The Eye of God

A Sigma Force Novel, Book 9

By: James Rollins

Narrated by: Christian Baskous

Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Eye of God, a Sigma Force novel, New York Times best-selling author James Rollins delivers an apocalyptic vision of a future predicted by the distant past.

In the wilds of Mongolia, a research satellite has crashed, triggering an explosive search for its valuable cargo: a code-black physics project connected to the study of dark energy...and a shocking image of the eastern seaboard of the United States in utter ruin.

At the Vatican, a package arrives containing two strange artifacts: a skull scrawled with ancient Aramaic and a tome bound in human skin. DNA evidence reveals that both came from the same body: the long-dead Mongol king Genghis Khan.

Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force set out to discover a truth tied to the fall of the Roman Empire, to a mystery going back to the birth of Christianity, and to a weapon hidden for centuries that holds the fate of humanity.

©2013 James Czajkowski (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

good Collins, but not my favorite

It was a good book and good story, but wasn't my favorite of the Jim's Collins books. Change readers that took some getting used to.

Don’t change the narrator

Seriously, I actually had to stop listening. This guy might be good for some stories, but he can’t do Italian accent and the Russian accents and and Chinese accents just sound nasally and off putting. The narrator might be good for children’s books, but not the sigma force novels. Very disappointed in this rendition.

Not my favorite James Rollins book, but still good.

I love James Rollins books. Especially the Sigma Force series, but I found myself loosing attention with this book. I think it may have had a little more to do with Christian Baskous voice than anything. He is a decent performer, but his voice is so monotone I keep finding myself wandering away from the story. Otherwise the story itself was pretty good. I just think another narrator would have been better.

Good and bad

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, but not a fan of the narrator. I got lost in the story a few times and I’m not sure if it was the story it’s off or the person reading it.

Great book, awful narration

Another solid Rollins Sigma novel, but The narrator is so bad it hurts. Not sure what happened to the guy from the previous novels but please bring him back. This new guys’ accents are so off it’s offensive.

Sadly poor Reader

Although the story was the typical rollicking, James Rollins story that well intertwined science, science fiction, biblical history, and world geopolitics, unfortunately the reader was one of the worst I have ever heard in my over 200 titles I own. He makes an effort, but his accents are completely on the wrong characters at the wrong times throughout the entirety of the novel. It was very distracting and unfortunately, I cannot write the book highly on that account. I feel the book should be released with a different reader and Start over. Please, Mr. Rolland- stand your ground.

Don't Change the Narrator in the Series...

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Did the narration match the pace of the Story? Hmm... When you've listen to previous 8 books, and have developed a minds eye for the characters. So when you change the narration of the book to a different person, it throws the whole book off. I tried to describe this to my wife... Its like taking a favorite television show, and changing the actors completely, and going on like nothing has happened...I got through the book, but it wasn't the enjoyable experience that I was hoping for...

Any additional comments?

I do realize that there are circumstances to these things, and that sometimes changes have to be made... But I hope that the people who make up these decisions, realize how it will impact the book, and possibly the sales...

Good but not great

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The storyline is compelling but the performer takes away a great deal from the overall experience. His accents are horrible, can't tell the difference from an Italian to a Korean to a VietNamese accent. Also, the reader's New England native accent makes things a little comical in points. Plus, the awkward pauses remove a great deal from the flow and sounds like someone trying to add drama while at the same time he reads some sentences very quickly when they shouldn't be. Overall, I found myself straining to get through the book when normally I'll miss sleep to finish a Sigma Force novel. Also, there isn't a truly menacing villain that lends to anything resembling tension. But hey, a good Sigma Force novel is still worth every penny.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Nope. Missing that really villainous villain, instead we got more Snidley Whiplash.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christian Baskous?

Anyone, even my 3 year old niece.

worst narrator ever

as far as I could make it it seems like it may have been a good story. but this narrator is so bad I couldn't get any further than the second chapter

Different Narrator

Overall excellent story as usual.

This narrator’s accents are distracting. What sounds like his normal accent is Bostonian or upper New York, which comes through sometimes. This isn’t so much a distraction as his Italian for Rachel and her Uncle and the other priest sounds very distinctly German. I found myself unnerved by it.

Otherwise fast paced and excellent