan Project are dodging Chinese torpedoes and various undersea menaces.

Rollins includes an abundance of sciency-sounding explanations in an attempt to make the plot seem plausible. Still, the story doesn’t make much sense. I haven’t mentioned the ancient planetoid that split apart, crashing into both the Earth and the moon. Parts of the planetoid on the Earth and moon are talking to each other. Certain Chinese villains think they can weaponize the planetoid. The scientists suspect that some of the earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters were unwittingly caused by Chinese astronauts poking around on the moon, so don’t blame the sea dragons. They just want to be left alone but they turn out to be helpful if they hear the right music.

So yeah, the plot often devolves into silliness, but rationality (like characterization and graceful prose) isn’t a central feature of action-adventure thrillers. The point is action and adventure. Rollins regularly destroys parts of the world. In Tides of Fire, earthquakes and volcanos threaten an extinction event. I’ve never been a big Rollins fan and this novel didn’t convert me, but I give Rollins credit for putting in an enormous amount of work to make the story go. Tides of Fire delivers a fast-moving action/adventure story and that’s all it’s meant to do.

RECOMMENDED

Tides of Fire is the newest installment of the Sigma Force series written by James Rollins.

I love this series. Every book has a good mixture of science, historical events and action. This time we are following the members of Sigma Force in their attempt to stop massive quakes, volcanic eruptions, and deadly tsunamis. The story is fast paced and keeps you engaged until the end. I really appreciate that the author always reveals what was fiction and what part of the story was nonfiction at the end of the book. I am really looking forward to the next book, especially after the cliffhanger at the end of this book!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy!

I love the Sigma series and look forward to rejoining my favorite characters each year. I'm not sure how Rollins does it, but each book meets my expectations and more. Bravo Mr. Rollins!! This book in in my top 3 of the Sigma series. The characters are relatable and the content well-researched, sometimes I question if I'm reading fiction or non-fiction...jj.

Highly recommend TIdes of Fire and the Sigma series to action, adventure, and thriller fans.

I could not STOP! I was so engrossed in this masterful blend of scifi, near-future tech, adventure, thrills chills and spills, terrifying natural disasters, history, geography, geology, biology, astrophysics, and geopolitics! I probably would have finished this 450+ book in a day, but author James Rollins' extensive vocabulary meant I frequently pegged up the dictionary and Wikipedia to discover further. There's hardly a moment that's not heart-in-throat, and there's no spare moment because Rollins is a very accomplished (and prolific) writer. This is a don't-miss read, and I can just imagine it as a movie spectacular (or a miniseries).

Sigma Force is back in this edge of your seat thrilling adventure. Rollins combines Aboriginal mythology with science and natural disasters to create a highly engaging story. Like other books in the series, the Sigma Force is on hand to solve the strange going ons off the coast of Australia. The race to solve the cataclysmic happenings is tight, and they come pretty close to losing members of their elite group as well. Overall, I loved this book. It's fast paced and had me hooked from the beginning. As always, Rollins does his research. The history and science is fascinating and written in a way that everyone can understand. The book does push towards science fiction in parts, but as a scifi lover, I was excited to see it. The story also builds to a wonderful explosive ending that has me eager to read the next in the series. I highly recommend this book and the series as a whole. It's definitely on of our library favorites and I look forward to our patrons getting their hands on this next installment.

TIDES OF FIRE is one of those books that leave you breathless even as you change to the next page. James Rollins delivers a tour de force in his latest addition in his acclaimed Sigma Force series and this times an old foe shows up, determined to get revenge, the world is on the brink yet again and Sigma Force is forced to join forces with an enemy that will kill any of them if it comes to it. With new faces and some very familiar faces joining the hunt into history and more, Sigma Force is on deck with action from start to end in TIDES OF FIRE. With every book in this series James Rollins creates, he ramps up the action, mystery and more within the pages. TIDES OF FIRE is definitely an edge of your seat ride from start to finish and I can honestly see how nerve wracking this book was. I couldn’t put it down. It was engrossing, entertaining and the familiar characters from past books had me intrigued with their character growth seventeen books notwithstanding. Every time I pick up this author’s books, I know I am in for a ride of my life as the reader is drawn into a historical mystery that threatens the modern/present day with a calamity of epic proportions. The twists alone had me gasping in disbelief and wonder as I kept flipping the pages as I read, eager to see what else this author maestro had in store for his readers.

TIDES OF FIRE will keep the reader glued to the very end and I can attest that ending alone has me wondering just what is going to happen next for Sigma Force, Paint and the crew that helm it as this past enemy has them in its sight. This is a fast-paced story that delivered science in a way that I could understand, with mysteries of the deep sea as the center of it all. With each book, I feel this author just delivers more and more goodness to his readers because I don’t know where he gets his ideas, but TIDES OF FIRE deliver a walloping of a wild ride that left me eager to see what is next for this group as a whole doesn’t get old or stale. Each new book delivers something even more intriguing and entertaining to the series and to the main characters as a whole.
TIDES OF FIRE gave me all the feelings right from the beginning. I loved how this series centered more on a core group of Sigma’s characters (Grey, Seichan, Monk, etc.) and less on the head of the shadowy group (Painter and Kat). I love it when we see these characters continue to grow with each book and novellas and I wonder with this ending, where can this group go next? If you enjoy a fast paced, action-packed story filled with history and science then you will enjoy this series. This author is definite autobuy for me and I am eager to see where this author goes next because as James Rollins has shown, he isn’t afraid to blow up national monuments and more in his books to help make his story fly.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.

I have followed Sigma Force series for years. Some books are harder to read than others; this wasn’t one of them.
I was gratefully approved for an ARC by Willian Morrow. Tides of Fire is an amazing addition to the Sigmas Force series.
The action and danger get started from the first chapter. I had to remind myself to breathe as I followed the teams and their hastily gathered allies through fire fights, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
I love the last chapter that gives us a peak into James Rollins’ imagination that grows from the facts and the science he has researched.
I totally enjoyed the ride and recommend this book as one of the best thriller suspense releases in 2023.

Thanks to James Rollins, William Morrow, and NetGalley for access to the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced, action packed adventure of the Sigma Force team. This is the 17th book in the series and a worthy addition. Fans of the series will be satisfied with this new story and it is also self sufficient enough that it can be read independent of the rest of the series. A worthy addition to the canon.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was both fun, and scientifically, a little more bizarre and somewhat out there than previous books. The first books in this series were alternate history/ science ideas, but still seemed somewhat more grounded in the jump from reality to myth, but though I loved the spy side, the science side was just too much for me. I usually love speculative fiction and novels that mix myth and reality, this was fun and fast paced, but just a bit too far for me. Overall, a really fun read, but not quite what I was expecting.

I’ve been reading Rollin’s work for a long time and he is one of the few authors out there whose work never gets stale. While every book has the basic plot of “save the world from a catastrophe,” Rollins continually serves up wildly inventive and interesting plots. In Tides of Fire, he blends extraterrestrial mysteries with the just-as-mysterious deep ocean environment on earth to spin as captivating a tale as I’ve ever read.

I always learn new things as I read Rollins’ work, and this round I learned a heck of a lot about deep ocean creatures and the early existence of our planet. Could the Dumbo Octopus be *any* cuter or the Viper Fish any more terrifying?

Rollins peoples Tides of Fire with the usual cast of characters, including one we all thought was a goner after his adventures in previous books. The relationship between Gray and Seichan continues to evolve, and we get a glimpse of her mysterious past here, which is a nice addition to the series. There is non-stop action from the first chapter straight through to the end.

And that epilogue! Mr. Rollins, get that next book out as soon as possible, please!

Fans will devour this one, for sure.

Sigma. Is. Back. With Kingdom Of Bones, it looked like Rollins was delving too far into the fantastical and leaving behind the more grounded roots of this series. Here... the ties are more to the scifi than the fantastical, including The Abyss, Pacific Rim, Earthcore by Scott Sigler, and even... Mass Effect 3??? Yes, there is one particular scene roughly 2/3 into this tale that while not *quite* word for word with a particular moment in Mass Effect 3, is damn close - and the sentiments and reasons are identical within their worlds. (To be fair, in this particular situation... the wording is always going to be very similar, no matter where you encounter it.)

But more than the scifi zeitgeist connections here, this tale truly gets back to the real roots that make Sigma Force so special. We've got the historic and the scientific, and again, the scientific is at least more closely based on actual science this time around. But we've also got the camaraderie among the team, including having most of the team (minus Painter, Lisa, and newer team member Jason) together the first time we see them and having a bit of a mini-adventure then as the overall tale begins to pick up. Then we've got the Sigma Split, with the team breaking up to go their own separate projects to try to uncover and stop whatever is happening. Each of their specialties get highlighted and tested to degrees not seen in recent Sigma books in a fair amount of time, even Gray's "special brain". More akin to David Wood's Dane Maddock Adventures in this particular point, there are even several callouts to other characters from prior Sigma tales and how those characters are still impacting the world even through the events of this tale.

And that epilogue... It sets up the 2024 entry into this series to be one of the most explosive in quite some time, and you're going to want *that* book in your hands the moment you finish this one.

Very much recommended.

Strange things are happening in the Coral Sea. Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis start occurring. Sigma Force becomes engaged. Tides of Fire is a fast paced thriller that the reader cannot put down.

I received an ARC and have offered an honest review.

Another well researched, well paced novel by James Rollins. Even after 23 novels in this series, they have never become formulaic. I found this one even more thought provoking than his previous books and that's saying something. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced reader copy.

I've been a huge fan of James Rollins, and the Sigma Series in particular, since the first book, and so I was eagerly awaiting this 17th book in the series.

It did not disappoint.

Members of the Sigma team were in Asia, for a birthday celebration for Gray & Seichan's young son, when massive earthquakes hit the region and volcanos throughout the chains of islands around the 'ring of fire' all start erupting. A research station miles below the surface off the coast of Australia, near one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, starts investigating the disappearance of a Chinese submarine, suspected of triggering the quakes, as a military-style attack takes place.
A species of coral, never seen before, is found in the ocean amid the chaos, and people who come into contact with it are falling dangerously ill - with areas of their bodies seeming to turn to stone.
While cities burn, and coastlines are hit by tsunamis, the Sigma team split up to try and figure out what is happening, and whether a historical account of a previous time of quakes and volcanos indicates a possible cure for both the disease and the seismic activity. Aboriginal stories of rainbow snakes seem tied to the current events - can Gray and the team discover the meaning in time?

A fast paced thriller, with all of the usual Sigma team characters, this was an excellent and very enjoyable novel. The ending leaves us waiting for the 18th book that is sure to follow.

I love the science that plays a big part in this series, and a favorite part of any of these books, for me, is the section after the novel completes, where James Rollins explains which pieces of the book are fact and which are fiction. In some of the previous books it has been eye opening to me - as the pieces I was sure were the most fantastic fiction were in fact the real deal. In this book I already had a good idea where the lines lay, and I was not too surprised by the explanations. However, that did not detract from my enjoyment of this novel.

Thanks to William Morris and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest opinion.

Tides of Fire is the 17th book in the Sigma Force series written by James Rollins. I stumbled upon this one at least a decade ago while waiting in an airport. Since then, I read them in order, enjoying the suspense thrillers as the heroes and heroines travel the world to save the planet from nefarious evildoers and unnatural disasters coming at us from earth, wind, rain and fire. In the latest novel, volcanoes are erupting at a quickening pace, and then water turns to fire in Southeast Asia. It all connects to a similar event back in 1815 when the infamous earthquake and its dark summer killed an enormous amount of people around the planet. What could rainbow serpents, matter from Mars, and coral have to do one another? Sigma solves the case but comes close to losing a few members several times. Overall, I enjoyed the book but it definitely is erring a bit too technical and science-fiction these days for my tastes. I prefer the more historical connections rather than alien life, but there was a mix here. Good history lessons, and Rollins always shares a few thoughts at the end of the book on what is reality and what he used as fiction to expand the story. You can read these in order except you may learn in reverse about some deaths or romantic liaisons.