I enjoyed the storyline in this book. It's unique and interesting. The characters were a bit stereotypical, but certainly not the worst I've read. What I didn't appreciate, and could have done without....the excessive romantic elements. Look, I don't mind a bit of romance and I don't mind sex or relationship involvement, it's a reality of human life and needs to be included for realistic value. But, I can't stomache romance novels and that's what this felt like....an unrealistic and cheesy romance novel. At times the story read more like a romance novel with a bit of thriller/ suspense on the side, rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, it ruined the read a bit for me. ( )

I don’t know what you call this book... how about Fantasy Romance Adventure. Long story short, I didn’t think it was very entertaining or creative. It was like Indiana Jones crossed with Da Vinci Code crossed with Jurassic Park crossed with Zombie Apocalypse crossed with At Play in the Fields of the Lord... with maybe a little Wonkaville thrown in. I don’t know that I could come up with enough super superlatives to quite do it justice. Let’s just say that I found it generally dumb. It took me forever to finish because it was just dumb, not engaging at all.

All the men and women, boys and girls were one-dimensional caricatures of stereotypes; Indy! Indy Senior! Marion! Shorty! Bad Guys! Mummy! And the story unfolds in Indiana Jones meets Da Vinci Code fashion. “Thankfully” boy hero meets girl femme fatale... well, at least they finally figure it out after working side by side for months and months; life and death situations will apparently do that for you. “Wonderfully” man hero meets woman femme fatale... well, at least they finally figure it out after having known each other for years and years; life and death situations will apparently do that for you.

The entire book all the good guys and gals modulate between acting like Keystone Cops or... Jason Bourne... except 99% of the time they were the incompetent nitwits. You’re left wondering how they were never eaten by wolves growing up let alone having the intelligence and resourcefulness to ever become respected members of their professional fields.

There’s also some weird space-time continuum going on as the characters managed to get from Washington DC to Peru in a blink of an eye, but it took a full day to get the 45 miles from Cuzco to Machu Picchu by plane and helicopter. By and by we find a civilization that has remained lost in the Andes for more than 500 years. There we find the Texan walking around with his rifle poised to shoot anything that moves. Death and destruction ensues while the characters engage in dialog consisting of mostly stupid and snippy comments.

I thought this part was particularly apt:

Sam noticed the photographer’s tension. “What’s wrong?”

Norman shook his head. “Nothing. I’ve just seen too many cheap horror movies.”

“So?”

“Splitting up the group. In horror movies, that’s when the killer starts knocking off the college co-eds.”

... and then the author goes on to kill off the token black character in the story. Lame. ( )

It was a wild Indiana Jones with lots of truly unexpected bad guys. the ending was a bit bizarre and unsatisfying. Even with the strange ending it was a really good book. ( )

As a second book this isn't bad but when compared to the Sigma novels and his books as James Clemens it loses something.

I liked the fact that when the scientists were doing their thing he didn't feel the need to explain it in laymen's terms, treating the readers as adults and assuming that if we don't know what something means and we want to know we will go and look it up. It did make me want to know more about the Incas and the tribes that came before them. ( )

"Excavation" starts out on an archeological dig in the Peruvian Andes. . It was a fun read and the action never let up. After an unplanned event the main characters in the book are trapped in a cave and have to find their way to daylight again, encountering everything from booby traps, spiders, bats and aggressive, carnivorous mutants. There are two main story lines going at the same time. The group that is trying to survive and return to the world again and a connected story that involves two other main characters that are trying to solve a mystery tied to the dig.

On his dig in Peru, Professor Henry Conklin believes he has unearthed a mummy that will prove that there was an ancient Indian civilization that predated the Incas and inhabited the jungle first. Henry has left the dig site in the hands of his nephew Sam and the other graduate students while he escorts the mummy back to the United States for further examination. No one can foresee the danger that is waiting for everyone associated with the dig. Years of searching for a mysterious substance that can heal wounds and resurrect the dead have led multiple groups with multiple motivations to terminate the Professor and his discoveries.

James Rollins never fails to entertain with his wild stories of mystery and intrigue set in an archeological setting. The story and adventure kept me turning the pages. This is another fun and exciting James Rollins novel.
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