Comments on: Review: The Devil Colony, James Rollins

By: Th.

Th. — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:57:18 +0000

My favorite thing: that both 26 and 27 are true even while seeming to claim the opposite.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:45:50 +0000

Theric reviewed the book today at A Motley Vision -- our reviews are virtual mirror images.

By: Th.

Th. — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:23:45 +0000

. I'm sorry I missed this review before I wrote my own. And you're right: it's curious how opposite our responses were.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:00:10 +0000

Listened to the book on CD. Thought the “John Smith” was a reader’s error. James Rollins has a close resemblance to my Great-Great-Grandfather, James Henry Rollins. Think he should do some “Mormon” family research.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:26:14 +0000

I’m slow on my own reading but I received a copy as well. Glad to see your review.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:35:01 +0000

He, he — If you like this genre, this is a really good example and you’ll like this book. It’s full of all the elements of a good action-adventure/thriller, with the bonus of the Mormon stuff that is, as kevinf and I agree, generally well done, nits and that last scene aside.

Anyway, leave a note when you’ve finished to let us know what you thought.

By: David Y.

David Y. — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:12:58 +0000

Ha — my request for the audio book just came through at the library and I picked it up yesterday. I read the description on the back of the case and am wondering if I’ll actually make it through. The first two chapters are on my iPod, so here we go, I guess.

I’ll listen for references to John vs. Joseph Smith.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:32:09 +0000

Honest, my copy *did* say “John Smith”!! Glad to know it was caught at some point and edited, though. Also glad that you enjoyed the book, for what it was. And I agree with your assessment — I never felt mocked, and Hank was certainly respected as a character.

Nice to have this feedback after a couple of weeks, Kevin.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:43:58 +0000

Ardis, that must have been fun. Actually, the ebook copy I had on my ereader must have been edited, as I never encountered the John Smith reference.

Overall, I liked the book for all of the reasons you mentioned. Lots of action, suspense, and a quick pace. I will admit that some of the plot seems a bit contrived, and not everything made sense, but it was a novel, so I made allowances.

As to the treatment of the church, I will say that I found it actually uniformly respectable, if not always accurate. The closing scene with Hank Kanosh and his contribution to the, uh, SPOILER ALERT, Repository of Sacred Not Secret Stuff, was a bit weird. It sounds like he may have gotten a better reception for his donation than you did at the CHL. I overall would give this book a B- rating, fun but not a must read, and not embarrassing like some of the Dan Brown stuff.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:27:48 +0000

I just finished the process of donating the book to the library. It has to be about the most embarrassing experience I’ve had here lately, trying to explain to the sweet senior missionary why I was donating an action adventure novel to the Church History Library.

When she asked what I wanted done with the book if the library decided not to accession it, I told her to hand it to any employee who likes thrillers and to send it home with him for a good weekend read.