Subterranean

By: James Rollins

Narrated by: John Meagher

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Travel to the bottom of the earth...to a place you never dreamed existed.

Beneath the ice...a hand-picked team of specialists makes its way toward the center of the world. They are not the first to venture into this magnificient subterranean labyrinth. Those they follow did not return.

Over the rocks...Across the yawning caverns...Beyond the Black River...You are not alone.

Into the darkness...where breathtaking wonders await you - and terrors beyond imaging...Revelations that could change the world - things that should never be disturbed...

At the bottom of the Earth is the beginning. Keep moving...toward a miracle that cannot be...toward a mystery older than time.

©1999 Jim Czajkowski (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Great narrator

I'm a big fan of James Rollins, his 5 novels are my favorite! I've listened to all JR's novels + Sigma series. I terribly miss John. He has a great voice, does accents very well, and unlike the other narrators, doesn't whine to create a female voice. John Maher please come back and take the Sigma series back, the current narrator just .. ugh.

Entertaining. A Good Read

I have read most of James Rollins books, and so I decided to give this older book a try … and I wasn’t disappointed. This was a gripping story which makes us wonder about the things that man has yet to explore and how it would affect each of us. James Rollins’ imagination is limitless no matter his subject. Not his best book, but by far an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

Great Stand-alone Rollins

I’ve read every Sigma Force book by James Rollins and started cleaning up his one shots. This was by far one of coolest (and weirdest) novels of his. I’m still thinking about the scientific implications of this story. Oh, and John Meagher is the best narrator! He adds another layer to all of the Rollins books he narrates.

Good story

I liked the story. The one thing that constantly bugged me. Editing. There was not enough time between scenes and character changes. It took half a paragraph to recognize different places and people😠grrr

amazing!

amazing book! id love to read more about the people of the book. great read!

Very good

I have read most of the books by Rollins, and they are always fascinating. This is an early one. The stories get better as he grows as a writer. I love his style of writing mixing history, anthropology, and geography together.

Poorly Written

The story is ostensibly interesting, although the reality of what is happening in Antarctica is obviously much more fascinating, hence the recent visits to the frozen continent by John Kerry, Buzz Aldrin, and a slew of other dignitaries and scientists. The reports of what they've found are fascinating.
Returning to this book, it reads as if it were written by a 16 year old boy. The dialogue is horrible; stiff, awkward. The characters are one dimensional cliches.

I have no doubt this will make a highly profitable Hollywood "blockbuster" it is so poorly written. Dan Brown would be proud.

Old Antarctic Explorer approved

Having spent more than two years at McMurdo station Antarctica, I especially liked this story. Descriptions of the area around McMurdo were so spot on that I could imagine being back there with Mt Erebus in the background constantly erupting.

Rollins does it again!

I am still getting accustomed to the narrator but Rollins book is to good to put down in any way. my family has listened to it a few times and it never gets old♡

Claustrophobics: Avoid this book!

All other thriller-lovers might want to give this audiobook a listen ... especially since "Subterranean" is James Rollins first novel. As other reviewers have noted, this work does not show Rollins writing in his top form; but, rest assured, he keeps getting better and better. If, like me, you enjoy watching an author develop, then you should start watching Rollins with "Subterranean" ... unless you have claustrophobia. Claustrophobics should probably avoid Rollins altogether: Many of Rollins' novels take place under ground or underwater, in confined, dark spaces (not surprising, since Rollins is an amateur spelunker and scuba diver!). They provide plenty of thrills and chills for anyone with a moderate tolerance for far-fetched plots. Yes, "Subterranean" does postulate a slightly improbable scenario -- marsupial hominids (oops! Sorry, spoiler-haters.), undiscovered until now -- but, as Hamlet said, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” In his subsequent novels, Rollins unfolds many other fascinating, unlikely-yet-possible speculations. If you enjoy Preston/Child, then you will, most likely, enjoy Rollins.

As for the reader, John Meagher, I say: Give him a try. At first his tenor voice put me off a bit, I admit. However, he turns out to have pretty good acting skills; and, like Rollins, he gets better. I have to take the Australian reviewer's word for Meagher's unconvincing Australian accent (it sounded O.K. to me); but, hey, Australian accents are hard to do!

Not a bad thriller, for a first novel.