The Last Odyssey

James Rollins — 2020

To save the world and our future, Sigma Force must embark on a dangerous odyssey into an ancient past whose horrors are all too present in this page-turning thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins that combines cutting-edge science, historical mystery, mythology, and pulse-pounding action. For eons, the city of Troy--whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer's Iliad--was believed to be myth, until archaeologists in the nineteenth century uncovered its ancient walls buried beneath the sands. If Troy was real, how much of Homer's twin tales of gods and monsters, curses and miracles--The Iliad and The Odyssey--could also be true and awaiting discovery? In the frozen tundra of Greenland, a group of modern-day climatologists and archaeologists stumble on a shocking find: a medieval ship buried a half mile below the ice. The ship's hold contains a collection of even older artifacts--tools of war--dating back to the Bronze Age. Inside the captain's cabin is a magnificent treasure that is as priceless as it is miraculous: a clockwork gold atlas encircled by an intricate silver astrolabe. The mechanism is signed with the name of its creator, Ismail al-Jazari, a famous Muslim inventor considered to be the Da Vinci of the Arab world--a brilliant scientist who inspired Leonardo's own work. Once activated, the moving globe traces the path of Odysseus' famous ship as it sailed away from Troy. But the route detours as the map opens to reveal an underground river leading to a hidden realm underneath the Mediterranean Sea. The map indicates that this subterranean world is called Tartarus, the Greek name for Hell. In mythology, Tartarus was where the wicked were punished and the monstrous Titans of old, imprisoned. When word of Tartarus spreads--and of the cache of miraculous weapons said to be hidden there--tensions explode in this volatile region where Turks battle Kurds, terrorists wage war, and civilians suffer untold horrors. The phantasmagoric horrors found in Homer's tales are all too real--and could be unleashed upon the world. Whoever possesses them can use their awesome power to control the future of humanity. Now, Sigma Force must go where humans fear to tread. To prevent a tyrant from igniting a global war, they must cross the very gates of Hell.

Reviews

Ryan Mateyk@the_rybrary

Jul 4, 2024

POPSUGAR 2020: An author with more than 20 books I love this series because you know just what to expect. Tons of action and close calls, some cheesy romance, stereotypical evil villains that you immediately hate. This particular installment had a secret apocalypse cult with verrrryy long reaches, a secret underground ancient city made of bronze of gold, ancient killer robots, and a hot young archaeological expert who is somehow the smartest person on the planet who was able to crack a millenia-old mystery within hours and is not even 30 years old. Love it! I'll always read these books. At this point they're a comfort!

Xavier Roy@xavierroy

Jan 17, 2022

Some parts of it was exciting and interesting and some bit of info-dump.

Sahi K@sahibooknerd

Jan 5, 2022

James Rollins has always been the author I turn to when I need some escape from reality, and I’ve never needed more escape than right now in the middle of the pandemic. And I got so much more from it than I expected. There’s usually an equal amount of historical and scientific themes that play out in a Sigma Force novel but this was slightly different and I found that refreshing. This book takes the mythological route, concentrating on Homer’s The Odyssey and various other Greek myths and reimagining if they were all actual historical events that took place. We also get to know about some of the most acclaimed scientists and inventors of the Arab world and their creations were definitely very eye opening. I found the idea that innovations that happen in one kingdom/civilization are then used by others to build up on and that’s how more innovation propagates across the world fascinating to read about. When we are talking mechanical inventions, Leonardo da Vinci can’t be far behind, so his addition was fun. There is also a theme about the different versions of the coming apocalypse across religions and the zealots among them who want to do everything they can to bring it on sooner. I loved the way the author weaved all these threads together to create such an entertaining adventure tale. And as usual, all the locations that the characters are jet setting to are wonderfully described and I always wish I could jump into the pages to visit them myself. It’s always very comforting meeting these characters because I’ve known them for almost a decade and they feel like my friends now. And after all this time, seeing Gray and Seichan as parents felt surreal. They are still struggling with their new found parenthood which actually made them feel more human than the usual badass persona they always project. Kowalski also gets a great arc to shine in this book and he always comes across as gruff and grumpy but we get to see how much of a heart of gold he has and what lengths he will go to protect his team. There are also many other new side characters and I was amazed by how I could never guess who among them was trustworthy and who was a villain. The author kept hitting me with betrayal after betrayal and I was happy to be shocked. To conclude, this was a lot of fun and just the bit of relief I needed at this tense time. If you have followed this series since the beginning and have ever thought the storylines had become repetitive, then I promise you that you’ll find this book to be refreshing and a lot more adventurous. I don’t know if I can recommend it as a stand-alone but if you wouldn’t mind taking on a huge series that is a mix of great action, lots of history, and some very cool advanced science and tech stuff, you should totally start from Sandstorm.

Narah Quinn@narahquinn

Oct 20, 2021

A fantastic new chapter in the Sigma series. I fell in love with these books a good few years ago (I think I had a prequel and about 3 others to keep me occupied when I stumbled in about book 3!) and I have awaited them every year or 2 since and honestly, they keep getting better. The Last Odyssey takes us on a whirlwind adventure, from Greenland to Morocco, chasing down - and trying to stop - the literal end of the world and the opening of the gates of hell, terrifying irradiated automatons and all the terror that would bring on the world. Grey and Seichan are still finding their feet as parents, Kowalski is set to propose, and this time round Kat and Monk take a back seat and stay home while the others follow the treacherous path of Odysseus's journey home after Troy. It is really hard to say much about these books without giving the story away, but we are introduced to new characters (more to love) we meet some familiar ones along the way, and we grow with our regulars as they take on a never ending line of bad guys! Yes they follow a similar format, but they need that, there has to be some huge, terrible thing happening for Sigma to be on board, that is what they are there for, and throughout there has been a wonderful steeping into their personal lives to make our characters wholly human, for us as readers to be invested in their lives. Which is why the very end of this one I kinda knew it was coming, it was hinted at in the epilogue a few books back, but it did not make it any less sad and how very dare you - I am not ok! I cannot wait to see where we go next, or what I am going to learn from it, because the thing I really love about these books is the level of research that goes into them and the care that is taken to help us make sense of the science and history that helped make the story we just read what it is! Highly recommended!