James Rollins’ Deep Fathom

After taking a look through my library, I have decided it is time to review some more “cinematic” popular action books, which has led me to James Rollins’ Deep Fathom. Deep Fathom follows a handful of characters as they race to stop the end of the world. Jack Kirkland, ex-Navy SEAL returns from a salvage mission only to find the world burning from a string of natural disasters, all of which occurred at the time of a solar eclipse. As Jack begins to search for answers regarding this destruction, he comes across some interesting individuals, all of which have particular skillsets to make them valuable assets to his team. With his exploration ship, Deep Fathom, Jack and his team set out to try and save what little of the earth is left.

If this sounds like the setup to an action movie, that’s because it is. Complete with firefights, chase scenes through ancient ruins, and lost civilizations, Deep Fathom is a veritable rollercoaster ride of action and mystery. Rollins, as always, is an excellent writer, conveying senses of urgency when appropriate and developing his characters very well. Despite being a typical ragtag action team, none of the members of Kirkland’s entourage feels stereotypical. They have their ups and downs as a team, adding to their believability. Kirkland himself is, put simply, an awesome hero.

Ultimately, Rollins manages to give you a top-grade action novel with some real plot and character development. If you like fiction novels in general, you will probably enjoy Deep Fathom. I regard the novel as one of my favorite action novels, and it has a little bit of everything for everyone. It is a well-rounded and engaging read, so even if you aren’t a die-hard action fanatic, you should be able to dive deep into this novel.