Subterranean, by James Rollins

I've decided that I will take a more professional approach with my literary reviews, and writing style (although, not necessarily with the selections I make. After all, my reading is intended to be my escape. I believe it's important that an escape from the world be slightly childish in nature).

Synopsis

Subterranean, at it's heart, is a novel regarding exploration and anthropology. An expedition in the South Pole has tunneled deep into the earth and discovered the remains of an ancient civilization that has since vacated the area and apparently disappeared. Although few artifacts have been recovered, the expedition did find a large statue of a gravid (i.e. pregnant) female made entirely of diamond. While the cultural aspects of such a find interest some, the financial interest many more. After the first expedition is mysteriously lost, a team of experts is assembled in an effort to recover the first team, and gather some knowledge of the area. Along the way the second expedition (upon which the novel focus') runs into trouble, discovering new animal and plant species as well as the ancestors of the diamond statue's makers.

Review

I am an anthropologist, and so these types of books greatly interest me. This novel has everything an anthropologist could ask for. Action, suspense, new species of predators, a new Homo species (actually, not Homo, even better. Many of the species in the novel are based on marsupials, however the humanlike species is based on monotremes, egg laying mammals similar to the platypus. This kind of detail makes the discovery that much better...almost over the top. It would indicate a split so far back between us and this species that you would be more closely related to your pet dog than you would to the species unearthed in this novel. Fascinating). What more could you possibly ask for? I had plodded through a previous Rollins book (Amazonia) and found it to be slightly boring (actually, it is one of the few books I started and didn't finish). I wasn't expecting much from this, earlier book (I've found the authors tend to get better with experience). I was sorely mistaken. This outing of Rollins' took me by complete surprise. I found this title to be engaging and interesting, striking almost all of my interests squarely. I hadn't intended to, but now I am considering moving on to the next Rollins book, Excavation. Some of the information online though suggests that Excavation might not be exactly what I'm looking for. Incidentally, the online reviews also suggest that Amazonia is Rollins' worst book ever. Lucky me.

At any rate, I'm stuck sitting and waiting for the next Stirling book (still). I currently have a bookmark in Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. That isn't necessarily indicitive that I will begin reading it though. Still, it or Excavation seem to be the two I'm leaning towards (since both Preston and Child's new book and Stirling's are not out in paperback). Actually, my new girlfriend chose Subterranean for me, I might just let her select the next book I read from a group. In addition, I still have that poor steampunk anthology on my desk, waiting to be finished. Woe is me.