• The Doomsday Key

  • A Sigma Force Novel, Book 6
  • By: James Rollins
  • Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
  • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,816 ratings)

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The Doomsday Key  By  cover art

The Doomsday Key

By: James Rollins
Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
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Publisher's summary

At Princeton University, a famed geneticist dies inside a biohazard lab. In Rome, a Vatican archaeologist is found dead in St. Peter's Basilica. In Africa, a U.S. senator's son is slain outside a Red Cross camp. The three murders on three continents bear a horrifying connection: all the victims are marked by a Druidic pagan cross burned into their flesh.

The bizarre murders thrust Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force into a race against time to solve a riddle going back centuries and to a ghastly crime against humanity hidden within a cryptic medieval codex.

Aided by two women from his past, one his ex-lover, the other his new partner, Gray must piece together the horrifying truth. But the revelations come at a high cost, and to save the future, Gray will have to sacrifice one of the women at his side.

That alone might not be enough, as the true path to salvation is revealed in a dark prophecy of doom. The ultimate nightmare is locked within a talisman buried by a dead saint, an ancient artifact known as the Doomsday Key.

©2009 Jim Czajkowski (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Doomsday Key

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A patriarchal rip off of Dan Brown

This is no Dan Brown...that's for sure! Although the author has clearly done his research, he's still stuck in the James Bond golry days of simpering women who go weak in the knees while the hero remains strong. I'm clearly not the target audience for this genre. I prefer fully fleshed out characters and less sexist description. But the story revolves around an imminent global crisis, so I gutted it out to the end. But I can't even count how often I rolled my eyes!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding

I loved this story. The narration was excellent! I did find the Character of Rachel a bit dull and weepy. She was supposed to be a Vatican officer brought over from the other novels. I did fall in love more with Kowalski the "regular" guy in all these novels. Overall, the sigma series is worth every penny.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Patchy, Rushed, You Can Tell It Was Written Quickly. SUPER Glottal Narration

I’ve listened to books from this series and by this narrator before, but this one for some reason really bothered me.

The story was laughably absurd. The hero makes multiple stunning/stupid intellectual leaps and by the end of the book I was scoffing at his continued near-death experiences. The sheer number of disasters he personally averted were ludicrous. I’d literally rather go watch a Fast & Furious movie, which should tell you a lot.

The tone between the first half and the second half were dissimilar. The first half was laid out carefully and had a pretty measured pace. The second half was very rushed and seemed like the author was just trying to get it over with.

I would have liked to know a lot more about the specifics of the archaeology. At one point (SPOILER, you’ve been warned) one of the characters was like “This stained glass window has… Egyptian hieroglyphics!” and I burst out laughing. It was like someone pulled it out of their butt. No mention of Egypt at all before that, not one time in the entire book, and now 7/8ths of the way through, SUDDENLY, EGYPT.

The narrator was SO GLOTTAL. It bothered me a lot and distracted me from the actual content of the book. His pronunciations of hard C and G sounds were literally like listening to someone choke during a sleep apnea episode.

And!! When he spoke a different language at the end of the book he didn’t put nearly that kind of emphasis on the hard C and G sounds, so why did he do it when he read this book in English??!!!

It was extremely irritating. “Celtic cross” became “CeltiC CRoss”, “Christian” became “CHRistian”, “scrambled across” became “SCRAmbled aCRoss”, and so on. The harshness of his pronunciation on just those sounds was absurd to the point of making me angry. The narration greatly reduced my enjoyment of this book, to the point that I will not buy another he narrates.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A must read! Outstanding!

Sigma just keeps getting better. Hard to put down. The characters really grow on you.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

This will be my last

I only made it this far into this series because I like the characters. For the most part, they’re all pretty three dimensional with back stories and internal dialog that makes them likable. The problem is that Sigma are the absolute worst special ops/spies on the planet. They are constantly caught off guard, one step behind, and regularly only survive by sheer luck. Coming from a department of government that supposedly produces the best, most cutting edge tech on the planet, this is utterly ridiculous. Conversely, it’s equally mind boggling that these near cult groups Sigma is after are so well funded and manned, that the greatest country on earth is left fielding second class technology and weapons.
Here’s another hint for all the authors making these wannabe spy thrillers: your hero doesn’t have to be lucky or need help from a dozen friends or have to uncover a mole in our government or nearly die a hundred times per book or continually get double crossed to make a good book. For me, I would like the hero to be personal, confident, well equipped, KNOW THE PARTS OF A GUN!, and have the skills and ability to get them thru the story without the need for luck or a bunch of friends to save his ass at every turn. Not saying hero can’t have help or need friends, but it’s just silly when, like all the super hero movies, the good guy can’t beat one bad guy without all of his buddies chipping in. Where I’m from, a 6 on 1 fight is cheating, making you the bad guy. Can’t the good guy, alone or with his team, just kick ass in a fair fight or at least a righteous one.
So back to this book and series; maybe if I hadn’t started listening to these back to back with no time in between, these issues wouldn’t be so glaring. But I love reading a book series for just that reason; to really get into the character’s life, and skipping around doesn’t let me do that. Maybe just write a series that has likable, knowledgable heroes that are capable of doing their job without needing a rabbit’s foot in their pocket to succeed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just needs to be an HBO series!!

This is my first Sigma Six novel. Can't wait to go back and read them all in chronological order the Nostalgia of old school GI Joe beautiful women & Action-Packed made me feel like a lad again I really appreciate the writing thanks.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great adventure with the Sigma Force

I’m enjoying every book in the Sigma Force novels so far, and this was no exception. Exciting adventures, and a fun listen for anyone intrigued by history’s mysteries. I look forward to more exceptional listens from this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good story

classic Rollins story. tiein g together history and reality I hiri a good story. fun read as well

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    5 out of 5 stars
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What a great read!

This was the 1st Sigma Force book that I read, originally. Once I knew that there was a Series, I went and started from the beginning! Fernandez does a great job once again, with all of the voices! Suspenseful and fun, I loved it!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Really Not for Me

A friend recommended this book so I got it, but soon found it to be too violent for me and eventually quit reading. That is sad because my friend knew I was reading and she keeps asking how I enjoyed it.

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