The entire thing reads as one long action sequence, I’d still take it if it was good action but no…. The first seventy pages were decent enough where I had some fun, thinking that it was a bit campy but all in good fun, wah what a turn after that… people seem to really appreciate the escapism here but escapism from good writing will never be my cup of tea, Rollins didn't seem to have any control over his wild stallion of a tale and instead he was taken on a ride versus being in control of the reigns. Subterranean is one of his first early efforts and it has a shape of a story but personally I found it lackluster, confused and not very well planned out. I’m a big fan of Rollins, when the guy is good he is very good and the entertainment is grand, sadly for me this was not the case but reading the 1-3 star reviews was comforting ( and hilarious) enough to know that I’m not crazy and that this book was a dud to many other readers as well. More like Fraggle Rock than a serious adventure book But that said, the evolution aspects were intriguing, and it left me wondering what happened to the new life that was located in the caves below the least unknown continent? so things felt lighter than usual from other books. There was definitely an evil character, and we learned which one it was fairly early on, but (s)he wasn't really working for someone else who was part of the story. What this lacked was the evil force trying to stop the teams from discovering history.

What lurks below Antarctica? How does the animal and plant life compare with the evolution happening all over the rest of the world? Which nasty creatures will try to kill a newcomers? So many suspenseful moments, especially as the focus shifts chapter by chapter to different groups of explorers and scientists. Always enjoyed them, and this one had a strong plot to it. I recall many of his books being on airport bookstore shelves, and I grabbed a few before flights.

After reading his Sigma Force series (finished the 2022 release during the summer), I wanted to explore more. Subterranean is a thriller novel written by James Rollins.

Subterranean book james rollins