Altar of Eden

A Novel

By: James Rollins

Narrated by: Paula Christensen

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

A master at combining heart-stopping suspense and scientific intrigue, New York Times best-selling author James Rollins returns with a thrilling adventure like no other--a shocking story of cruel genetic experiments done in the name of national security and, most disturbing of all, tied to a secret history of the Book of Genesis.

Following the fall of Baghdad, two Iraqi boys stumble upon armed men looting the city zoo, opening the floodgates for the smuggling of hundreds of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles to Western nations. But this crime hides a deeper secret. Amid a hail of bullets, an underground secret weapons lab is ransacked--and something even more horrific is set free. Seven years later, Louisiana state veterinarian Lorna Polk stumbles upon a fishing trawler shipwrecked on a barrier island. The crew is missing or dead, but the boat holds a frightening cargo: a caged group of exotic animals, clearly part of a black market smuggling ring. Yet, something is wrong with these beasts, disturbing deformities that make no sense: a parrot with no feathers, a pair of Capuchin monkeys conjoined at the hip, a jaguar cub with the dentition of a saber-tooth tiger. They also all share one uncanny trait--a disturbingly heightened intelligence.

To uncover the truth about the origin of this strange cargo and the terrorist threat it poses, Lorna must team up with a man who shares a dark and bloody past with her, now an agent of the U.S. Border Patrol, Jack Menard. Together, the two must hunt for a beast that escaped the shipwreck while uncovering a mystery tied to fractal science and genetic engineering, all to expose a horrifying secret that traces back to mankind's earliest roots. But can Lorna stop what is about to be born upon the altar of Eden before it threatens not only the world, but also the very foundation of what it means to be human?

©2010 Jim Czajkowski (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Scary good!

This was interesting and definitely thought provoking. The narrator did a good job of portraying the Louisiana accent. James Rollins is an excellent writer who makes a person think.

Another Excellent Book By James Rollins

Mystery and action. Fact and fiction.. All that is why I read and listen to Rollins' novels.

Love the content

This writer has some of the most creative ideas and still is able to keep them based in science! Very interesting book!

Good story but voice reading was painful

The storyline is good. The voice reading is painful to listen. The voices are all so fake and bizarre I ended up listening to Alexa read the story from kindle.

Poor Reader

The story was typical Rollins and enjoyable. However, the reader has an odd cadence and I found myself re-reading lines in my head because the inflection sounded off. Was I the only one who noticed the lisp? As others have said, be prepared to be occasionally distracted by the reader, but otherwise it's good.

Good Enough

I liked it. I felt the idea was better than the execution. The excecution, complete with the cinematic ending and explosions was a bit "made for tv movie" silly. I also feel the plot had a lot of potential. Too much potential to entirely wrap up in one book. A great exercise book, though. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Good book

Good listen, good narration, interesting concept, I enjoyed the book and story of the book.

Great book, terrible narrator

This was a good action story that I wish I had read rather than heard. The narrator should never have attempted to speak with Cajun or Arabic accents - terrible. She gives the female character a voice that sounds hysterical and juvenile, which is at odds with her acclaimed veterinarian and genetic education. I will not purchase future books read by the narrator although I will purchase Rollins' books read by other narrators.

Another Solid job from Rollins

I've read most of the James Rollins books and was thinking this was another Sigma Force book. The female narrator threw me at first, but one I got into it I realized that Christensen was a good choice, since the book is told mainly through the eyes of the primary female chacter, Lorna Polk. While the characters were all new to me, the story had alot of that feel you come to expect from Rollins, action, mystery, unusual situations. I really enjoyed this read.

great book - ok narrator

I love to book, but the narrator was just ok. I didn't really like her Cajun accents - the sounded more Irish to me... I think a male narrator could have handled it more adeptly.