IN1+Excavation

Excavation by James Rollins ** 23 September 2011 ** //I started this novel before we started the blogging process, so I am a little farther along in the text, about half-way. The book began in a flashback to the 1500s and the story of a priest running for his life in Peru, then jumped to present day in Maryland and the story of an archeologist who was studying the mummified body of the same priest when its head explodes and gold comes out of its skull. Coolest things I've noticed thus far are the descriptions of some very creepy albino tarantulas that chase students through the tunnels underneath an ancient Incan Ruin and the fact that the gold that came out of the skull seems to change shape when the person closest to it is thinking about something specific. I have read several books by this author, and I have noticed that he incorporates quite a bit of research into his writing, about everything from art, military weaponry, history, religion, science, governments, biology, etc.I am in the middle of reading about an attack on the students who are lost in the underground tunnels. They are being attacked by animals who are hairless and apparently organized similarly to a bee colony - there are the smaller drone-like animals, the scouts, the smarter ones, then the leaders. They seem to be quite nasty, but the author described the scene in such great detail I found myself feeling a bit nauseous and wanting to read more and more to see what happens.//

** 26 September 2011 ** //I am wondering if there really are such creatures as the book describes - the albino tarantulas specifically. I understand the logic that we certainly have not discovered every type of creature, so the creepy apes could be entirely real or completely fantastical.//

//I love the mystery of it being set in Peru, but what if it had been set in, say, North Dakota. Since I am an American, I think that would have intrigued me more to ponder if there are really such undiscovered things in my own country...//

** 27 September 2011 ** //So, I finished the novel last night, and I have to say it was a good read. The epilogue, however, put a completely different twist on it than I was expecting, and part of me wishes the author would have left some more up to the imagination and left that out. I really enjoyed the history about the Incans and the science about nanotechnology (though I have to say I struggled with some of the scientific research he incorporated - that was never my strength in school). Rollins focused much of the story on a gold-like substance (the scientists in the novel called it Substance Z) that was quite malleable and changed shape, seemingly on its own. That imagery was spectacular.////The strangest, and thus the most intriguing, things about the novel were the creatures he describes, like the colony of albino tarantulas and the tribe of pale ape-men who live beneath the ruins. It is interesting to consider what a lack of exposure to light would do to a species, from the physical manifestations to what would happen to their psyches. I think it would heighten the senses incredibly and at the same time, if the species were intelligent/conscious, I think it would make them more edgy and defensive of their space.////Given how the novel ends, if the author had left out the epilogue, I think the theme would have been more uplifting and spiritual. However, the epilogue makes it more sinister, as though if the story were to continue, it would not be pleasant for the human race.////I would recommend this book to anyone. James Rollins puts a ton of action into his writing from the very first page. Even though his books are rather lengthy and incorporate a lot of research (which this English-teacher-geek LOVES), I find that I get through them quickly because the plot moves quickly. I've noticed in his books that he jumps between characters because he writes according to a timeline and he wants us to know what is going on with the different characters at the same time. It's a bit confusing at first, but once I read a couple books by him, I got used to it and learned to appreciate it.//