Excavation
by James RollinsGenres: Fiction, Thrillers
Published on July 3rd 2000
Pages: 448
High in the Andes, Dr. Henry Conklin discovers a 500-year-old mummy that should not be there. While deep in the South American jungle, Conklin's nephew, Sam, stumbles upon a remarkable site nestled between two towering peaks, a place hidden from human eyes for thousands of years.
Ingenious traps have been laid to ensnare the careless and unsuspecting, and wealth beyond imagining could be the reward for those with the courage to face the terrible unknown. But where the perilous journey inward ends—in the cold, shrouded heart of a breathtaking necropolis—something else is waiting for Sam Conklin and his exploratory party. A thing created by Man, yet not humanly possible. Something wondrous . . . something terrifying.
I read this book for the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge. It has been sitting on my shelf forever. I don’t know where I got it. I’m sure I picked it up because of the author. He’s a veterinarian when he’s not writing and I have to support my people!
High in the Andes an Incan temple has been found with an intact treasure chamber. An attempt to loot it sets off traps and then it collapses on the archeologists who go in to investigate the break in. They are only able to escape by work their way through the puzzles built into the temple. It is very Indiana Jones.
At the same time, a mummy removed from the area turns out to be not Incan but a Spanish priest. Inquiries lead to the kidnapping of the lead investigator by a group of priests. Seriously, if priests or monks show up in a contemporary story is it ever a good thing? These guys have a wacky theory about some metal hidden in the temple and go about trying to steal it too.
I’ve read several other of his books and enjoyed them. This isn’t one of my favorites. It can be a fun read but nothing memorable.
